Forest Park Review/Hispanic Heritage 091119

Special Advertising Section

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Celebrating the rich and diverse Latinx community in Forest Park, in partnership with the Forest Park Diversity Commission

September 11, 2019

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Fall 2019

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

Deeply Rooted The Forest Park Review has been deeply rooted in Forest Park for over 100 years. We are honored to publish our first-ever Hispanic Heritage month special issue celebrating the rich and diverse Latinx community in Forest Park, in partnership with the Forest Park Diversity Commission. Thank you to our advertising partners who made this possible, and who have shared their stories of pride in their culture and identity. We appreciate their time and thoughtfulness and the value of their marketing dollars. Please read their stories and support their efforts. A very special thank you to Tom Holmes, our feature writer for interviewing our advertising partners and

DAWN FERENCAK

telling their compelling stories. Thank you to Natalie Johnson for coordinating this section and to Andy Mead for his design work. The Forest Park Review grows and strengthens the community by telling compelling stories about the people who make this village so special and unique. We like doing this good work and want to publish more special sections like this one. Please share your feedback and your ideas for new community special sections with me at dawn@oakpark. com or call me anytime at 708/613-3329.

Sincerely,

Staff

Feature WriterTom Holmes IT and Digital Developer Mike Risher Advertising Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Staff Photographer Alexa Rogals Advertising Director Dawn Ferencak Display Advertising Sales Marc Stopeck Client Engagement Specialist Natalie Johnson Inside Sales Representative Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Distribution Coordinator Wakeelah Cocroft-Aldridge Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Business Manager Joyce Minich

Dawn Ferencak, Associate Publisher

Welcome to Hispanic Heritage

By Tom Holmes

T

he Forest Park Diversity Commission held what they considered to be a successful LGBTQ Pride event in Constitution Court on June 22. When the group discussed what to do next to pursue their mission of affirming diversity in town, they decided to promote and celebrate the Hispanic heritage of the many residents who live here.

TOM HOLMES

The commission, established in 2016, is still at the stage where they are experimenting with different ways to fulfill the mandate given to them by the village, and so they decided to try sponsoring a longer celebration beginning on Sep. 15 which they are calling Hispanic Heritage Month.

September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of

five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. All declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18, and September 21, respectively.

Businesses in town will be encouraged to contribute to the celebration by putting up Hispanic Heritage posters and coming up with creative ways their businesses can affirm the contributions of our Latinx neighbors who comprise one out of every ten residents in Forest Park.

The insert that follows this introduction is an example of how businesses, elected officials and the schools are contributing to the celebration.

The Village of Forest Park is also working on a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration which will take place on October 5th, 2pm - 11pm.

According to the Village of Forest Park website, the Diversity Commission “meets on the 1st Thursday of the Month at 7:00 pm: 9 members – 3 year term: Established in 2016, the Diversity Commission will be a resource for

experience and information on diversity issues and serve in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and Village Council.

They shall help to enrich the social and intellectual life of all residents through educational and social programs. They shall facilitate awareness and promote the understanding and acceptance of all people, especially those who have different racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences, physical limitations, gender, educational, and economic levels. They may invite and enlist the cooperation of racial, religious and ethnic groups, community organizations, fraternal and benevolent societies, veteran’s organizations, professional and technical organizations and other groups to assist in their mission.

Email diversity@forestpark.net with questions.

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Special Advertising Section Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

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100% Puerto Rican

By Tom Holmes

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orest Park resident Teresa Molina is proud to self-identify as being 100% Puerto Rican.

Living on the island--the status of which is Estado Libre Asociado or Associated Free State—for the first four years of her life, the first language she learned was Spanish and the culture in which she is most deeply rooted is that of Puerto Rico.

She loves Puerto Rican food—lechon asado, arroz y gandules, platonos maduros, and bread still warm purchased at the local panaderia. She loves Puerto Rican music, and she loves the spirit of the island’s people.

She said, “Except for baseball—the stadium in San Juan is named after Roberto Clemente—Puerto Ricans are less competitive than people around here. Their Caribbean lifestyle is more laid back, and they value family and cooperation which was revealed in the way they helped each other after Hurricane Maria.

