Photo by Galo Legarda, El Hispanic News

By Galo Legarda
El Hispanic News

Portland, OR — The final score of 0-0 reflects what happened on the field on Saturday night at Jeld–Wen Field. Neither team was able to find the key to open the defensive lock of their opponent. The Portland Timbers had as many as 15 attempts on goal versus four from the Columbus Crew, showing a little more of an offensive game.

The first half was a little uneventful. There were very few clear chances of goal for either team. The closest chance for the local team to score in the first half came at the 20th minute when midfielder Rodney Wallace took a shot on goal from outside the 18-yard box. The ball was headed to the goalie’s second post, but goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum made an excellent save by barely touching the ball to send it for a corner kick.

At the 57th minute Darlington Nabge was fouled on top of box. Kris Boyd took the free kick but the ball went barely outside of Gruenebaum’s left post.

Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins made a great save at the 66th minute, containing a header from Josh Williams in a corner kick play.

Boyd again was dangerous, connecting a header at the 68th minute that also went slightly out of target.

During the 22nd consecutive sellout for the Timbers, the 20,438 fans seemed to be happy with how the team performed and cheered them on the entire time. In the Timbers Army section there was a banner that read, “No pressure. We are not even here,” in a show of unconditional support for the players.

Coach Jon Spencer said he was disappointed they weren’t able to give the fans a win, but happy with how many opportunities to score were created.

“I think we played more like ourselves tonight, and that is a positive step and I think we looked a better team tonight than we have looked the whole year,” Spencer said.

Colombian defender Hanyer Mosquera is optimistic that the team will get better results in upcoming games. The result is “painful because we have to win at home,” Mosquera said. “We have to hold our heads up, push forward, and keep working because we’ve shown we have a great team.”

Next up the Timbers will travel to Houston to play the Houston Dynamo on May 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Renee Ambacher (back row, second from left) was among the University of Portland students who spent their spring break learning about the plight of migrants in Arizona.Photo by Melissa Boles, University of Portland

By Renee Ambacher
Student Guest Columnist

I didn’t spend my spring break with my family, and I didn’t spend it tanning on a beach; instead, I took my head and my heart on a trip and spent a week learning about the immigration issues facing our country.

Why would I want to do such a thing? I know I speak for myself and other trip participants when I say that education requires firsthand learning. Previous trips to Baja California had piqued my interest in Mexico-U.S. immigration, and I felt like I could not truly understand these issues until I went to the source.

Myself and 20 others from the University of Portland decided that during our spring break we wanted to learn more about our country and the injustices occurring toward others. The University of Portland offers a one week trip, called the Border Plunge, to Tucson, Ariz., for students to experience what is occurring at our border. We asked for our eyes and our minds to be opened. Our request was granted.

During our week we met all sorts of amazing people, from undocumented students fighting for fair tuition prices to a man who has been deemed a terrorist by his own native tribe for simply creating water stations for dehydrated immigrants. We heard harrowing tales such as the account of a man who was left behind by a coyote and his group only to die under the harsh desert conditions. We also spent a frustrating two hours listening and attempting to politely negotiate with members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) whose viewpoints differed greatly than ours.

Yet despite the constant frustration and sorrow we felt, there were great moments of joy. One such moment occurred when we met a woman named Shura, who in her retirement had founded an organization dedicated to helping immigrants. While she led us on a desert walk, an amazing experience for us to see firsthand what immigrants face in their travel, several of us spotted two people walking in the distance. Before any of us could even react Shura had begun running through the cacti and other thorny bushes yelling, “¡Somos amigos!” —“We are friends! We are here to help you!”

While the wanderers just turned out to be a couple on a stroll, the intensity of the moment and the amazing demonstration of a woman whose body was much frailer than ours was a moment I will keep forever. Throughout that morning she had spoken to us of the dangers of the desert and the importance of stepping carefully, yet the instant she thought she was needed, she took off running without a care to her own safety. I know I speak for all of my fellow travelers when I say this woman immediately became a role model in my life.

