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A JOURNAL OF THE BORDERLANDS OCTOBER 2011
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Vol. XVII No. 10
64 PAGES
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OUR PRICE LIST Our philosophy at Radiology Clinics of Laredo is to practice medicine in a manner that involves complete disclosure of our opinion and our charges. In this spirit, I decided to publish my fee schedule, and I urge others to follow suit. Δ MRI Δ CAT SCAN Δ MAMMOGRAMS Δ BONE DENSITY Δ SONOGRAMS
$400.00 $250.00 $125.00 $125.00 $150.00 TO $175.00 Δ STOMACH OR INTESTINE EXAMS $200.00 Δ SKULL AND SINUSES $ 90.00 Δ BONES $ 85.00 Δ CHEST X-RAYS $ 80.00 Δ DOPPLER EXAMS $150.00 These prices include the x-ray, the interpretation, and consultation with the patient on what his/her exam shows and what to do next.
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C alendar O /N 2011 ctober
ovember
Run of the Living Dead/first costume run When: Thursday, October 27, 7-10 p.m. Where: North Central Park in San Isidro subdivision More info: For tickets, go to northcentralparkrun-efbevent.eventbrite.com Laredo Community College presents ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ When: Friday, October 28, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theater, West End Washington St. More info: Contact Dr. Joseph Crabtree by phone at (956) 721-5330 or e-mail at jcrabtree@laredo.edu.
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS Staff
IBC 2011-2012 Keynote Speaker Series, ‘Meeting the Social Needs of Immigrants: Challenges and Opportunities’ When: Wednesday, November 2, 7:30-9 p.m. Where: TAMIU’s Student Center Theater (SC 236) More info: Free and open to the public, call (956) 326-2820 for more information or go to freetrade.tamiu.edu/whtc_services/whtc_speaker_series.asp
From left to right, state Rep. Tracy King, La Posada Hotel corporate managing director Raul Perales, general manager Norbert Dickman, state Rep. Richard Raymond, and state Rep. Ryan Guillen pose with a state proclamation commemorating the 50th anniversary of La Posada Hotel at its celebration on Thursday, October 20.
María Eugenia Guerra meg@laredosnews.com
Sixth annual Laredo Recycles Day Fair When: Thursday, November 10. Open to the public from 4-7:30 p.m. Where: Picnic area of Solid Waste Services facility at Laredo Landfill, 6912 Highway 359 More info: Call (956) 795-2510 or 3-1-1
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Laredo UFO Conference When: Saturday, November 5, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Where: Fine and Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at Texas A&M International University More info: Call (956) 727-0977 or go to webbheritage.org/LaredoUFOConference.htm United ISD 6th Annual Parent Festival When: Saturday, November 5, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: United South High School, 4001 Los Presidentes Ave. More info: Contact the Campus Intervention Office at (956) 473-6452
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Laredo Theater Guild International presents Theater on the Menu: Magical Moments, Magical Memories When: Friday, November 4, 7 p.m. Where: TAMIU’s Student Center Ballroom More info: Tickets $100, call (956) 319-8610 or e-mail laredotheaterguild@gmail.com
Laredo Farmers Market When: Saturday, November 19, 9 a.m.-noon Where: Jarvis Plaza in downtown Laredo More info: Go to jamboozie.org/farmersmarket/ or call Sandra Rocha Taylor at (956) 523-8817. Haunted Dungeon When: Sunday, October 30, 1-6 p.m. Where: Basement of Protective Services Center, Laredo Community College South, 5500 S. Zapata Hwy. More info: $2 per person, contact (956) 794-4705. Sixth Annual Grant-A-Wish Radiothon When: Friday, November 4, 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Where: Directly in front of Macy’s at Mall del Norte, 5300 San Dario Ave. More info: Public is invited to stop by radiothon to donate, or pledge or credit card donation by calling (956) 795-8710. Proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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Courtesy Photo
Candidates announce for Commissoner Pct. 3 George Altgelt (left photo) and John Galo (right photo) announced the opening of their respective campaigns for the Pct. 3 seat of the Webb County Commissioners Court. Altgelt, an attorney, made his announcement at his downtown office, and Galo, a businessman, announced on the steps of the Webb County Courthouse. Altgelt is pictured with his wife Rosa Elia; and Galo is pictured, second from right, with Sr. Rosemary Welsh, members of his family, and his wife Anna Galo, fourth from left.
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Among those who enjoyed the Día del Río student art exhibit, “The heart of the river keeps beating,” were RGISC executive director Tricia Cortez, LISD trustee and trustee for the D.D. Hachar Foundation George Beckelhymer, LBJ art instructor María García, UHS student Ronald Sanchez, RGISC board member Dr. Alfonso Martinez, LBJ student Bernardo Molina, Cigarroa High School student Yair Sanchez, Cigarroa High School art instructor Richard Tellez and daughter, and Día del Río coordinator Gail Hauserman. They are pictured at the Laredo Center for the Arts on October 8.
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Courtesy photo
Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS Staff
River art exhibit opening draws good crowd
Students conduct Río Research Roundup As part of the annual Día del Río activities, students on both sides of the Río Grande from Colorado to Boca Chica took water samples on Thursday, October 13 during the Río Research Roundup sponsored by the Río Grande International Study Center (RGISC). The team from Martin High School, under the direction of teacher María “Lizzie” Galvan took samples at the confluence of Zacate Creek and the Río Grande.
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Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS
At the Laredo Center for the Arts Dr. Maya Guerra Zuniga, Fernando Zuniga, and their daughter Analise, a fourth grade student at St. Augustine Elementary School, pose with a piece of Analise’s art at an exhibit at the Laredo Center for the Arts on Friday, October 7.
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From the Editor’s Desk
Hospitals do not intimidate me anymore
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By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
n 2002, my mother contracted staph infection at a hospital in Oklahoma City when she was undergoing surgery to donate bone marrow to my uncle, who found out in April of that same year that he had leukemia. What the heck is staph infection? I first wondered. I would soon find out, and it would be painful, but not as painful as the ordeal was for my mother. Staphylococcus is a nasty bacteria that can now be found in hospital environments, which serve as perfect breeding grounds for infection. You’ve got a lot of sick people in one area — it seems bound to happen. We later found out that my mother’s staph infection was a one-in-a-million occurrence, mainly because nobody in modern medical history had contracted staph infection while donating bone marrow. None of the doctors expected her to live. It was heavy stuff for an anxiety-ridden kid about to enter high school. But my mother was capable of awe-inspiring strength. When one of her doctors wanted to operate on her on a Monday, he was hesitant because he didn’t think she’d live past the weekend. Mom sensed this hesitancy. “You don’t think I’m going to live until Monday,” she said. “No… I do not,” he replied. “I’ll see you Monday,” she told him weakly. And she did. Mom spent a month in the hospital, fighting desperately for her life. When I first visited her, I was not prepared for what I saw. There, lying limply in the hospital bed, was my skeletal mother. I had never seen her face that pale. I had never seen her so close to death. Now I understood why my
parent’s friends and our relatives had been treating my brother and me delicately, as if I had already lost a parent. About a month later, she left the hospital we had taken her to in San Antonio, Methodist Hospital. I am forever grateful to the doctors and nurses there. My mother has since come back to work at her high school, beating all the odds. But life was never the same for my family, especially my mother. My life thus far can be divided into two parts: before the staph infection and after. Before the staph infection, my mother had her asthma under control. Afterward, the asthma became a trigger for her bad spells. Before the staph infection, my mother was strong. She could lift boxes at her school and weather the stress of teaching. After the infection, the stress became another agitation for her sickness. Her doctors do not want her lifting heavy objects. The loss of her physical strength terrified me — I was not ready to start taking care of my mother. But often we are never ready. Besides the extreme medical changes — Mom is on antibiotics for the rest of her life and has had to visit the hospital a few times since then — my childhood was completely altered as well. I became a child who was not afraid of hospitals. The sight of sick people did not make me nervous as it does for many. I came to terms with the fragility of life. My mother and I developed an even closer relationship than before. When you do not know whether your mother will live or die, you have to cherish every moment you have with her. Let’s just say the hug count skyrocketed after that experience. In late September, my mother was in the hospital again. She was close to having pneumonia, and her coughing had gotten
pretty bad again. It was a familiar routine: Pack some clothes and toiletries, wait for a room, and settle in the room for an unknown amount of time. This time I brought a bag of books and arranged them near the room’s window, just to make it more homely and offer something else to do besides watching the IV drip. From then on, I was at the hospital more than I was at home because I put myself in my mom’s shoes: Cold, hospital room, nurses poking and prodding, and hours on end of not much to do. The sterile rooms become a second home; the nurses a second family. It’s an odd statement to make, but life has been pretty odd since April 2002. My mother would probably apologize by this point of the story for putting her kids through such an experience. It’s a ludicrous idea because she had absolutely no control over what happened to her. I have also found the good in my experience, and my mother’s brush with death taught me more empathy toward my fellow men and women, for which I am eternally grateful. My mother is one of the strongest people I know, and this
sickness really taught me that. Mom and I always joked that the experience was excellent material for scholarship essays. My uncle, meanwhile, is another one of the strongest people I know. The bone marrow transplant went well, but he continues to suffer from the after-effects of a weakened immune system. The idea of Mom outliving her baby brother — the baby of the family, in fact — has been weighing on us heavily recently. Doctors say it’s a miracle that he’s still around, and though I am not a religious woman, I cannot explain it any other way except as a miracle. We are so happy that he is still with us. This October, we have remembered those who have lost their life to all forms of cancer, and we have commemorated those who are still fighting the disease or who have fought and overcome it. To my grandmother (kidney cancer) and uncle (leukemia): I am lucky that you are still with me, and I am thankful every day for that. Make sure to tell your relatives, friends, and coworkers that you appreciate them, too. ◆
is pleased to announce the addition of
Kelley E. Falcon
*
as an associate attorney of the firm in the Laredo office. * University of Texas School of Law, J.D. May 2011 University of Texas, B.A., May 2007
San Antonio Laredo Houston Dallas Austin Monroe, LA Mexico City
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Santa Maria Journal
Tender memories arrived on the night wind and eclipsed creepy moment over uninvited visitor By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Staff
A
s many ranchers do, when I reach the gate of our property I start scanning the landscape for signs that there may have been uninvited guests since my last stay here. Right off I saw that the gate to my yard wasn’t latched the way I usually leave it. There was a half-filled plastic jug of Walmart water on the porch, so I knew someone had made it as far as the yard, probably a caminante who had just crossed the river at San Ygnacio and was following the Aguilares road on his way to Alice, Corpus Christi, or Houston. I turned the deadbolt on the puerta de rejas on my front door and then the deadbolt on the actual door, relieved that no one had tried to jimmy what I believe are doors you cannot jimmy. As I stepped into my house, this house that offers me such comfort, I saw to my horrible surprise a note scrawled with a black Sharpie on a legal pad: “Perdonenme por fabor.” It was left so I would see it when I opened the door. I froze, my senses colliding wildly with explanations for how someone had made it into my house, left me a note, and had gotten back out.
Who would have random keys that would work on three locks? It took all my courage to take another step forward. I felt the sting of the violation of my inner sanctum, and I dreaded discovering the full measure of that violation. The drawers of a small chest had been gone through and there was an empty green bottle of Dos Equis left on the dresser. Two strings of good pearls had been dumped out of their square cases, and my jewelry had been rifled through both atop the dresser and on a bookcase in my bedroom. O d d l y, an antique Colt pistol that had belonged to my father and reportedly once to Pancho Villa
401 MARKET STREET 956-722-0981
WHEN SECURITY IS YOUR CONCERN, USE THE BEST
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remained in its case on the dresser. The visitor had unzipped the case, but left the pistol. He’d also looked for clothes, no doubt disappointed that any blue jeans he’d found would have fit him wide at the hips and like clam diggers.
The mystery of entry to my house persisted through most of the day. I could tell my son thought I had left the house unlocked in a bout of forgetfulness and that the visitor had simply walked through the front door. I had looked at every window except the high, tiny kitchen window, and there it was —broken in the smallest way to be able to unlock it from the outside and lift it. The two hex head bolts at the bottom of the security bars, which I thought the welder had tacked, had been removed and the bars lifted for entry. The visitor ate some bread, took some canned goods, water, and I’m not certain yet what else, had a beer, left me the apologetic note, left the Sharpie uncapped (so noted Deputy Gonzalez from Zapata), and then left the way he’d entered. He’d walked across the Mexican desert, forded a river, and whatever his destination, he no doubt was traveling light and had a long and treacherous way to
go. I did not appreciate the mess left behind, but I’m grateful that in his respite the didn’t burn down the house or take things that had value for me. Despite the lingering creepy experience of having an unwanted visitor in my house, we ended up having a great family day replete with invited visitors, a dove hunt, and a delicious evening meal in La Casita, once my grandmother’s ranch house and now our screened outdoor kitchen and dining room. When we were re-configuring the structure of mostly recycled materials a few years ago, my cousin Alfonso had wisely told me to screen it from a height of 30 inches from the floor to give us a panorama in every direction and to capture the prevailing breeze. After dinner and ongoing light-hearted conversations about the life of a sporting companion, the cool evening breeze picked up and swooshed and swirled through La Casita, touching us like little cariñitos. I was transported instantaneously — the decades falling away as though the years had been mere dust motes — to times I had stayed here with my grandmother, when this galeria had been a walled and windowed house through which the susurrous of the night wind, redolent with the smells of the monte flora, pushed through the open windows to lull us to our sleep. No sooner had I those thoughts when I saw that my granddaughter Emily had stretched out on a bench with her head in her mother’s lap and had yielded the adventure of the day to sweet dreams. It took her little sister Amandita a bit longer to give up, but she, too, finally drifted to sleep on a nearby tabletop as her mother said sweet bedtime things to her. Memories of my grandmother gave way to the utter tenderness my heart holds for these two little girls, and I felt the good fortune that my time on Earth moved as it had over decades that I would have them in my life. Grace and gratitude moved me to declare with all my heart how much I love them and how fortuitous it is that I am able to repeat with them moments I’d had here with my own beloved grandmother, a good, hardworking woman who so profoundly loved her children, grandchildren, and this land. ◆ WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
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Feature
News Brief
Facebook page provides real-time weather updates
Essay contest aims to educate students about Constitution
By ANTHONY TORRES LareDOS Contributor
Courtesy photo
n an era where social media has become a dominant force in everyday life, South Texans now get weather information just by logging onto Facebook. South Texas Weather Updates was launched in March 2011 to serve an area from Del Rio to San Antonio, to Victoria southward to South Padre Island. The page was founded by Chris Benavides of Laredo, who started out by posting all his weather updates on his personal weather page. “My friends suggested that I should create a page dedicated to weather updates,” Benavides said. “So I agreed and South Texas Weather Updates was born.” Instead of the standard “sunny and 100 degrees” forecasts provided by automated forecasts available on many phone apps and popular weather sites, South Texas Weather Updates takes a unique, more personable approach. “It is like having a live weatherman on your Facebook feed 24/7,” Benavides said. Facebook fan Carmen Haugen said, “It’s up to the minute with the latest information and very accurate, too!” Rena Scherer said that South Texas Weather Updates is “great to have on my iPhone because the weather reports come quickly and is pretty accurate.” Anytime a storm develops, South Texas Weather Updates posts an update with a picture of the radar, detailing which direction the storm is moving. As soon as any severe weather alerts are issued, it is almost instan-
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taneously posted on subscribers’ Facebook feeds. Unlike television and radio broadcasts, anyone who has a question can comment on the page and receive an answer in a timely manner. Facebook fan Beth Ann Smith says that she really appreciates the service South Texas Weather Updates provides “because San Antonio broadcasts do not cover our area of Southwest Texas.” The updates are not limited to imminent threats. During quieter weather periods, South Texas Weather Updates warns its subscribers in depth of upcoming changes in the weather days before it happens. Not only do subscribers learn of what changes are coming, but also how and why. “No matter where I am traveling, I can always get updates as to what is going on with the weather at home,” wrote Theresa Grahmann Pechacek on the South Texas Weather Updates wall. When asked about what to look forward to in the future, founder Benavides said that he wants to expand coverage by finding additional contributors to the page. “It would be a dream to have trustworthy reporting from all over the region. At this time, South Texas Weather Updates has three contributors,” he said. To receive instant weather updates on Facebook, be sure to like South Texas Weather Updates at facebook.com/SouthTexasWeatherUpdates. (Anthony Torres is a contributor at South Texas Weather Updates. He also posts weather updates for San Antonio, and other parts of Texas on Facebook at facebook.com/AnthonyTorresWx, or on Twitter @AnthonyTorresWx.) ◆
H
igh school students now have torian for the History Channel. the chance to compete in the Students must be in grades 9-12, U.S. largest high school essay con- citizens or legal residents, and no older test in the country. The Bill than 19. Students can be attending private, of Rights Institute, a Washington, D.C., religious, or charter schools, be homenonprofit dedicated to teaching students schooled, or participating in a GED or corabout the Constitution, has opened its respondence school program. The essay yearly Being an American Essay Contest, must be no longer than 1000 words. Conwhich asks students, “How does the Con- test entries are due by 11:59 p.m. on the due stitution establish and maintain a culture date, December 15. All essays must be subof liberty?” Students have until December mitted at BillofRightsInstitute.org/Submit. 15 to submit an essay, and winners will be According to an institute press release, announced in February 2012. high school teachers will judge the essays “This contest is unique in that it gives and will look for “adherence to [the] essay students the opportunity to think about question, originality, organization, writthe important founding principles com- ing style, and depth of analysis.” municated in our Constitution,” said Dr. More than 80,000 students have writJason Ross, Bill of Rights Institute vice ten for the contest since it began in 2006, president of education programs. according to the institute’s website. The Prizes include $1,000 for first place, Bill of Rights Institute was founded in $500 for second, and $250 for third. Teach- 1999 and aims to “educate young people ers who sponsor the students with win- about the words and ideas of America’s ning essays will also receive a prize of Founders, the liberties guaranteed in $100. The History Channel is joining the our Founding documents, and how our institute this year to sponsor the contest. Founding principles continue to affect “The contest encourages students to and shape a free society. think critically and truly makes the past — Cristina Herrera relevant in their lives today,” said Dr. Libby For more information, go to O’Connell, senior vice president, corporate billofrightsinstitute.org/contest outreach, and chief his-
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News Brief
Laredoan to become New Braunfels city attorney
L
aredoan Valeria M. Acevedo has been named city attorney for the City of New Braunfels. She begins her position there on November 2. Acevedo has worked as an assistant city attorney for the City of Laredo for 14 years, and she is currently the first assistant city attorney. She served as acting city attorney in 2006 and 2007. She has served as legal advisor to numerous city departments, including the airport, fire/EMS, human resources, police, and utilities. Acevedo was instrumental in the writing of the city’s landmark Hazardous Materials Ordinance, working with city staff, members of the first Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, and students of the St. Mary’s School of Law Environmental Justice Clinic. Beyond the scope of the environmental measures in the Valeria collaborative writing of the ordinance, the ordinance led to the establishment of the City’s Environmental Services Division under then City Manager Larry Dovalina. Over the years she has provided countless oral and written legal opinions and advice to every city department, as well as to the mayor, City Council, city boards, committees and commissions. In the last three-and-a-half years, her city practice has focused primarily on civil service law and collective bargaining that involves representing the police and fire department chiefs in administrative disciplinary and grievance hearings before the Laredo Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission, third party hearing examiners, and arbitrators. She has also had the opportunity to participate twice as the city’s chief legal advisor in collective bargaining negotiations. Acevedo has been instrumental in assisting the fire chief and the police chief in critical policy development and implementation. Within the last year, the majority of her time has been devoted to assisting the Laredo Police Department because of the overwhelming volume of
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M. Acevedo legal challenges it has been faced with on an ongoing basis. At a police awards ceremony held in May 2009, the Police Chief Carlos R. Maldonado acknowledged her impeccable professionalism and impressive efforts as their legal advisor by presenting her with an “Award of Appreciation” in recognition of her support and dedication to the LPD. She has also been credited by Maldonado for playing an integral role in assisting in improving the practices and policies related to internal administrative investigations conducted by the Office of Public Integrity and Professional Development. New Braunfels Mayor Gale Pospisil said members of the New Braunfels City Council were impressed with Acevedo’s experience and qualifications. Mayor Pospisil added that she and the City Council believe Acevedo will be “a tremendous asset” to New Braunfels. As a credit to Valeria’s personality and communication skills, the mayor further added that “she is just a delight,” and they are “very excited” and “happy” to have her as their next city attorney. — Maria Eugenia Guerra WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
News
One City, One Book author connects to Laredo’s youth and I think this is a very uplifting, positive story. I think we can relate better to our sister city.” t was an intimate setting for this Library staff asked people who wished year’s One City, One Book author, to attend the meet-and-greet reception Steve Reifenberg, who first spoke to with the author before his lecture to attend 1,000 freshmen at Texas A&M Inter- one of the three book discussions and the national University, then to a small crowd documentary screening before receiving at the Laredo Civic Center on Friday, Oc- a ticket. Most of the people who attended tober 7. Reifenberg discussed his memoir Reifenberg’s reception and talk were high Santiago’s Children: What I Learned about Life school seniors who had read the book in in an Orphanage in Chile, mostly with stu- their classes and attended the discussions. dents on the brink of going to college or “They have loved the book, and we had in college and trying to decide what to do some great discussions about it,” Burrell next with their lives. said. “It has inspired some of them. They Reifenberg had graduated from college feel like maybe ‘I don’t have to go to colin the early 1980s but was unsure about his lege after high school, and maybe I can do career path, so he took a risk and traveled something like this.’” to Chile to work at an orphanage called Mayor Raul Salinas, who said he had Hogar Domingo Savio. Santiago’s Children not gotten a chance to read the book, said is a chronicle of his time spent at the or- that Laredoans could relate with the expephanage, and what he learned from that riences in the book and its message. experience. Reifenberg is now the execu“It really resonates because of the povtive director of the Helen Kellogg Institute erty we face on both sides of the border,” for International Studies at the University Salinas said. “We as responsible citizens of Notre Dame, and also teaches an inter- need to help children who have nowhere to national development class, according to go to. The striking thing is that even kids his website. that live in poverty can succeed.” The Laredo Salinas added Public Library that the city will Write; write about partnered with continue to supthe stuff that’s imporTAMIU this year port the One City, to bring ReifenOne Book initiatant to you. Write about the berg to Laredo. tive. stuff that surprises you. Write TAMIU also fea“What we about what the other people want to reaftured Santiago’s Children as the firm is that the aren’t paying attention freshman read, city will always to, but write. which required all be there for our freshmen to read children. I think the book and ata moral Steve Reifenberg, that’s tend the author responsibilit y,” author of Salinas said. “I lecture. Throughout September Santiago’s Children don’t want any and early October, child to fail. I library staff conthink we need to ducted book discussions, screened a docu- give them a positive injection and make mentary called In the Heart of Chile, and col- them feel good about themselves.” lected items for the Casa Hogar in Nuevo Sixth grader Clarissa Darnell was one Laredo. Library staff accepted baby sup- of the youngest attendees of the Reifenplies, toiletries, books, clothes, and school berg talk. Darnell, who goes to Trautmann supplies, according to reference librarian Middle School, got the chance to speak to Pam Burrell. Reifenberg during the question-and-an“There are always people on our border, swer section, and then personally when he or on the other side of our borders that we signed her copy of the book. can help and change us as people and see “There’s just so much emotion going on, things differently,” said Burrell, who led especially with the children and their stoall of the book discussions. “You know ries. I think kids my age could relate to the how we are hearing all of the bad about children, but a lot of people would not unwhat’s going on across the border now, derstand the words and stuff; that’s why I WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS Staff
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By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
Steve Reifenberg, author of Santiago’s Children, reads a passage from his book to the audience at the Laredo Civic Center on Friday, October 7. Reifenberg related his experiences about the process of writing the book and aftermath, then held a question-and-answer session with the audience. had my mom read it to me,” she said. During his lecture, Reifenberg read passages from his book, discussed his writing process and his family’s reaction to the book, and gave advice to aspiring writers. Darnell asked Reifenberg if he recommended keeping journals, like the journals he kept and used to later write Santiago’s Children. “I can’t give any better writing advice for somebody who wants to write than write,” Reifenberg said. “Write; write about the
stuff that’s important to you. Write about the stuff that surprises you. Write about what the other people aren’t paying attention to, but write.” Half of the proceeds from Reifenberg’s book go toward supporting the work of atrisk children in Chile. “It really is wonderful that Laredo has done this. A lot of towns don’t do this, that try to bring people together around thinking about books and writing, so I want to thank you,” Reifenberg concluded. ◆
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News
No merit to harboring-fugitive charges; Richard Villarreal Sr. reinstated at UISD PD
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Editor’s note: The following report contains explicit language. Reader discretion is advised. nited Independent School District police officer Richard Villarreal Sr., exonerated by the Webb County District Attorney’s office of charges of harboring a fugitive, has been reinstated at his job. Villarreal was arrested September 6, when five U.S. Marshals accompanied by a Laredo Police Department officer and a Webb County deputy came to his residence at 1413 Truman Lane in search of Villarreal’s son, Richard Villarreal Jr., who, having failed to communicate with his pre-trial service officer, was wanted for a revoked bond in the death of his infant son. What began as an ordinary morning in preparation for work for Villarreal Sr. and his family turned into a hellish ordeal as the officers pounded forcefully on the door of his home. The marshals and accompanying officers searched the rooms of the Villarreal residence, and when it was clear Villarreal Jr. was not in the residence, they began to search the kitchen cabinets and closets, according to sworn affidavits by Villarreal Sr. and his wife Mary. When Villarreal Sr. asked why he and his family were being treated with such little respect, he was told to shut up or the rest of his family would be arrested. After noticing how scared his wife and daughter were, Villarreal said he spoke to the deputy marshal he knew, Abel Hinojosa, who asked Villarreal where he was hiding the younger Villarreal. Two other marshals interrogated Villarreal and asked where the father was hiding the son. Villarreal told the marshals he himself would turn his son in as soon as he saw him. They ordered him to stand and cuffed him behind his back, informing him he was under arrest for hindering apprehension, a third degree felony. “How could I be hindering? I didn’t even know he was wanted by the marshals,” Villarreal said, adding that he told the marshals that they were violating his Fourth Amendment rights and unlawfully arresting him. “One of them told me he didn’t give a shit, and Deputy Marshal Hinojosa told my wife that I was lying, since they knew my son had been home yesterday, " he said.
