News (Noticias) for July 18th, 2008

“Concierto por la libertad”– Announced In A Press Conference Yesterday By Betancourt & The Mayor of Paris – Will Coincide With Hundreds of Planned Peace Marches & Concerts Across The World In Celebration of Colombian Independence Day

Scheduled To Take Place at The Trocadero Esplanade In Paris at 2PM,  “Concierto por la libertad” (The Concert For Freedom) Will See Colombian Superstar Juanes Joined By Spanish Superstar Miguel Bose, French Artists Renan Luce & Michel Delpech (and More Artists to Be Announced Shortly) In a Free Acoustic Concert To Both Celebrate The Recent Release of 15 Long-Held Hostages – Including Ingrid Betancourt – And Advocate For The Return Of Thousands Of People Still Held Captive In The Jungles of Colombia

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During a press conference yesterday in Paris, Ingrid Betancourt - the former Colombian Senator and Presidential candidate recently released from six-years of captivity – announced plans to hold a special free concert in Paris on July 20^th in conjunction with Colombian Independence Day.  The Concert for Freedom will coincide with hundreds of similar peace concerts and marches planned throughout Colombia and across the world that will demand the release of the thousands of remaining hostages still held captive in the jungles of Colombia.  Joined by the mayor of Paris, Betancourt explained the event “will be a bridge of love between France and Colombia,” and is intended to send “a message of hope for those who are still there and act as a tribute to those who will not return”

Set to take place at 2:00PM in Paris at the Trocadero Esplanade, the concert will see acoustic performances by Juanes (who has already been honored by France as a “Knight of The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), Spanish superstar Miguel Bose, French artists Renan Luce & Michel Delpech and more performers to be announced shortly.

Known world-wide as a leading activist for peace in Colombia, Juanes was able to speak with Betancourt via a radio program the day following her release. Betancourt graciously shared that she “was one of his first fans” (having seen Juanes perform in concert and meeting the then-upcoming singer shortly before her captivity) “…and look at him now, an artist recognized by the whole world and the pride of Colombia.”

In the ensuing days, Betancourt and the multiple-Latin Grammy winner remained in contact and Juanes proposed the idea of holding an event similar to the recent Concierto Paz Sin Fronteras (The Peace Without Borders Concert) which he had organized in response to border tensions between Colombia and Venezuela. In addition to the July 20th call for the immediate release of all remaining hostages, JUANES also plans to pay tribute to the heroic Colombian soldiers who risked their own lives in the dramatic rescue effort.

Currently in the midst of a highly successful tour of Europe, Juanes will quickly fly from Paris to resume his concert schedule at a show that same evening in Locarno, Switzerland.

Atlanta-based Viscom International Inc., provider of prepaid products and marketing services for the U.S. Hispanic market, announced that Gabriela Lenix has joined the company as marketing director.

In this position, Lenix manages Viscom’s consumer and trade marketing initiatives, including new market launches, market maintenance and promotional activities for the company, which includes products such as the BEST^TM Mexico and VicoTel^TM prepaid phone card brands.

Prior to joining Viscom, Lenix served in a variety of marketing positions at Owens Corning.  Most recently, she was strategic marketing leader where she managed a marketing plan for the franchising business and the Hispanic market.  She also worked for Owens Corning in Mexico City, Mexico, as a marketing analyst prior to being promoted to marketing and strategic planning manager.

“Gabriela is an exciting addition to the Viscom team,” says John Wise, Viscom president and CEO.  “Her proven marketing and strategic expertise will help BEST^TM Mexico continue to grow as one of the country’s most recognized and trusted names in prepaid phone cards and marketing for the Hispanic market.”

Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Lenix graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, Mexico, with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.  Lenix has been a member of the National Hispanic Corporate Council and, while in Mexico, was a member of the Association for Energy Saving in Construction.

About Viscom International

Viscom International Inc. (www.viscominternational.com), a privately held company based in Atlanta, provides prepaid products and marketing services for the U.S. Hispanic market.  Its flagship brands, BEST^TM Mexico and VicoTel^TM, are among the most used and trusted brands of communications products specifically designed for Hispanics living in the United States.  In addition to prepaid consumer products, the company offers marketing and lead-generation services that leverage its brands in reaching U.S. Hispanic consumers. In 2007, Viscom was named to the first ever Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing U.S. private companies.  In addition, the company was named one of “10 to Watch in 2006” by Intele-CardNews, a trade publication serving the prepaid market, and Viscom founder and President John Wise was recognized as one of Georgia’s “Top 50 Entrepreneurs” by Catalyst magazine.  Viscom International is located at 1500 Southland Circle, N.W., Suite K, Atlanta 30318. Telephone:  404-574-4300 or 866-900-7962.