So what did we take back? In a few words: pain, frustration, anger, and sorrow, yet also hope. Our week of learning only led to more questions as we wondered, “How will this change?” and, “How can I create change?”

The initial answer is that we now have the strength of knowledge. We are ready to face and educate others who may disagree with our positions. With our attained information we can answer confidently to those who question us.

I mentioned before that despite all the negative feelings we felt, we also felt hope. For me this hope arrived a night before we left when our guide, Manuel, sat down and discussed his life and situation with us. When one of the group members asked Manuel how he dealt living with the violence in Nogales, he said something I found intriguing: “It is what it is.” The point he went on to make was that it was not his job to change the violent atmosphere but instead to change his outlook. He suggested to us that by changing our attitudes we could bring change to the minds of others. We should not try to change others without first changing ourselves.

My first week back after the trip was difficult, and I could see this reflected in other participants as well. I felt overly emotional, yet I didn’t know how to deal with the emotions I was feeling.

Ultimately, I have kept Manuel’s words at heart. While I cannot force others to change, and I cannot force the U.S. to change the immigration policies that I find so unjust, I can adapt my attitude. I can be an example to others of indiscriminate love. Through such an example and through my new understanding, I hope to influence the minds of others in the future.

Together we can reform our immigration system and make human rights and dignity of the highest importance.

Renee Ambacher will be starting her junior year at the University of Portland in the fall. She is double majoring in political science and Spanish with the intent of one day attending law school and eventually working on immigration legislation. Her dream career would be working as a political writer for media sources such as NPR or Al Jazeera.

Ismael García, a community health specialist for the Multnomah County Health Department, helps make talking about sexuality a little easier for members of the Latino community. He remembers the day in sixth grade that his mother, Isabel, sat him down at their kitchen table in Northeast Portland to talk about sex.Photo courtesy of the Multnomah County Health Department

By Lillian Shirley, RN, MPH, MPA
Multnomah County Health Department Director

Ismael García remembers the day in sixth grade that his mother sat him down at their kitchen table in Northeast Portland to talk about sex. He was going to start a sexuality education program at middle school that day, and his mother, Isabel, wanted to talk to him first. The conversation made both of them uncomfortable, but García did have questions and Isabel had some answers.

There are few things that are harder for some people to do than talk about sex and sexuality. Parents often hesitate because they are embarrassed or feel that they don’t have enough information. Sometimes cultural or religious reasons keep them from talking openly. And children would often rather be anywhere other than talking with their parents, especially about sex.

García, now 25, is helping to make talking about sexuality a little easier for members of the Latino community. He works as a community health specialist for the Multnomah County Health Department and as part of a team that is helping the community talk more openly and positively about the sexual health of adolescents.

“I’m here to open up a dialogue,” he says. “… With kids, with their parents and with the community.”

García works with the Opciones y Educación (OYE) and Cuidate programs to provide information and resources to teens and their parents and to break down barriers that prevent families from talking openly about sex and sexuality.

OYE is a project of a coalition of community members and organizations that includes the Multnomah County Health Department, Cascade AIDS Project, Teatro Milagro, and Edúcate Ya. The purpose of the coalition is to promote sexual health in Latino communities by increasing open discussion of sexuality, homophobia, the traditional roles of men and women, and social issues that affect sexual health. Documentation status and discrimination can be significant barriers for youth in obtaining education, employment, and health care, all of which have implications for sexual health. Through OYE, community health workers use dialogue, role playing, theater, and more to engage community members in conversations about sexuality.

Nationwide, Latino teens have the same rates of sexual activity as their white, non-Hispanic peers, but are less likely to use contraception and more likely to get pregnant.

According to the latest Report Card on Racial and Health Disparities (April 2011), Hispanic teenage girls in Multnomah County are almost seven times more likely to give birth than white, non-Hispanic girls. Also, the rate for chlamydia, a sexually-transmitted infection, is much higher in Hispanic teens than in white teens.

By getting the community comfortable with the topic and exploring the root causes of these disparities, OYE hopes to make it easier for teens to feel supported by their families and their community and to make active, informed choices about their own health.

