People

Members of the only Latino women’s Republican group in the area gathered Wednesday for a lesson on media coverage and political spin, as they push for Republican candidate support this election year.

On the group’s agenda is promoting Republicans for office, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona for president and Stockton City Council District 4 candidate Diana Lowery.

“We need to know how to answer media questions the best way we know how,” said Carol Trujillo-Hadley, founder of Latinas United Republican Women Federated.”*

Two Latinos who are the first in their families to attend college have taken student leadership roles at Harper College.

Miguel Hernandez, 25, of Hoffman Estates, was elected student senate president, while Alaine Garcia, 32, of Wheeling, is the Harper board’s latest student trustee.

Both said they’re excited to give Latinos, who make up 18 percent of Harper’s 25,300 students, proper representation within the college’s bodies of government.”*

Springing from the stage at Norwalk High School to a Tony nomination yesterday for his role in the Broadway musical, “In the Heights,” Robin DeJesus said “I’m on Cloud Nine.”

DeJesus, 23, cinched one of 13 Tony nominations doled out to “In the Heights,” a musical with a salsa and hip-hop score that caught critics’ attention for portraying the Latino community of Washington Heights in Manhattan in a positive light. The musical earned more nominations than any other play.”*

Have you ever wondered why so many women crowned Miss Universe are from Latin American countries? Dr. Manny Alvarez, the senior medical correspondent on Fox News, said, “The women look that way because they eat the seven Latin power foods.”

Alvarez, the author of “The Hot Latin Diet,” said there is a fast track to that bombshell body.

“This diet helps women stay slim and sexy and maintain their natural curves,” Alvarez said.

The book is geared to women, and the recipes are designed by Hispanic female chefs, and promotes fewer carbs, flavors and color of food (no white), along with the balance of exercise. The bottom line is keeping a good-looking body while having fun in the kitchen.”*

St. Bridget Catholic Church is a place for many of Postville’s Hispanic community to to catch their breath… to cry behind closed doors… and for illegal immigrants, like Eduardo Melendez, to hide from the law.

He says, in Spanish, “They grabbed us by the hair and said, ‘Hurry. Walk.’ Other workers were lying on the floor. Many were in handcuffs.”

Somehow, Melendez and his cousin escaped ICE agents during the raid at Agriprocessors. But eight of their family members, including Melendez’ brother, didn’t make it out. He says the church is now his only option.”*

One of the most influential forces in shaping the future configuration of Jones Point Park has been named the new Southeast Regional Director for the U.S. National Park Service.

David Vela, who became Superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway just two years ago, May 28, 2006, will oversee a region that contains 66 national parks in nine states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. He will be one of seven NPS regional directors.
“*

Carlos Espinosa is the Director of Golf for the City of McAllen. The face of golf in the Rio Grande Valley for the last 20-plus years, Espinosa is a graduate of the University of Houston, which has produced golfers such as Fred Couples and Steve Elkington. Espinosa was an All-Southwest Conference selection in 1985 and helped the Cougars win the NCAA title before turning professional in 1986. Espinosa earned over $1 million dollars and won 23 Mexican PGA Tour events. He also qualified for the 1993 U.S. Open and was a member of Mexico’s World Cup teams in 1988, ‘90 and ‘92.

Espinosa has been the director of golf for the City of McAllen since May 12, 1999. He is based at Palm View Golf Course in McAllen, which will host this week’s Jalapeño Duramed FUTURES Tour Golf Classic.”*

George de Lama, the Chicago Tribune managing editor for news and the first Latino ever to appear on the newspaper’s masthead, announced today he is leaving the paper after 30 years.

His successor will be Hanke Gratteau, who in March was elevated to deputy managing editor for news from associate managing editor for metropolitian news.

“His wisdom, humor and passion have been the source of great inspiration for me and this newsroom,” Chicago Tribune Editor Ann Marie Lipinski said in a note to the newsroom. “He remains my dear friend but I will miss him, and not just a little.”*

MensajeTV, the nation’s first provider of interactive Internet television expressly for Latina women, is gearing up to launch a broadband channel and social networking site in July 2008. MensajeTV will provide today’s aspiring Latina woman with endless hours of video, audio and textual information designed to enhance her busy life. Programming includes scheduled and on-demand Christian and Catholic-based content as well as shows about family, health, nutrition, exercise, beauty, parenting, cooking, heritage and much more.

“The Latino population is increasingly large and diverse, and the media directed to Hispanics can no longer be one size/offering fits all. MensajeTV is a major leap forward in the diversity of options available to Latina audiences,” says Dr. Federico Subervi, member of MensajeTV’s Advisory Council and leading expert in Latinos and the media in the United States. In a recent Latino study published by AOL, Spanish respondents stated that they consume two-thirds of their on-line content in English due to the lack of Spanish-language options. Additionally, the study confirmed that on-line U.S. Hispanics regularly combine TV and Internet to enrich their media experience and would like to see more on-line options in Spanish.

“MensajeTV caters to specific interests previously not easily or at all available via the small screen. The topics and issues covered by MensajeTV reflect the values of this population, which will no longer have to compromise its core culture as it seeks how to best modernize and adapt to the American society at large,” he says. Today, MensajeTV is comprised of three different channels that focus on different areas of the viewer’s life: Mensaje Divino, Mensaje Cocina y Cultura and Mensaje Salud. Each channel is geared towards filling a void for the availability of Spanish-language content on the web and focuses on elements which are the bedrocks of a Latina woman’s influence: faith, lifestyle and well-being.

Mensaje Divino is a tapestry of spiritually based organizations, offering charismatic sermons, daily devotionals, inspirational messages, Spanish Christian music, family forums and youth ministry activities. Mensaje Cocina y Cultura features a veritable feast of Latino chefs who provide thoughtful instruction, expert tips and easy-to-download recipes and ingredient lists to IPTV set top boxes, PC’s and mobile phones as well as the vibrancy of Latino culture by offering engaging programming on parenting, home and decorating, crafts, gardening, holiday ideas, travel and more.

Hispanic viewers have a keen interest in health issues, and Mensaje Salud provides a portal for U.S. Hispanic audiences that gives them access the latest news concerning their health and nutrition. Through a special partnership with UnBuenDoctor.com, Mensaje Salud allows users to access thousands of articles that pertain to their well being and is available in Spanish whenever they need it. “We realize how important is to have access to useful information regarding health and nutrition. Our community is lagging behind when it comes to these services. UnBuenDoctor.com is proud to partner with MensajeTV to expand the reach of this information which will, hopefully, help to mitigate the health information gap in a culturally sensitive environment,” says Founder of UnBuenDoctor.com, Carlos Mauricio Olea.

About MensajeTV

MensajeTV is an on-line television network serving the U.S. Latina community, delivering high-quality, bilingual video content for a burgeoning Spanish-speaking audience. A beta site was launched in December 2007. Under its flagship network MensajeTV is developing four channels — Mensaje Cocina, Mensaje Cultura, Mensaje Divino and Mensaje Salud. Today we combine Cocina and Cultura as one. MensajeTV is a subsidiary of Corporate Broadcast Company, Inc.

Media Contact:
Sonia Diaz
Chispa Communications
Sonia.Diaz@chispa-communications.com
305-457-8404″*

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Jorge Mérida Pérez, a correspondent in Quetzatenango province for the national Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre. Mérida was shot to death in his home on Saturday afternoon. CPJ calls on the Guatemalan authorities to begin an immediate, thorough investigation into this brutal killing.

While a motive has yet to be confirmed, early indications are that the killing may have been linked to Mérida’s journalism.

At 4 p.m. on Saturday, at least one unidentified individual stormed into the journalist’s home in Coatepeque, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of Guatemala City, according to press reports and CPJ interviews. Mérida, 40, who was working at his computer at the time of the attack, was shot four times in the head, Prensa Libre reported. His 14-year-old son was in the house but was not injured.”*

Miguel Tejada returned to where he began his career, ready to face many of his former fans with a clear conscience.

Last month, Houston’s star shortstop told the Astros he’s actually 33, two years older than what the Oakland Athletics and everybody else thought when he signed with the organization in 1993 to escape the poverty he grew up in back home in his native Dominican Republic.

Tejada, the 2002 AL MVP, will turn 34 on May 25.”*

Unlike the rest of her high-fashion associates, Venezuelan supermodel Patricia Velasquez isn’t spending the springtime under a barrage of hairstylists and stylist fittings.

Instead, she is at the helm of the Wayuu Taya Foundation, a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that since 2002 has worked to improve the living and educational standards of Latin America’s poorest indigenous people.”*

After waiting 10 years to be called up from the minors, Luis Maza was understandably eager to put on a big league uniform for the first time. Which is why he showed up early at Milwaukee’s Miller Park on Monday.

Problem was, the Dodgers weren’t scheduled to play there until Tuesday.

“A guy met me at the door and said, ‘No, today St. Louis is playing. Tomorrow your team plays,’ ” Maza said.

So a stadium attendant put him back in a taxi and sent him off to the Dodgers team hotel. But give Maza points for enthusiasm.”*

Chilean rocker Beto Cuevas kept the songs he composed in the three years since his band La Ley broke up a top secret.

“I didn’t want my fans to suffer from demoitis,” says the former leader of the Grammy-winning group, making up a disease that causes fans to get used to the sound of demo tapes and reject the final recording.

“That’s why I want people to first listen to these songs live — a sort of Off-Broadway for the songs,” adds Cuevas, 40, from San Jose, Calif., during a stop in his tour that will bring him to New York Saturday for a solo debut at Irving Plaza.”*

Called the Board of Early Education and Care, the 13-member group will be charged with the coordination and consolidation of a range of education and human services focused on youth.

Isaza, who is in the process of moving to Holyoke, is the senior program officer and manager for grant-making initiatives at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts in Springfield, and is the second Western Massachusetts resident named to the board.”*

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has selected Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) to serve as Assembly Majority Floor Leader.

Torrico, the son of immigrants from Bolivia, is in his second term. He represents the 20th Assembly District, which includes parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties. He previously served as chair of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. “*

A White Marsh Japanese restaurant and sushi bar will pay $80,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit claiming Hispanic women were harassed there.

Kobe Steak House agreed to pay the women after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit accusing workers of making unwelcome sexual advances toward several women, the federal agency said Tuesday.”*

Mills College will present its 120th Commencement on Saturday, May 17, 2008 with an address given by award-winning actress Rita Moreno. During the ceremony, honorary doctorates will be conferred upon Moreno, Renel Brooks-Moon, a Mills alumna (Class of 1981) who is the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants, and Glenn Voyles, a Mills Trustee and investment management expert.

Mills’ graduating class includes 245 undergraduate women and 220 graduate women and men, as well as students receiving certificates and credentials in a variety of fields. The College’s 120th graduation begins at 9:45 am on the campus’ Toyon Meadow.

Rita Moreno is an extraordinary actress with more than six decades of achievement including appearances in nearly 50 films. Born Rosita Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Moreno began her acting career with a Broadway debut in Skydrift at the age of 13. She has crossed racial barriers ever since as a singer, dancer, and actress.

She is renowned for her performance as Anita in the film version of West Side Story, for which she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1961. Moreno was the first actress and the first Hispanic to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy.

Renel Brooks-Moon is a pioneering sports announcer and media personality who has broken through formidable gender and racial barriers throughout her multifaceted career.

The only female public address announcer in major league baseball, the exuberant Brooks-Moon is known as “the voice of the San Francisco Giants” at AT&T Park. This year marks her ninth season with the Giants. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown recognized Brooks-Moon as the first female announcer of a championship game in professional sports for her role in the 2002 World Series.

Completing more than two decades as a Bay Area radio personality, she is the host of the “Renel in the Morning Show” on KISS FM 98.1. Brooks-Moon has also been an entertainment reporter for CBS TV 5 since 1998.

Glenn Voyles is an expert in investment markets with more than four decades of experience in his field. During his career, he provided three investment management firms with executive leadership: Loomis, Sayles & Company (vice president, 2003-07), Jurika & Voyles (chair, 1981-2003), and Scudder, Stevens & Clark (vice president, 1965-1981).

Voyles has been a vital member of the Mills College community since 1996, serving as a Trustee, mentor, advisor, fundraiser, and donor. A four-term member of the Mills College Board of Trustees, he is instrumental in stewarding Mills resources to ensure the College’s vibrant future.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review. For more information, visit http://www.mills.edu/.”*

Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, author and former Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq, was online Tuesday, May 13 to discuss Wiser in Battle, his new memoir, which was reviewed in the Washington Post on May 13. The book covers his Army career, his experiences in Iraq and his views on the ongoing war.

Sanchez served as commander in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. At the time of his retirement in 2006, he was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the U.S. Army. In Wiser in Battle, he speaks candidly about Saddam Hussein’s capture, the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, and the tensions between the White House, the Pentagon, and commanders on the ground over war policy and strategy.”*

A human smuggler who caused the death of 10 illegal immigrants when he crashed a sport utility vehicle while fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents has been sentenced to life in federal prison.

Adan Pineda Doval, 22, a Mexican citizen, was convicted by a Phoenix jury in October of 10 counts of transporting illegal immigrants causing death and two lesser charges.

A federal judge handed down the sentence Thursday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Phoenix.”*

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, the gardener’s son who rose from a San Diego barrio to one of California’s most powerful posts, leaves office Tuesday having arguably fulfilled a vow he made when he was sworn in four years ago: to renew his chamber’s prestige as “the house of ideas.”

But by many accounts, the Los Angeles Democrat and former labor leader failed to keep another pledge: to restore citizens’ faith in government.”*

You can walk to the U.S. border, Francelia Menchaca’s immigration lawyer advised her, but don’t put your fingers through its fence. It may hinder her immigration paperwork, the lawyer said.

But when, after a year apart, Menchaca’s mother arrived in her flowered straw hat here Saturday and put her small, wrinkled hands up to the cast-iron gate, Menchaca reached out and touched them.

“Were you anxious to touch my hand?” Menchaca asked in Spanish. Tears stood on her lashes.”*

Roselyn Sánchez is planning all the details for her wedding to actor Eric Winter, which is set for November in Puerto Rico, as reported by Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día. “*

Denisse Oller returns to Hispanic television this upcoming Wednesday, May 14th. The former newscast anchor and 5 time Emmy winner, is slated to appear weekly in her new television segment on Telemundo/Channel 47. “*

What do superstar actor Will Smith, Miami’s Latino scene, The San Francisco Bay Area, Mortgages, Real Estate, Salsa Dancing, and Healthy Latino Cooking have in common?

Armando Tam.

At 32, Armando “Mando” Tam, of Concord, California has achieved much in his young business life. Originally from Rivas, Nicaragua, the son of Chinese and Nicaraguan parents, Mando arrived in America at age 3.

A few years ago, after spending several years in retail management and a few more in telecom and insurance, Armando Tam started teaching Salsa dancing and began singing with a Latino band. His dancing skills landed him a job with Will Smith in the Welcome to Miami Summer hit video. His lyrical skills got him his own record deal. More recently, he competed in a reality TV cooking show with a healthy Latino cooking cuisine.

“*