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Villarreal, through his attorney George Altgelt, has filed a formal complaint against the U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) of the Southern District of Texas for illegal arrest, injury, and detention. Altgelt’s October 13 complaint letter is also addressed to the Civil Rights Division/Criminal Section of the Department of Justice.
Mary Villarreal alerted her brother-inlaw Roberto Villarreal, a UISD police sergeant, about her husband’s arrest, and then she located her son at the State Highway 359 Stripes store that she had told the marshals was a likely place to find him. By the time the marshals responded to Roberto Villarreal’s call, saying that he had detained his nephew
Courtesy photo
By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Staff
Richard Villarreal Sr. with his wife Mary and attorney George Altgelt on the Federal Court House steps. According to the complaint, despite knowing that Villarreal was not aware of the whereabouts of his son and that he was not purposely hiding him, the USMS lacked probable cause to arrest Villarreal. The complaint said that the handcuffs USMS deputies placed on Villarreal were so tightly closed that they impeded circulation and caused pain to his left hand, such that he required medical attention. The complaint reads, “The USMS used officer Villarreal as a bargaining chip to compel his family to conduct an area wide search” for the younger Villarreal, promising the Villarreal family that they would release Villarreal Sr. if they could locate Jr.
at the convenience store, Villarreal Jr. was cuffed and facedown in the bed of a truck. According to the complaint, Villarreal Sr. was not released as promised by the USMS. With his hand now in great discomfort and turning blue for lack of circulation, he asked one of the marshals to loosen the cuffs. The marshal, whom Villarreal could only identify by his physical attributes — 5’8”, 240 pounds, African-American — responded, “You work with me, I work with you.” The unnamed USMS officer reportedly slammed the vehicle door on Villarreal’s arm, further exacerbating the pain in his left hand, according to Villarreal’s sworn affidavit that accompanied the complaint.
Officer Villarreal, partially in uniform, “was paraded all over town while the USMS went on their wild goose chase,” the complaint reads. The marshals allegedly drove for several hours from residence to residence looking for Villarreal Jr. instead of driving to the Stripes store his mother Mary Villarreal had indicated was a place Villarreal Jr. frequented for breakfast. Villarreal Sr. asked the assisting LPD officer if what they were saying in the vehicle was being recorded, and the officer told him it was. Villarreal said he had asked more than five times that the cuffs be loosened or that he be cuffed from the front because he had lost feeling in his hand and because the pain was becoming so intense that he was near losing consciousness. After a visit to a third residence, Gutierrez cuffed Villarreal from the front, noted that Villarreal’s left hand was purplish in color, and rushed him to the Laredo Medical Center, where he was treated. Upon release, he was booked and transported to the Webb County Jail and, ironically, placed in a cell next to his son. No bond was set, but Villarreal Sr. was released thereafter in a hail of media coverage. Per Texas state law, he notified the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education and the Texas Department of Public Safety of his arrest. He also notified the UISD Police Department. All three entities allowed him 30 days to provide a written statement of the circumstances of his arrest or a disposition of the case by the Webb County District Attorney’s office. In the meantime, Villarreal’s law enforcement licenses, career, and livelihood hung in the balance. On October 3, the Webb County DA’s office issued a disposition that noted that there was “insufficient evidence to prior knowledge and/or intent” by Villarrreal Sr. to hinder the apprehension of his son. The October 13 complaint authored by attorney Altgelt reads, “This is not the first time that Officer Villarreal complains of the USMS. Prior to this written complaint, he and his wife went in person [in midMarch 2011] to file a formal complaint about the multiple visits that the USMS had paid him at his home, where they broke his front door, tormented his wife who was recovering from surgery, and forced his pregnant and naked daughter-in-law to get dressed Continued on next page
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Continued from page 14 in front of several male USMS deputies.” According to Altgelt, the USMS deputies had also visited officer Villarreal at UISD, “where they spit in his face, invaded his personal space, sparked a confrontation, and placed their hands on their weapons as if to draw them, all in an effort to locate his son, who was no longer living with them at the time.” The complaint alleges that the most recent visit by the USMS deputies and their mistreatment of Villarreal and his family were retaliation for an original complaint voiced in person to the USMS by Mary and Richard Villarreal Sr. in March 2011. The USMS deputies that participated in the visit to Villarreal Sr.’s home and his subsequent arrest were Abel Hinojosa, Marcos Pompa, Arturo Perez, Kevin Labrador, and Alonso Evan Salinas. Altgelt called the behavior of the deputy marshals “a disgrace to the agency” and said that the Laredo Division of the USMS of the Southern District of Texas was “out of control.” The October 13 affidavit of Mary Villarreal recounts the mid-March 2011 visit by the USMS deputies to her home. Recovering from surgery, she was slow to answer the door. She said that when she asked for the names of the other deputies present, USMS deputy Arturo Perez told her, ‘It was not my fucking business and I did not need to know their names. They called my son ‘a fucking murderer.’” She said, “I asked them to leave my house. I told Arturo Perez to talk to me with respect because I was not being disrespectful. I advised him I was going to file a complaint with the local U.S. Marshal’s office. They all just laughed in my face and started walking outside. As I was about to close the door, I saw that the glass on the door was shattered. I told Arturo Perez that they broke the glass by knocking so hard on the window. He said, ‘I don’t care’ and walked away.” Of the later September 6 USMS visit to her
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residence, Mary Villarreal said they “rushed in” and when they didn’t find Villarreal Jr. “they went through cabinets and drawers.” She said that deputy marshal Abel Hinojosa took her outside and told her, “I’m going to arrest you because you are hiding your son from us.” Of the treatment of her husband at the hands of the deputy marshals, she said, “If this is how the marshals treat a fellow officer, I can only imagine how horribly they treat others whose houses they raid frequently. I am ashamed of my government.” Villarreal Sr. said the unwelcome news accounts of his arrest were damaging. “The deputy marshals have blemished my credibility and my integrity as a police officer,” he said. “I have been a police officer for the past 17 years. I have helped children at both school districts. Now I don’t know how to face the 2,800-plus students, teachers, and staff at Alexander High School. How can I face parents when they need my help? From now on they will think of me as a criminal and not as a public servant.” In a sworn affidavit attached to the complaint, Richard Villarreal Jr., the object of the USMS deputies search, said his parents did not know he was wanted “because they did not know about my bond being revoked.” He said that once he knew he was wanted, he did not tell his parents and he began to stay at the homes of friends, going to his parents’ home only to “eat, shower, and get a change of clothes.” He said he particularly avoided the house when Villarreal Sr. was there “because he has always been a cop first and then a dad. He would have turned me in if he knew.” Villarreal Jr. blames himself for his father’s arrest. “I know I am not responsible for the horrible way that the police and marshals treated him. I am very sorry for all of the hardship and shame that he is experiencing as a result of being arrested for something that he did not do,” he stated in his affidavit. LareDOS contacted the USMS for comment, but no calls had been returned by press time. ◆
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RGISC donation benefits nature trail
Courtesy of LCC
Thanks to a donation from the D.D. Hachar Charitable Trust, the Rio Grande International Study Center donated $4,000 worth of tools and equipment to Laredo Community College’s Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center (LBVESC). RGISC Executive Director Tricia Cortez (third from left) presented the gift to LCC President Dr. Juan Maldonado (third from right) and LBVESC Director Tom Miller (second from right) at a press conference on Tuesday, September 27. The tools were used on Saturday, October 1, as part of the Dia del Rio clean-up of the Paso del Indio Nature Trail. More than 300 volunteers are attended. Also pictured at the press conference are, from left, Miguel Peña of the LBVESC, Gail Hauserman of RGISC, and LCC custodian Juan Vargas. — LCC
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News Brief
Special TAMIU lecture focuses on Hispanic authors’ contributions to U.S.
Courtesy of LCC
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Serial killers and sadistic murders: up close and personal Laredo Community College hosted Dr. Jack Levin, professor and criminologist, on Wednesday, October 5 at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theater at the Fort McIntosh Campus. More than 600 students, staff, and members of the public attended Levin’s presentation, which focused on the minds and motives of some of modern history’s most notorious killers.
he contribution of Hispanic authors to the United States is the focus of a special lecture that will take place at Texas A&M International University on Thursday, November 10. Dr. Rhina Toruño-Haensly, professor, graduate head of the Spanish, and fellow in the Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professorship in the Humanities at the University of Texas-Permian Basin will present a lecture in Spanish entitled, “Crossing Cultures: Hispanic Authors and the Challenges They Overcame in the United States. The lecture, free and open to the public, will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 111. Dr. Toruño-Haensly’s lecture is sponsored by Dr. Manuel and Marcia Jovel, and organized in conjunction with TAMIU’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Language and Literature. According to the UT-Permian Basin
website, Toruño teaches 20 th Century Latin American Literature, specializing in texts from Mexico and Central America. She holds two Ph.D.’s, one in Spanish from Indiana University, the other in philosophy from the University of Louven, Belgium. She has lectured extensively in Europe, the United States, and Latin America in French, English, and Spanish. She was the first woman inducted into the Salvadoran Academy of Language in 2005 (a branch of the Royal Academy of Spain), and is a member of the Salvadoran Academy of Science and Arts. She is a renowned scholar on Mexican writer Elena Garro. For more information, please contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at (956) 326-2180, e-mail prmis@tamiu.edu, or visit offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268. — Special to LareDOS
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Vote 2012
Webb County attorney running for March 2012 elections, discusses her role in changes to office, Commissioners Court
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fter announcing her bid for reelection in the March 2012 elections, Webb County Attorney Anna Laura Cavazos Ramirez took a moment to speak with LareDOS about changes she has effected in the department since taking office in January 2009. She also spoke of the checks-and-balances role of the County Attorney’s office in a Webb County Commissioners Court in which politics, not prudence, often dictate policy. What do you consider the most significant achievement of your tenure? Handling the county’s litigation inhouse, which this year saved us at least $300,000 in premiums paid to our property and casualty insurance carrier. We have built one of the best law firms
Anna Laura Cavazos Ramirez
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in town with some of the brightest and most experienced attorneys. The 11 attorneys on our staff have 186 years of collective experience in federal and state court and in criminal and civil court. We have one attorney who is board certified in personal injury law, another with over 20 years experience in employment law and soon we’ll have one of nine attorneys in the state who is board certified in child welfare law. We continue to save the county money by not having to go to outside counsel. We recently started a family drug court to help our Child Protective Service families that struggle with drug addiction as they try to hold their families together. Those family members can meet with representatives and counselors of service providers including STCADA, SCAN, MHMR, and the City Health Department who assist them on the road to sobriety. After about a year of planning and unsuccessful searching for funding, we committed to start the court even without any funding. You appear to be working with a judge and a commissioners court that doesn’t always take your good counsel. What is that like? There are some very antagonistic members on the court; nonetheless we continue as a checks and balance for the legality of the actions of the court. That does not make us popular with those in positions of power. We represent all taxpayers and residents of Webb County and not just the outspoken and the powerful. Quite often if my office gives counsel contrary to what the judge and the commissioners want to do, then they call a particular Austin attorney for “artful” ways
to accomplish their whims, often without regard for the potential liability or impact to the budget or on certain employees. This commissioners court and judge very obviously want a county attorney who will rubber stamp their projects and their wishes. They try to leave me out of the loop and often don’t advise me of meetings, presumably so that I don’t impede their wishes. One of the best examples of their disregard for our legal advice is the use of Road and Bridge funds for household garbage collection and for the Casa Blanca golf course. Household garbage pickup has nothing to do with the maintenance of county roads and bridges, nor does the golf course, which is supposed to be self sustaining. We are now in litigation for the use of R&B funds on things other than roads and bridges. Besides making your office function like a law firm, you’ve overhauled other aspects of the department. Talk about this. I’m hands on with the direction of our work, so there has been increased productivity and accountability. We have a cohesive and motivated staff that works well together. Emphasis on training has been key to our agenda. Our six investigators are no longer just process servers. They have learned to conduct internal investigations ranging from theft to sexual harassment to wrongful deaths to fraud and a variety of things they didn’t do before. Two of our investigators were a key part of the state-initiated investigation into the CAA weatherization programs. They retrieved files that had been seized by the FBI and effectively helped reconstruct data to help determine whether the work had been done and whether the materials that had been invoiced had in fact been used. As we all now know, in a number of instances the work hadn’t been done, hadn’t been properly done, the work shouldn’t have been done, or materials invoiced weren’t used. More recently, our investigators conducted an investigation and surveillance of three Road and Bridge employees who were caught stealing gasoline. I am also very proud of the fact we have recently added one of our investigators to the DEA task force. I hope it will allow us to tap into forfeiture funds for our office needs and keep tab on the cartels’ use of juveniles in their activities. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection Officers assigned to our bridges have requested our
assistance with juvenile prosecution, and we have indicated we will assist in some limited situations where the U.S. Attorney won’t prosecute juveniles. Speaking of the CAA weatherization debacle, how could a program that receives federal money and has such stringent guidelines get so out of hand? There were so many irregularities, so many violations of rules for how to qualify the recipients of federal weatherization dollars. The mess is of such proportions that the state has denied over half a million dollars ($500,000)in reimbursement to Webb County and basically said it will be Webb County’s decision what the contractors will get paid for the work as well as the consequences and liabilities that may come from that. To answer your question, it was a perfect storm for malfeasance, and/or allegedly granting political and others “favors” for program assistance. The state faulted almost everything associated with the program starting with selection of the director and almost everything that came after that culminating in total derailment of the weatherization program’s mission to provide services for the elderly, ill, and disabled. Will you have an opponent? I’m sure I will if certain members of the court have their way. The search is on for someone who will more readily accommodate the wishes of the court. I often kid with friends and family that politics in Webb County is a full-contact sport. That is just the way it is. This is my third term as County Attorney but I went out into private practice for 12 years before running again in 2008. In 1989 after I first took office as County Attorney I naively opined that the office of County Attorney should be an appointed position much like the City Attorney is. Within two years I quickly learned why the framers of the Texas Constitution, in all their wisdom, made it an elected office. I came to learn and firmly believe that being elected county-wide unlike most of the members of the Commissioners Court (who run within their precincts only) gives me the intestinal fortitude and moral strength I often have to summon to remind myself what I have to do. I remind myself that I represent every resident and taxpayer of Webb County and not just those five usually staring back at me from the dais. It is the interests of those residents and taxpayers I have to try to protect. ◆ WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Feature
Tuesday Music & Literature Club celebrates its 100th anniversary
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Special to LareDOS
he stars in the sky had nothing on the glitter that occurred October 11 at Embassy Suites as the Tuesday Music & Literature Club celebrated its 100th anniversary. Long-term members, in particular, turned out dressed to the nines to pay tribute to the occasion. Ruth Fierros arrived in a creamcolored dress intermeshed with gold, the colors of the club; Imelda Gonzalez sparkled in black lace decorated with shiny gems; Mildred Reyna exhibited a dramatic flair in black and white and gold; Hortense Offerle looked precious in silver. Not to be outdone, Alejandra Rodriguez was as colorful as a peacock in multiple shades of blue. As members and guests paraded in, Dr. Matthew Bishop of Laredo Community College provided mood music on the guitar for the 84 members and guests. Historic scrapbooks and program books arranged from years 1911 to 2011 were lined against the walls for viewing. Members and guests were welcomed by
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members of the Hostess Committee, chair Ardith Epstein, Raj Chekuri and president Linda Mott, who planned the event. Greeters at the registration desk were Nancy Williams and Shereen Groogan. Mireya Guajardo offered decorative lapel favors to attendees. After a welcome address from Linda Mott and invocation by member Reva Sears, recognition was given to past presidents who were present: Nancy Black Sagafi-nejad, Imelda M. Gonzalez, Hortense Offerle, Jan Little, Ardith Epstein, Consuelo Lopez, Mildred Reyna, and Ruth Fierros. Nancy Saenz (1973-1975) was unable to attend, however she sent congratulations in the form of an e-mail. Current officers recognized were: Linda Mott, president; Betty Ball, 1st vice president; Nancy Williams, 2nd vice president; Sue Webber, recording secretary; Roxanna Guerra and Mary Esther Sanchez, treasurer; Viola Godines, corresponding secretary; Nancy Herschap, parliamentarian; Rolinda Lawrence, reporter; and Denise Ferguson, historian. Also recognized was the Centennial Committee of Raj Chekuri, Denise Ferguson
and Linda Mott. A beautiful rendition of “The Federation Song,” to the tune of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” was given by Alexis Reyes, vocalist, TMLC 2010 scholarship recipient, and TAMIU music student. Reyes was assisted by sound technician Andy Martinez and keyboard accompanist Alejandra Rodriguez. First Vice President Betty Ball recited the poem, “Laredo, Let Me Write Your Songs,” by Mary Mullen from the 1976 club book of the same title, which included contributions from Mullen as well as several club members. The “Members Chorus,” accompanied by Alejandra Rodriguez, sang “A Toast to the Club.” Elizabeth Sorrell had penned the words to that song together with music composed by Winnie Mae Bell. Guests and members were invited to join in the chorus. Mayor Raul Salinas read the 100th Anniversary Proclamation composed by Nancy Black Segafi-najad, Esq. The Mayor also praised the club for its outstanding work in the community and support of young musicians. He encouraged members of the club to
continue promoting its positive effect upon the community as it begins its next century. Ruth Fierros, a past president, read her own poem, “Something There is About TMLC,” dedicated to the TMLC. Denise Ferguson, historian of the club and author of “Our First Hundred Years 1911-2011, Tuesday Music and Literature Club, Laredo, Texas,” thanked all the club members who had supported and assisted her throughout the past year as she developed the history. Afterward, special guests Doug Ferrier, Dr. Jerry Thompson, Brendan Townsend, Dr. Ray Keck, Dr. Rafael Lecuona and Maria G. Soliz were presented with copies of the TMLC history. The TMLC history books were then distributed to members of the club and other interested individuals. The conclusion of the festivities featured a delicious anniversary cake, along with the Singing of “Happy Anniversary,” with keyboard accompaniment provided by Alejandra Rodriguez. The TMLC historic materials displayed at the anniversary will shortly be ensconced in the Archives Department of the Laredo Public Library. ◆
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Another View: One City, One Book
Sad showing at author's lecture not good for literacy in Laredo
Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS Staff
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Museum update From left to right, Norma Hagy, Diana and Hector Farias, and Pastor Mike Barrera are pictured at the Wednesday, October 12 meeting of the Laredo Veterans Coalition at Los Generales Restaurant. They heard an update on the progress of plans for the Juan Francisco Farias Military Museum from project manager Kennedy Whitely of Ausland Architects, and project architect Ricardo Solis and project administrator Eduardo Quiroga of Metaform Studio Architects.
