LatinaLista — Two senators that have been major thorns in the sides of the Gang of Eight during these senate debates over immigration reform have been two men that hail from the same state — Texas.

Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz have both been uncompromising in their attitudes and not shy about their disdain for a bill, when passed, will not only jeopardize each man’s political future but could make the GOP the minority party in the state.

That might explain Cruz’s purposeful disconnect with his fellow Latinos in the Lone Star State and Cornyn’s disingenuous attempts to mask his so-called support of the bill with what has been called out by observers as a ‘poison pill’ amendment.

In a rational world, the actions of these two senators would seem irrational. After all, Texas is a border state with the second highest undocumented population in the country. As of now, 38 percent of Texas’ population is Latino vs. 45 percent Anglo – that’s only a 7 percent difference. A gap that won’t take too long to bridge.

Texas is already classified as “majority-minority” with 55.5 percent of the state’s population comprised of people of color. In the latest U.S. Census analysis, three of the six counties that became majority-minority in 2012 were in Texas.

Not to mention that whites in the under-5 age group are expected to tip to a minority this year or next, according to the U.S. Census.

So why are Cornyn and Cruz refusing to accept, but more importantly, represent the majority of their constituents when it comes to immigration reform and other issues that have been documented as being very important to minority voters, like Obamacare?

The perception is that both men are only interested in representing a very narrow niche/ideology of select Texas voters. Voters with money who can command the kind of attention that 55.5 percent of the state’s population can’t. A niche that may not be around in its present ‘state’ come the next election.

Cornyn is due for re-election in 2014 and Cruz has his sights set on even higher office. Yet, whether these men believe it or not, their continued attacks and disingenuous tactics to prevent immigration reform from becoming a reality will not only be remembered by this generation and the new generation of Texas Latino voters, but may very well be the impetus needed to finally turn Texas Blue — and turn Cruz and Cornyn red with embarrassment for contributing to their party’s demise in Texas.

LatinaLista — They were officially known as the 65th Infantry Regiment. Yet to their families and friends they were the Borinqueneers — “the only Hispanic/Latino-segregated Active-Duty military unit in US history that played a prominent role in the American military, participating in three major wars (WWI, WWII, and the Korean War).”

The regiment was comprised mainly of Puerto Rican Americans, with a few soldiers of other Latino origin and even European American soldiers within the ranks. Among them, the group of soldiers racked up an impressive amount of medal distinction — 10 Distinguished Service Crosses, 258 Silver Stars, 628 Bronze Stars, more than 2700 Purple Hearts,

Yet, there is one medal that eludes this brave group of Latinos — the Congressional Gold Medal (CGM). Considered the highest honor bestowed on US citizens, the Borinqueneers, with all their courageous valor and medals to prove it, have been waiting on the sidelines all these years as their peers — the Navajo Codetalkers, Tuskeegee Airmen, Montfort Point Marines,etc. — each achieved the dream of being recognized in Washington with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Some in the Latino community believe the Borinqueneers shouldn’t have to wait any longer. As more and more soldiers from the regiment pass away, time is literally ticking for these men who instilled fear in their opponents on the battlefield for being known as not giving up a fight.

To help the Borinqueneers receive the distinction they so rightfully deserve, Frank Medina, an Iraq War Veteran and West Point graduate, launched the Borinqueneers Congressional Gold Medal Alliance in October 2012. The Alliance released the featured film to enlighten everyone about the accomplishments of the 65th Infantry Regiment and why they deserve the GCM.

In addition to the Alliance fighting on their behalf, the Boriqueneers received additional encouragement from the Infantry Regiment CGM Bill H.R.1726 which was co-introduced by the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Representative Pedro Pierluisi, and Representative Bill Posey of Central-Eastern Florida.

Since the introduction of the bill, the quest to get this regiment recognized has taken on more intensity. Recently,the Alliance partnered with Xiomara Sosa, founder of You Are Strong!, a provider of information on health and human services to veterans, which will work together with the Alliance to “facilitate necessary resources to take the initiative further through the Congressional process.” (Disclaimer: You Are Strong! is a partner with Latina Lista in the National Hispanic Veterans Advocacy Network.)