She is also proud of the fact that last month she was appointed by State

Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke to be a Cook County Judge, filling the vacancy left by James McCarthy.

Molina has been slated by the Democratic Party to run for a full term on the bench in the March 17 election.

on it. I believe that the law should be applied fairly to everyone. When I make a ruling, one side is not going to like it, but I want them to walk out of the courtroom knowing that they got a fair trial based on the facts.”

I practiced law here for 18 years,” she explained, “and not once did I step in front of a Latina judge. The judiciary should represent the diversity in the communities they serve.

Her honor explained how she can be an unbiased judge while being so firmly rooted in her particular culture by saying, “When I put on that black robe, there is no Puerto Rican flag

So, like the statue of the blindfolded Lady Justice, Molina strives to be colorblind when she’s on the bench.

But at the time she said that being the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as a

judge in Cook County, she has become a pioneer and a role model.

“I practiced law here for 18 years,” she explained, “and not once did I step in front of a Latina judge. The judiciary should represent the diversity in the communities they serve.

“I’m really excited to be a role model for young LatinX lawyers, especially for women. The next Latina lawyer who in front of me will see someone who looks like her on the one hand and who on the other hand is a competent and fair judge.”

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

P R O F I L E

P A T H W A Y S P R O F I C I E N C Y

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PROVISO TOWNSHIP

H I G H SCHOOLS

2018-2019

VISION

Through expectations of excellence and by providing equitable educational opportunities to empower each student, our graduates are prepared for college, careers and to serve as contributing members of a dynamic global society.

MOTTO

ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL, ONE PROVISO.

A unifying framework through which stakeholders collaboratively engage to ensure a world-class education and services that empower all members of the Proviso community.

THE POWER OF TWO:: GO GOALS OAL ALS ALS LS AND GUIDING PR PRINCIPLES RINCIPL PLE PL LES ES ENHANCE

EMPOWER

Academic Achievement

ENSURE

Students, Families,& Communities

1:1

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$62m

EQUITY

3.9/4.0

EMPOWERMENT

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Selected Points of Pride Signed school/parent compacts:

FY19: 2,326 Prior Years: 0

Graduated 1st Parent Leadership Cohort

Increased Programs of Study

3 to 23

More than doubled number of students graduating with Seal of Biliteracy

Invested

Bond Rating Upgraded to A+

17% Increase in

AP & IB Courses

$1.3+ million Proviso West Fieldhouse

PMSA Designated

2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence

Proviso East in its 2nd year of Illinois Competency-Based Graduation Requirement Pilot

Approved Proviso West Transformation Plan

Special Advertising Section Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

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Proviso East - fair and equitable to all our students

By Tom Holmes

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hen the cornerstone for Proviso East High School on First Ave. in Maywood was laid in 1911, the population it served was predominantly white. But as demographics changed after World War II and Africans moved from the city to the suburbs, the school evolved in a mostly black place of learning, and that is the mental picture many Forest Park residents have of Proviso East.

But without a lot of fanfare, the demographics of the high school just west of the Desplaines River have evolved to the point where 54.1% of the students are now Hispanic, 41% are black and only 2.1% are white.

Nicole Howard, the Assistant Superintendent for Academics at Proviso Township High School District 209 said that the D209 administration is

constantly auditing the curriculum to see if it meets the needs of the students.

diligently over the years, and continue to work, to integrate events and issues related to African American and Latino history throughout the curriculum. There is always room for improvement and we do consider suggestions and recommendations from stakeholders as we continue to assess the impact and effectiveness of our curricula.”

PTHS D209 values community input and is committed to ensuring equitable and meaningful opportunities for all students “We offer African American and Latin American history courses,” she said as an example. “We have also worked

“As always, PTHS D209 values community input and is committed to ensuring equitable and meaningful opportunities for all students. We are always looking for ways to improve the students’ experience. We do audit our curriculum and we look at where it was

placed, what the intent was and what is actually enacted in the classroom and how students respond to that. We’re in the process of doing a lot of that now because that’s how we go through revisions of our curriculum. If we see we can do a little bit better we revise it.

We have to make sure that we are being fair and equitable to all our students.