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ayor Raul Salinas addressed the audience at the Laredo Civic Center during the October 7 One City, One Book lecture with Steve Reifenberg. “This is a community who has embraced authors and literacy activities at every level,” he said. “You cannot tell me people in Laredo don’t read. I saw the sea of faces, young and old, of people at the Laredo Public Library.” I looked around the auditorium. This did not look like a sea — it looked like a puddle of faces. I counted no more than 45 people in the auditorium, which is capable of holding 1,979 people. To be perfectly frank, it was embarrassing. To see the mayor proclaiming, “You cannot tell me people in Laredo don’t read” to a sea of empty seats was dramatically depressing. It’s almost like once Books-a-Million came into town, our commitment to reading disappeared — again. Xochitl Mora Garcia of the city’s public information office served as master of ceremonies, and thanked United ISD, Laredo ISD, and St. Augustine High School, and City Council for their support, as well. I looked around again. Where were they? Where was their support when this “culmination” of One City, One Book happened? Nowhere to be found, as I continued to scope out the gray, empty Civic Center. We clapped mindlessly for entities and individuals who were not there. The mayor left right after his speech. When I asked him about the book during the author reception, he brought it up to me, pointed and read out the title, and told me, “This title says everything.” Eventually he admitted that he had not read the book. If he had read it, he would have known that it was a coming-of-age tale where a young man goes to Chile to teach young children and ends up figuring out what he wants to do with his life after two years at the orphanage. This was an inspirational tale for Laredoans, not just an advocacy book for poor orphans (though it did highlight their problems, too). Another issue I had with this year’s event was the horrible radio interference the Civic Center was experiencing on its mic system. Closer up to the stage, as I
took photographs of the author, I could not hear it too badly, but as I went back to my seat, a steady hum of Mexican music came out of the mic system. This was extremely distracting, and I felt sorry for the people who had seats a little further back in the auditorium. I could even hear it on the audio I recorded at the lecture. This isn’t the first time the mic system had been distracting. During the inaugural year of One City, One Book, when Academy Award winner and Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein visited our city, the audience also had to endure the radio interference. After that event, the Food for Thought Foundation told the city that they did not want to hold the author lectures in the Civic Center because of the faulty mic system. (Full disclosure: I have worked as an assistant for the Food for Thought Foundation since the beginning of One City, One Book. The foundation handed over One City this year to the library and City of Laredo.) Reifenberg ended up not using the mic, but I was not sure if this was because he could hear the radio interference or if the audience was so small that he did not see a need to use the mic. Three years after Gerda Weissmann Klein came to Laredo, the mic system has still not been fixed. Three years after Gerda Weissmann Klein brought a packed house to the Civic Center, where there was not one seat available, I stared at a sea of emptiness. Three years later, and One City, One Book had simply fizzled. I will not sugar coat it — it was gasping for air. The small, concentrated group paying close attention to Steve Reifenberg was the only source of light in that room. They were engaged and eager to hear what advice Reifenberg had for their futures. The great thing about Reifenberg is that he treated the teens who attended not like students, punk kids, or little children, but like people serious about the next steps in their lives. And for the older crowd, Reifenberg’s anecdotes were witty and charming. It was such a shame that more Laredoans did not come. I blame several factors for the poor attendance, but more importantly, this serves as a crucial reminder of much of Laredo’s lacking attention to literacy. — Cristina Herrera WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
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Feature
Falcon International Bank celebrates quarter-century; ‘faith, family, and Falcon’ values put people first
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Special to LareDOS
ear the entrance of Falcon International Bank’s three-story, 40,000-square-foot headquarters hangs a painting that reminds many Laredoans of the future a strong foundation can support. “Every day as the bank was being built, one of our customers — Dr. George García — drove past on his way to work and thought of my father,” said Adolfo E. Gutierrez, CEO and chairman of the board. “My father, Hugo Gutierrez Sr., was a huge part of Falcon, and before the bank was finished, Dr. García commissioned a portrait of him and gifted it to our family. The family felt that the best place for it was in the building.” For Gutierrez, the painting of his father serves as a reminder of what he hopes Falcon embodies: confidence, strength, humility, and family. Indeed, these are qualities that have guided Falcon’s steady 25-year evolution. Founded in 1986, the bank (then named Falcon National Bank) was located on the intersection of Hillside Road and Springfield Avenue. When Gutierrez came on board as the bank’s president and CEO in 1995, with Gutierrez Sr. as chairman of the board, Falcon had one location, approximately 20 employees and $52 million in assets. It was, said Gutierrez, a simpler time. “It was definitely what you think of when you say ‘community bank,’” he said. “You
Adolfo E. Gutierrez
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were dealing with someone you’d known for #96 in Hispanic Business magazine’s list of years. You knew their family and history. So the 500 largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. much of banking was relationship driven.” According to Gilbert Narvaez, Jr., who Those relationships formed the core of Falcon’s growth as Gutierrez focused on joined Falcon in 1992 as vice president and attracting a staff with common values; to- CFO, and became president and chief opday, those values are synthesized into three erations officer in 2006, the key to Falcon’s words: faith, family, and Falcon. The bank longevity is investment in its technological has more than 300 employees, several of infrastructure, bankers and communities. whom — Adriana Mena, Rosie We say ‘hire the personality and Mata, and Victor train the person. If you staff your Ortiz — have been there since its inorganization with like-minded individuals ception. Another, who put customers first, they’re Anita Doncaster, going to enjoy their jobs and be was Laredo’s first female teller and excellent at them. recently celebrated Adolfo E. Gutierrez, her 50th year in banking. CEO and chairman for “We say ‘hire Falcon International Bank the personality and train the person,’” Gutierrez said. “If you staff your orga“We have committed our resources to pronization with like-minded individuals who viding customers with cutting-edge products put customers first, they’re going to enjoy and services,” Narvaez said. “Meanwhile, their jobs and be excellent at them.” we’re blessed to have the best bankers in all As a result of a strong team, Falcon now of our communities, and they take pride in has assets in excess of $800 million and 15 serving customers with passion.” branches in south and central Texas, along Falcon also makes a point of investing in with a loan production office (LPO) in Har- its communities by lending 80 percent of delingen and representative offices in Guadala- posits back to its various customer bases. jara and Monterrey, Mexico. Additionally — Gutierrez and Narvaez agree that the reflecting its staying power in a challenging banking industry has undergone monumeneconomy — the bank was recently ranked tal shifts in the last several years, not to men-
tion the decades preceding them. Increased regulation has led to more cautious lending, which can be difficult for longtime customers to accept. “We try to explain every step of the process in hopes that customers understand why we have to ask the questions we ask and require the information we do,” said Gutierrez. Meanwhile, technological advances have created new opportunities for Falcon to serve its customers. The bank offers online banking and bill pay and recently launched Zash Pay, an easy way to send money to others, and Mobile Money, which allows customers to bank on their phones, even without Internet capabilities. “Customers want to stay connected to their finances at all hours of the day,” Narvaez explained. “We’re happy to help them do that.” Looking toward the future, Narvaez expects to continue evolving while remaining true to the characteristics that make Falcon unique. “Our commitment to maintaining the community banking feel and experience isn’t going to change,” he said. “But we will continue to support our existing and future Falcon customers by evolving our products and services to keep up with the highly competitive banking environment,” Narvaez said. “Falcon is not an institution,” added Gutierrez. “It’s people. That’s what drives us.” ◆
Hugo Gutierrez Sr. WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Gain: 275 coats and counting
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News
From BP agent to immigration reform activist: my journey for justice
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By JOHN RANDOLPH The Huffington Post
n my 26 years as a U.S. Border Patrol/ ICE Agent, I caught many people. At the time, common sense told me that the vast majority of the people who I caught were good, hard working people. I began to wonder why immigrants had to be chased like animals, and why I was being paid to chase them. Early on in my career, death and injury brought it all into perspective. In the early 1980s, one of my classmates who transferred over to DEA was murdered during an undercover rip-off. Another co-worker friend was shot to death while on surveillance of an alien smuggling ring. I witnessed a young Mexican man fall to death from a freeway overpass while running from me. I myself fell out of the passenger side of a patrol unit when my partner blindly accelerated before I could get back in the car. I saw a young Mexican woman who, while running at full speed in the dark, hit her head on the dropped cement ceiling of a drainage tube.
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She required hospitalization and facial sur- neither had nor were provided the resources gery. to stop people or drugs from entering the One night, after coming home from a country. I knew officers who worked at the day of work, I had a dream of a high-speed port of entry in San Diego. They told me of pursuit in which the car that I was chasing the large amounts of drugs that were being crashed. I ran up to the overturned car to intercepted. I naturally wondered how much apprehend the permust have been getpetrator. When I After 35 years of work- ting through. opened the car door, After 35 years ing and observing our of working and obI found my own son, government’s failed immigra- serving our governinjured inside. This dream had a protion and drug enforcement ment’s failed immifound effect on me. and drug ensystems, I am now convinced gration Since my days as forcement systems, I that both are insidia Border Patrol agent, am now convinced I’ve had a change of that both are insidiously designed to fail. heart. I’m now a muously designed to sician and a migrant fail. The failure of activist, above all else. It’s all hard to put into NAFTA and the unrelenting violence of the words, I suppose. Hungry people, friends U.S.-backed war on drugs in Mexico have getting killed, and no real sense that what created conditions for a Mexican exodus. we were doing was doing any good. “What There have been close to 40,000 drug warare we doing here? Why am I chasing these related deaths in Mexico since 2006. I know people?” I’d ask myself. the real victims of these two forces; I’ve met I learned early in my 26-year career as them. They are the poor and hard-working a U.S. Border Patrol agent, INS criminal in- Mexican citizens who only want a better vestigator, and a DHS special agent, that we life. The border is really meant to keep the
good people from both sides from joining together, from knowing each other, and from prospering. I therefore support the use of asylum as a means of protection for such Mexican citizens whose lives are put in danger everyday by the U.S.-backed drug war. While the Obama administration just announced its decision to back off of the deportation of “low priority” immigration cases, I believe that this is not true immigration reform. Rather, it postpones any actual case decisions from being made. I also believe we should support the millions of U.S. Dream Act kids and undocumented Mexicans with the use of immigration hearings as a vehicle for reform. I say we should turn the 300,000-case backlog into a millioncase backlog. It is now clear to me that Washington will not reform failed drug or immigration systems until it is put in the position where it is forced to do so. After 26 years of chasing people on the behalf of the U.S. government, finally, I have to ask our politicians this question: How many more people will die until our system fundamentally changes? ◆
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'No me olvides' At left, a girl ties a small pink ribbon on her finger to remind herself of those battling cancer, those who have lost their life to cancer, and those who have survived cancer at the “No Me Olivides” candlelight vigil at Laredo Medical Center’s pond on September 30. At right, attendees tie ribbons to the fence near the pond to remember cancer victims.
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Bi-national stewardship, environmental commitment mark opening of Día del Río Ceremonies
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Opinion
NaNoWriMo challenges everybody to write a novel
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to “win” the competition. These include reaching the 50,000-word-count mark by November 30, writing completely from scratch (though outlines, character sketches, research, and citations from other people’s works are fine), and being the only author of your novel. There aren’t any tangible prizes, unless you count the printable winner’s certificate, a free web badge to put on your website, and “bragging rights for the rest of your life.” (I adore NaNoWriMo’s good-spirited humor.) The competition is not about what you win, but the satisfaction you gain in exercising your writing skills. NaNoWriMo is not strictly for “writers” — everybody is welcome to challenge himself or herself. And who Courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
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ou should write a novel. In fact, you should write a novel for NaNoWriMo. What’s that, you ask? NaNoWriMo is the cute, shortened version of National Novel Writing Month, an Internet-based personal writing competition that starts on November 1 of each year and lasts for 30 days. The aim of NaNoWriMo is simple: to get people writing. Once the contest starts, competitors have 30 days to write a 50,000-word novel, or at least the first part of a novel. “The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your imagination and unleashing creativity,” said NaNoWriMo founder and executive director Chris Baty in a press release. “When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it’s a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month.” There are very few rules for the competition, owing to its free-flowing spirit of creativity, but according to the official website, a few rules have developed in order
knows? There actually have been winners who’ve gone on to gain more than NaNoWriMo glory and bragging rights. In fact, according to NaNoWriMo’s website, more than 90 novels have been published after “winning” the competition, including New York Times bestsellers Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. And if you didn’t hear about Water for Elephants the book, you probably heard of the film with Edward Cullen himself, Robert Pattinson. This year I will be one of the estimated 250,000-plus participants in the competition, my first NaNoWriMo. Committing to NaNoWriMo is a big step for writers looking to churn out that novel they’ve been considering, and for the non-writers,
maybe you have an untapped natural talent. In the info-pack e-mail I received after signing up for NaNoWriMo, I was told that it was OK if I had no idea what I’m doing. It’s hard to think of a lot of writers who know what they’re doing when they start a novel, so don’t feel alone. You won’t have much time to prepare now that we’re close to starting NaNoWriMo, but it doesn’t matter. It’s probably preferable that you don’t have a plan — how many times in your life do you have the opportunity to just express yourself without plans or some sort of organization? In the spirit of the competition, just write, and keep writing. And then write some more. What do you have to lose but time well spent on expressing yourself? You might have a great story in your hands. For more information, or to sign up for the competition, go to nanowrimo.org. Make sure to sign up before November 1! — Cristina Herrera
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Thanks to a generous gift from the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust, the Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center has re-opened its newly renovated facility at 1220 Malinche Avenue. The center continues its 50-year mission of serving the children and families of the area. — LareDOS Staff
David Almaraz
Began his legal career in 1977 as a State prosecutor in Starr County, Texas and Federal prosecutor in Laredo, Texas. In 1985 he started his solo practice, handing both State and Federal criminal cases. In the last 25 years he has aggressively defended clients in every major Texas city and in State and Federal courts in 12 other states. He passionately defends the Bill of Rights and is renowned throughout South Texas for his ardent cross examination in hundreds of jury trials. He has been invited to speak to fellow lawyers at C.L.E. functions about cross examination. He lists Gerry Spence, Clarence Darrow, and William Kunstler as his role models.
Almaraz Bldg., 1802 Houston Laredo, Tx. 78040 P.O. Box 6875 Email: almaraz@netscorp.net Tel. (956) 727-3828 Fax (956) 725-3639
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Volunteers drive success of annual Paso del Indio Clean-up Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011
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Cristina Herrera/LareDOS Staff
Al Roker meets Laredo
Courtesy photo
Today show anchor Al Roker, left, speaks at a press conference on Friday, September 30 about A&E’s Bordertown: Laredo, a 10-episodes series documenting the Laredo Police Department’s part in fighting cartel drug trafficking. Roker’s company Al Roker Entertainment produced the show. Behind Roker stand officers featured in the show. At right, people at the Laredo International Airport greet Roker after the press conference.