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Viscom International Inc., proveedor de productos prepagados y de servicios de marketing para el mercado hispano de Estados Unidos, anunció la incorporación de Gabriela Lenix a la empresa en calidad de directora de marketing.

En este cargo, Lenix dirigirá las iniciativas de marketing de Viscom para el consumidor y para la industria, incluyendo los lanzamientos de nuevos productos, el mantenimiento del mercado existente y las actividades de promoción de la empresa, cuyos productos incluyen  las tarjetas telefónicas prepagadas BEST^TM Mexico  y VicoTel^TM.

Antes de incorporarse a Viscom, Lenix desempeñó varios cargos de marketing en Owens Corning. Su más reciente cargo allí fue de líder de estrategias de marketing, en cuya función dirigió  un plan de marketing para el negocio de franquicias y para el mercado hispano. Anteriormente trabajó para Owens Corning en México como analista de marketing, antes de ser promovida a gerente de marketing y planeación estratégica.

“Gabriela es una importante adición el equipo de Viscom,” expresó John Wise, presidente y director general. “Su experiencia comprobada en marketing y estrategia ayudará a que BEST^TM Mexico continúe creciendo como una de las marcas más reconocidas y que gozan de mayor confianza en el país en el ámbito de las tarjetas telefónicas prepagadas y servicios de marketing para el mercado hispano.”

Lenix, que posee un título en ingeniería química de la Universidad Iberoamericana en la Ciudad de México, domina el inglés, el español y el portugués. Ha sido miembro del Consejo Corporativo Nacional Hispano (National Hispanic Corporate Council, NHCC) en Estados Unidos, y de la Asociación de Empresas para el Ahorro de la Energía en la Edificación, en México.

Acerca de Viscom International

Viscom International Inc. (www.viscominternational.com), una empresa de capital privado con sede en Atlanta, proporciona productos prepagados y servicios de marketing  al mercado hispano de Estados Unidos.  Sus marcas principales, BEST^TM Mexico y VicoTel^TM, se encuentran entre los productos más utilizados y que gozan de mayor confianza entre los productos de comunicaciones diseñados específicamente para los hispanos que viven en Estados Unidos. Además de productos prepagados para el consumidor, la empresa proporciona servicios de marketing y de generación de pistas de ventas utilizando el prestigio de sus marcas entre los consumidores hispanos en Estados Unidos. En 2007, Viscom fue incluida en la primera lista Inc. 5000, que enumera las empresas estadounidenses de capital privado con mayor índice de crecimiento. Asimismo, la empresa fue mencionada en la lista “10 to Watch in 2006” (Las 10 a observar en 2006) por Intele-CardNews, una revista especializada de la industria de tarjetas prepagadas. John Wise, presidente de Viscom,  ha sido reconocido por la revista Catalyst como uno de los “50 principales empresarios” de Georgia. Viscom International tiene su sede en 1500 Southland Circle, N.W., Suite K, Atlanta, GA. 30318. Teléfono: 404-574-4300 ó 866-900-7962.

Finding Latino/-a voices online will get a little easier thanks to a $10,000 grant to one of our local heroes, Teresa Puente: Columbia College Chicago journalism professor, Chicago Sun-Times editorial board member, and now leader of a blog platform, Latina Voices that will deliver serious news by, for, and about Latina women”*

They sure did try to keep it under wraps, but Shalim Ortiz and Leslie Ann Machado will indeed marry this Saturday, July 19, in Santo Domingo, according to a source close to the couple who exclusively told People En Espanol.com.”*

The 5th annual Premios Juventud (Univisión) awards were celebrated last night in Miami, FL. And the big winners of the evening were Wisin & Yandel. The reggaeton duo took home 4 statues, followed by Ricky Martin, the Bachata music group Aventura and Jennifer López, who took home three awards each. “*

What did Eduardo Santamarina say about his alleged romance with co-host, Mayrín Villanueva? Who did Enrique Iglesias refuse to kiss? Find out here! “*

Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek and French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault have called off their engagement, their representative confirms to USA TODAY.”*

I have been meaning to do this for a while.  Just part of the incremental improvements that I am constantly making on HispanicTips. The challenging part will be populating it.

Event Calendar

CONTACT: Maria Archuleta, ACLU national, (212) 519-7808 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Alessandra Soler-Meetze, ACLU of Arizona, (602) 650-1854
Laura Rodriguez, MALDEF, (310) 956-2425; lrodriguez@maldef.org
David Bodney, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, (602) 257-5212

PHOENIX – Today, five individuals and Somos America, a Latino community-based coalition, sued Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County, charging that they or their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by law enforcement because they are Latino. The class action lawsuit - which builds upon a complaint filed last December - is before the U.S. District Court in Arizona.