“Sexuality is a normal part of who we are,” says Molly Franks, health educator with the STD, HIV, Hepatitis C Program and a co-worker of García. “We want to encourage individuals young or old to understand that and to get comfortable with talking about it.”

Vanessa La Torre, from Cascade AIDS Project, notes that when program staff talk about sexuality, they aren’t just talking about the mechanics of sex and disease prevention. The program covers all aspects of sexuality including personal identity, healthy relationships, sexual interests, traditional roles of men and women, personal and family values, cultural values, and more.

“All of these play a role in who we are and how we make choices about what we do and don’t do,” she says.

Franks notes that the stereotype of the Latino community being conservative and not wanting to talk about these issues doesn’t hold up in her experience.

“The parents we talk with want their kids to have good information. It’s inspiring how eager people are and how engaged they get,” Franks says.

According to García, his work is like a conversation. “Everybody has information to share and add to the conversation.”

García says a workshop for single mothers held recently in Gresham is a good example of how receptive the community has been. “The moms wanted information and were looking for suggestions about how to talk to their teens about these issues,” he says.

Whether it is from a booth at a community fair, with leaders in the Latino community, or with a group of parents from a school, the OYE program promotes information and conversation that help teens have a healthy sense of themselves and good communication with their parents and their partners. The goal is to have teens actively make choices about their sexuality, their health, and their lives.

Some of the student marchers shown here were later arrested for acts of civil disobedience. Photo by Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

By Julie Cortez
El Hispanic News

Portland, OR — There was talk of tuition equity for undocumented students, support for unions, condemnation of unjust banks, infringements on immigrant rights, barriers to fair wages, the benefits of a six-hour workday, fighting back against foreclosures, the damage caused by the “Secure Communities” program, and unscrupulous capitalists, but the essential words of May Day 2012 in Portland were “unity” and — to quote one beat-boxing history teacher — “solidarity.”

“We won’t be divided,” Marco Mejía asserted at the permitted May Day rally in downtown Portland Tuesday afternoon. Mejía, there on behalf of Jobs with Justice and the May Day Coalition, called on the crowd to sign a pledge to join forces with five other causes throughout the year as a gesture of “shared struggle.”

After the rally, protestors marched through downtown Portland, stopping along the way to speak out against Wells Fargo’s lending practices and alleged support of for-profit prisons, cuts by City Hall that affect workers, and the imprisonment of undocumented immigrants.

Photo by Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

Portland saw a marked increase in May Day activities and participants this year, many of them seemingly fueled by the Occupy movement. Earlier in the day, high school students marched on City Hall, an unpermitted “general strike rally” under the Burnside Bridge resulted in arrests, and a group of protestors “liberated” a foreclosed home in North Portland on behalf of its owner.

Later that evening during the May Day rally at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, a letter read on behalf of Gov. John Kitzhaber indicated that he has convened a workgroup to come up with changes to Oregon’s current ban on driver licenses for undocumented residents. In the meantime, the letter said, efforts are under way to allow law enforcement to accept alternative forms of identification, such as Mexican Consular identification cards.

“Right now, too many Oregonians are traveling from home to work, or school, or church, in risk of violating the law,” Kitzhaber said in the letter. “They are forced to choose between this risk and providing for their families.”

Nick Ortega and Olga Sanchez star in “Oedipus el Rey” at the Milagro Theatre, May 3-26. Photo by Russell Young

By Julie Cortez
El Hispanic News

Portland, OR — The gods are still up to their manipulative tricks, the chorus continuously chimes in, and there’s still that small matter of a man unknowingly killing his father and marrying his mother, but despite several nods to its Classical Greek origins, Miracle Theatre’s production of “Oedipus el Rey” is decidedly Chicano.

In this modern adaptation of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King,” playwright Luis Alfaro has traded the kingdom of Thebes for the gang turf of East L.A., togas for tight white tanks, and an old family curse for a far more problematic and complicated scourge: the culture of gang violence.

“It’s a passionate, tough piece of writing from a brilliant Latino playwright,” says Miracle MainStage Artistic Director Olga Sanchez, who portrays Oedipus’ mother, Jocasta. “It contains poetry, movement, and a universal drama expressed through the lens of the Latino experience.”