On the trail District Attorney Chilo Alaniz (dark vest) and his daughter Victoria were among the many trail riders who enjoyed the October 8 trail ride sponsored by Alaniz to heighten awareness about domestic violence. WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
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News & Commentary
My three hours with the Occupy Laredo protesters By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
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small group of Laredoans, or the “99 percent,” as they call themselves, assembled at downtown’s Jarvis Plaza during the Farmers Market on Saturday, October 15 to protest against corporate greed, corporations’ role in the government, and the bank bailouts, among a long list of complaints. I spent three hours with the group, following them from Jarvis Plaza to Los Dos Laredos Park, where RíoFest was also going on. They call themselves Occupy Laredo, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and now in many other cities across the nation, including Texas’ own Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. October 15 marked the day called United for #globalchange, where members of the movement urged people around the world to occupy. The title of the recent campaign includes a Twitter hashtag, a testament to social networking’s role in the Occupy protests. Observers of the Occupy protests give much credit to the Internet for uniting the movement. Occupy Laredo also organized with social networking. Protester Emily Marie Sanchez said the group started after fellow protester Marisa Laufer contacted Sanchez on Facebook about starting a group locally. “We wanted to do something with the rest of the world. We just met last week. Some of them we just met yesterday and
some of them we met today,” Sanchez said cording to the July 13 post on Adbuster’s on the day of the protest. “And we have website. The post later states, “It’s time for some union members from the country.” DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRAOne of those union members was El Met- CY, we’re doomed without it.” ro employee Bill Coehn, who is a member of The protesters in Laredo carried handthe United Transportawritten signs with slotion Union. gans such as “Somos “We’re all part of el 99%,” “Cooperation the 99 percent,” Coehn not Corporation,” and said at the protest. “Tax Wall Street.” “We’re all in the same Some Farmers situation, whether Market vendors, we’re working or not.” meanwhile, seemed Coehn also had annoyed and a bit two crucial goals for confused about the his part in the Occupy purpose of the proprotests. tests. I noticed a man “What I’m hoping, who was selling bird is that number one, houses wincing at this puts enough presthe loud chants from sure on congress to the group. I heard a pass the jobs bill, and woman ask why the the second thing is to group wanted to ocbreak up this stalecupy Laredo. Many mate,” he said. “Nothpeople did not know Nayeli Monahan holds a sign. ing’s getting passed in what the movement Congress right now, was about. And some and it’s going to affect everybody.” just did not agree with the protesters, like Occupy Wall Street is a campaign first one man who confronted Laufer and arintroduced by the Canadian media organi- gued against the protests. zation AdBusters in July, urging readers to “I think they’re a bunch of people com“flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, plaining about something they don’t really kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy understand, and they can’t explain to you Wall Street” on September 13. what they want instead,” said the man, “The time has come to deploy this who requested to remain anonymous. emerging stratagem against the greatest “What they’re complaining about is somecorrupter of our democracy: Wall Street, thing they cannot articulate. They are just the financial Gomorrah of America,” ac- spouting slogans. It sounds populist in na-
ture. It’s class warfare. It’s a waste of time and won’t solve anything.” The man went even further and said that the Occupy movement was also backed by a group of powerful elites with an agenda, and that the protesters were “reacting on a emotional level of some sense of victimization.” He wasn’t alone. The fact that this protest was happening during an event that promoted local business was not lost on the vendors. I heard at least three groups of vendors/customers laughing the protests off. Around 11:30, the protesters decided to march around Jarvis Plaza and make their way to Los Dos Laredos Park. They reasoned that they’d catch the crowd when the kayak race finished, as I wondered how the RíoFest organizers would take the situation. On the way they marched past the International Bank of Commerce ATM bus, a symbol of what they were protesting against. In the midst of children doing Zumba while radio stations blasted music from their vans at RíoFest, a woman came up to the group and told them they were not allowed to protest here because the organizers of RíoFest had a permit for the area that day. The RíoFest woman left, and the group was stalled. “They won’t give people like us a permit,” one of the protesters said. Sanchez added that she had kept in contact with other statewide Occupy protests and heard from fellow protesters that cities were denying permits to those with Continued on next page
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Occupy Laredo protesters at Jarvis Plaza, on Satuday, October 15.
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Continued from page 32 the movement. I was not able to confirm or deny the veracity of this claim. Three hours after I started following the protestors in Jarvis Plaza, I had to leave. I later saw photos all over Facebook of the bigger group that had gathered at RíoFest to protest with Occupy Laredo. The next day, on October 16, the group held a meeting at which 30 people showed up (see the
Laredo Morning Times for that report). Occupy Laredo’s Facebook group jumped from 50 Likes on Friday to 102 just in the span of two days. As of press time, they’re at 141. Has the Occupy movement spurred more residents of Laredo, a city where picketing is extremely rare, to join the protests? That remains to be seen. For more information on Occupy Laredo, go to their Facebook page at facebook. com/OccupyLaredo. ◆
1968: Could you feed a family on $12 a week?
Protesters take to the streets of Laredo, 1968.
Opinion
Finding your voice, speaking out; McAllen is occupying our lunch
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By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher
was reading comments on our Facebook page regarding the Occupy Laredo protesters who calmly made their presence and their views known at both the October 15 Farmers Market and at RíoFest. I’d like to make several points about public protest and free speech. One. While most of the Facebook comments were supportive and reflected the political awareness of Laredoans of many of the versions of Occupy Wall Street across the nation, there was one comment that just struck at me. The commenter said it was “retarted if they came to Laredo.” Obviously, she meant retarded, and I take issue as much with her use of that ugly, demeaning word that’s up there with the N-word, as with her dim, uninformed perceptions of the Occupy movement. Even against the backdrop of positive comments from other Laredoans, hers lingered as though I’d stumbled across the terrible truth that many in our community use ignorance to huddle together as a bastion of the status quo. This sometimes intellectually challenged island called Laredo — this place that offers up such blatant extremes of wealth and poverty, this place that is often late to discuss or take a position on what the rest of the nation and the world knows and deals with — was the poster child for the War on Poverty in the 1960s and well could
be the poster child for the 99 percent. I saw for myself how displeased and uncomfortable people were at the Farmers Market with First Amendment expression, and I wondered how many of the displeased understood that just as they had a right to express themselves contrary to the sign-holding contingent, the signholders had the same right to speak up and be heard. Jarvis Plaza belongs to all of us, and perhaps more so to the 99 percenters, as Wall Street types are not known to hang out there. McAllen is Occupying our Lunch. Really excellent coverage of Occupy McAllen (the news woman with the mic knew what the Occupy Wall Street movement was) showed families, abuelos, tios and tias, union workers, children, senior citizens, and students 100-strong and moving orderly down U.S. Highway 83. Two. It’s brave to move through a crowd with your convictions on a hand-painted sign, especially a crowd that may not share your point of view, or worse yet, a crowd that is clueless about the issue you are addressing. Three. Four decades ago Jarvis and Bruni plazas were hotbeds of sign-carrying protesters. Downtown restaurant workers who earned less than 25 cents (one quarter) an hour rallied and carried signs on the streets of Laredo to get the city to establish a minimum wage. Neighborhoods Continued on page 51
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Laredoans prepare to depart for the national Marcha de los Pobres in D. C., May 1968.
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The Anonymous Teacher
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‘Do as I say, not as I do’
his month’s column will focus primarily on United ISD and the actions of the board in making the bonus a permanent part of Superintendent Roberto Santos’ salary, and on the actions of Mr. Santos as he takes the money after freezing all other salaries and lowering benefits for employees at all levels. Reaction across UISD has been consistent — anger at the “do as I say, not as I do” attitude, and disappointment that the only person certain members of the board seem concerned about keeping happy is the su-
perintendent. It appears that every other employee in the district is expendable. In what looks like the worst PR move in recent memory, the board voted to put the wishes of one person ahead of the needs of every student in the district. Staffs, who are working extra hours with less money and fewer supplies, view this action as a slap in the face of education. These reactions speak for themselves and need no further clarification. Editor’s note: These quotes were collected from anonymous teachers who work at UISD.
“It’s a shame. I can’t even look at Mr. Santos without becoming angry at his actions. Taking the $25,000 is an insult to every other person who works for UISD and who did not get a bonus or a raise. It’s a slap in the face of every employee.” “I want to know why he and the board even consider him qualified to lead the district. Coaching, no classroom experience, out of education, then into main office administration. How can he lead a district when he never even led a school?” “A district this size, paying this much, deserves a superintendent with a Ph.D., at the very least.” “WTF!! Bobby!!” “Our leadership is terrible. Principals are ‘messengers’ and followers; main office administrators are so busy trying to justify their jobs that they are getting in the way of teachers. And the superintendent is not leading. He’s simply setting the worst example of leadership I’ve seen in years.” “It is a disgrace that in an atmosphere in which the pillars of an institution are permitted to suffer economically, its leader is being rewarded at their expense.” “Are the campuses ranked as exemplary? Are they ranked among the 100 best schools in the country? What were the criteria for the bonus? Isn’t our motto ‘children come first’?” “We do all the work and look who gets paid!” You should be ashamed, Mr. Santos, for accepting our money!!!” “UISD has slapped teachers in the face. The school day has been extended by 30 minutes with no pay, the budget has been cut, the classes are enlarged, and we are told, ‘No raise for four years… Enjoy the fact that you have a job.’ The board handed Mr. Santos $25,000 at the expense of every teacher in the district. I find it disgusting and narrow-minded — not much of surprise.” “Perhaps it is time for new leadership. One which will inspire, not disgust.”
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Feature
Adios, Bucky — ‘la reina del monte’
By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Staff
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ur old buckskin, Bucky, one of the fine animals that has fueled countless stories and filled the hearts and imaginations of my granddaughters Emily and Amandita, has joined the pantheon of good horses that have lived on this ranch. Bucky was to Emily and Amandita and their cousins what La Media Naranja and La Nicla were to those of us who spent weekends out here with my grandmother and our aunts and uncles — a gentle, wellmannered horse that let you open gates without dismounting and a sweet ride. For all the years since my son George brought her to the ranch, I cannot recall Bucky having a bad-tempered moment. She always let the girls groom her before and after a ride, and she was always accepting of the carrots they offered her with such deference, as though Bucky was an eminence. What all of us remember in recent history is that when George brought a sorrel named El Sabino to the ranch last year, the gelding fell resolutely in love with Bucky. If we separated Bucky from the horse pas-
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ture first to saddle her up, El Sabino ran the fence line in a dramatic, stirring show of distress. If we took too long to come back for him, he jumped the fence, jumped one cattle guard, and ran through the corrals to get to another pasture, where he jumped yet another cattle guard to end up where she was. El Sabino was not the only one who held Bucky in such high regard. Children know the things in life that are golden, and my girls will have the memory of hours spent with this horse and their father and the narrative he provided for the adventure of horsemanship, how to care for Bucky, the nomenclature of tack, how to be safe, and how to know the kindness in Bucky’s eyes. “I see her, Nana. I see Bucky!” Like me, Emily had developed an eye to start looking for Bucky in the brush well before we got to the ranch gate. I wailed inconsolably and like a child at the news that she was gone, for all the years I’ve counted on the sight of her on so beautiful and isolated a landscape, for all the years she moved her face near mine to nuzzle, and for how kind, patient, and generous she was with my granddaughters. This doña of a horse is very much missed. ◆
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Pink To Do Breast Cancer Awareness Walk Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011
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News & Commentary
On southbound Highway 83, trooper interrogation made the day go south By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Staff
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any of us who commute back and forth from Zapata County to Laredo know U.S. Highway 83 well — where it opens up to four lanes, where it constricts, and where the landscape changes from monte to arroyos and agricultural fields. We know where the DPS troopers usually park after the two lanes opens to four, and we know that if we follow the speed limit that we probably won’t be having a chat with a trooper that day. Such was Ricardo Ramirez’s presumption on the morning of September 27 as he drove with his 13-year-old daughter Katy for a dental appointment in Laredo. Ramirez, the president of IBC Zapata, recalled and later stated in an affidavit that after the road turned into a four-lane at the Webb-Zapata county line, he traveled north
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in the left-hand lane until a DPS trooper pulled him over and signaled him to step out of his truck. Trooper F. Maldonado (Badge #13516) apprised Ramirez that he had been stopped for driving in a left-hand lane, a lane for passing only. Maldonado requested Ramirez’s drivers license and then began a curious line of questioning. Where was Ramirez going, why was he traveling to Laredo, where was he from, where did he buy his truck (Pleasanton), where was Pleasanton, how much had the truck cost, what he did for a living, which IBC, and did he have any priors that a license check would reveal? Maldonado ran the check on Ramirez’s license and told him to remain at the back of the truck. He then interrogated Katy Ramirez on the passenger side of the truck. Who is that man? What is his name? What does he do? Where are you going? Is this truck new? When did he buy it? She
responded to the trooper’s questions and he returned to Ramirez, issuing him a warning for driving in a passing lane. Ramirez said that the trooper’s demeanor
In my world, you need to give respect to earn respect, and that officer does not have my respect. Ricardo Ramirez, IBC Zapata president was hostile and aggressive from the beginning, and did not change even as he identified himself as president of a multi-million dollar bank. “I am a law-abiding citizen and I answered every question that he asked, so that we could be done and on our way to our
dental appointment,” Ramirez said. “I know that the Fourth Amendment, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona, and recently re-affirmed by the Supreme Court in the Guantanamo Detainees vs. U. S. government, provides that I can choose to remain silent.” Ramirez said he had a problem with the interrogation of his daughter without his permission or an adult present to protect her. “The trooper did not approach her like a person who would have made her feel safe. She was scared and intimidated by his demeanor and the numerous tattoos on his upper arms. Instead of making her feel that he could be someone she could trust, he made her fear for her safety,” Ramrez said, adding, “In my world, you need to give respect to earn respect, and that officer does not have my respect. He violated my Civil Rights, and he violated my daughters Civil Rights under the United States Constitution.” ◆
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Healthful cooking with a purpose
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS Staff
Chef Beto Gutierrez of La Posada Hotel’s Zaragoza Grill demonstrates healthful cooking at “Cooking for a Cause” on Wednesday, October 5. Gutierrez prepared sautéed chicken breasts with curried cauliflower, arugula pistachio salad, balsamic fig vinaigrette, and portabella veggie burgers with red wine fig jam. All proceeds from the event went directly to Wings Laredo, a nonprofit that “provides comprehensive breast health care services to women in Central and South Texas,” according to a press release. “Cooking for a Cause” is part of a series of events in October celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Gutierrez was recognized earlier this year in Texas Monthly as “the city’s top food ambassador.”
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS Staff
— LareDOS Staff
Raising hunger awareness Attendees of the World Food Day Rice & Beans Luncheon on Friday, October 14 wait in line to enjoy a lunch of rice, beans, and fresh pico de gallo. The staple foods were symbolic, bringing attention to hunger in the community. Volunteers from Bethany House of Laredo prepared the food. WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
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The Mystery Customer BY THE mystery Customer
The delivery man who never came; the iceman cameth and wenteth
Papa John’s Pizza 4803 San Bernardo Ave. Just the other day, the MC heard of a horror story from a friend who ordered Domino’s — his pizza order for a large birthday party never arrived. Coincidentally, the MC went through a similar experience earlier that week with Papa John’s. It was a bad week for ordering pizza in Laredo, apparently. I had ordered online at Papa John’s once before, for carryout, and my order was fresh and ready when I arrived at the story 15 minutes later. However, this time I ordered online and was sent an email that said my wait time would be no more than 40 minutes. An hour later, I called Papa John’s and inquired about the status of my order. The employee said that it “took 20 minutes for the online orders to reach us” (lie number one) and that “the order is just coming out of the oven.” I politely replied that I would wait if it wouldn’t take that long, and hung up. Thirty minutes later, I called again. The same employee answered, and I explained that I was calling about the
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same order and that it had been nearly and hour and half since I had ordered my one large pizza and side order of chicken strips. She doubted me, “Your order came in at—” she said while she obviously looked at the printout with my order, “3:47 p.m.” She then counted the minutes, which I had already figured out because I too had the time my order was made… in my inbox. “Yeah, like I said, nearly and hour and a half,” I told her. She replied that yes, it shouldn’t take that long to get my order. My patience was being tested by this time because earlier she had told me that they received online orders 20 minutes after the order was made, and that clearly was not the case as she read the time they received the printout. I did not see a reason to be very nice anymore. I asked her where the delivery driver was, and she said he had another order to make, so maybe he was doing that first? She clearly had no idea where he was. I told her I didn’t want the order anymore — hell, I didn’t even know where the delivery driver was. I won’t be ordering from Papa John’s again for a while, but next time I do, I’ll stick with carryout.
El Rincón 1307 Hidalgo St. The employees at El Rincón should give themselves a pat on the back for having some of the best food in Laredo. Delicious enchiladas, grilled burgers that absolutely delight the taste buds, and a cabbage soup that is a must-have all make El Rincón a place that every Laredoan should try at least once. El Rincón is another mom-andpop business, and the restaurant offers delivery in the downtown area. Support local businesses and try El Rincón. H-E-B 4801 San Dario Ave. Store policy apparently dictates that the customer shall not grab her own bag of ice, lest she find a way to heist it. The check-out clerk has to call a kid with a lollipop in his mouth to get your ice for you. The first bag of Ready Ice that candy man
brought out was one dimensional, flat. It had melted, the water had run out, and it had frozen de nuevo. When he handed it to me, I said, “Are you kidding me? Do you think I think that’s a bag of ice?” He went back to the ice cooler, a walk that entailed unlatching this and that portal, and I watched him scavenge for something that looked more like a bag of ice — a bag rounded from being filled with frozen cubes. He found one and threw it to the floor with, I thought, icy anger, and then walked back through the latched door and handed me a bag of ice that was torn open. I asked, “Are you selling me a torn bag of ice?” He wasn’t happy any more. He walked back to the cooler, attitude afire, and brought me a bag of ice that hadn’t been re-frozen and that wasn’t torn. My expectation took him three tries. Where are these folks trained? Are they trained? ◆
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Texas A&M International University
TAMIU hits record 7000-plus enrollment, welcomes new system chancellor
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Special to LareDOS
ordan M. Gibson made history recently at TAMIU. The junior marketing major and member of TAMIU’s Men’s Golf Team from Painted Butte, Alberta, Canada, is the 7000th student of a record 7,039 students enrolled at TAMIU this fall. Gibson and fellow TAMIU students were joined by the new Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, who helped cut a commemorative cake to welcome the University’s record class, a 2.71-percent increase over last fall’s 6,853 students. Sharp, who became chancellor on September 6, is touring the System’s 11 universities, seven state agencies, and a comprehensive health science center. Officials said students are also enrolling in more courses, with 70,441 semester credit hours being generated, a 3.59-percent increase over last fall’s 67,997 semester credit hours. State funding is based on those hours.
TAMIU president Ray Keck said this fall’s enrollment — recruited during state budget cuts, reductions in student assistance, and a general national economic downturn — speaks highly of TAMIU student commitment and determination. “Unfortunately, there was a perfect storm of bad news for all state universities, and ours was no different. We saw aid to needy students reduced, operating budgets cut 18 percent, and a bleak national economic forecast compounding everything. Yet students made their decision, imagined their possibilities here at TAMIU, and enrolled. We are encouraged by their commitment and their determination,” Dr. Keck explained. “Like all of Texas’ public universities, we are deeply concerned with the reductions in state funding and the potential for lasting damage that we believe they may represent. TAMIU is a thriving engine of community change and betterment: driv-
ing growth, business investments and quality of life enhancements. That engine was effectively slowed by this legislative session,” Keck continued. He provided additional information on this fall’s enrollment at TAMIU. Female students outnumber males 4,211 (59.82 percent) to 2,828 (40.18 percent), and 93 percent of students identify themselves as minority, including Hispanic, African American, Asian, American Indian, and other. The overall average student age is 23, with undergraduates averaging 22 and graduates 31. The doctoral student population numbers 29, and averages 33 years of age. The University’s oldest student is 62. The student/teacher ratio is 25:1 and undergraduate class sizes average 33 students. HB1 students, qualified local high students enrolled in University-level coursework coordinated by their high school campus and district, number 521. While 96 percent of students are from Texas, almost 3 percent are foreign. International students number 188 and come
from 26 countries. The college with the highest enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences with 3,879 students. The most popular undergraduate majors are business administration, criminal justice, nursing, early childhood education and biology. The most popular graduate majors are business administration, educational administration, school counseling, counseling psychology, and accounting. Registration for spring 2012 starts Monday, October 31. Classes start Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. For additional information, please contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at (956) 326-2180 or visit offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268. More information is available at tamiu. edu, by email at prmis@tamiu.edu and on the university’s social network sites: Facebook, Foursquare, Flicker, Twitter and YouTube. University office hours are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. ◆
Texas A&M International University’s historic 7000th student, Jordan M. Gibson of Canada, center, is joined by new Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp, left, and TAMIU president Dr. Ray Keck, as all cut cake to celebrate with students, faculty, staff and alumni at the University Success Center on September 29.
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Reflections of a New Texan By DENISE FERGUSON
Denise Ferguson is newly arrived in Laredo. A Rhode Islander by birth, she and her husband retired to Laredo to be near their family. She can be reached by email at denise291.1@juno.com.
