Dear LAHBA members,

Would you like to promote your Hispanic organization as a way to
promote awareness as well as increase membership?

Are you an individual interested in getting involved in the community
but do not know where to start?

LAHBA would like to invite you and your members to a special event
called:
Building Bridges Tuesday May 15th from
5:30 to 7:30 at Sir Pizza Grand Café in Old Town

The goal of Building Bridges is to give Hispanic organizations in
the Greater Lansing Area the opportunity to highlight their
organization’s mission, purpose, and calendar of events but also give
individuals, who are looking to get involved, the ability to meet with
current members.

Lansing can learn a lot about how other Hispanic communities around
Michigan have come together to improve the well-being and quality of
life in their towns and we are happy to have Larry J. Rodarte to speak
on things that are being done in the Saginaw Area.

Larry is the Publisher of Mi Gente Magazine, Executive Director of the
Great Lakes Bay Hispanic Business Association, and Co-Founder of the
Great Lakes Bay Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Complimentary food and drink will be provided

Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.
- Henry Ford

Lansing Area Hispanic Business Association
www.lahba.org 
Linked In
Facebook

Please feel free to pass this information on.

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC THEATRE

Why Quadri Won:
Quadri was the strongest of the other three debtors that night. He was energetic, emphatic, and stayed out of the infighting that happened between the other three candidates. Qudadri was  articulate and his well thought out responses and good oratory ability gave him the lead in the debate. His rehearsed responses were crafted within the time limit demonstrated his preparation for the event. His good image on camera as well as his strong pose and sincerity made him the winner. He doesn’t have a chance to win the election he only needed to gain the 3% to allow the party to continue to receive the IFE financial support. In the final tally he won 9.5%. His strong debating skills allowed him to gain 3x what his goal was. His only error was being caught candidly looking at the model’s rear as she passed by. The photo did not help his intellectual reputation.

Second Place Tie, Mota & Obrador:
This one was a bit more difficult to call. Yet I lean towards Josefina Vázquez Mota as the second place winner. She came across more composed, stronger in her debate style, and her younger image gave her an edge. She stuck to the majority of the points, but did attack often at Peña Nieto on his record as a Governor of the State of Mexico. Her ability to deflect Peña Nieto weak accusation that she was on roll call when she was in fact out on a tour of another state was a sign of how clean cut her image is. If the best Peña Nieto could do was accuser her of missing out on a roll call when he is accused being in league with convicted corrupt officials as well as his ties to  other politicians on the run it laughable. Her comment of I’m not a teacher here to review your homework to make sure you’ve done it, made Peña Nieto seem like a child. Her weakness was her politeness and her inability to finish her points within the time limit, she also had many opportunities to shine with quick witty statements but they were lost on her rigidness as she tried to project a stronger and more posed appearance.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador came across as very calm. His strength was his mastery of attack. All night he drew attention to   Peña Nieto massive group of corrupt friends, as well as the massive amounts of money he has spent on the media. Obrador accused Peña Nieto  of buying his position in the polls and the soft reporting and inability of the media to criticize their cash cow. He attacked Peña Nieto  throughout the night showing financial statements and photos of Peña Nieto  hand in hand with convicted corrupt officials.   His weakness in this debate was the time limit. Obrador is a great emphatic orator, yet he failed to climax a point in the debates, he was cut off mid sentence in all the questions because he was too slow to make his point. He lost to Mota only because he couldn’t adjust his style to the debate format. His timing was slow and he didn’t seem very ready to answer the questions.

Loser:
Peña Nieto was a disappointment in this debate. With all the candidates having received the questions beforehand there was very little surprise reactions we could expect. A good memorization of points was all he needed to do,  and Peña Nieto was average. His constant blinking at the start of the debate showed how uncomfortably he felt and was very distracting. He spent his evening on the defensive, deflecting accusations instead of confronting them. This weakness showed his inability to react to what was outside of his script. He was mainly the loser because he constantly said that he couldn’t answer properly because of the time limits. That he needed more time. He looked good and spoke well, but his scripted appearance did not merit the 15-20% lead over the other candidates. He had no ability to surprise no ability to attack and his defense was weak. He managed well enough not to slip up but with over 4 months to prepare he couldn’t out speak Quadri the weakest of all the candidates.

The debate itself was the real loser. With all the questions already forwarded to the candidates and the rigid structure of the debate. It was boring to watch. The questions were simplistic and open enough for any of the candidates to be vague, and gave no ability to put the candidates on the spotlight. The fact also that the debate took place on the same night that a more interesting soccer match was taking places also highlighted how the IFE is too weak to strong arm the television stations that are under the PRI’s control. The only surprise of the event was the playboy model who distracted enough to be more talked about than the actual debate. Hopefully the style and the spin in the following weeks will chip away at Peña Nieto lead.

Mexico Presidential Debate on YouTube:

I have a small list of events that are happening throughout Grand Rapids, most of the events have likes on the Facebook page, here are a few for you subscribers.

Fiesta 2012 - By Latin Americans United for Progress - http://www.facebook.com/events/203778109735095/

LINC Up 1st Fridays Cinco de Mayo Celebration-  LINC Up - http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c50f193b6efecf97394b0bdb7&id=18890c9264

CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION - Grand Rapids Public Museum - http://www.facebook.com/events/295434470533297/

April 27-28, 2012

Los Angeles, CA

To register, click here

Increasing Philanthropic Resources for Latino Communities in the Next Decade

 In December 2011, HIP and the Foundation Center released a report that about one percent of foundation giving is targeted to organizations and programs that primarily serve Latino communities. This figure has remained the same in the past ten years, while the Hispanic population has grown by 43 percent. While the Latino community’s growth is rapidly changing the U.S. political landscape, Latino immigrants have become the targets of draconian immigration laws and racial profiling, and major socioeconomic divisions persist. The average Latino family has ten cents in assets for every dollar that the average white family has. Across the country, half of Latino students drop out of high school, and Latinos now make up a majority of the population sent to federal prison for felonies. Philanthropy has a responsibility to lead change.

To move the needle on these disturbing trends, we need to make bigger, smarter investments in Latino communities. To that end, Hispanics in Philanthropy is sponsoring HIP GameChangers, a series of briefings, reports and forums-both online and in-person-bringing together funders and other leaders to identify the “GameChangers” for Latinos in the next decade. Throughout the campaign, we’ll seek to answer these pressing questions:

■  How can we address the structural underfunding of Latino communities and increase philanthropic investments in Latinos?

■  Why are Latinos underfunded and what will it take for change?

■  How can funders make strategic investments to advance social change in the policy areas that most affect Latinos, such as education access, health disparities, immigration, and political empowerment?

■  What cutting-edge models, emerging technologies, and promising new initiatives have the potential to be GameChangers to increase and sustain long term investments in Latino social justice issues?

The campaign will include a national conference for foundation CEOs, philanthropic leaders, academic experts, and community leaders in Los Angeles on April 27-28.

Be part of the Change.   Join us for HIP GameChangers!

Add your voice to this important conversation among Latino leaders and allies, CEOs and program officers, funders, politicos, and grassroots leaders, all coming together to strategize about how to mobilize knowledge capital, financial capital, and human capital to make social change a reality for Latino communities.

Conference Agenda

Friday, April 27, 2012

California Endowment

1000 North Alameda Street

Los Angeles, CA

Breakfast & Cafecito

8:30-9:30am

Catch up with old colleagues and connect with new ones! HIP firmly believes in the power of giving and connecting. GameChangers will kick off with a morning cafecito that will encourage attendees to get acquainted and form lasting connections.

Welcome

9:30am-10:00am

* A leader from The California Endowment will welcome our guests and will open Day 1 of the conference.

Opening Plenary: Latino 2012

10:15-11:30am

Presentation: The Demographic GameChangers

Presentation: The State of Foundation Funding for Latino Communities

* Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center

Discussion: What are the GameChangers for Latino Philanthropy?

* Sandra L. Vargas, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Minneapolis Foundation

* Aida Rodriguez, Chair of Management Programs and Professor of Professional Practice, Management at Milano School of Management, International Affairs, and Urban Policy (Moderator)

Latino Leader Highlight

12:00-12:30pm

* Diana Bontá, President and Chief Executive Officer, The California Wellness Foundation

Luncheon Panel: What are the barriers for Latino Education Access?

12:30-1:45pm

* Tina Gridiron Smith, Program Officer, Lumina Foundation for Education

* Cynthia Rivera Weissblum, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edwin Gould Foundation

* Jorge Ruiz-de-Velasco, Program Officer, Ford Foundation

Panel: What’s up with our Men and Boys?

1:45-3:15pm

* Dianne Yamashiro-Omi, Program Manager, Equity and Diversity, The California Endowment

* Gilda Gonzales, Chief Executive Officer, Unity Council

* Aida Hurtado, Chair, Department of Chicana and Chicano studies & Luis Leal endowed chair, UCBS and Editor, Understanding the Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys: Invisible No More

* Luisa Taveras, Program Officer – Criminal Justice Fund, Open Society Institute

Closing Plenary: Good and Bad News from the Field: The Challenge of Diversity

3:30-5:00pm

* Diana Campoamor, President, Hispanics in Philanthropy

* María Hinojosa, Anchor and Managing Editor of NPR’s “Latino USA” program

* Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer, The California Endowment

* Sterling Speirn, President and Chief Executive Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

* Luz Vega-Marquis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marguerite Casey Foundation

Cocktail Reception & Networking

5:00-6:00pm

*Julio Marcial, Program Director, The California Wellness Foundation

Please join HIP’s Southern California Leadership Group for an evening of networking & entertainment. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be provided.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Millenium Biltmore Hotel

506 South Grand Avenue

Los Angeles, CA

Breakfast & Cafecito Welcome

9:30 -10:00am

Catch up with old colleagues and connect with new ones! HIP firmly believes in the power of giving and connecting. GameChangers will kick off with a morning cafecito that will encourage attendees to get acquainted and form lasting connections.

Opening Plenary: What are the GameChangers for the 2012 Election?

10:00-11:00am

* Maria Blanco, Vice President for Civic Engagement, California Community Foundation

* Cristóbal Joshua Alex, Program Officer, Ford Foundation

* Manuel Pastor, Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at USC and author of Uncommon Ground

* Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

Subject Caucuses: Funding at the Intersections of Leading Social Change Movements

11:30-12:30pm

Children & Youth:

* Jorge Cabrera, Senior Director of the San Diego field office, Casey Family Programs

* Beatriz Vieira, Vice President for Community Impact, The Philadelphia Foundation

Latino Aging:

* Marcus Escobedo, Program Officer, The John A. Hartford Foundation

* John Feather, Chief Executive Officer, Grantmakers in Aging

LGBT:

* Dave Montez, Senior Program Officer, Gill Foundation

* Matt Foreman, Director, Gay and Immigrant Rights Programs, Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. fund

Women’s Rights

* Wilma Montañez, Program Officer for Reproductive Rights, Jessie Smith Noyes foundation

Workers/The 99%

* Juanita Irizarry, Program Officer, Human Services & Community Development, The Chicago Community Trust

Lunch Plenary: Latino Media Now

12:45-2:00pm:

* Giselle Fernandez, Managing Director, Creative World Talent Management Division, Trump Group

* Juan Gonzalez, Staff Writer, Daily News, and co-author of News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media

* Monica Lozano, Chief Executive Officer, Impremedia LLC and La Opinión

* Elizabeth Méndez Berry, Journalist & Media Consultant

* Chris Peña, Executive Editor, NBC Latino

This need for the sacred and return to ritual has created many paradoxes among the least religious, or those 2nd and 3rd generation immigrant children who have lost all roots and ties to their  ethnic group. As the social importance of the event decreases, the higher the narcissism of the event becomes. Less importance is given to the social aspect of the event and more to the financial cost and luxury of the event.

In the example used by The New Yorker, gender parties show a need to ritualized the moment of knowing the child’s sex. A preamble to the baby shower that will solidify the rite of passage for the mother into motherhood. The witty remark about how the sex is transferred from the lab to baker without being seen by anyone else, including the parents-to-be was rather funny. I guess labs can now offer a bakers fee to keep the sex of the baby secret until you cut your cake or bite into your sex telling color center.

Yet I have noticed the ritual of a similar sort among Latinos. One only has to look at a Quinceañera to realize how the event has changed from a rite of passage when a girl is presented to society as a young woman. An event that rivals that of the next rite of passage for a  woman, Marriage. In many cases the amount of money  spent on the Quinceañera rivals that of a wedding.

The original intent of the Quinceañera was a rite of passage for a girl into womanhood. The  rite originally taking place at mass. The after party was a social celebration that as the years have shown has turned into an elaborate ceremony that has turned from a ritual to a narcissistic demonstration of a family’s wealth and social standing.  With more girls wearing heels and makeup at younger ages, the original intent of distinguishing girls from young women has lost its place, and as such, the event has turned into a mutation of what it once signified.

As the elaboration and context of the ritual changes to  focus less on its social aspects and more on its monetary aspect shows a growing concern for society as a whole. With the blurring and often destruction of traditional rites of passage the nuclear families find themselves lost without a social anchor. It is a growing problem that needs to be addressed and will only create conflict until the traditional values are readjusted to  reflect society. There is no easy solution to this. The growing number of parties for all occasions show a readjustment  of these values, eventually some will win out as other lose their purpose.

Eventually the nuclear family will integrate itself again like is has today with a modern day extended family of Facebook, twitter and YouTube. Moments will no longer be physical as in the past but shared digitally for all to see. The closeness of the extended family has lost its standing to the modern day tweet. I hope it’s for the best.  Latino’s I think will have the hardest time with this specifically because of how strongly we hold on to traditional values.

Quinceañera  origins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era

Baby showers ritual throughout history: http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/11/01_baby.html
Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/04/gender-reveal-parties.html#ixzz1t48fzngv

On a National Level more than 20% of  adults read at the 5th grade level. one-fifth of adults in the nation read on a level that would cause them to flunk out of a pre-college prep course. College prep courses are designed to initiate students to the harder demands of college. Those 5 page book essays you wrote in high school are nothing when you have a 20 page paper due with citations and research. How can you expect students with terrible reading levels to comprehend let alone take a part and analytically study at a college level when their reading skills are way behind.

Also what kind of message does this send the kids. Yes you are failing, you can’t catch up but we will lowered the standard for you to pass. Does this even happen at an employment level. I mean if you can’t do your job competently enough does your boss lower the workload for you? Of course not. It is the lack of trade schools today that is a cause of many issues in the school system. No longer are students who obviously have no interest in college taught a skill or a craft. Some people don’t want to go to college, and forcing them as they have in L.A. to take college course cause disasters like this.  Some kids don’t have the talent for college, or don’t want to go and spending the time and resources so they can “Pass” on paper is useless.

It takes into account that women and swing voters will be very low. Yet it completely ignores Hispanic voters as  well as the fact Obama hasn’t started his campaign yet. At the start of the Republican nomination there were so many conflicting prognostications by the media as to who would be the winner. To the extent of naming it the Perry – Romney matchup. Of course it was overtaken later on by Romney being trailed and threatened by Santorum. It just goes to show you how wrong the polls and the media can be.

I doubt the Republicans will be able to beat out Obama, Romney has a lower likability factor than an android. His in ability to connect with the common person has been a difficulty he has yet to master. Obama will stick mostly to two themes that have been ignored by the Republicans so far. The Economy and Health Care. Obama’s Campaign will catch Romney off guard when they go on the national level.

Obama also has an ample war chest to go on par with Romney. One of Romney’s strength was his ability to raise money. His opponents all had money issues when spending dollar on dollar. Yet Romney’s money bought him much less than his opponents. When you are outspending your opponents and still losing it really shows you how weak an unlikable you are.

So I’m not putting much faith on these polls until the first debate between the two. Romney’s money was his blanket during the nomination now, he’s bare and as more and more people see him out in the open they’ll be less impressed. He’ll also get a shock once Hispanics start weighing in their opinions and start to matter more and more in the polls. We will see where his anti-immigration stance will leave him.