The amended complaint was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arizona, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and lead counsel Steptoe & Johnson LLP. The lawsuit charges that the policies and practices of Arpaio and the county are discriminatory and unlawfully violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Arizona Constitution.

“In this country we value fairness and equality. There’s nothing fair or equal about armed deputies pulling people over and treating them differently because of the color of their skin,” said ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Dan Pochoda. “Sheriff Arpaio does not have the right to profile people because they look Latino regardless of their immigration status. His job is to uphold the law, not violate people’s rights.”

Sheriff Arpaio has made no secret that he believes physical appearance alone is sufficient reason to stop and question individuals regarding their immigration status. Arpaio has also touted the fact that he has directed his deputies to target people they perceive as immigrants in so-called “crime suppression sweeps” in Latino neighborhoods and areas where Latinos work as day laborers.

MCSO’s rampant racial profiling has created a culture of fear in Maricopa County. Latinos in the community have good reason to worry that a trip to the grocery store or to work will end with interrogation by armed officers on the roadside and possible incarceration at the county jail.

One plaintiff in the coalition’s lawsuit, Manuel Nieto, Jr., a U.S. citizen, was unlawfully stopped and detained in front of his family’s auto repair shop after police heard him listening to music in Spanish.

“It was very humiliating to be handcuffed in front of my family’s business, in front of customers and neighbors,” said Nieto. “It’s not a crime to be Latino or listen to a Spanish-language radio station but you wouldn’t know that by the way Sheriff Joe and his posse treat people.”

David J. Bodney, an attorney with Steptoe & Johnson LLP, said, “At the sheriff’s hand, an atmosphere of fear and hostility has swept across the valley. It takes courage and commitment for these individual plaintiffs to come forward in the name of equal justice under law to stop this discriminatory treatment for everyone who lives here.”

Maricopa County residents and local officials alike have complained that the conduct of the sheriff and his office go well beyond the scope of the MCSO’s legal authority and far too often results in the harassment of Latinos. Many complain that the sheriff’s obsession with enforcing federal immigration law has come at the expense of his office pursuing serious criminal matters.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has denounced Sheriff Arpaio and last April, after the MCSO engaged in sweeps in the town of Guadalupe, Gordon formally requested that U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey launch a Justice Department investigation into Sheriff Arpaio’s and the MCSO’s “discriminatory harassment, improper stops, searches and arrests” of Latino persons in Maricopa County. Gordon has also publicly stated that the sweeps are interfering with the work of undercover city police officers and federal agents.

“Police should not be in the business of acting as immigration agents; everyone’s safety is jeopardized when they do,” said MALDEF staff attorney Kristina Campbell. “In Maricopa County, as in other parts of the country, when local police try to take on the job of being immigration officers, immigrants and their family members often get the message that they should fear coming forward if they are the victim or witness of a crime.”

Increased attempts by local police to involve themselves in federal immigration law enforcement have been accompanied by a troubling rise in complaints of racial profiling across the nation.

“As charges of discrimination have mounted, Sheriff Arpaio has only dug in his heels, and the federal government has thus far done nothing to rein him in,” said Robin Goldfaden, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Unfortunately, court intervention is necessary for the Constitution to be upheld.”

Lawyers on the case, Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., include Goldfaden and Mónica M. Ramírez of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; Pochoda of the ACLU of Arizona; Campbell and Nancy Ramirez of MALDEF; and Bodney, Peter Kozinets, Karen Hartman-Tellez and Isaac Hernandez of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.

The complaint is online at: www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/35998lgl20080716.html

The Letter from Mayor Gordon to Attorney General Mukasey is online at: www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/35981res20080404.html

In the run-up to Sen. John McCain’s recent visit to Latin America, a chorus of doubters questioned the value of such a trip just four months before Election Day.  Media coverage suggested it was foolish for him to leave the domestic campaign trail at a time when gas prices and a weak economy are the most pressing issues on voters’ minds .

Such thinking ignores the fact that in recent years, President Bush has been widely criticized for neglecting Latin America, which critics argue has facilitated an Hugo Chavez-led expansion of leftist governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, in addition to razor-thin close calls in Mexico and Peru.

AMD today hit Wall Street with a one-two punch. It lost a stunning $1.19bn during the second quarter. And it nudged Hector Ruiz out of the CEO role, replacing him with longtime planned successor Dirk Meyer, who has been President and COO.”*