According to a press release issued by the Alliance:

The 65th Infantry Regiment Congressional Gold Medal will bring Hispanic/Latino Veterans into the national spotlight where they deserve to be and will greatly promote the contributions of Hispanics/Latinos in U.S. history, thereby offsetting the negative, degrading images portrayed in public media outlets.

Representative Pedro Pierluisi and Representative Bill Posey co-introduced House of Representatives Bill H.R. 1726 on April 25th, 2013. The bill has accrued 43 Co-Sponsors so far as we aim to reach the needed 290 more in our mission to achieve the Congressional Gold Medal for the 65th Infantry Regiment, the historic Hispanic/Latino unit.

By Juan Miret
LatinaLista

Seeing Carlos Angon reminds one that today´s immigrants in Oklahoma have an incredible impact on the economic development and cultural diversity. He represents the new ´Okie´ face, a face that reflects both old traditions and new memories. He is part of the millennium generation, a group of extraordinary entrepreneurs and innovators that are changing Oklahoma … in this case, one bowtie at a time.

Oklahoma first felt the impact of Hispanic influence almost 500 years ago, when Spanish conquistadores came in search of legendary cities of gold. Today, Carlos is using art instead of a sword to make Oklahoma fancy, beautiful, prosperous and cosmopolitan.

Angon, 27, left Guadalajara, México, when he was just 3 years old. “My parents were looking for the American Dream,” he said while he described in full detail his neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. “I learned to be an artist in Swanson Avenue. Those streets inspired me to create, play music and do something bigger than dreaming: Dare to dream! Believe in your dreams and finally taste them.”

His passion for designing came from an early age. “Since I was a kid I was exposed to fashion or at least to needles and threads,” Angon said. “Tac-tac-tac-tac, a fascinating noise from my dad’s sewing machine.” That is because Angon’s father used to work at the Levi’s factory. “I started to modify my own clothes, so they could fit me better. I even used spray paint to make colorful patterns.”

The Angon family decided to move to a Tulsa, Oklahoma suburb nine years ago. “We settled in Owasso,” he said. “It was a fresh new start.”

Pursuing his passion for art and playing almost every single musical instrument ever invented, he found the love of his life on this side of the Midwest: Jessica Mae.

“We came from different backgrounds and at the same time we shared the same vision,” he said while holding Jessica’s hands and looking into her eyes. “This journey exists because of Jessica.”

Jessica Mae ‘irons’ out the creases before creating the latest fashion accessory taking the Midwest by the ‘collar.’

One day, and not exactly out-of-the-blue, bowties appeared in their lives. The reason was simple: ‘Corporate America’ was too rigid for Angon, so he wanted to add something to his wardrobe to portray his passion for creativity beyond his 9 to 5 grown-up gig. He was working as a web developer, a job as creative as a fashion designer. These days he still does it, but for his own business.

“Being average, being default is too easy. We all need to be more than original,” he said. “So bowties were that step, because they are unexpected.”

The bowties were the center of attention and soon, everyone started asking where he bought them. Once they found out that Carlos and Jessica were the masters behind that ornamental fabric, the dream was ready to become a reality.

“So we started making them but we need a piece to complete part of the puzzle,” he said. “How do we share them? How can the world know about this?” Those questions were answered by an edgy, never-done-before type of website.

They really hit the nail on the head … or even better, made the perfect knot in the bowtie, because their products have already arrived as far as Australia.

“We launched Month of Mae – that’s the name of the boutique – last August,” he explained with a huge grin on his face. “We had no idea, really, no idea about all this success. We started this as a game, just for fun. We still have a lot of fun, but we are very excited, really excited about the future. We can touch it.”

The sewing wheel is moving so fast, that the current shop – headquartered in one of the three bedrooms of their apartment – will soon be in a new and larger location. “We are even thinking of expanding our workforce,” he said. Looking at Jessica, he paused and laughed. “Yes, we will be able to hire someone else. That’s great.”