After a recent dress rehearsal performance, Sanchez sought feedback from the audience. If she was looking for validation for Miracle’s latest play choice, she certainly got it by way of a standing ovation and high praise.

Among the most striking audience responses were probably those about the love story between Oedipus and Jocasta — which despite the inevitable “ick” factor of incest comes across as quite warm, moving, and believable.

“In Sophocles’ version the affair between Jocasta and Oedipus is barely described,” Sanchez says. “In Alfaro’s it becomes the love story at the heart of the play. Jocasta’s loss of her baby … left her profoundly wounded. When the young man Oedipus arrives, he is a balm to her pain, a person who brings her joy and love. She is healed, until, of course, she learns the truth about her identity.”

While there are many obvious differences between “Oedipus el Rey” and “Oedipus the King,” director and costume designer Elizabeth Huffman — who has helmed both plays in her career — sees no difference in the demands of bringing these two “extremely challenging pieces of theatre” to the stage. But Huffman, who served as costume designer for a production of “Oedipus el Rey” in Los Angeles when it was still in its early stages of development, has not been immune to pleasant surprises this time around.

“Excellent actors always surprise me,” she says. “Great designers teach me and they all give me better ideas than I had to begin with. Every day in rehearsal someone comes up with something awesome that delights me. It has been a truly rich and wonderful experience working on this play.”

Running May 3-26 at the Milagro Theatre in Portland, “Oedipus el Rey” will be accompanied by a free Oregon Humanities conversation series entitled “Gangs and the Myth of Fate.” Following the Sunday matinee performances on May 6, 13, and 20, panelists will discuss the parallels between the ancient Oedipus tale and modern gang life, how to counteract the lure of gangs, and how to intercede with youth who have already succumbed to that lure. For more information, visit milagro.org or call 503-236-7253.

Jenifer Wuite de Valle, Amalie Valle-Wuite, and Juan Carlos Valle take a little time off from campaigning to visit Portland. Photo by Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

By Richard Jones
El Hispanic News

Eugene, OR — What characteristics should a Eugene City Council member have? If you ask Juan Carlos Valle, the answer would be a forward looking attitude with concern for the environment, civil rights, experience, support for small businesses, and the ability to create new jobs.

And one more thing. Valle, a candidate for Eugene’s Ward 2 City Council seat, believes that council members should be in touch with the people they represent.

In the May 15 primary election, Valle will challenge incumbent Betty Taylor and another challenger, Jim Ray.

Over a cup of coffee in mid-April, Valle detailed his view of the many challenges that Eugene faces. A short list of its needs would include jobs, more small businesses, and big businesses offering green jobs, civil rights, housing for University of Oregon students, and helping police officers resolve conflicts without the use of weapons.

The boy from D.F.

So who is Juan Carlos Valle and how did he happen to run for public office in a city of 138,000?

Valle was born in a city — a city with more than 20 million people — the third largest city in the world — México, Distrito Federal, also known as Mexico City.

His occupation? Shoe shine boy and other low-paying chores. Education? Minimal.

His odyssey took him to the northwestern United States where he picked fruit and wrestled heavy pipes. Eventually he earned an opportunity for residency and, finally, citizenship.

The change of residence also included learning English, earning a high school GED, a two-year degree at Lane Community College, and a B.A. at the University of Oregon. He is now working on a master’s degree in a public policy and administration at the University of Oregon graduate school.

He has been homeless in Oregon. He now lives in a nice home. He has worked at difficult physical labor. He now holds in jobs requiring education and brain power. In short, Valle believes he has a broader perspective — and can relate to more groups — than most Americans could imagine.

The Capstone Project

The three candidates — Ray, Taylor, and Valle — have sparred on the Capstone project as well as how much slack to give Occupy Eugene protesters.

The proposed Capstone project aims to build three five-story buildings to house 1,200 college students.

Capstone Collegiate Communities is an Alabama firm that builds and manages student housing. The rub comes from this company’s request for approximately $10 million in tax breaks over a 10-year period.