We are heavily invested in improving our equitable practices and as a part of that we are definitely going to look at the offerings of curriculum and how it impacts our students.”

“We are proud to be participating in the Forest Park Review’s Latino Pride section this year as celebrating Latino culture and achievements is important to us not only this month but every day. With 54 percent of our student population identifying as Latino, we are intentional about ensuring that students take pride in their culture and learn about our diverse history by hosting events throughout the year that give students an opportunity to showcase their culture, coordinating field trips that bring history to life, and offering courses that encourage students to value multiculturalism. In 2017, a resolution was passed designating PTHS D209 as a “welcoming and safe” school district for all students where all students have access to a free public education regardless of their immigration status as the safety and security of our students is a priority. Additionally, as of 2019 all District communications will be published in Spanish to better assist parents in being active participants in their children’s education.”

- Cynthia Moreno, Director of Community Outreach and Public Relations

photos by Alexa Rogals

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

Special Advertising Section

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

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September 11, 2019

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Welch Measure Aimed at Increasing Corporate Board Diversity Now Law

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The best and most current thinking on corporate health emphasizes that diversity among organizational leadership results in more nimble, creative problem-solving in our “I introduced this bill and feel so rapidly changing world. A 2015 study passionately about this issue because

by McKinsey and Co. found that there’s not a day that goes by that I companies that excel in racial and don’t think about creating a brighter ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to future for my children,” Welch said. “I have financial returns above their peers, am committed to fostering a business and those excelling in gender diversity environment that offers the same are 15% percent more likely. As the opportunities conversation for my son, on increasing daughter, and “I introduced this corporate all women bill and feel so diversity in and people of passionately about Illinois has color that are this issue because developed, afforded to their there’s not a day that Welch’s proposal peers.” goes by that I don’t has seen a think about creating a Welch’s groundswell of brighter future for my measure, support from children,” Welch said House Bill the business 3394, requires community. corporations “This measure puts all the data on based in Illinois to report the the table, identifies practices that have racial and gender make up of their worked to increase board diversity, board of directors to the Secretary while also holding corporations of State’s office and requires the accountable that are not taking the steps University of Illinois to study the necessary to embrace a more diverse data and make recommendations to corporate culture,” Welch said. “I would improve representation of women like to thank my colleagues in the House and minorities. Additionally, Welch’s and Senate and Governor Pritzker for legislation would require the University their help in getting this reform that of Illinois to publish an individualized will improve corporate diversity in rating for each corporation’s efforts to Illinois signed into law.” increase diversity on their boards. proposal by State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, aimed at increasing the diversity of corporate boards in Illinois is now law.

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

September 11, 2019

315 S. Harlem Ave • Forest Park, IL 60130

708-689-8595

Open Monday thru Thursday 9 am to 9pm Sun-11am to 9pm Friday & Saturday 9am to 10pm

• Let us cater your next party! •

Cactus Grill: Authentic yet culturally accessible

By Tom Holmes

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hen customers walk into the Cactus Grill located at 315 S. Harlem Ave in Forest Park, they get an authentic taste of Mexico which is also culturally accessible to Americans.

In an interview last July with the Review, Nadia Mondragon, who owns the restaurant with her husband Roque, made a statement which reveals an approach as a restaurateur which fits in nicely with Hispanic Heritage Month.

She explained, “A lot of the Mexican restaurants now, they try to do more like Tex-Mex food. We want to keep it as Mexican and authentic as possible and not too Americanized, so you can know the taste of how we live in Mexico. …

It’s important to keep our roots.”

At first glance, the Cactus Grill menu includes dishes familiar to Americans— burritos, chimichangas, chiles rellenos, enchiladas, flautas. What makes her Mexican restaurant different, she said, is that is she cooks with ingredients which are both fresh and authentic, so that the food tastes “just like the food

my grandma grew up cooking.”

But the authenticity goes beyond the food. The two TV monitors have the audio turned off and a Spanish translation continually running across the bottom of the screen. While most of the menu items have English translations, some do not. For example, one section is titled “Combinaciones Mar Y Tierra.” Most folks whose primary language is English can figure out what the words mean, but Mondragons have trusted the intelligence of their patrons to figure it out.