Angon remembered taking a sort of leap of faith, when it became a necessity to leave his former job. He was fighting for a dream and needed to follow that fire called passion.

“Passion is the key element. You need passion in all you do. Every single bowtie, every single website is like the first and the last one. It is not about perfection, but passion,” he said while describing the day he decided to start focusing 100 percent on his dream. “If you do not have passion in what you do, then discover your passion. At that point, you may start the creativity process.”

Carlos knows something big is coming; however, he still has his feet on the ground.

“I am just a kid. I was a little kid from the streets of L.A., now I am a kid from Tulsa,” and he added “if you want to be professional, pay attention to little details. If you want to be the best, really pay attention to little details. But if you want to be at the top, to be an innovator, then you have to feel each detail. Without careful details, there is no product. No success.”

And just in case you are asking, Carlos does have a motto: “The secret of success is to finish something. It does not matter if the final product is different than what you thought.”

(Photo Credit: All photos by Juan Miret)

By Miguel Pérez
Hidden Hispanic Heritage

Long before Guantanamo became synonymous with al-Qaida prisoners, American injustice and hunger strikes — yes, even before it became known as a high-security prison for suspected terrorists — it was a U.S. Naval Base with a long and fascinating history. It still is!

And long after the military prison is gone, the U.S. Naval Base is very likely to remain there, surrounding Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — still the oldest American outpost on foreign soil, and the only one in a communist country.

Those 45 square miles of land and water are so unique and awkward for an American military installation that you would think some occasional historical perspective is necessary.

Yet nowadays, we hear journalists and pundits talking about how Guantanamo “needs to be closed” — without clarifying that they are referring only to the military prison opened there in 2002, not the base established there in 1903. We see no efforts to put Guantanamo in proper historical context, no explanation for why the United States can hold enemy prisoners within the territory of another enemy.

Listening to some pundits, you could easily assume that Guantanamo was inexplicably imposed on Cuba after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that U.S. Sailors and Marines have been there only for the past decade.

In the interest of clarity, you would think that some journalists would take the time or space to explain that Guantanamo has a history, and that it goes all the way back to the Spanish-American War near the end of the 19th century.

You would think that someone would remind us that for the past few decades, Guantanamo has served as an escape valve for Cubans who defy minefields and shark-infested bay waters to reach the base and win their freedom from communism. You would think that at least some pundits would remember recent history, especially the early 1990s, when Guantanamo housed tent-city detention centers for Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted at sea while trying to reach Florida.

But nah, that would be going much more in-depth than today’s telegraphic news media allows.

Our news is so abbreviated and condensed, so well packaged into tiny sound bites, blog spaces and even tweets, that we seldom get the full picture. For example, we hear all about how U.S. Marines are guarding the prison, but practically nothing about their other responsibility: Guarding the base’s heavily mined perimeters with Cuba.

Most Americans know much more about the no-man’s-land between North and South Korea than the one surrounding the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo. Most don’t know that Guantanamo is surrounded by tall watchtowers, barbed-wire fences and minefields, or that instead of keeping prisoners in, those barriers were put there to keep the Cubans and Americans apart.

Some history: The Guantanamo Bay area, near the southeastern tip of Cuba, has been occupied by American forces since U.S. Marines landed there to fight the Spanish-American War in 1898. After winning the war, the U.S. Congress passed the Platt Amendment, giving the United States the legal right to intervene in Cuba’s internal affairs and to establish a base at Guantanamo.

When a Cuban Constituent Assembly was called in 1901, delegates were told that if they wanted the withdrawal of American troops from the rest of the island and political independence — with American supervision — they should accept the Platt Amendment. It was accepted by a one-vote margin, and the amendment became part of the Cuban Constitution.

Cuba was promised ultimate sovereignty over Guantanamo. But in 1903, the United States leased the 45-square-mile bay area from Cuba for 100 years at $2,000 per year. That lease could have expired in 2003. But when Congress abolished the Platt Amendment in 1934, the lease agreement was changed to $4,085 per year — with the stipulation that it would not expire until both countries agree to its termination.