At an early April forum staged by the Eugene City Club, Valle’s opponents — Taylor and Ray — opposed this tax break.

Valle saw it as a chance to generate local jobs and generate some leverage — to induce Capstone to set aside 5 percent of the cost for social services, road repairs, and public safety projects as well as the Eugene Public Library.

“This is a great way for Capstone or any similar projects to have an immediate positive community presence,” Valle reasoned.

The other hot button issue currently in Eugene is the Occupy Eugene movement. In the late 2011 action, “occupiers” set up operations at a Eugene park for a long-term stay.

The essential question is when does freedom of speech stop and when does living in public parks begin?

“Our community should be grateful to the Occupy Eugene,” he said, because it brought issues such as social services, particularly the un-housed needs, to the forefront.

Civil rights

Valle called Eugene a city in which diversity is respected and welcomed. However, he notes, there is work to do.

“What’s important is not just saying you support diversity or that you protect civil rights,” Valle said. “You have to be willing to actually engage those behind the actions of hate speech. When families are being attacked or there are civil rights issues, we have to be willing to act on them and work directly with others to remedy situations.”

Valle chairs the Police Commission’s 12-member advisory board.

Ongoing issues

Over the last decade, the economy across country, across Oregon, and in Eugene has been shabby.

Valle is not content to just wait for politicians in Washington, D.C., to create jobs. He thinks Eugene should participate actively in the recovery.

“We have to bring jobs to the local community,” he says, “jobs that will match with the community.”

Valle does more than talk a good game. “I get directly involved with projects,” he said. “I have personally helped several small businesses get started.”

Valle also believes that large corporations can have a place in Eugene — within limits. He has a few questions for outside businesses. “If you want to come into our community, what changes will you make? What other benefits can you bring?” He said the community should know what public benefits the city will gain when it grants concessions to companies.

Some big businesses, he noted, have already come to Eugene lured by significant tax breaks. He urges caution when considering which businesses to invite. Some have taken the tax breaks, he said, and then left to another state offering more lucrative tax breaks.

“They bring in highly paid specialists, then they move, but small businesses stay,” Valle noted.

Therefore, he reasoned, “We have to find ways to give small businesses incentives.”

Too often, he believes, government fees imposed on new small businesses are “very significant.”

Valle suggests that Eugene should review fees and make sure they are reasonable. Moreover, he said, getting a business permit can take six months.

“It happens all the time,” he pointed out.” That means that an entrepreneur cannot earn money during that period. [Hungry] kids can’t wait for six months.”

On the employee’s side of the coin, Valle reminds businesses, “The people you employ should have a good quality of life.” That should include safe working conditions, an adequate salary, and a healthy environment.

As chair of the Eugene Police Commission, Valle calls for ongoing training for officers to help them protect the public.

Instead of brandishing pistols or tasers, he suggested using “verbal judo” on unarmed offenders to de-escalate situations.

“We need some tweaking and to learn from mistakes for a more robust and adequate public safety plan,” he said.

Most of all, Valle believes that elected officials should maintain contact with the people in their district. To demonstrate that he knows the city and its concerns, Valle’s campaign flyer carries a list of 17 civic organizations he works with.

The first test will come with the primary election on May 15. From there, who knows what might happen to change Eugene?

Visual artist Pepe Moscoso and clothing designer Alejandra Oyervides co-own The Blind Insect.

By Olga Sanchez
Community columnist

Are you looking for the art of your dreams? Something that intrigues and delights you and maybe even celebrates Latinidad at the same time? I’d recommend a trip to The Blind Insect, located on SE Division and the corner of 32nd St. in Portland. This bright, high-ceilinged shop is filled with unique gifts that reflect the stylish and surreal tastes of its owners, clothing designer Alejandra Oyervides and visual artist Pepe Moscoso.

Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, Oyervides and Moscoso moved to Portland six years ago. They had spent some time in Vancouver, B.C. and grew to like the cooler Northwest climate, but found Vancouver too fashion-conscious for comfort. So, when friends in Oaxaca recommended Portland, they decided to give it a try. They found in Portland a community that shared their values: creativity, environmentalism, and entrepreneurship.