Every one of the employees working at the eatery speak Spanish. That is, in part, because they are all related to Roque and Nadia, whose family migrated north from central Mexico over 20 years ago.

Other touches of authenticity include the Mexican music being played in the background and the soft drinks imported from Mexico like Tamarind flavored Jarrito.

At the same time, the restaurant is

culturally accessible. The employees are friendly, welcoming and completely bilingual. The interior is attractively decorated in soft gold with paintings of adobe buildings and cacti hanging on the walls.

Nadia’s sister Perla is married to a white American named Jason Frenzel who expressed the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month by saying, “I am a gringo who married a Mexican woman. According to her and her family, I have become an honorary Mexican because I have embraced many aspects of their culture, such as the closeness and codependence of family, the food, language, and certain perspectives regarding their worldview.

I am relatively open minded anyway, but my deepened exposure to a foreign culture has enlightened my sense of self as I relate to the world, because there are so many people out there experiencing and thinking of things in different ways.”

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

Special Advertising Section

September 11, 2019

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www.bespokeflipbooks.com info@bespokeflipbooks.com 773.234.2690

Bespoke Flipbooks is the premier interactive entertainment company perfect for your next special event. Rather than shooting photos, like in a traditional photobooth, we’ll shoot a 7-second video of you and your guests and transform it into a 60-page flipbook in under a minute. Whether it’s a quinceañera, prom, wedding, or corporate event, our signature Bespoke Flipbook service will provide you and your guests entertainment and a keepsake in one. Hire us for your event today!

Be sure to visit us on Facebook to view our promo video!

Celebrate Hispanic heritage with flipbooks

By Tom Holmes

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exter Cura was born in the Philippines, but he is connected with the Hispanic community in at least two ways.

First, Cura has been hired to bring his Bespoke Flipbooks service to many quinceaneras and Latino weddings, and he saw Hispanic Heritage Month as an opportunity to get more exposure in the Latino community in particular and in all of Chicagoland in general.

Here’s how Bespoke Flipbooks works.

The host of an event hires Cura to come to the wedding or family reunion or whatever the gathering may be for about two hours in which time he can make up to 125 seven seconds long action videos of people dancing or hugging or just acting silly.

Then, his technology transforms the digital recording into sixty distinct frames—much like movies used to be printed on celluloid—which are bound into a book about the size of a business card, and when your riffle through the pages, almost magically the action reappears in front of your eyes.

Cura said that his service has been a hit at events, partly because it’s something new but also because “in under 60 seconds, we’ll create a flipbook for the guests to receive as their keepsake. It’s not only a keepsake for the guests, but it’s also entertainment for everyone as well!

The second way he feels connected to the Hispanic community is because he has noticed much overlap between the cultures of Filipinos and Latinos.

“Like family,” he said. “Both Hispanics and Filipinos tend to be very family-centric. Whenever there is an event like a baptism or wedding or quinceanera the whole extended family—aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws—are not only invited but expected to be present. Everyone is welcome and there is always a lot food. They love to have a good time together.”

He laughed at how an emphasis on family can have both positive and negative sides. “On the one hand,” he explained with a smile,

“when they are together, they talk about and discuss everyone in the family.

They all know everyone’s business.

“On the other hand, nothing you can do can make you not be a part of the family. You’ll never be alone in a Latino or Filipino family.”

Cura added that you can have a flipbook made for yourself online.

He said, “We have an online service where we make your videos

come to life! Send your 7-10 second video snippet at info@bespokeflipbooks.com and we’ll transform it into a 60-page paper flipbook.”

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September 11, 2019

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

Special Advertising Section

The Mayor Rory E. Hoskins and the Village of Forest Park is happy to celebrate our first annual Hispanic Heritage Month event. The inaugural year’s theme is Bailando en Las Calles / Dancing in the Streets and it will be a one-day festival that will include entertainment and education by way of music, food, fun and family togetherness.

Saturday, October 5, 2019 • 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Constitution Court • Madison Street (rain date October 12)

If you have additional questions about sponsorship and/or volunteering, please contact us by email, fp.hhmcommittee@gmail.com, or call the Village of Forest Park 708-615-6203 and ask for Tanzla Davis-Rodriguez

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage