La Plaza Central

The Pew Research Center released a report today quantifying what most people already deduced about the 2008 elections.  Last year’s voting population was more diverse than ever.  African Americans, Latinos, and Asians increased their percentage of all people who voted in the elections to 12.1%, 7.4%, and 2.5%, respectively.  49.9% of eligible Latinos voted in 2008, versus 47.2% in 2004.  Asian participation increased roughly the same, and African American voter turnout increased 4.9%.

Interestingly, much of the increase in Latino voter can be attributed to the recent boom in the Latino popluation.  Between 2004 and 2008, eligible Latino voters grew by 21.4%.  Compare that to the increase in total eligible voters the last four years, 4.6%.  Oh the times they are a-changin’.

A short note today about a recent collaborative project between El Centro, a local art center, and artist from Omaha.  El Centro’s own Maria Leticia and her women’s groups recently participated in an outreach program with the Haydon Art Center and Claudia Alvarez of Omaha.

In the first phase, the women’s group attended a presentation of European quilts on display at Haydon.  The women were given a tour of the center, as well as the art on exhibit.  In the second phase, Claudia came to El Centro and gave two art classes where she showed the women how to paint and draw themselves as a way of expressing their emotions.  Between the first and second classes, the women were given notebooks to record their feelings in whatever form they chose.  Some opted to draw, others to write poetry or songs.  The excercise served as a catharsis and exercise  about the various forms to express emotions and feelings.

Here are some photos from the artist sessions.

New article in the Omaha WH yesterday about the gap in pay for higher paying jobs between whites and other races.  The money quote,

“The lesson of most economic downturns is minorities are the last hired, first fired. They lose jobs more quickly, and they will be the last to recover” – Roderick Harrison.

Newly released Census data shows that blacks and Latinos with high school diplomas have either remained steady or slightly closed the pay gap with their white counterparts, but amongst college graduates the disparities have actually increased since 2000.  Latino college graduates make about 75 cents for every dollar that white graduates earn, which is down from 87 cents in 2000.  The story for African Americans is roughly the same as a black college graduate in 2007 can expect to earn about 78 cents for every dollar, compared to 83 cents in 2005.

These growing disparities are both alarming and disheartening.  But so is this… according to the Census, 92% of whites have at least high school diploma, versus 89% of Asians, 83% of blacks, and just 62% of Latinos.  We have to get that last number up to have any chance.

A hospital in Hastings has won an award this week for their diabetes program called Salud Para Su Corazón that targets minorities in Adams, Webster and Nuckolls counties.

Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital won the Organization Exceptional Merit Award handed out by the Nebraska Public Health Conference in Lincoln.

The cool thing here is that according to the Chief Medical Officer, the program helped 300 people, and half of the participants lost weight, increased physical fitness and ate more fruits and veggies.

Video here.

El Centro would like to announce the hiring of our new full time executive director, Marien Ruiz!  Many of you knew her as the interim director, though now the interim tag has been lifted.  Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mrs. Ruiz has been with El Centro for approximately 1.5 years.  She began her non-profit career as an AmeriCorps volunteer alongside another brilliant young man, Nicholas Woodward.  She likes reading, cooking arroz con gandules, and long walks on the beach.  Of which there are none in Nebraska.

At any rate, we are enthralled to Marien at the helm, and we know she will make an excellent executive director.  And we want Monday off.

Today’s good story comes from CNN’s Heroes series.  Erika Vohman is a biologist who encountered the Maya nut while working in Guatemala, and has been promoting its use ever since.  The Maya nut grows naturally in the rainforests stretching from Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras into Nicaragua.  It can be made to taste like anything from mashed potatoes to coffee to chocolate.  In 2001, Vohman created an NGO, The Equilibrium Fund, to promote the Maya nut in workshops offered to women in five countries.  The charlas on harvesting, packaging and cooking the Maya nut also serve as a lesson on sustainable agriculture in the rainforest.  Check out the videos and see for yourself.

Video on Erika Vohman and The Equilibrium Fund
Workshops offered by The Equilibrium Fund

Here is a video on what exactly the Summit of the Americas is, how it works, and what it does.  The video comes from Howcast.com and it’s a little bit like the educational videos from junior high, but still informative and concise.

This past Wednesday we had our second day of Computación Básica para Adultos. It’s the third installment of the class I teach to Hispanic parents of Everett students and has been coming together well. I’ve finally worked up good content and lessons for them now that they can manage Microsoft Word and have a basic introduction to Internet. We go onto Google and I let them pick any search topic on which they must type up an informative paragraph and copy/paste a picture. Even with my assistant Natalie—a Wesleyan Spanish major—this can eat up our ninety-minute time frame. But you’ve got to hand it to them—before this class ninety percent of them hadn’t used a computer. Ever.

Another ninetieth-percentile statistic is their search topics. They always search their hometowns, which has me thinking of some project we could develop to enhance this nostalgic Internet experience. Email accounts are on tap for next class so I’ve got to ask them how ‘connected’ these hometowns are. Who knows, anything from emailing pictures to video chats with faraway cousins could be in their future. ¡Andale!

It looks like Latin America will be getting a little attention this week as President Obama travels to Mexico City today and then on to Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas with a healthy contingent of staff in tow.  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Energy Secretary Steven Chu (Video) will accompany the President to Mexico City, the second largest metropolis in the world behind Tokyo with 20 million inhabitants.  It’s a shame that the President doesn’t have time to catch a game in Estadio Azteca.  Interestingly, Obama is only the fifth president in the last 100 years to visit Mexico City, and they all have been Democrats.

Then it’s on to the aforementioned Summit of the Americas in T&T where President Obama will meet with 33 other heads of government.  No doubt the talk will be about how he handles ALBA pack (Chávez, Morales, Ortega, and Castro), but the agenda for the summit is an ambitious one.  Topics on the docket to be discussed include energy, environment, security, democracy, prosperity, and how the summit itself should function.  Stay tuned for the results.

From the video website…

“On March 6, 2008 a flood of people, music, and kites invaded the city landfill in Managua, Nicaragua, where nearly 1,500 people live, work, and make their homes. The trash dump is called La Chureca, which means the Scavenging Place and can be described as a post-apocalyptic war zone, as people search through the piles of burning trash, looking for things to eat, fix, and recycle.”

(Thanks to The Latin Americanist)