For five years, they worked at numerous art fairs, sold their creations at Portland Saturday Market and the Oregon Convention Center, and travelled to Seattle and San Francisco, where they participated in larger art fairs and placed their works in shops and boutiques. They would always return to work in their private studio in Southeast Portland, where they created new pieces using recycled materials. They enjoy giving new character and life to things that that have been discarded by others.

After a few years, Oyervides and Moscoso decided to transform their studio into a place that could be open to the public throughout the week, and where they could expand the offerings to share the work of the many talented artists they had met in their travels. In February of this year, the Blind Insect was born.

Why The Blind Insect? It comes from their influences as artists and their experiences. Moscoso explains that the word “blind” describes for him the feeling one has when one moves into a new culture. There are so many things a person doesn’t know about their new surroundings, it’s as if one were walking around blind, just trying to not bump into things. Regarding the insect, he shares that he has always been fascinated by surrealistic art that surprises the viewer (like Salvador Dalí’s melting clocks) or presents an unexpected juxtaposition of unrelated elements, such as one might see in a dream. For Moscoso, the insect is a surreal creature, something so strange that it might have come from another planet.

Moscoso’s art reflects his interest in surrealism. His delicate collages are created from photographs mixed with images that look like they might have been cut out of early 20th century children’s books, creating a striking contrast between the solid colors of the two-dimensional children’s images and the depth of the three-dimensional photographs. His selections are not random; his goal is to tell a story that reveals something about the strangeness of life. Framing his artworks on wood recycled from old kitchen cabinet doors, Moscoso shares Oyervides’ commitment to creating work that is eco-friendly.

Oyervides is a textile designer who has created her own line, Muluk. Committed to sustainability, Oyervides designs hats, ties, wallets, sweaters, t-shirts, and trousers. Reminiscent of the close-fitted cloches of the 1920s, her hats are a perfect example of the Blind Insect aesthetic, a mixture of retro, modern, and totally fun.

Oyervides and Moscoso’s works are only a small portion of what’s available at The Blind Insect. The store is filled with affordable items from soaps to statuettes, created by artists and craftspeople from the West Coast, Canada, New York, and, of course, Latin America. A number of local artists are represented, such as William Hernández of Peru and Susana Espino of Mexico. The Blind Insect also participates in the popular “First Friday” events, during which stores and galleries of SE Portland stay open late and host receptions that are open to the whole community in celebration of art and artists.

This is ultimately one of the biggest dreams for couple behind The Blind Insect, to raise the visibility of the community’s vibrant arts scene. For them, art is a means of communication, a way to share the human experience. In order for art to be fully realized, it must be seen.

The Blind Insect brings us a new way of seeing art in Portland, through a retro/modern lens that looks to the past and the present for inspiration, and with an eye on the future of the environment and the growth of the cultural landscape of our community.

The Blind Insect
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
3601 SE Division St., Portland, OR
theblindinsect@hotmail.com

Hacienda CDC’s Latino Food Vendor Incubator project, popularly known as Micro Mercantes, has roots as an informal cooperative of Latino tamale vendors. Photo courtesy of Hacienda CDC

Portland, OR. — Farmers market patrons can support not only a local business, but a local economic development initiative, by simply purchasing a lunch this summer. Beginning in May, Hacienda Community Development Corporation (CDC) will publicly launch the new Latino Food Vendor Incubator project, a social enterprise supporting micro-business development for low-income Latinos.

Aspiring microentrepreneurs will gain practical experience and financial support through catering sales and at local farmers markets, while simultaneously receiving training in a classroom setting.

“My children inspire me to be successful despite a number of obstacles, so here I am fighting,” says Irma Orduña, a participant of the program. “My dream is to open my own restaurant called El Ranchito, and that seems within reach now.”

The Incubator project, popularly known as Micro Mercantes, has roots as an informal cooperative of Latino tamale vendors. However, a high demand for culturally-specific training opportunities, as well as a large market for local food in Portland, has led Hacienda CDC to restructure the program to serve more entrepreneurs. Participants will now follow a structured three-year curriculum and culminate in the soft-launch of their own business. This model opens the program up to a stream of participants instead of serving a static group.

The initial launch of the Latino Food Vendor Incubator project is supported by a three-year grant from M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, with the vision of becoming a self-sustaining program by the conclusion of the grant. The first class includes four tamaleros, or tamale vendors, and one Colombian arepa vendor.

• Beginning May 5, Inocencia and her brother José will serve tamales from a recipe out of Puebla. Find them in Hollywood Farmers Market (4420 NE Hancock St., Portland).
• Beginning May 6, Fernando and his wife Elizabeth will work the King Farmers Market (4815 NE 7th Ave) dishing out savory Colombian arepas.
• Beginning June 2, find Paula at the St. Johns Farmers Market (N Lombard & N Philadelphia) serving a variety of tamales oaxaqueñas.
• Beginning June 3, Graciela and her daughter-in-law María will be at the Montavilla Farmers Market (7600 block SE Stark St.) serving another version of tamales from Puebla.
• Beginning June 5, find Irma and her daughter Lupe at the Oregon Health & Science University Farmers Market (700 SW Campus Dr.) serving tamale sand her famous tomatillo salsa, another recipe from Puebla, Mexico.

For more information, visit www.haciendacdc.org.

Little Joe kisses his new Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Photo by Ady Hernández

By Sunny Clark
El Hispanic News

Palm Springs, CA — Palm Springs has a long and illustrious history as a “playground to the stars” and recently spotlighted some bright lights when the Palm Springs Walk of Stars rolled out the red carpet for perennial crowd-pleasers Little Joe y La Familia. Arriving by limousine, the five-time Grammy winners greeted appreciative fans gathered for the ceremony.

Little Joe looked robust and relaxed, as he delighted in unveiling his name etched into the 346th Golden Palm Star. Having released over 60 records during a career that spans more than 50 years, Little Joe is credited with helping to pioneer Tejano music, an infectious blend of traditional norteño mixed with blues, rock and country styles, and has been long been described as “The King of Brown Sound.”

One of the most popular Tex-Mex bands in the world, Little Joe y La Familia are among the few Latinos to be honored by the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. The beloved performers now shine alongside such legends as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, and George López. Recognition on the Walk of Stars is given to those artists deemed to have both distinguished themselves professionally and to have “greatly contributed to the worldwide prominence of Palm Springs.”

Along with performing for fans all over the globe, Little Joe is also a tireless crusader for the Social and Health Research Center’s diabetes prevention programs. Despite having been a vegetarian for almost 20 years and pursuing a healthy lifestyle that included yoga and regular exercise, the living legend admits that he became, “a little too relaxed,” and it caught up with him when he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes.

“At first I was embarrassed because it was preventable, and doctors had been telling me for a couple of years that I needed to bring down my blood sugar levels, yet they didn’t instruct me as to how to do that,” Little Joe said. “Learning more about the disease changed my attitude, especially learning that the Latino community is at twice the average risk of developing diabetes, and about how many children are affected by the disease due to childhood obesity. That’s just sad, and so we work to reverse that trend.”

During their visit to the Walk of Stars in late March, Little Joe y La Familia, surrounded by close friends and family members, as well as “The Singing Cowboy” and former “Marlborough Man,” mingled with fans and media at a luncheon in their honor at The Cowboy Way.

Gracious and humble, Little Joe remains true to his roots, saying the Golden Palm Star meant most to him as “hopefully an inspiration to every Latino out there who is working at a job that doesn’t recognize them for who they are, who is struggling to get by, and who has a dream of pursuing their talent or a better life,” he said. “Do it!”

The Texas native, born José María de León Hernández, added, “I started with nothing. Pursue your dreams and believe in yourself. Never give up.”

Little Joe y La Familia are currently touring California, Arizona, and Texas, raising funds and promoting diabetes education through their Diabetes Awareness Tour. Little Joe encourages Latinos to eat healthy, exercise, get tested, and become educated about the disease, “so you can pursue those dreams.”