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nce in a while I hear concerns related to the public’s grasp of geography in the United States. I don’t lay any claim to expertise on the subject, but during the course of my elementary education in the city of Pawtucket, R.I., I do remember having been required at various times to name all 48 (at the time) states, along with the capitols of each state. Later in life, as events demanded that I take up residency in far away vistas, I encountered some surprises with respect to other people’s perspective of Rhode Island — or lack of. The first revelation took place in the city of Houston, whose significance lies in being the birthplace of my grandson. During the time I was a resident there, I worked part time for the nearby Hebrew Day School as a teacher assistant for toddlers. Upon getting acquainted with a lead teacher one day, she asked me where I was from. I responded that I was from Rhode Island. She asked me, “Is that in the United States?” I was somewhat disheartened; maybe because back in the day we learned that Rhode Island was the smallest state in conjunction with the fact that Texas at the time was the largest state. Isn’t that rather a good way to present facts — by incorporating points of interest? So, does this mean that the teachers in Rhode Island found Texas of sufficient interest to relate its proportionate size to Rhode Island? But Texas teachers did not reciprocate? Not too long after that episode, I mentioned my origins to another new acquaintance in Texas. She asked me, “So where is your island?” That is not an unreasonable question. I am loathe to mention that back in the day, it never occurred to me to ask any teacher why Rhode Island was so named (since it is not an island). It wasn’t until junior high or so that one of my classmates brought it up. The response was that the early explorers mistook the landmass of Rhode Island for Block Island (which is a small island offshore from Rhode Island). Block Island reminded the explorers of an island in the Mediterranean called Rhodes Island and so named it. So it appears that Rhode Island was a mistake from the beginning. Moving from Houston right along to Janesville, Wisc., which was our next place WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
‘How do you spell Laredo?’ of residency, I tried a new response with a new acquaintance at a job-training session. When she inquired about my place of origin, I answered, “I am from New England.” Bad idea. She responded, “Oh, so you lived near London?” That name (according to my perspective) defines a particular northeast region of the country consisting of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The last I knew, we had pretty much broken our ties with England. While I was in Janesville, I took the opportunity to realize a lifetime dream of taking the Empire Builder Amtrak Train across the northern states. I needed to pick out a prospective destination since I had found my train endurance to be about 28 hours on previous trips from Providence, R.I., to Orlando, Fla. In studying the Amtrak schedule, I discovered that the train stopped at Glacier National Park, Mont., within 26 hours from Milwaukee, Wisc. It turned out to be an extraordinary trip. Our tour guide was the descendent of Native Americans. As he zipped around the dangerous precipices, he advised us that drivers who accidentally maimed or killed the animals wandering the local roads were liable for damages made payable to the local Native Americans. He also advised tourists that Native Americans were the first settlers and had first dibs with respect to complaining about current immigration. Altogether the majestic mountains, beautiful wildlife, good food, and efficient train service provided me with an unforgettable experience in a place I had never heard of. Some of my other lapses in geography were addressed when I moved to Laredo and actually started to fly to places where Amtrak trains could not take me within 24 hours. Prior to that, we did a circuitous Amtrak side trip, after visiting family in Orlando, to New Orleans on our way back to Providence. We met a couple in the dining car that was headed to Houston. They advised us that they had visited New Orleans and disliked it because it was tawdry. Well, a year later we found ourselves ensconced in Houston ourselves, and I often look back and wonder if they found the more civilized ambience they were expecting. My own concern about New Orleans had nothing to do with the risqué behavior of the natives. My concern was that I found out I had to walk uphill to take a tour boat on the Mississippi. The rest of America was
acquainted with that geographic anomaly a few years later. A second complaint was that I could find no Dixieland Jazz music, which was the purpose of my trip. Houston, on the other hand, presented some pleasant surprises. I was not aware that it was near the Gulf Coast and a short distance to Galveston. In spite of Glen Campbell‘s best efforts, I was not aware that Galveston was an island or that it was anywhere near Texas. A couple of years later we got around to flying to Seattle for a couple of days. We had been avoiding that tourist spot because of the high hotel prices. We settled for a room costing $80, which had a leaky ceiling just above the bed. Management scurried to find a replacement even though they had told us earlier that we had the last room. (Maybe they heard I contributed to LareDOS.) In Seattle, we found an underground city, which, if I remember correctly, was replaced by the current one to minimize the possibility of sewage backups, of which the guide pointed out petrified remains. He said, “If you flushed the toilet when the tide was up you would get a bath.” The tour guide also happened to mention,
as we wove our way through the underground city, “If an earthquake occurs, follow the nearest exit.” Uh oh. My geography teachers never mentioned the underground city or that the California fault line went up that far or that in its early years, misfits from nearby states were banished to Seattle, where they became politicians. I was further reminded of the fault line in later years when a tour guide in Vancouver said, as he drove us through the towering buildings of the city, “We are about due for a massive earthquake here.” Nonetheless, when we subsequently visited my cousin in Sonoma, Calif., I stood on a fault line marker to pose for a photo. Might as well live on the wild side! As far as Laredo is concerned, I acquired most of my information from John Wayne. My father, and subsequently, my husband took me to all of Wayne’s movies. Many times they featured our hero crossing the Río Grande (or a puddle on a Hollywood back lot) to go to or from Laredo. But when I called a Time Warner representative to tell her to switch my cable service from Janesville, Wisc., to Laredo, she said, “How do you spell Laredo?” Obviously not a John Wayne fan. ◆
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Opinion
Where do we go from here? Enter the 2020 plan By JOSE ANTONIO LOPEZ LareDOS Contributor
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centered on the dilemma of Texas Hispanics and education. It is a well-known fact that Spanish-surnamed students rank at the lowest level of the education ladder. How can we turn things around? I believe that the answer is to use early Texas history as a teaching tool. That brings me to the purpose of this article. There is evidence that pride in one’s history does matter. For example, the Tejano Genealogy Society of Austin recently hosted a genealogy/history workshop that attracted an overflowing attendance of Hispanic citizens who, for the first time, wanted to learn about their ancestors. Also, young Evelyn Juárez, a student at Carlos F. Vigil Middle School in Santa Cruz, N.M., recently won the first-ever Spanish Spelling Bee. How symbolic that Evelyn lives in Nuevo México, a region named and settled in the 1500s by Spanish-Mexican pioneers, and a region that is much older than the U.S. itself.
Courtesy of The Tejano Monument
he encouraging response to my last article “Twelve things we must all know about Texas” reveals an increasing thirst for knowledge regarding the lost pages of our state’s early history. Two issues in particular caught the discerning eye of various readers. (l) They were pleasantly surprised to see the 1836 Battles of the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto in a new light, since they are clearly a chapter in Mexico’s history, not the U.S. (2) Similarly, many Hispanics had never stopped to realize that the Álamo and La Bahia Presidio have long been marketed primarily as post-1836 Texas Anglo-Saxon history tourist sites, when in reality they rightfully belong in their own Spanish-Mexican pioneer history in Texas. Likewise, a chorus of support endorsed my closing comments that speak-
ing Spanish and practicing our unique heritage in Texas must no longer be seen as sins of U.S. citizenship. However, where do we go from here? Sadly, we live in an era where mere rediscovery of our ancestors’ history may not be enough to preserve it. Ignorance feeds intolerance, while knowledge feeds understanding. Driven by ignorance, extremist right-wing politicians continue to use illegal immigration as a whip to punish the entire Spanish-Mexican heritage. So, SpanishMexican-descent citizens in Texas continue to play defense. Still, the dark cloud of bigotry may have a silver lining. As sometimes happens in history, the unjust persecution of vulnerable people often backfires, resulting in strengthening of the targeted group. In writing Texas history articles, my goal has been to convince others that there’s a direct connection between pride in one’s history and level of education. My focus has
This vaquero statue will be part of the 33-foot-long Tejano Monument, a tribute to the early Spanish and Mexican pioneers of Texas. The monument, which will be dedicated on March 29, 2012, will be one of the rare symbols of Tejano achievement and stand near the main southside entrance of the Texas Capitol in Austin.
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Increasing the knowledge of history and raising the level of Hispanics’ education are very compatible ideas. Hispanic kids are just as intelligent as any other group. However, their level of education continues to stagnate at the bottom of the scale. The only way to fix that is to improve their chances to succeed by adopting a 2020 vision. That is, by the year 2020 or earlier, every Hispanic student will be expected to complete high school and enter and graduate from a fouryear college. Are they up to the challenge? Yes. Below is a plan to make it happen. To Hispanic students in elementarythrough-high school grade levels: You need to understand that you are the main characters in the story. Being a winner depends on three things: high self-esteem, confidence, and hard work. Focus on this recipe for success and you will have a dependable lifeline for the rest of your lives. To parents, teachers, and professors of Hispanic students: Your roles are important, too. The Hispanic youth of today deserve a better tomorrow, where earning a college degree is the rule, not the exception. It is within your power to forge a new Texas Hispanic. It won’t be easy, given the anti-education and anti-Hispanic climate created by several state legislatures, including Texas. Working together, you can stop the damage that high school dropout rates, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, gang membership, and other risky behaviors among our youth. Parents, your ancestors left you a sense of pioneer spirit. Tap into it! Re-learn the virtue of sacrifice! Have courage! Secure the three ropes of hope for your children: (l) Build up their self-esteem by reminding them of their rich heritage. (2) Demonstrate a can-do attitude so your children will attain confidence. (3) Lead by example so that they can see that hard work pays off. Instill in your children the value of aspiration and enthusiasm. No matter what it takes, your children must stay in school and participate in wholesome activities. Insist that they learn English well, but not at the expense of maintaining Spanish fluency. Heritage and language go together. Don’t be intimidated by certain monolingual Anglos who not only envy your ability to converse in two languages, but also seek to destroy your Hispanic heritage in Texas. Many adult Hispanics today regret their parents didn’t emphasize the importance of Continued on page 494 4 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Gateway Gatos of Laredo
Archaeological discoveries in Cyprus, Egypt show early human connection to cats
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Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series of the history of cats. bout 10,000 years ago, people in several places in the Middle East were beginning a process of adapting food plants so that they could be raised in great quantity. By selecting and then planting the seeds from the best plants, humans took control over the evolutionary process of some wild grasses and produced the first varieties of barley and wheat. This meant a much more stable source of food and made possible a totally new way of living. Where there was an ample supply of grain, people could begin to turn their attentions to matters other than the food supply, such as religion, art, and social organization. The grain could also be used to make another new (and sacred) drink: beer. This was the beginning of agriculture, and the foundation of everything else human beings have achieved since. But as usual, even man’s greatest success brought new problems of its own. While an ample store of food was surely a good thing, it was also an invitation to a banquet for rats and mice. At least 5,000 years earlier (probably more), dogs were the first animals to be domesticated. Domestication means that humans assume control over the care, feeding, and most importantly, the breeding of an animal (or a plant). The results are later generations of animals with physical and behavioral traits adapted to be more useful or pleasing to man. The traits of the dog were the adapted traits of the wolf – speed, stamina, keen eyes and nose, guarding, and pack behavior. The talents of the dog were well appreciated when people made their living by hunting and gathering wild food. It was grain that brought the cat’s talents come to the attention of people. One day, someone must have made the observation that wild cats were hanging around the village grain stores, picking off rats and mice attracted to the grain. Here was a situation that benefited both cats and man, and an obvious next step would have been an effort to encourage the cats to stay around. The first step might have been some supplementary feeding of the cats. When people observed that male cats freWWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
quently kill young kittens, they may have begun providing mother cats with nesting places protected from prowling male cats, bringing cats into closer proximity to humans. Another important step occurred when people allowed these mother cats to move right into their homes, bringing kittens into contact with humans at an early age. Kittens who are given regular attention and handling from humans from birth to about two months of age learn to accept humans as a natural part of their environment. At this point, the cat became not only a useful rat catcher, but also a potential companion animal. While most of these early domesticated cats remained important chiefly for their pest-control skills, we can be sure that before long, at least some of these cats began living lives that were valued not only as mousers, but for the qualities that make cats well-loved as pets today. Anyone familiar with the reproduction of cats can tell you that generations of cats follow each other rapidly, and over many generations, selective breeding of the cats who adapted best to this new lifestyle produced the domestic cat. Until fairly recently, it was accepted that the cat was first domesticated in Egypt, possibly around 5,000 B.C.E. But in 2004, an archeologist on Cyprus, a large Mediterranean island about 50 miles south of modern Turkey, found a grave that held human remains from around 7,500 B.C.E. The grave also held the bones of a young cat about 8 months old, and this person was also buried with tools and jewelry. While the cat had apparently been killed to be buried in the grave, there was no sign of butchering, and the cat’s body was carefully placed alongside the human remains. (The earliest human-dog burial dates from around 12,000 B.C.E. and was found in Israel.) Cats are not native to Cyprus, so humans must have introduced them to the island. Courtesy photo
By Richard S. Wilson LareDOS Contributor
Cat bones had been found in earlier digs on Cyprus, but according to the archeologist Jean-Denis Vigne, “…human beings brought cats from the mainland to the islands, but we couldn’t decide whether these cats were wild or tame. With this discovery we can now decide that these cats were linked with humans.” Any cat owner who has transported a screaming cat in a car will agree that anyone who put cats on board an ancient boat to make a journey across at least 50 miles of open sea must have had a very strong motivation to do so. According to scientists, the wild cats that became the ancestors of the domestic cat were mainly members of the species Felis sylvestris, the “forest cat.” Several subspecies of Felis sylvestris were (and still are) widespread throughout Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa. The most important of these cat ancestors seems to be the Felis sylvestris lybica or African wildcat, native across northern Africa and western Asia from Morocco to Iran. These small wild cats are very similar in size and appearance to modern domestic cats; many of these wild cats would look right at home on the streets of Laredo to anyone who was not an expert on cat zoology. Unlike dog breeds, which show such an amazing variety of sizes, physical traits, and temperaments (think of a Great Dane, a Chihuahua, or an English bulldog), selective breeding of cats has kept modern cats much closer in size and appearance to their wild ancestors. Cat breeds, unlike dog breeds, dif-
fer mainly in coloration and length of fur. Because the skeleton of the domestic cat is very little different from its wild ancestors, it has been difficult for cat zoologists to trace the domestication of cats from skeletal remains. (On the other hand, the domestication of the dog is much easier for scientists to trace because the skeletons of early dogs show increasing differences from the skeletons of wolves, their wild ancestor.) The humancat burial on Cyprus, though, clearly shows that cats were being domesticated as early as 7,500 B.C.E. While we believe that cats were first domesticated in the Middle East, domestic cats seem to have developed in other areas of the old world as well, following the development of grain agriculture. Wherever these early domestic cats spread, they were bred with local varieties of Felis sylvestris, such as Felis sylvestris sylvestris, the European wildcat, or Felis sylvestris ornata, the Indian desert cat, as well as other closely related small wild cats, such as Felis chaus, the jungle cat, found from Egypt east to India. ‘ Cats had spread to the lake dwellers of Switzerland by 2,000 B.C.E.; Sanskrit writing from around 1,000 B.C.E. refers to cats. Cats were brought to Italy around 900 B.C.E., and in China, Confucius watched a cat catch a mouse about 500 B.C.E. The place the cat won the most acclaim however, was Egypt, where the cat was known before 3,500 B.C.E. In Egypt, the grain growing capital of the ancient world, cats became gods. Next month: Cat History Part Two – Cats in the Ancient World. Gateway Gatos is seeking other Laredo cat lovers. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 1700 San Francisco Ave., at 7:00PM. In partnership with St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, Gateway Gatos is holding an Animal Posada on Sunday December 11 3:00PM at St. Peter’s Plaza (Matamoros and Main). For information, please call Birdie Torres at 956-286-7866 or email at birdtorres@hotmail. com. ◆
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Feature
Laredo under Second Diocese of Linares, or Nuevo Reyno de León, 1779-1850 By DR. JOSÉ ROBERTO JUAREZ LareDOS Contributor Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of five narratives about the diocesan history of Laredo, from its founding in 1755 to the present. he permanent church that was begun in 1768 was finished in 1788 under the second diocese of Nuevo León. The January 29, 1789 census mentions the first permanent temple. Laredo had a population of 334 Spaniards (quite a few must have been criollos), 188 mulatos, 178 mestizos, and 110 Carrizo Indians who were being served in the recently built stone church and sacristy. The church was erected to face south on the northwest corner in front of what are now the present school and church buildings. It was a rock structure, 16 by 120 feet, with a brick floor, facing south — what is now Zaragoza Street. The priest’s house was built next to it. The priest was no longer subsidized by the diocesan government but was supported only from ministerial fees from the citizens and Indians. The fact that fines for the church fund were still being enacted in 1789 and 1790 would indicate that the church building or its furnishing had not yet been totally completed. Father Timoteo Frías added a bell tower to the church building around 1852. This structure served the parishioners until 1873, when it was demolished. Archeological excavations were carried out in 1990 and 1991, and a subsequent report was completed in 2000. Archeologist James E. Warren reported that a minimum of 109 burials was discovered in several areas of the block. This first “permanent church” was uncovered on the northwest corner of the block, just in front of the present St. Augustine School and church buildings. A few individuals were buried within the church. Many Laredoans wish that DNA testing would be done on the remains supposed to be those of the founder of Laredo, Don Tomás Sánchez. The elegance of the man’s burial dress and the fact that he was buried within the first permanent church would indicate that it was Don Tomás. There are many who have asked and continue to pray that Bishop James Tamayo approve DNA testing.
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Parishioners for 19 years had been ex- cate that attempts were made to build the empt from tithes since the founding of edifice in the first decades of the 1800s. Laredo in 1755. This tax was meant to deLaredo was blessed with the first visit fray the diocesan administrative, cathe- by a bishop in 1805. The prelate of Nuevo dral liturgical expenses, and the Spanish Reyno de León, Primo Feliciano Marín monarchy’s religious activities. The ex- de Porras, travelled from his residence in emption ended in 1774, when preparations Monterrey to the villas along the river on a were being made to create the new diocese confirmation tour. He must have been satisof Linares or Nuevo Reyno de León. All of fied with conditions because his secretary the Province of wrote very brief Nuevo Santander cursory obserBy the 1780s, Laredo was included vations about was a military post when it was forthe inspection. mally constituted However, he had guarding against Indian incurin 1779. Parishioa special interest sions as well as the center of a ners continued to in traveling into have to pay minthe Province of corridor through which troops, isterial fees and Texas. He saw wayfarers, and traders traveled first fruits. Shortthat there were from Texas to Nuevo ly thereafter, in fertile lands with 1783, San Agustín very few setLeón and Coahuila. complied with a tlers. The rivers decree requiring were very large that all children were to be sent to class with many fish and not the best pearls, to learn Christian doctrine and, for those but useful massive trees for ship-building. who were capable, how to read. A teacher He noted that there were abundant deer, was chosen by the priest and approved by bear, and “droves of wild horses and mares the civil government. called ‘mustangs.’” By the 1780s, Laredo was a military He suggested that Nueva España post guarding against Indian incursions should populate Texas in order to protect as well as the center of a corridor through invasions by both “barbarous Indians” which troops, wayfarers, and traders trav- and “Anglo-Americans” who were coveteled from Texas to Nuevo León and Coa- ous. The Bishop was received by the comhuila. The pastor now had the added duty mandant at Natchitoches “with respectful of ministering to the soldiers stationed in attention.” During the three days there Laredo. By 1795 the population was 636, he agreed to confirm baptized children of not including the military. A census for Anabaptists and Presbyterians. He then that year indicates that Laredo’s economy, passed through San Antonio and returned contrary to popular belief, was based more to Mexico City after having been away on the raising of goats and sheep (12,800) from his seat of the diocese for some six than herds of cattle (1,000), mares (1,200), months. horses (600), mules (370), and donkeys (70). In September 1810, while at the Saltillo In 1795 Bishop Andrés Ambrosio de annual fair, Bishop Marín de Porras “isLlanos y Valdés authorized the rebuild- sued a pastoral threatening excommuniing of San Agustín. Perhaps the building cation of all sympathizers with the revocompleted in 1788 was flawed or too small. lutionists” of Father Miguel Hidalgo “and The bishop granted a 40-day indulgence of all that aided by act or word.” He was for each half an hour of free work on the forced to take refuge briefly in Laredo in building. The following year the governor January 1811, hoping to reach San Antonio. ordered citizens to cooperate with their An anti-royalist revolt there forced him labor and other contributions. The militia to go down the Río Grande — losing his captain and magistrate of Laredo, Jesús possessions to the soldiers escorting him de la Garza, publicized the governor’s or- — to Tampico, and then to Mexico City. der. The oral tradition mentioned before Captain Díaz de Bustamante, Spaniard, also referred to another church being built was assigned to Laredo in September 1810 around 1804 and that it served up to the to maintain Spain’s control and eliminate 1870s. However, church records only indi- Father Hidalgo’s independence movement
(criollos v. peninsulares or gachupines). The combination of church and state produced a preference for the wealthy Spanish class. The criollos born in Nueva España rarely obtained the highest levels of government or church. Pastor José Cayetano Gonzales de Hermosillo served from 1808-1812 in Laredo. His family led uprisings against Spain in Revilla, but he could not revolt against Captain Díaz de Bustamante. In 1812 Father José María García became the new pastor. His sympathies were also with the insurgents, but the military commander, Captain González of Laredo, was a staunch royalist. Laredo served as a launching point for royalist General Arredondo to drive revolutionaries out of Texas. The 723 pesos “borrowed” for Spanish military from San Agustín Church were never repaid. Bishop Marin died in Monterrey on November 12, 1815. Mexico’s struggle for independence between 1810-1821, Indian raids, and droughts kept Laredo from building another church. It was General Arredondo who attempted to get the civilian authorities to start a new church in 1815. The following year the mayor decreed that fines collected for overcharging by corn vendors would go to the church construction fund. While the new church was being built, the old one was also repaired and two bells were cast locally. By 1824, however, only the foundations of the new church had been laid. The town council requested and received authorization from the diocese to use the money collected thus far to repair the old church. In the meantime, Palafox, a settlement founded in 1810 upriver on what came to be the Texas side, was placed under San Agustín’s pastor from 1814 until the settlement’s demise in 1818. Finally independent in 1821, better times returned to Laredo briefly in the late 1820s. There were over 2,000 inhabitants, not including the military. Sheep grazing had again expanded, and resident merchants began to appear, carrying on contraband trade with the newly arrived Euro-American settlers in Texas. They were attracted by the very low cost of 10 cents per acre with extended payments allowed. In comparison, however, the land in the U.S. sold for $1.25 an acre that had to be paid immeContinued on next page
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1836 and the subsequent attempts by Mexico to recover Texas greatly affected Laredo. diately in U.S. cash. The result was many The boundary between Texas and Nuevo “illegal settlers.” Legals were supposed to Santander had always been the Nueces be Catholics, but few were. However, the River, but Texas claimed the Río Grande need to fortify San Antonio and colonize up into what became New Mexico. Trade the area northeast of the Nueces River in was disrupted, and both sides of the troops the 1830s reduced Laredo’s population to marched back and forth requisitioning or around 1,700. plundering goods, horses, mules, blankets, Given the conand food. Parish ser vat ive-versusfunds were forcefulThe creation of the ly “loaned” to difliberal battles and the confrontation Republic of Texas in ferent armies. Nonewith the new Texas the tradition 1836 and the subsequent theless, settlers, it is remarkof schooling begun attempts by Mexico to re- in 1783 through civil able that repairs to San Agustín were cover Texas greatly affect- and ecclesiastic cocontinued in 1830. operation continued ed Laredo. The boundary after Mexican inThe problems, however, were not between Texas and Nuevo dependence to 1837 solved. Father José was resurrected Santander had always been and Trinidad García in 1846. the Nueces River, but Texas wrote the Bishop of External events Monterrey on June again disrupted life claimed the Río Grande up 1, 1835, that the roof in Laredo. The coninto what became still leaked and the quest of Mexico conbats left droppings firmed by the Treaty New Mexico. all over. There were of Guadalupe-Hidalonly 330 pesos go in 1848 placed the in the general funds, and Father García northern bank settlers within the United planned to invest that amount on the com- States. Three prominent community mempletion of the much-needed sacristy, which bers, José María Ramón, Basilio Benavides, had been begun by his predecessor in 1830. and Joel María González, insisted on The church, however, had property deeds Laredo staying within Mexico. Lietenant totaling 1,546 pesos and 4 reales. Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar gave the citiThe liberal “false reformers” or “Ja- zens three options: 1) submit to U.S. laws, cobines” had taken control of these funds 2) cross the Río Grande, or 3) take up arms from the church, but Father García felt it against the U.S. forces. Most stayed. Fortuwas better if the church made itself re- nately Laredo elite’s experience in self-govsponsible for the interest on these funds ernance allowed it to make alliances with and used the capital to repair the leaking the Euro-American newcomers. Mexicanroof. The Bishop authorized Father García origin settlers formed the majority and to use the funds to place beams and a cloth participated in politics and business. Their ceiling over the sanctuary to prevent bird numerical and cultural superiority resultdroppings falling on the altar and on the ed in the Mexicanization of the newcom“few adornments” of the church. The in- ers and the creation of a unique bilingual, terest on the capital funds was to be paid bicultural society. and applied religiously for the purposes Burials on the grounds of San Agustín for which they were originally intended. Church were stopped in 1848 due to U.S. However, instead of completing the sac- requirements, and the second cemetery risty and replacing the roof, Father García was located at what later became Matamused the funds in 1835 to cast a new me- oros and Santa María streets in January dium bell and recast a large one. 1849. St. Peter’s Church was built on that The creation of the Republic of Texas in location in 1896. ◆
Laredo Community College
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LCC leads the way with new state law for student success
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Special to LareDOS
fter suffering several health issues, 52-year-old Yolanda Morales-Olvera quit her job only to find out that returning to work would require her to submit new education credentials. Last summer, the Nuevo Laredo native booked an appointment to see a Laredo Community College academic and career adviser to figure out whether she would be able to pursue an education at the college. “I was lost at first because I had been out of school for almost 30 years,” MoralesOlvera said. “Luckily, I was able to meet with a caring and knowledgeable adviser who gave me the help I needed, and I can proudly say I now have 30 college credits under my belt. I couldn’t have done it without my adviser.” Morales-Olvera is not alone. She is one of more than 10,000 LCC students who are advised each semester by faculty, advisers and counselors at both campuses to ensure they’re on the right track to completing their certificate or degree requirements. In the fall of 2012, a new Texas law, which was a bill co-sponsored by Texas State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, will require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to come up with a measure to improve student success and degree completion at public higher education institutions. But LCC has already found one way to improve student success: by implementing mandatory advising. All students planning to enroll in the spring 2012 semester must be advised to be able to register for classes. Self-advisement is no longer an option. “In the past, we used to have self-advisement periods where students who had a declared major with a certain grade point average could register on their own, but that won’t be the case any longer,” said Felix Gamez, LCC dean of enrollment management. “This is a major benefit for our students because it will keep them focused on their educational track and avoid any potential issues that may become detrimental to their success.” In anticipation of the new advising requirement, LCC has begun offering yearround advising for those needing help choosing a major, or to map out a certain certificate or degree plan.
“We encourage students to get advised now to avoid long lines during the busier registration periods,” Gamez added. Although priority registration for spring 2012 will begin in less than a month, students who are undecided on their major or have concerns with their certificate or degree plan are urged to make an appointment with an adviser. To see an adviser, walk-ins are welcome but appointments will take priority. Declared majors should visit the instructional department that corresponds to their major. Students who have not declared a major should report to the Student Success Center at the Fort McIntosh or South campus. Registration for the Spring 2012 Semester begins on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 8 a.m. via the PASPort system available at laredo. edu. The class schedule for the new term is already available online at the LCC website. For more information or to book an appointment, contact the Student Success Center at the Fort McIntosh Campus at (956) 721-5135 or at the South Campus at (956) 794-4135. Saturday services come to LCC LCC students who need assistance with Financial Aid, Academic Advising, and Registration, but are unable to visit the Fort McIntosh Campus during the week, are now able to take care of school business on Saturdays. “This is about customer service. There are large sections of classes offered on Saturday, and oftentimes students are taking classes then because of time constraints during the week. They can’t always make it (to college) during the week,” said VicePresident of Student Services Dr. Vincent Solis. With close to 30 classes offered this fall on Saturdays, these new hours are providing a benefit to students who find it difficult to visit the campus during the week, but still need their questions answered, need advising, or need help applying for financial aid. A representative from Financial Aid, Admissions, Registration, and Academic Advising is on-hand every Saturday until May 14 (excluding holiday weekends) at the Fort McIntosh Campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Memorial Hall, room 125, at the Fort McIntosh Campus. These staff members may be reached at (956) 721-5109. ◆
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Serving Sentences By randy koch Randy Koch earned his MFA at the University of Wyoming and teaches writing at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
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had often been warned about them and knew they were dangerous. On that Sunday afternoon, Dale Lange, a ninth-grade classmate, and Bernie Schaffran, a high school sophomore, tore around on dirt bikes on a gravel county road a couple miles north of the farm where I grew up. When they collided head-on at the crest of a hill, one gas tank ruptured and fire engulfed them. Dale’s burns were fatal. Bernie survived, but skin grafts left him so disfigured that kids laughed at the irony of his name and joked that he resembled ET. I knew all this, and Dad always told me, “As long as you live in this house, you’re not buying no goddam motorcycle.” However, a few years later when I was 19 and left the farm, I did. Aside from dropping out of college the previous spring, it was the most reckless thing I had ever done. I’d never been on a motorcycle until Bob-
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A perilous (motor) cycle by Dallman wanted to sell his 1977 CB550 Honda for $1,800. We both worked at the Lamberton Stockyards, so one day after vaccinating and castrating hogs all morning and eating lunch, we stood by the box elder tree outside the office where he had parked it. I swung my right leg over the step seat, grabbed the handlebar grips, pulled the machine up off the kick stand, and looked at my reflection in the black gas tank. Bobby explained that you pull the clutch with your right hand and the front brake with your left, showed me how to shift with my left foot, and where to turn on the gas and pull the choke before hitting the starter. I understood Dad’s B John Deere tractor, the 1960 Chevy Bel Air I drove to work, how to drive a stick, and a little about routine maintenance on the stockyards’ trucks, but almost nothing about motorcycles. I didn’t care. I could learn. And with those pullback handle-
bars, chrome dual exhaust pipes on both highway. But those were lesser dangers. sides, and a sissy bar glittering in the July One night when I was returning to Lamsun, I could look damn good doing it. berton, Minn., after a softball game in WaI had never owned a vehicle this new. basso, Minn., a skunk waddled out of the The Bel Air was a hand-me-down from my tall grass and directly into my path — a miolder brother Ken, nor obstacle if I were and in high school I in a car but poten… and Dad always drove Dad’s 3-speed tially lethal on the told me, ‘As long ’65 Chevy, which back of a motorcycle. was over 10 years old I swerved hard, and as you live in this house, back then. But this he held his fire. you’re not buying no godbike — with fewer Another time I than 500 miles on it entered an S-curve dam motorcycle.’ However, — was barely broke too fast, slipped onto a few years later when I in, so whatever extra the gravel shoulwas 19 and left the farm, I time and money I der, panicked, and had went into it. foolishly tried to did. Aside from dropping I installed a ride it back over the out of college the previblack oil cooler with ridge of pavement chrome trim and at 40 mph. The bike ous spring, it was the most added a highway bar went down on its reckless thing I had to the frame behind side with my right ever done. the front wheel so I leg under it and could put my boots slid about 50 feet. up and lean back. I Except for a couple replaced the stock side and valve tappet of scraped cooling fins on the engine, the covers with custom finned ones. I waxed Honda was okay; I, however, broke my and buffed the gas tank and chrome fend- wrist. And there were more local fatalities: ers, washed June bugs and butterflies off A close friend’s brother who didn’t wear a the backs of the mirrors, and scrubbed the helmet was propelled over his handlebars spokes and rims until they sparkled when when he hit a car that pulled out in front I cruised down Main Street. of him; Rick Arndt drove into a ditch and I read everything I could: the small then a utility pole on a brand new Harley; manual that came with the tool kit under and Mike Heimann apparently dozed off the seat, Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of while riding home and drove head-on into Motorcycle Maintenance, an article about an oncoming car. the physics of banking through turns, and I eventually sold the Honda when I got a 300-page repair and service manual that my first teaching job in Minnesota and was I used to maintain the bike myself. Eventu- raising 7-year-old Mary alone. The bike ally I attached a small touring windshield had simply become impractical, and being and installed a manual cruise control to the older, I now recognized the adolescent athandlebar above the throttle for the long tractions that once drew me to it: the blur of ride west across the Dakotas and Montana pavement under my boots meant freedom, and later, when I was 20, south into Texas the spinning odometer measured the miles for the first time. away from Lamberton, leaning through Though I always wore a helmet, riding hairpin turns above Denver was thrilling, that 550 had its own particular dangers. and with a sleeping bag, tent, clothes, and Meeting an 18-wheeler on a two-lane high- a notebook in a pack strapped to the sissy way meant getting stung with tiny stones bar I could be at home wherever I was. hurtling out of the truck’s wake, and at But I also bought that motorcycle for 60 miles per hour, raindrops felt like pin- reasons that, as a 20-year-old, I couldn’t adpricks. Once, a bee got funneled into the mit to anyone and maybe didn’t even reccollar of my jacket. When it regained con- ognize myself: It offered solitude, revealed sciousness and had settled between my an inner and outer world new to me, and shoulder blades, it unloaded a god-awful made possible a life I could dream of ridsting while I was motoring down a U.S. ing into and begin writing about. ◆ WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Seguro Que Sí By Henri Kahn
Contact Henri D. Kahn with your insurance questions at (956) 725-3936, or by fax at (956) 791-0627, or by email at hkahn@ kahnins.com
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Bring back ‘We have a job’
am a hard-working owner of a small business with 10 hard-working employees whom I depend on and who depend on me. We are, in fact, a team of people doing our best to earn an income to provide food, clothing, shelter, and the best lifestyle we can afford for ourselves and persons that depend on our earned income to live. We have a job! These days, “We have a job” is something that hundreds of thousands of people in this country cannot say. I keep updated on what is happening in our country, hoping to collect enough information to pinpoint the reason for all of this economic misery being suffered by so many unemployed Americans. After reading books on the economy by Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, Harry Hazlit, and others — plus books on how sucessful people have become successful and currently, the money makeover guru Dave Ramsey — I have come up with a basic reason that makes sense to me. This reason is uncontrolled, unabated increase in the use of borrowed money by the American populace and our government to conduct every aspect of our life and standard of living. Want a car, a house, dinner at a restaurant, engagement ring, boat, vacation trip, and/or college education? Head for the bank or pull out the credit card! The problem is that people in this country
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worry more about financial resources in reference to the ability to borrow than being able to pay the loan balance. This mentality creates the stupidity (yes, stupidity) of making loan payments with borrowed money. The federal government conducts its stupidity (yes, stupidity) by printing paper currency to pay the money owed to you and me, so the taxes we pay to the feds for our welfare is borrowed from us without any documented agreement to repay us, and of course, to increase taxes for us to pay whenever the Fed decides. Military actions, sometimes wars, giving billions in so-called aid to countries all over the world result in making us so good we’re no good. Culprits like Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and several other Middle Eastern countries that are not necessarily our friends — with the exception of Israel, which is our only real friend in that area of the world — cost us huge bucks. The solution to having more Americans saying, “We have a job” is to increase the amount of tax-deductible expense and reduce the overall tax burdern of the majority of businesses, the small business establishment. I don’t care which political party sets the ball rolling to increase the “We have a job” group of Americans. However, the people who do the job for the American worker will definiately get my support and vote! Pray for our political leaders to join hands and act on our job creation predicament. ◆
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tional Tejano history books on library shelves.
speaking Spanish. Do not make the same Finally, both Hispanic and non-Hismistake. Start your children’s college fund now! Do your civic duties. Join the PTA. panic citizens agree. Pre-1836 people and Hold politicians and school officials ac- events are basic in the telling of Texas history. A sense of a strong Spanish-Mexican countable. Vote! To the many successful Spanish-Mex- pioneer identity is the only key that has ican-descent citizens across the country: not been tried to help Hispanics succeed. To that end, we need to fix the probYou have made it in mainstream society, so consider helping those who need a hand to lem from the ground up. For example, reach their potential. Be a mentor and help Spanish-Mexican historic buildings must anyway you can, but get involved! Support be admired for their strength, beauty and teachers. Tell politicians and elected offi- creativity of their Spanish-Mexican builders. The Álamo cials to stop bullying and La Bahia teachers every year It is time for the fair Presidio must no during budget deand balanced telllonger be promotbates. Their conduct ed only because only hurts students ing of mainstream Texas armed Anglo exin the classroom. history. After all, Texas is patriates from the To historians: Do in New Spain, not U.S. died there. the right thing for Nowhere else the right reasons. New England. in history has Treat our intrepid one ethnic group Spanish-Mexican ancestors with the same level of dignity and robbed another group’s heritage to embelrespect that Texas Anglos have enjoyed lish their own. Yet, that is what has been since 1836. Likewise, it’s time that you done in Texas. Once and for all, we must advocate their individual stories as ex- end this incongruous charade that has been amples of American exceptionalism. The allowed to exist in Texas for over 150 years. It is time for the fair and balanced telllong-overdue Tejano Monument, which is scheduled to unveiled early next spring, is ing of mainstream Texas history. After all, showing the way. It is your job to continue Texas is in New Spain, not New England. Paraphrasing the words of attorney Gus the message in history books. To all college students, especially García in his address to the U.S. Supreme history majors: Consider doing your Court in 1954, “We didn’t cross the Rio master’s theses and doctoral disserta- Grande, the Rio Grande crossed us. Sam tions in the fascinating topic of Span- Houston was one of the original illegal ish-Mexican heritage. You don’t have aliens in Texas. Spanish Mexicans didn’t to be Hispanic to do so. For Hispanics, invade the Southwest, we were already write your family stories down. Hope- here and came with the real estate. We are fully, your efforts will result in addi- still here!” ◆
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Notes from LaLa Land By dr. neo gutierrez
Dr. Neo Gutierrez is a Ph.D. in Dance and Fine Arts, Meritorious Award in Laredo Fine Arts recipient 2009 from Webb Co. Heritage Foundation, Laredo Sr. Int’l 2008, Laredo MHS Tiger Legend 2002, and Sr. Int’l de Beverly Hills, 1997. Contact neodance@aol.com.
Ex-Laredoan’s photography exhibited in Paris
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photography exhibit of native Laredoan George O. Jackson Jr. opened in Paris on October 13. Jackson grew up in Laredo and now resides in Houston. Jackson said the show was arranged by his friends Margarita Orellana and her husband Alberto Ruy Sanchez Lacy, co-directors and pre-eminent keepers of Mexican cultural annals, Artes de Mexico. The exhibition is about the rain propitiatory festivals of the Nahua Guerrerense of Central Guerrero. “The festivals are easily the most fascinating cultural activity that I have encountered during my years of meandering Mexico in my quest to extract the essence of the Mexican festival as it existed in the final decade of the millennium,” Jackson said. Noted French anthropologist Francoise Neff, who, after studying this culture for over 30 years, is the French authority on the subject, will attend the exhibition. Also coming up is another show in Santa Fe, N.M., in which Jackson’s “Calaveras Resplandecentes” portfolio will show. George O. Jackson de Llano was born in Houston to George O. Jackson Sr. and Dolores María de Llano Villarreal. In 1990 he launched the Essence of Mexico Project to create a photographic record of the indigenous festivals of Mexico.
By 2001 he had compiled an unprecedented 75,000 images of more than 300 festivals celebrated by indigenous communities across Mexico. Jackson donated his work to the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art of the San Antonio Museum of Art. A complete set of his images is now available to the public for research at UT-Austin. He explained, “My fascination with Mexico began in early childhood. Although I was born and raised in Texas, my mother’s family came from the state of Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico. Her maternal grandfather, Ruben Villarreal, moved his family from Lampazos de Naranjo to Laredo around 1910, at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Her father was a descendant of Manuel María de Llano, who served as mayor of Monterrey and governor of Nuevo Leon during the 19th century. “My childhood on the Mexican border was defined by Mexican culture, and my family frequently traveled throughout Mexico. In the late 1970s, I joined a botanical expedition to southern Mexico, where I began to appreciate the diversity of Mexico’s indigenous peoples and the complexity of their festivals. This experience was an epiphany that inspired me to explore Mexico’s cultural richness by photographing the festivals of its indigenous communities. My goal has been to document the variety and beauty of this
enchanting but ephemeral art that will serve as a permanent testimony to the creativity of the members of these communities.” Appropriately, on September 16 the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards went on national TV via NBC, and I think it’s the best awards show they’ve produced to date. And our Julia Vera was there sitting in the VIP section and partaking in the Green Room, where all the stars socialize before and after the show. Eva Longoria, originally from Corpus Christi, was producer and co-host alongside George Lopez. Julia Vera explained that the show aired one week after it was staged. “I loved being at the taping of the awards,” she said. “Thanks to my friend Mary Capello of Laredo, I was given two VIP tickets. So you see, it is who you know. I invited Maria Luna, who played Buddy Holly’s wife in the Buddy Holly movie. Also, Jorge Haynes gave me two of his tickets and I invited the lead actress of All She Can, Corina Calderon and San-
tiago Villalobos, who is also in the same movie. I have a role in that movie as the grandmother.” Vera said she ran into Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio at an after party. “We chatted about mutual friends. Benjamin Bratt came over to talk to Lupe Ontiveros and he reached over and told me that it had been quite a while since we had seen each other. I thought that was nice,” Vera said, adding that she had seen Danny Trejo and Rico Rodriguez. “He played my grandson on Phillip’s Sandwiches. I saw the beautiful Mexican actress, Sandra Echevarria from La Fuerza del Destino, who is filming a movie by Oliver Stone. When she first came to Hollywood, she was recommended to me by her manager, Vince Lazzo, to be her acting coach. She is doing so great!” A correction to last month’s story about Miguel Salinas and the U.N.: He graduated from UT-Austin with a degree in journalism, he is not from Brownsville now, and he is not a lawyer. Until later, as Norma Adamo says, TAN TAN! ◆
The best kept secret in Laredo
1, 2 and 3 bedroom floorplans available. Prices starting at $725 Town houses and corporate suites also available For more information, please contact: www.carmelapts.com Carmel Apartments Office Hours 830 Fasken Blvd. Laredo, Texas M-F 8:30-5:30 956.753.6500, 956.753.6502 fax Sat. 10:00-5:00
Sit back, relax, and welcome home 50
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South Texas Food Bank
Salo Otero is the Marketing Director for the South Texas Food Bank. He can be reached at sotero@ southexasfoodbank. org or by calling 956-726-3120.
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Food bank receives award for excellent customer service
he Laredo Chamber of Commerce has recognized the South Texas Food Bank and its employees with the chamber’s Five Star Customer Service Award in the nonprofit category. The award was presented during an October 6 dinner at the Laredo Country Club. “We are very honored to have received this award and thank the community for recognizing our service,” said STFB executive director Alfonso Casso Jr. “We serve a clientele who is in need, and regardless of circumstance, are deserving of our respect and compassion. We thank the chamber and the community for their support and recognition.” Board president Kevin Romo added, “The South Texas Food Bank staff is very dedicated and hard-working. Customer service is always on their mind.” STFB counts on several programs to lend a hand in food distribution via more than 80 agencies and pantries. Elia Solis is the agency coordinator. The programs include: • Adopt a Family, which serves more than 800 families monthly There is a waiting list of 400 families. Miguel Zuniga is the Adopt a Family coordinator. • Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) for the elderly (60 and over) is funded by USDA. A total of 7,300 individuals are served monthly. There is a waiting list of 400. Angel Serrano is the coordinator. Executive director Casso noted at a recent STFB board meeting that Sam Varela of the Texas Department of Agriculture, which administers CSFP, praised the Laredo program as “the best distribution in Texas.” • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Outreach, formerly food stamps, averages more than 400 applications, representing more than 500 adults and 500 children per month. Alma Blanco is the coordinator. SNAP Outreach creates an economic impact in Laredo. More than $30 million of SNAP money is annually returned to the federal government because people do not apply. “This is money Laredoans are entitled to,” Casso said. “We’re being more than a food bank. We’re helping people who don’t have the means to fill out the applications.” • Kids Café has 13 sites around Laredo, serving an afternoon meal to more than 900 children from Monday through Friday. Two of the biggest Kids Cafés are the Zoe Zelin Benavides and John Roman Galo Kids Café at the Benavides Boys & Girls Club downWWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
town and the Big Red Kids Café at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Boys & Girls Club in South Laredo. There are also pilot project Kids Cafés in Bruni and Mirando City. Ellie Reyes is the Kids Café coordinator. Director Casso reported in the October STFB board meeting that 734,859 pounds of product was distributed to needy families in September. It brought the year’s total of 7,357,651 (7.3 million) pounds. Also, through August, 193,240 families have been served, including 161,243 children, 310,796 adults and 468,209 meals. The Adopt a Family program has 879 families picking up a bag of groceries per month, and has a waiting list of 478 families. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program served 7,371 individuals in September. CSFP has a waiting list of 285. The SNAP (formerly food stamps) Outreach Program filled out 365 applications representing 477 adults and 539 children. For the year, 3,630 applications have been submitted representing 4,832 adults and 5,025 children. Kids Café meals served at 13 sites were 18,542 for 967 children from Monday through Friday. Meals served through this year have been 111,513. STFB distributes emergency bags to families walking into the food bank office. Emergency bag recipients numbered 113 in September, representing 231 adults and 253 children. For the year, 960 have applied for emergency bag, representing 1,829 adults and 1,843 children. The August total of emergency bags was at an all-time high of 174. More than 12 million pounds of food were distributed to the needy in 2010, surpassing the old record of 10.2 million pounds. The food bank is on course to distribute 10 million pounds in 2011. The food bank serves an eight-county area from Del Rio to Rio Grande City. It opened its doors 22 years ago in cooperation with the H-E-B grocery chain. STFB distributes supplemental food to more than 24,000 families, 7,000 elderly, 6,000 children and 400 veterans and their widows each month. Find more information on STFB’s website at southtexasfoodbank.org. STFB is located at 1907 Freight Street in west Laredo. The phone number is (956) 726-3120. The Lamar Bruni Vergara South Texas Food Bank office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Distribution for Adopt a Family and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program is on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. ◆
organized with VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), found their voice, and mobilized to ask (and get) water and sewer lines in La Ladrillera, and street lights and traffic lights in the poorest barrios. One of VISTA’s most significant contributions in Laredo was getting people to register to vote, and getting them out to vote. Hand-painted signs and people carrying them effected change. If ever you’d like to meet a hero of those politically charged times, find former City Council member Juan Ramirez, who, with his brother Chaca, talked the talk, and walked the walk carrying signs. Or walk up to Richard Geissler, one of the VISTAs who remained here and committed his life to make this a more just place. Four. Find your voice and raise it. When I was at the University of Texas, I was active in the massive student marches against the war in Vietnam — not in protest against the men who were fighting the war, but against the military industrial complex that orchestrated the war. Some of those young soldiers had been my classmates at Martin and Nixon high schools, and my father as chairman of the local draft board had sent them to war. Despite my patriotic father’s deeply held
Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS Staff
By salo otero
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“my country right or wrong” beliefs, and despite how much I loved him, I held to my belief that the war was immoral. My father had long before showed me I had the right to speak up for my convictions, and I did. There were terrible, tense, unyielding moments at our dinner table — moments my father and I would speak of decades later, he confessing that his real fear had been I could have been hurt. I remember the fear I felt as the historic march from the campus to the Capitol began, stepping from the campus onto Guadalupe Street. It was the first march off the campus and into the streets. We moved like a colorful ribbon, chanting and filling the streets, moving to unknown possibilities for encounters with policemen on horses, Billy clubs, tear gas, and armed National Guardsmen. We’d soaked our bandanas with water in case we got gassed, and we did, but not before filling the rotunda and the grounds of the Capitol with what we had to say in one voice. We were little more than children. I’ve never regretted speaking up, though it’s gotten me into a few tight spots and has added to my burgeoning list of detractors. But it has had everything to do with what I try to do with LareDOS. ◆
Green food, good food Much of the action at the Farmers Market happens at Ninfa Carrizales’ nopalito puesto. While supplies last she offers shoppers quesadillas filled with nopalitos con romero on tortillas made with nopalitos and a host of other delicious cactus pad foods. She takes orders in advance for packages of corn or flour tortillas made with nopalitos.
LareDOS | OCTOB ER 2011 |
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Movie Review
Zero degrees of separation: 'Contagion'
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ou’ve probably heard the rumors: Pull out the Purell. After watching Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 thriller about the rapid progress of a lethal virus spread by indirect human contact, you’ll feel compelled to wash your hands. Perhaps again and again. Like Traffic (2000), Soderbergh’s gritty crime drama that coalesces several interconnected storylines around the incongruous world of drug-trafficking, Contagion is an ultra-realistic film that uses the techniques of what is often called “hyperlink cinema” to present several distinct storylines that emerge as a global pandemic. Hyperlink cinema is a postmodern narrative approach that skillfully connects articles and objects with numerous characters. In Contagion banal items — things like drinking glasses, cell phones, pencils, and computer screens — become vectors of transmission. The film jumps from Hong Kong to San Francisco, Chicago, Geneva, and other major cities around the world. In so doing, it shrinks boundaries between human beings — physical, emotional, social, and cultural. No one is safe in Contagion. The virus is fast-moving, and kills within days of contact. An alien strain that has scientists at the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) equally baffled, the virus contains varieties of both bat and pig cells; there are hints that it has been developed as a bioweapon. With no single protagonist, and a few clues that defy isolation and re-
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ject known protocols and vaccines, the film succeeds as a thriller. But Contagion is a powerful film that is compelling on many levels. A superb cast that includes Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, and Gwyneth Paltrow, and a cinematic style that parallels the often unsettling closeness wrought by the forces of our increasingly globalized world, Contagion effectively shrinks time and space to illustrate how one handshake could initiate a global pandemic that would touch us all. The film begins in the dark, with a cough. It then moves fluidly from one city, one country to the next, as more people begin to get sick. Scientists are called in. Specialists with titles like Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers begin to make connections. Local bureaucrats reluctant to commit resources clash with doctors, who, in turn clash with conspiracy-minded bloggers. Meanwhile, families are torn apart, individuals act heroically or cowardly, and the death toll rises. We’ve seen a lot of what happens in Contagion before. Although this is an “outbreak” film, a tense and tightly paced medical drama about a fast-acting virus that kills indiscriminately, it is also a disaster film, and so a study of Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
BY CORDELIA BARRERA LaredOS Staff
the societal, and very human drama that unfolds when systems fail and societies collapse. Disaster films ranging from Irwin Allen classics like The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974) to films like James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) reveal the worst and the best of humankind. There are telling scenes in Contagion when it appears that federal agencies like the CDC hold back vital information, such as that regarding the efficacy of a homeopathic drug, forsythia. There are other scenes where mob rule, mass hysteria, and greedy individualism destroy the otherwise peaceable government allotment of foodstuffs. Although these scenes heighten the realism of the film, they highlight our intrinsically fragile global system of rule and order — and our place in it. We can build all the grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals in the world, but these all-too-human systems are sustained collectively. Contagion underscores how individual actions have communal repercussions. Just as a virus must seek out new hosts in order to survive, so too must the human population seek out new ways and means of survival in order to
continue to thrive on this planet, our own “host.” As human beings, we can labor for good or otherwise, so can the systems we create enjoin us to an inclusive planetary network or set us at odds with it; the choice is ours. How do we cope with invisible terrors unleashed by our own hubris? What will ultimately be the effect of the increasing human population into all corners of an ecosystem that, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, remains the only host we have? At the end of Contagion the mystery is allegedly decoded. But many questions remain, and broader issues at stake seem hardly solved at all. The final scene in the film is eerie and disquieting because it forces us to acknowledge our own complicity in the web of relationships at work in the film. Contagion bears a clear message for those of us who wish to take note: all actions have repercussions, and whether they are ours alone or the corporations and businesses we work for, we ultimately bear the burden of responsibility. Contagion is a terrifying film, not so much because the dead number into the millions, but because of what it illuminates about our all-too human predicament on this planet. ◆ WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Maverick Ranch Notes
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redictable pumpkin patches have sprouted on church lawns all over Bexar County. Fancy pumpkins cascade from baskets at front doors of homes and grocery markets. What fine crops; such abundance. What outstanding skills these urban South Texas farmers exhibit. The drought didn’t affect their crops one bit. Where do they farm — somewhere behind those backyard walls? On the other hand, Sissy and I had complete pumpkin crop failure. No pumpkins tumble from our wheelbarrow; no orange beauties light up our doorsteps or dining tables. Once again our fall pumpkin intake depends on cans and pumpkins from the grocery store. I’m jealous. We tried two kinds of pumpkins this year and up to a certain point they flourished. One had huge speckled leaves and the other had lovely grayish-green leaves, and both mounded up in gorgeous hills, making us anticipate great success. Gradually little pumpkins appeared on their stems but when they reached thumb size, things began to go south. Somebody started sitting on the plants, flattening down the branches and leaves. Then they ate all the little pumpkins. After the fruits were gone, they chewed holes in the stems. At the same time we had to face the fact the drought was winning and the garden had to be abandoned because it required too much water. Water was the precious commodity, our first concern, and we couldn’t justify putting any more on the garden. Water restriction made things hard on two fronts. We turned our backs on the poor plants struggling to live, and in doing so, cut off that food source for the wildlife. Weirdly, even after their infuriating decimation of the garden, it
was still hard to deny rabbit, coon, and possum their pumpkins, tomatoes, and squashes. They were so desperate for food, which was obvious when they began to eat the plants themselves. But, water was the deciding factor, and we all lost when the garden died. I made up for the wildlife’s food by setting out chicken scratch and sheep pellets all summer long. I ran food and water up and down the ranch road every day. I don’t think anybody who could get to this food starved to death, but there was the expected jostling between coyotes, squirrels, bobcats, foxes, and songbirds. I just tried to get the food out there, and what happened after that was nature’s affair. Anyway, we lost our pumpkins. Pumpkins are the one plant I am just determined to raise. It may be pretty hard in the coming years now that global warming is here to stay. I’ll just have to start earlier in the spring and keep trying until I get it right. And of course those pumpkin-eaters will have to be outsmarted. The plants may have to be totally enclosed in cages. Who knows? ________________________________
melted butter. Have your waffle iron already heated. Use ½ cup of batter for each waffle and if necessary, put in a barely warm oven to keep. This recipe can make pumpkin pancakes, too. ________________________________ Bebe Fenstermaker
We have finally received rain, almost 5 inches over a period of two weeks. The temperature during the day can be anywhere from the low 90s to the high 70s, and during the night from the low 70s to the high 40s. What a blessing. I know our grass-growing season has passed; however, those that did survive the summer are putting out some green growth. I drove through one of the subdivisions near here, and the resident deer were out in the middle of the day eating whatever green was coming up and acorns that the live oaks somehow had the strength to
produce. It sure is nice to see the ground wet and covered in a green fuzz. Bebe and I were standing in a store’s checkout line recently and ahead of us was a preschool youngster hugging a toy truck that his grandmother was getting him. He was having such a good time tooling it around on the floor and up in the air. He made all kinds of heavy equipment sounds, and the truck was making a few, too. Later that same day we were driving past the newest fire station in our area and lo and behold, it looked like they had finally gotten delivery of a road princess (our name for it). All its bells, whistles, and lights were on and flashing, as was the rest of the station’s equipment. I immediately thought of the youngster and his truck in the store and chuckled, and I heard Bebe chuckling also. Sissy Fenstermaker
Here is a good recipe for pumpkin waffles: 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (or a bit less depending on the fluffiness you want) ¼ teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 2 eggs ¾ to 1 cup buttermilk ½ cup canned pumpkin 1/8 to ¼ cup sugar (leave out sugar if you use syrup) 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl beat eggs lightly, then add pumpkin and buttermilk, mixing well. Combine with dry ingredients, then gently mix in
Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS
By bebe & sissy fenstermaker
Determination to grow pumpkins despite drought; cooler weather comes to ranch
Puttin’ on the pun’kin A new addition to the Oct. 15 Farmers Market was a pumpkin painting booth, something very much enjoyed by children who came to the market with their parents. WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
LareDOS | OCTOB ER 2011 |
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Opinion
Today’s youth losing sense of social justice, political involvement
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By BARBARA BAKER LareDOS Contributor
‘It takes a village to raise a child’ his African proverb speaks to the importance of having a community of mentors in a child’s life that goes beyond biological parenting. The community residents and environment are an integral part of the development process of child. In recent months, I have gotten myself more knowledgeable as an educator of life in Darfur, and it’s made me more of aware of how that proverb has been taken for granted and in some cases, lost in the United States when compared to a country that is longing to have a credible, stable, and democratic education system. In Darfur, youth are in refugee camps without access to public education. There are no buildings to hold classes, no books, instructional supplies, and the teachers do not have the opportunities to get curriculum and pedagogical training to be effective educators. Darfuri youth do not know when their own government may attack them with brutal violence rather than provide them with an education to make a difference in their country. At young ages, they have already seen and experienced massive amounts of human atrocities, which have left them in poverty-ridden refugee camps. Darfuri youth are dreaming of becoming teachers, psychologists, diplomats, and even president of Sudan so that they can help their country. Yes, we have the same types of poverty and violence in United States that some youth endure daily, but there is more of an opportunity for access to education in our country. We have examples of individuals who have overcome incredible obstacles and challenges because a “village has assisted with resources and mentors” for them to excel to the top of their potential. Regardless of what one thinks of President Obama or whether they agree with his politics, he is one excellent example. Each day, I am in classrooms where some students, not all, seem bored, distracted, and apathetic about being “change agents” for social justice, not only in other countries but right here in the United States. I get the look like, “Lady, give me a break. I don’t care about this social justice stuff.” Often I tell them they are going be
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the ones making decisions about the future of their communities and developing policies around social issues such as education, children in poverty, and the elderly. I have to say I have been very concerned as someone who will be elderly in the next 20 years about the decisions that will be made from some of our upcoming leadership. We live in a time when our young people are seduced and lulled into relationships with technology. Now I am not say-
it is like to have to make a living at a minimum wage job, and have to invest money in their own cost of living and education. Then maybe they will appreciate the opportunities that they have. I used to think she was being harsh but now I understand why she had that belief. There was no “helicopter parent” in my single-parent household making all the decisions for me and taking care of my every need. My mother was concentrat-
We live in a time when our young people are seduced and lulled into relationships with technology. Now I am not saying that technological advances are not important but they should not replace the ability to think for oneself, to take human action, and to be focused and caring in essential human relationships.
ing that technological advances are not important but they should not replace the ability to think for oneself, to take human action, and to be focused and caring in essential human relationships. There are some students who refuse to take notes because they feel PowerPoint will serve that need completely and are offended if teachers suggest note taking as a need to get crucial classroom lecture information. If you ask questions about social justice history, you get the bored look like, “Why are you talking about that stuff?” Or ask them who are the local political leaders of their community, and most likely they will not know the answer. I am often reminded of Martin Espada’s poem, “Sleeping on the Bus,” where a whole generation is self-consumed and in a distracted trance with technology, to the point that they have forgotten the civil rights foundation and leadership of this country. We give them no better examples as the adults, or role models, who are ourselves distracted with texting. I once saw a mother and daughter pull into McDonald’s. Both were intently texting in their own individual worlds, not talking to each other. The mother ordered and immediately went back to texting. The daughter did not look from her BlackBerry or say a word during the food order. My mother used to say that she believed that sometimes a teenager right of high school may need to go to work, see what
ing on making a living and dealing with our poverty. I did go to work right out of high school at a fast food restaurant with a terrible supervisor. I quickly learned that college was an opportunity. I also had to work all through college to support my education, make decisions about problems in obtaining my education, and I certainly learned not to take advantage by not doing well and wasting my own money. I started utilizing the Trio Office as my ally to graduate rather than seeing them as “a waste of time.” Then there’s reading and writing. No one likes to read and write anymore for classes, and those are essential skills for graduating from college. I blame technology, in part, for some of this mentality, too. It’s more fun and amusing to talk to friends on Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging. Forget about increasing your knowledge about the world and your ability to think critically about issues. Of course, writing with these types of social networking requires no type of critical analysis order, just “cute” shorthand abbreviation. Kelly Gallagher, classroom education and author of Readicide, will be coming to Laredo. His premise is that the value of reading has been “killed” by the need to teach students to pass standardized tests. As Gallagher says, it is important to have standards because it creates effective teaching, but not to the point that it discourages reading for pleasure and criti-
cal thinking around important social and cultural issues in our society. Active and engaged learning does not take place when students are memorizing books to take a test. Students only become oversaturated with memorizing facts they will forget and start “hating” reading because they do not experience the value and intrigue of it. In his book, Gallagher uses incredible examples of how books like to To Kill a Mockingbird, and 1984 can be used as tools for connecting students to themes relevant to their lives. Social justice practitioner and educational theorist Paulo Friere called this type of learning “liberatory education” because it gets students thinking about their social and cultural roles and their abilities to take action on those themes. As teachers and educators, we have a lot on our plates with the responsibility and accountability to educate our future generation. Many times we are oversaturated with items that interfere with quality teaching and lead to burnout. We are underpaid and overworked. Often we have to deal with individuals who do not even understand our work, and they put strict curriculum and pedagogical requirements on us that defeat the purpose of what we do because they do not know what it is like to teach or be in the classroom. We do get taken for granted for the services and commitment we give to our students. I am not writing this article to be negative about students or education. One of the reasons I went into education is because I wanted to make a difference in young people’s lives, like mentors had in my life. I still believe in education and what it can do to change lives. Of course, not every student struggles with issues of apathy and disengagement with educational requirements. Yet we also have to remember that there are places like Darfur, where young people are “yearning for a quality education” and cannot get it because of political circumstances beyond their control. How does our village create that type of yearning in our youth? We have some control over our problematic circumstances. It is important to access and discuss the problems that we do have in our educational system and how we play a role in it “as a village.” This is what we encourage or should encourage our students to do as critical thinkers. (Barbara Baker is a first-year seminar instructor at Texas A&M International University.) ◆ WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM
Feature
Mrs. Malaprop alive and well in MexAmerica By SANDRA S. GRAY LareDOS Contributor
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uote me if I’m wrong, but is it any wonder students can’t pass writing exams, the world is stuck against us. I may be digging my own gravesite and I don’t want to imply that students have a short tension span, but people don’t have to treat us like skunks of the earth just because we beat our own drum. We’re Americans, we’re patriotic. Didn’t we say the Pledge of the Legions at school like everybody else? All this time I’ve been under the influence, or maybe it was just a figure of my imagination that we should all live and let learn. Firstable, we all know that there are not enough hours on the clock to allow us to see the light for the forest. Many of us are innocent bystandards in all this because our teachers just passed the bucket and always put the monkey on someone else’s lap. Some people may say that I hit it right on the nail and that we‘ve just been taking it by the ear. But we can’t just blow it out just because writing a good essay goes right through us. My husband types my essays for me since he is a computer wisk. He is so nice; he always bends over for me. I even consulted my sister, who had moved to San Antonio because it was blooming over there. I’ve stayed up countless nights studying, but that’s OK because I’m a late bird. I try not to make too much noise because we live in a condom and I don’t want to get on anybody’s nervous system. I even hired a tutor, but we didn’t clash. To top it all up, after one of those sleepless nights I found out that my dog had woken up dead. I knew who was to blame, and I was so mad, I’m
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glad I’m not Oscar de la Hoya because if I would of beat up my neighbor, I would of won by an anonymous decision and left him dead beyond hope of cure. I shouldn’t be so mean. After all, he is in the middle of a divorce and his wife is going to leave him at the cleaners for sure. He is kind of cute, too, but I don’t make the moves on him because that would be rocking the cradle. I better not say another peep about that. I do feel bad for him. My other neighbor, the one with the Jaguar that is out of the world, told me that the cute guy had cancer, but thanks God, he is in redemption. He is better off without that old wife who was always having hot flashbacks. She was always running off to Flamingo classes and was in her own la la world. Secondly, she’s just a moneydigger. It didn’t click on me until one day I was admiring his bed eyes, and she caught me on the act. She told me that she knew he was cute, but what she really liked about him was that he waited on her hands and feet. I’ll never understand how in the split of a second she could just stand up and leave him after he had just gotten an honor roll discharge. Maybe she just had a lot of penned up emotions and wanted to go back to Braverly Hills. Newless to say, that’s just the way the cookie bounces and remember, numb’s the word about my crush on him. Cutting into the subject, it didn’t click on me that I was talking about writing an essay. Sometimes I try to remember things and they just don’t ring my bell. I stand correctly, I do remember that I have to buy my Looney and Burke bag because they are on sale. Unfortunately, I’ll probably have to park around the apple because the parking lot is always full. Speaking of full, I better be careful if I’m carrying
a lot of packages. My husband is always telling me I’m full of thumbs. It is his peb piv; in particularly when he has to go shopping with me. Well, if it all fails and accordion to prior record, I can just wait for the winter sale. Of course I have to be extra careful and dress warmly because the windshield factor makes it feel even colder. Maybe I’m forgetful because sufro del dibeets. I may have to raise my insulation level. Tambien, my doctor told me que traigo lost tricycles muy altos. All of a sudden it donged on me that I should be thanking my professor from my bottom because he helped me pass my first test. He said, “Don’t worry, the first test is always trial by error. And don’t even bother to try to get help from your best friend. She is too much of an arrowhead.” Well, I turned in my test just before the cutting time and it was a good thing, too. My professor always ceases to amaze me when he wants everything turned in the minute I get down from the car. Thirdly, I am not giving up on this writ-
ing thing. I don’t believe in that saying that if the kitchen is too hot—get out. Right now I’m too worried about my brother fighting in Iraq. I don’t think the government should give out information on the whereabouts of our loved ones in the military because that would be a bridge of security. Right now I have to go downstairs and lock my door before I start studying because there has been a strain of robberies in the neighborhood. I sure am glad the squat team is on the alert. In conclusion, I didn’t mean to drive you off the wall with all my problems, and I guess I better quit beating the bush around, but like, you know its a doggy dog world and I have to pass my classes in order to own a bachelor like 8 out of 10 Americans. Anyway, now that I am calm as a cucumber, I had better go finish my essay so I can steamroll myself up the ladder of success. I do need to get some rest because I work fooltime, you know, and I’m trying to be a better person slowly but truly. Thank you, have a buen day! ◆
LareDOS | OCTOB ER 2011 |
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TV Review
Beyond hype, A&E’s ‘Bordertown’ portrays real-life officers rom the channel that brought you Hoarders and Dog the Bounty Hunter comes yet another reality show vying for our attention — except this time, the city of Laredo, its police officers, and the drug war are all front and center. And by now you’ve probably heard the criticism about A&E’s hype for the show, Bordertown: Laredo, which included a 30-second promo featuring clips from episodes interspersed with violent images more appropriate for a depiction of Nuevo Laredo. From the show’s A&E homepage: “Laredo, Texas is besieged by drug activity. This small city on the U.S.-Mexico border is overrun by the sophisticated and large-scale trafficking operations of Mexican drug cartels.” The officers are also apparently “waging a daily battle to protect the U.S. in Bordertown: Laredo.” This over-exaggerated violence should be expected of a cable channel playing the highly competitive ratings game, but it especially hurts when the subject hits home. A&E is simply appealing to the very human appetite for gory, violent entertainment, but those seeking that type will most likely be disappointed by the show itself. A&E seems to have blurred the border in its ratings game promotion, combining the more violent troubles across with the major drug trafficking problem that officers do indeed face here, but again, RATINGS. LareDOS received the first two episodes of Bordertown: Laredo. First impressions, as we all know, are key, so the first detail I noticed was the inaccurate packaging of the show for the media. Big Bend-like canyons, of which there are none here, surrounded the package. An
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intimidating blueish tint completed the rough façade. A&E presented the Wild West Laredo that the city is trying to avoid, but city officials seemed prepared for that. “We recognize that the marketing team at A&E had a job to do when developing a marketing campaign for the show, so that it would stand out from the hundreds of other reality shows out there, in an effort to get viewers interested in watching the show,” Mayor Raul From left to right, Investigator Rodriguez and Sergeant Sifuentes protect the U.S. from Mexican drug Salinas told the cartels in “Bordertown: Laredo.” blog LatinaLista. com in an e-mail response to the criticism this statement is certainly not inaccurate, ous banter. Laredoans will delight in the back in early September. “We believe, “under siege” implies a violent battle with Laredo-isms — these officers are familhowever, that once people begin watch- blood, guts, etc. Last time I checked, we iar characters to us; they are our fathers, ing the show and see the reality of Laredo, rarely experienced that here. brothers, sons, and friends. our amazing and dedicated Laredo Police But beyond the shock value and the show’s This episode also immediately imDepartment narcotics unit and the work touchy subject, what I found when I watched merses us in the action. After a smallthey are doing that keeps Laredo — and the episodes was a more truthful portrayal time bust leads them to a bigger stash the rest of the nation — safe from drug of LPD’s struggle with drugs in Laredo. This house of drugs, the team finds that a huge dealers and others who would wish to do was not the grisly, hide-your-children show shipment of marijuana is coming through us harm, they will come to know and un- that A&E has promoted, but more like the town that night. It’s an exciting premise, derstand the true Laredo: the city with the Bordertown that Al Roker described at his but you won’t be getting as much shootlowest crime rate in the state of Texas.” September 30 press conference. ‘em-up action as you might think. A lot of OK, we’ve judged the book by its cover, “I almost hate the phrase ‘reality show,’” the work involves surveillance and every so on to the show. The opening title, like Roker said in an interview with LareDOS. once in a while, a tense chase. the promos, was foreboding. “Most of them aren’t real … It’s not like We’ll see where the show goes from “Laredo, Texas is under siege by drug we asked, ‘Can you hire some really good- there. Roker had a point in saying these cartels,” a title card proclaimed. Though looking young Hispanic guys?’ I think weren’t exactly young, shiny media hogs, what’s really great about it is I don’t think but editing after the cameras go off can there’s anybody like these guys on TV to- really paint a different picture. Don’t put day. They’re real guys. They aren’t these your total faith in an accurate portrayal fake, blow-dried men and women, and I of the city and its officers, but Bordertown: think people will really relate to that.” Laredo does a decent job of starting a mass Roker’s right: These are real Laredo conversation about Laredo’s — and the bormen in front of those cameras, fighting the der’s — struggles with drug trafficking. constant flow of drugs on a border almost I have one silly nitpick: the Latin mutoo close to the violent behavior depicted sic, which was completely uncharacteristic in the show’s hype. of this area. But then again, we’re talking The first episode, “A River Runs mainstream American audience. It’s diffiThrough It,” introduces us to senior mem- cult for non-locals to capture the little idiobers of the Laredo Police Department’s syncrasies of this place and prepare them Narcotics Unit, and they seem to have a for a mass audience. pretty charming bond going on. I found Bordertown: Laredo airs Thursdays, on A&E. myself chuckling at some of the show’s For more information on the show, go to aetv. lighter situations and the cop’s humor- com/bordertown-laredo. ◆ Matt McDermott
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By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
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Traditionally Modern Cooking By Jason Herrera
Herrera is an English major at Oklahoma City University. He’s had a passion for cooking since he was 8 years old, when he started teaching himself recipes and eventually, creating his own scrumptious meals. Herrera also enjoys gardening and horror movies.
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ctober is my favorite month of the year. In Oklahoma City, the trees are beginning to become red and warm gold. In Laredo, the temperature is finally becoming tolerable. October sunsets in Laredo light up the trees with gold, and the trees remind me of the changing season. In celebration of this great month, I want to provide you with one of my favorite recipes: homemade mac ‘n’ cheese. I love the way it looks like the warm gold of fall on the plate. I’m sure you have mac ‘n’ cheese in your cupboards or pantry. Boxed products. The watery orangey sauce and microscopic noodles that come from some of those boxes have their place, but sometimes I crave something more filling. Those other types of boxed mac ‘n’ cheese with the pouches of sauce are more filling, but they still pale in comparison to homemade. Mac ‘n’ cheese has the potential to become the main course. Adding browned ground beef, bacon, chicken, or even turkey turns mac ‘n’ cheese into a meal. Baked mac ‘n’ cheese is a casserole. Whenever I think of good casseroles, I feel the crispy top crust, a wonderfully gooey center, and taste flavors that have mingled so well, they are happily married. Casseroles are comfort food, and mac ‘n’ cheese is at the top. It gets its crisp crust from bread crumbs and a sprinkle of cheese. The flavors meld into a wonderfully cheesy amalgamation called béchamel, or white sauce. Mac ‘n’ cheese can be mellow and mild, spicy and robust, or nutty and savory. My base recipe can be turned into any one of these with a few simple additions or subtraction of spices. Also, the cheese can be changed depending on whatever you have in your refrigerator. I’ve used all types of cheese: cheddar, Monterrey jack, mozzarella, gouda, colby, parmesan, asiago, cream, and any WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
Do not underestimate the versatility of mac ‘n’ cheese
Jason’s Favorite Mac ‘n’ Cheese: type of shredded type of mixture. I really prefer pre-grated cheese just because I don’t like grating cheese. I’d rather cube block cheese than grate it. As for the macaroni, I really love the big fat kind. Shells are a good substitution. Really, any kind of thin short pasta works well. These pastas have a very short cooking time, so don’t overcook. Five minutes should do. Boil it in a big vat of salted water and set the pasta aside while you’re making the béchamel. To make a béchamel, you must first make a roux. Equal parts of fat and flour are whisked together in a sauce pan and allowed to brown just a little bit. Then, warm milk is whisked in and allowed to thicken. After the béchamel is thickened and while it’s still warm, whatever spices and cheeses you want in the mac ‘n’ cheese are melted in. At this stage, you’ve got a marvelous fondue that can be used to dip bread and meats in. ◆
4 tablespoons flour
Whisk the flour and butter together.
4 tablespoons butter/oleo
Cook on medium heat until the
4 cups warm milk
mixture is golden. Carefully whisk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
in the milk. Cook on low for five
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
minutes or until the sauce is lightly
salt and pepper to taste
thickened. Add the garlic powder,
1 cup cheddar cheese
Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Taste the sauce for flavor. With the
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
heat on low, stir in the cheeses,
2 tablespoons cream cheese
one at a time. Stir until the sauce is
2 tablespoons freshly grated parme-
smooth and velvety. Mix the sauce
san cheese
and macaroni together. Transfer
bread crumbs (I use Japanese style
the mixture into a large casserole
when I have them)
dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and
any of the cheeses to sprinkle over
cheese over the top. Place the mac
the crumbs.
‘n’ cheese in a 400-degree oven
1 pound cooked and drained maca-
and bake for 10 minutes or until the
roni/shells
top is golden brown.
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Courtesy photos
Tuesday, October 11 at Embassy Suites
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Feature
Rare Earth, true to its name, offers worldly rareties
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By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS
n November 2008, Laredoan Isela Lopez opened a shop within the French Quarter that would offer equal doses of reality and fantasy to her community. She called it Rare Earth, a mystical, free-spirited name that had some people wondering what exactly the little storefront meant by the title. It’s not a smoke shop, it’s not a rock memorabilia shop, and it’s not trying to be any other store, Lopez said. To dispel these misconceptions, Lopez is trying to inform Laredoans of what Rare Earth really aims to be. “This is our hometown, and we think that most Laredoans are open-minded people who can appreciate specialty shops like ours,” Lopez told LareDOS. “I think that the mind frame of saying, ‘Oh, Laredoans wouldn’t like it’ is wrong because everybody appreciates art, no matter what city you live in. I think it’s about time we start changing that idea.” As you walk in, the left side of the shop is packed with imported gifts and art from far-off places like Morocco, Egypt, and India. One of the most dramatic displays is a large King Tut sarcophagus that is also a bookcase, which was actually im-
ported from Egypt, Lopez said. “We’ve always liked to know about various cultures, religions, and types of spirituality,” Lopez said. Her favorite items on the “multicultural side” are the Buddhist-inspired objects from India. This peaceful type of one-ness with the world appeals to Lopez. This side also contains several assortments of incense, aromatic sticks that burn and, many religious groups say, have therapeutic qualities. On the right side, Lopez counters the authentic multiculturalism with a fantasy world that she’s grown up with. Lopez’s list of favorite films almost tells the story of her childhood: The Wizard of Oz, Camelot, Lord of the Rings, and Pan’s Labyrinth. Ever since she was a little girl, Lopez has greatly admired the fantasy world, and collected items that she now sells in her shop. Rare Earth’s glass display cases hold a line of glittery, dainty collectable fairies, each painted painstakingly by hand. These fairies are Lopez’s favorite items in the store. There are figurines and statues right out of a Tolkien’s Middle Earth — elves, dragons, dwarves, and more. Metal Greek and Roman statues recall the neoclassical period most people read about in mythology
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and history books. It’s a museum of items Lopez wants to share with the rest of Laredo. “You can lose yourself in here,” she said. And it’s true — it’s hard to find a bare spot at Rare Earth. Lopez has made sure to pack the shop with enough items to inspire the customer’s sense of wonder and imagination. The placement of each collection mixes several styles that are sure to attract the eye — a collection of locally painted Mexican masks inspired by the Day of the Dead gives way to fantasy porcelain dolls, which then transition to cats with fairy wings, and Austrian crystals. You’d be hard-pressed to describe every detail of the store shelves at Rare Earth during your first visit. Those looking for more masculine items can also browse the shop’s swords, knives, and “other cool stuff,” including unique wallets and painted skulls, Lopez said. “Unlike a franchise, we don’t have to follow any strict trademarks, rules, or ideas,” Lopez said. “We are able to keep bringing what we feel is a true art piece without the mass-produced look of the big corporate stores.” And unlike many franchises, all the items — especially the imported objects — sold at Rare Earth are fair trade, often purchased from the creators of the products themselves. The items are for all wal-
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let sizes, too — ranging from $5 up to the thousands of dollars, Lopez said. “We don’t feel like we are in competition with any other business,” she added. “We hope that all of us succeed and move forward in these times of economic recession.” Rare Earth also supports local artists. Along with paintings and sculptures from around the world, Lopez is offering an expanding collection of pieces by local artists who love to work with the themes of fantasy and multiculturalism. She said she has plans to get the shop more involved in the local art community. Lopez is not a newcomer to this business. Before Rare Earth, she owned a successful shop in Mall del Norte called Mystical Journey, which was also inspired by her love of fantasy and spirituality around the world. Rare Earth is also a family business. Lopez’s husband and children help out around the shop and support her passions. “I do this because I am a people-person and I love it,” Lopez said. “I know other people like it, too, and it makes me happy.” Rare Earth is located in the French Quarter at 1605 E. Del Mar Blvd, Suite 110. For more information, call (956) 220-3203 or go to facebook.com/profile. php?id=100001882446306. Current hours are Monday through Friday, from 4 to 7:30 p.m., with plans to expand hours soon. ◆
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Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS Staff
Every drop a blessing Late September and early October rains in San Ygnacio have brought the brush lands back to life. Saguaro and prickly pear alike have taken in the welcome moisture and so have the monte floor staples of buffel grass, calitre, and winter weeds.
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Blessing of All Animals
Photos courtesy of: Richard S. Wilson
St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church Father Toby Guerrero Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011 St. Peter’s Plaza
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News
Sustainable architecture workshop offered excellent information for gardeners, farmers
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Presenter John Kelley
Presenter Pliny Fisk
Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS Staff
Laredo Main Street’s Sandra ***, Alli Hrncir, Sandra Rocha Taylor
Rafael Torres and Alfredo Gutierrez
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aredoans with an interest in gardening as a means of filling the home pantry and selling homegrown produce in the community turned out in good numbers for the Laredo Main Street/Centro de Laredo Farmers Market Sustainable Agriculture Conference on Saturday, September 24 at the Laredo Center for the Arts. Pliny Fisk, a trailblazer in sustainable architecture, was the keynote speaker at the conference. He spoke on the future of farming. Fisk is co-founder and codirector of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems. He is the CEO and founder of Sustainable Earth Technologies (SET). Fisk’s work is referred to in the mainstream press, including The New York Times, Architecture magazine, Landscape Architecture, Wired and many others. His work has been translated into French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. Fisk and his wife Gail Vittori have collaborated on the green renovation of the Pentagon. To get a look up close at something meaningful Fisk built, you have only to walk through the eco-friendly campus of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center on the Laredo Community College campus. Once called the Laredo Blueprint Farm, a joint effort between the state of Texas and Israel as a demonstration for dryland farming, the structure is made of hay bales and incorporates oilfield pipe for the uprights. The building was designed to capture rainwater in cis-
terns, and wind turbines powered the buildings. The conference also included Malcolm Smith, a noted organic gardener who spoke on Aquaponics, a sustainable food production system. John Kelley of Laredo presented on xeriscape, a perfect form of gardening for an area that has few water resources. Kelley, the president of Monte Mucho Audubon, is the co-owner of South Texas Solar Systems and a property management company that both promote green living. Herbalist and ethnobotanist Tony Ramirez, long respected for his teaching of the use of medicinal herbs, spoke on his research of plants that are at our fingertips in the brush lands around Laredo. He is an instructor of herbal medicine for the South Texas Environmental Education and Research (STEER), an environmental medicine/border health elective of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Carlos Lago, director for the rural enterprise department at UT-Pan American, has been instrumental in helping communities establish Farmers Markets. His topic focused on how to be a good vendor. Laredo master gardener Danny Gunn, a frequent vendor at the Laredo Farmers Market, offered information on raised bed gardening, composting, and building soil for good results. Laredoan Susy Nader also covered the basics of canning. — LareDOS Staff
Pliny Fisk, Dr. Tom Vaughan, Tony Ramirez
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