However, since 1961, the year of the unsuccessful U.S.-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban government has not cashed the U.S. checks because it maintains that the 1934 agreement is illegal. In 1964, the Cubans shut off the water pipes to the base, forcing the United States to build its own desalination plant. But there has been no military conflict there.

The communist regime of Fidel and Raul Castro originally maintained that the lease had to expire after 100 years, dating from the 1898 Marine invasion. But 1998 came and went, and then some Cuban officials, continuing to ignore the 1934 agreement, said the United States would be forced to relinquish Guantanamo by 2003.

Of course, there was little chance that the U.S. government would give up Guantanamo as a gift to an antagonistic, communist regime. But before the Bush administration turned Guantanamo into a prison for al-Qaida suspects in 2002, some U.S. military officials had acknowledged that Guantanamo had become outdated and much less strategically significant to U.S. defense.

Although it was once considered an important training center for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the advent of long-range nuclear missiles and submarines had made Guantanamo nearly obsolete, until it was turned into a military prison for suspected Islamic enemy combatants captured abroad.

Yet for the people eastern Cuba, who live far from Havana’s beaches where Cuban rafters escape and sail for the Florida Keys, Guantanamo has been a gateway to freedom. And while crossing the 90-mile Florida Straits on a flimsy raft is a difficult and treacherous task, Cubans say getting into Guantanamo is like playing Russian Roulette with sharks or land mines — take your pick!

If you go by land, you have to do it in the dark of night, avoid being seen from the Cuban watchtowers, and you have to crawl on your hands and knees through coils of barbed wire in the biggest minefield in the Western world. For a distance of about two city blocks, in the no-man’s-land between the Cuban and U.S. fences, you have to avoid the mines and stay totally quiet as you feel the wires piercing your skin and shredding your clothes.

I have met many people who have done it.

No one knows how many Cubans have been killed while trying to make this journey, but we know that hundreds have been maimed and arrested by Cuban authorities after failed attempts to reach the base this way.

However, the other option is jumping in the water and swimming several miles along the Cuban coastline through shark-infested Guantanamo Bay.

Cubans say you have to be a terrific swimmer and a huge gambler to accomplish this feat. “We didn’t want anything to do with the mines,” one successful swimmer told me shortly after he and his buddy were pulled out of the water by U.S. Marines in 1994. “So we decided to take our chances with the sharks.”

Marines told me that while Cubans trying to reach the base by land are making an illegal entry and cannot be rescued from the no-man’s-land between the two fences, swimmers are covered by international search-and-rescue laws and are routinely fished out of the water.

Nevertheless, whether through sharks or land mines, every year for several decades, hundreds of Cubans managed to reach the base and then a flight to Florida. Under the lease agreement with the Cuban government, Cuba is entitled to claim fugitives who escape to the base. But since the Castro regime has never recognized the agreement as valid, Cuba has never claimed anyone.

The last time I visited Guantanamo, in 1994, thousand of Cubans and Haitians were being detained in tent cities under deplorable conditions. One Cuban camp had 12 latrines for 900 men, women and children. “Libertad! Libertad! Libertad!” they chanted when they saw visiting journalists.

The Clinton administration had overturned the 28-year U.S. policy of granting political asylum to Cubans intercepted at sea, and as a result, some 29,000 Cuban rafters were stopped on their way to Florida and sent to Guantanamo. It was the first time refugees from a communist country were denied an opportunity to apply for political asylum after reaching U.S. authorities. It was disgraceful.

Of course, the Cubans I met there were frustrated and terribly disappointed. Their lives had been put on standby — indefinitely! Their only crime had been risking their lives for freedom, and an American president with an appalling lack of compassion had shattered their American Dream.

By forcing them to live in degrading refugee camps, the Clinton administration wanted the Cubans to cave in and return home. But the Cubans would not budge. Only 1,200 were repatriated, and not all voluntarily. It took the U.S. government almost a year to realize the Cubans preferred living in tent cities, behind barbed wire fences, than returning to live under the Castro dictatorship.

When that chapter of Guantanamo’s history finally was closed in 1996, after some refugees had spent 18 months in detention, the United States had spent $250 million (including the cost of detaining Haitians) for unnecessarily holding thousand of people who eventually were allowed to come to the U.S. mainland anyway.

Yet now that President Obama is on a new campaign to convince Congress to transfer the remaining Guantanamo prisoners elsewhere, now that Guantanamo is on everyone’s agenda again, can we expect journalists and political pundits to give us at least a little historical perspective?

To Cuban-Americans, including many who regained their freedom there, Guantanamo means much more than a prison for al-Qaida suspects. We find it disturbing to see so much history ignored. And we also find it terribly ironic that many liberal Americans and international human rights activists are much more concerned for the current Guantanamo prisoners than they have been for the thousands of Cubans who have languished in Castro’s gulags over the past half-century.

Talk to former Cuban political prisoners. They will tell you that human rights should not be violated in Guantanamo or anywhere else in Cuba. But they will also tell you that compared to Castro’s dungeons, where many have been shot by firing squads, tortured or forced to endure decades of degradation and atrocities, the Guantanamo prison for al-Qaida is a luxury hotel. They will tell you how they feel when they see bleeding hearts crying out for Guantanamo terrorism suspects and ignoring the atrocities against peaceful dissidents throughout Cuba.

I have been to Guantanamo twice, and there is still so much more to tell. But you get my point, don’t you? Guantanamo has a history, and seeing people ignore it is not only poor journalism but terribly irritating.

By Edy Bestle
LatinaLista

(LL Editor’s Note: News outlets have been reporting over the rising protests, the biggest in 20 years, to hit Brazil. The following piece provides insight into the unrest that a country making preparations to host the 2016 Olympics and currently hosting the FIFA Confederation Cup is facing from its own people who are demanding a better quality of life.)

There have been more than 200 demonstrations in Sao Paulo this year. Two thousand last year. In none of those demonstrations were there serious problems with police. As in the last demonstration that took place in this city, the others were peaceful. But this time, it was joined by more than 250,000 people in Sao Paulo and other capitals of Brazil, as well as, in other countries supporting this national cry.

Since last Thursday, June 13th, there has been a demonstration every evening in Brazilian cities — and the huge number of people participating is definitely commanding the world’s attention.

And it is about time that the world is aware of what is going on here, below the Equator Line, as we say.

The population, in general, is quite unhappy with government decisions, and we have been complaining a lot but as lonely voices.

These series of demonstrations exploded last Thursday because of an increase of R$0.20 in cost to ride public transportation. In reality, the R$0.20 represents less than a dime, but it’s more than 6.7 percent increase. Considering that the minumum wage is approximatelly US$322.00, the impact of these twenty cents gets clear.

Prior to our election, politicians promised free transportation, large investiments in health, education and security. Contrary to those promises, public health was cast aside, education is nonexistent, and we are far from being safe.

The huge investments in soccer stadiums is an outrage!

A high number of people are NOT for the soccer competitions that are taking place now and next year here in Brazil. And we believe that the high sums of money spent on those arenas could be better used to benefit all people.

The protests were organized by young people, basically, with no interferance of any political party. They used their social networks, especially Facebook, to set the date, time and meeting points for the demonstrations.

All of this outrage stems from the diversion of funds — a critical issue in a country plagued with corruption, lying, dishonesty and embezzlement. Words that describe the order of business in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, where the politicians ‘are’…instead of working for the good of the people.

The video is of protesters in a Sao Paulo subway station singing the country’s national anthem.

Edy Bestle is an entrepreneur who resides in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

By Evan Bell
Cronkite News Service

WASHINGTON – Voting and civil rights groups cheered a decision by the Supreme Court Monday that struck down an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voting.

The court’s 7-2 ruling said Arizona’s voter-approved Proposition 200, which required proof of citizenship for voter registration, was trumped by the federal “motor voter” law that only requires a potential voter to swear to their citizenship.

Justice Samuel Alito, in one of two dissenting opinions, said the court’s ruling “seriously undermines” the state’s interest in preserving the integrity of elections.

And Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett said late Monday that the state is not about to give up the fight, saying the state would pursue appeals with the Election Assistance Commission and the courts.

But Proposition 200 opponents think it is too late for the state, now that the Supreme Court has ruled on the case.

“We don’t think it’s going to be successful,” said Nina Perales, a lawyer for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, of Bennett’s plan.

In a conference call after Monday’s ruling, League of Women Voters spokeswoman Elisabeth MacNamara said simply: “State restrictions lost. Voters won.”

The case, Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, stems from challenges to Proposition 200, which was approved by voters in 2004. Opponents argued that the additional requirements to show proof of citizenship for mail-in voter registration forms exceeded federal registration law.

The federal form only asks voters to pledge that they are citizens and sign a form attesting to that.

The Supreme Court agreed with a lower court that the federal form created by the National Voter Registration Act – also known as the “motor voter” law – trumps the state form for federal elections, making Arizona’s extra requirements invalid.

“We and fellow plaintiffs won an eight-year battle to protect the most basic right (to vote) necessary for a government of, by and for the people,” Sam Wercinski, executive director of the Arizona Advocacy Network, said in a statement.

In his opinion for the court, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that that the “fairest reading” of the motor voter law is that a “state-imposed requirement of evidence of citizenship not required by the federal form is ‘inconsistent with’ the NVRA’s mandate that states ‘accept and use’ the federal form.”

But the court also said that Arizona can ask the federal Election Assistance Commission to include state-specific instructions on the federal form – in this case, proof of citizenship. If that request is rejected, the state could then go back to court to challenge that decision, Scalia wrote.

The commission deadlocked on such a request from the state in 2005, but Bennett said the state will try again.

“We plan to renew our request of the Election Assistance Commission to include information necessary to determine eligibility on the federal form as suggested by Justice Scalia,” Bennett said in a statement. “If the commission once again refuses, we plan to pursue further litigation under the Administrative Procedure Act to include this information to determine eligibility.”

But dissenting justices Alito and Clarence Thomas noted that the EAC is a “shell,” with no sitting commissioners and none on the horizon.

They both argued that the majority gave too much weight to the Elections Clause provision that lets Congress pre-empt state law on the “times, places, and manners” of federal elections. They also said that Arizona does “accept and use” the federal registration form, as required, but that does not mean the state can’t ask for additional documentation.

The NVRA “permits Arizona to require applicants for federal voter registration to provide proof of eligibility,” Alito wrote.
Bennett said the state should be allowed that authority.

“Election integrity starts with voter registration,” his statement said. “We strongly believe citizenship is the foundation from which eligibility is derived and we will continue to look for ways to ensure only eligible citizens are casting ballots in our elections.”

But an official with the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona said it is important to provide voting access.

“Overall, I think it is a very good decision,” said John Lewis, the ITCA executive director. “It provides opportunities and protections for tribes members to have access to voting.”

(Photo Credit: Cronkite NewsWatch)

By Juan Carlos Rocha
Infosurhoy.com

SAN AUGUSTÍN, Colombia – About 1,000 years ago, among the rugged and lush mountains where Colombia’s major rivers were born, a culture whose name remains unknown sculpted hundreds of stone monuments. These sculptures were buried with the deceased, remaining hidden for centuries.

The archaeological treasure of San Agustín, whose name comes from the closest village, is about four kilometers from the epicenter of the findings. It includes more than 500 statues discovered along the Colombian Massif. It’s the largest collection of megalithic sculptures from pre-Columbian South America and was declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1995.

“It’s an enormous library carved in stone, which contains the worldview of a deeply spiritual people who developed in a place of astonishing beauty,” said American archaeologist David Dellenback, who has pursued the monuments’ mystery for 40 years.

Dellenback, who made an open, overland journey through Central and South America in the 1960s, saw the pyramids of the Mayan and Aztecan cultures, the immense Inca nation built in stone over hundreds of kilometers of the Central Andes and the first traces of Andean civilizations along Lake Titicaca.

However, it was the stones of San Agustín that most captured his attention.

The place became his home.

His fascination with the sculptures led him to explore unthinkable paths, mostly among the rolling hills, waterfalls and streams that descend from the prominent Colombian Massif – an imposing knot of mountains in the Andes – to the Magdalena River, which stretches for 1,450 kilometers and flows into the Caribbean Sea.

All of the statues that have been registered are different from one another, and it is possible that many others remain buried in the region’s forests and canyons.

Dellenback has made drawings of 470 statues that he has seen firsthand. Most of the drawings were published in a 1,000-page catalogue, of which only 20 copies were printed.

He provided copies to libraries at major universities focused on archeological research in the United States and to the Luis Ángel Arango Library in Bogotá, Colombia.

“[The sculptors’ work] reflects a deep respect and reverence for death,” said archaeologist Fabián Sanabria, director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH). “This also implies a profound respect for life, which is incredibly important for a country that has been debating violence for so long.”

A sculpting people

Every researcher who has passed through San Agustín during the last 150 years has found pieces of the intricate puzzle behind the history of the people who created the sculptures.

A hearth found in Alto de Lavapatas that underwent Carbon-14 dating shows the region already was inhabited in the year 3,300 B.C.

Similar studies show the monuments were made between the years 200 and 800 A.D., a period during which the sculptures’ creators flourished, only to vanish prior to the arrival of the Spanish, without leaving a single clue as to their disappearance.

“There is evidence they may have migrated to the Amazon region, and we want to carry out new digs in order to find any traces they left,” Sanabria said.

Seemingly, stone was reserved for the creation of monuments in this early culture, as there are no traces to indicate it was used architecturally. The homes and ceremonial temples were built with perishable materials, such as wood, clay and straw, in a circular manner and on a small scale.

The sculptors created each monument from a single rock, despite the weight, which often reached several tons. They carved mostly volcanic rock – found several meters below ground or deep in canyons – using rocks of higher density as chisels. No evidence has been found indicating that metal instruments were used.

The mystery unearthed

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the conquistadores passed along the Colombian Massif without noticing the statues. Their focus was on the promise of gold in El Dorado, a legendary treasure trove that was said to be hidden farther to the north.

In 1757, during a trip between Putumayo and Santafé, which is now Bogotá, Friar Juan de San Gertrudis followed the rumors about the monuments and found “five Indian houses” and dozens of carved stones, which he described in strong terms in his diary.

“They are the work of the devil,” he wrote. “The Indians did not have iron or instruments to produce such a thing.”

Given there was no gold in the region that’s now San Agustín, it would be a while before new visitors arrived.

In 1808, Francisco José de Caldas published the first report of the statues in the newspaper Semanario del Nuevo Reino de Granada.

In 1857, geographer Agustín Codazzi, during his explorations to discover the source of the Magdalena River, made the first detailed descriptions of the statues. His work attracted the curiosity of several European archaeologists, including Germany’s Konrad Theodor Preuss, then the director of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin.

Preuss visited the region for three months between 1913 and 1914. During this time, he removed 36 statues and hundreds of other pieces, which were exhibited in the spring of 1923 in the courtyard of the former Museum of Arts and Crafts in Berlin.

The pieces were compared to the famous treasures of Tutankhamun, found a year earlier in Egypt, Sanabria said.

International recognition led the Colombian government to establish the National Archaeological Park in 1935 and support the work being carried out in the region.

Since 1943, during the course of 40 years of hard work, hundreds of tombs were opened, reconstructed and preserved in the vicinity of the towns of San Agustín and Isnos, under the direction of Colombian archaeologist Luis Duque Gómez, along with the help of other scholars and hundreds of rural residents.

Since then, thousands of curious travelers and experts have visited the region, attracted by the enigmatic figures and beautiful landscape. During the last year, the San Agustín Archaeological Park has received an average of 8,000 tourists a month from throughout the world.

How to get there

San Agustín is 520 kilometers south of Bogotá in the department of Huila. The highway is well maintained and features beautiful scenery.

The route from Bogotá includes the Tatacoa Desert – one of the best astronomical observatories in Colombia – and the Rivera hot springs, as well as several overlooks along the Magdalena River.

San Agustín has hotels for all tastes and budgets, as well as travel agencies that organize trips by horseback to the archeological sites and natural attractions, in addition to adventure tourism options.

(LatinaLista Editor’s Note: To see a slideshow of the sculptures, click here to go to the original story.)

By Katherine Leal Unmuth
Latino Ed Beat

Three suicides by Latino teenagers in recent years have prompted introspection at the academically highly regarded East Hampton High School in New York State.

The New York Times recently reported that the rapid growth of the Hispanic population in the community has created tensions that may have been a factor in the students’ suicides. According to the article, the student population in the East Hampton Union Free School District was 41 percent Hispanic in 2012, up from 21.7 percent ten years earlier.

Daniel Hernandez, 16, an Ecuadorean immigrant, died after hanging himself last September, following Homecoming. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the district emphasized a renewed focus on reaching out to Hispanic parents. The district also hired a graduate of the high school to help and work as a community liaison, 23-year-old Ana Nunez, a Columbia University graduate who is of Ecuadorean descent.

She has helped parents learn how to understand student report cards and addressed concerns about students being absent for extended periods during out of the country trips.

The article acknowledges that a myriad of issues were at play in the suicides. For example, the article said Hernandez had questioned his sexuality and had allegedly been bullied by other Hispanic students.

Many school districts have chosen to hire liaisons to focus on involving Latino families. How is your local district handling outreach?

By Frank X. Moraga
AmigosNAZ

Improving student achievement, developing new leaders will be key to Arizona’s success

A vibrant Arizona of the future will require a strong investment in the state’s educational system. But party politics and a focus on balancing budgets over creating educational opportunities could hurt the state’s effort to build and keep a well-trained workforce.

Those were some of the discussion points examined during “The Arizona We Want 2.0: The Case for Action” program May 29 at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff.

Presented by Flagstaff Forty, a business leadership group, the program featured Dr. Lattie Coor, chairman and CEO of the Phoenix-based Center for the Future of Arizona.

Coor highlighted results of the recent “The Arizona We Want 2.0” report, which examines eight citizen goals (education, job creation, environment & water, infrastructure, healthcare, young talent, civic engagement and community involvement), originally identified by the center’s 2009 Gallup Arizona Poll.

Joining Coor for the panel discussion were John Haeger, president of Northern Arizona University; Kevin Burke, Flagstaff city manager; Julie Pastrick, Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce president & CEO; Chris Bavasi, ECONA chairman of the board; Kerry Blume, United Way of Northern Arizona president & CEO; John Sininger, retired W.L. Gore & Associates Leader; and Jay Lusk, student council president at BASIS Flagstaff.

Following the presentation, Coor, a 1958 graduate of NAU, talked with AmigosNAZ about the significant role Latinos will play in the state’s future and the need for the Latino community to cultivate leaders to participate in community boards and elective positions.

Following his presentation, Dr. Lattie Coor, chairman and CEO of the Phoenix-based Center for the Future of Arizona, spoke with AmigosNAZ about the role of the Latino community in the state’s economic and social development.

Coor said he wasn’t surprised by the report’s findings that the number of Latino youth already surpasses other ethnicities in the state. In the report, Hispanics surpass the age distribution of Arizona residents by ethnicity in every category up through the age of 39.

At 30.1 percent, Latinos now represent nearly one-third of Arizona’s total population and they make up 43 percent of the state’s K-12 students.

“Even before serving on the State Board of Education, and as president of Arizona State University, it was clear to me that unless we invest in the education of our Hispanic students, we as a state will never get to where we need to be,” Coor said.

For that reason, the center created the “Beat the Odds Institute,” which began as the center’s three-year research study on “What does it take to get great educational achievement in a school with mostly Latino school enrollment?”

Five years after the study, principals from 141 school partners throughout Arizona have participated in the program, according to a story by Hispanic-Today. A total of 83 percent of “Beat the Odds” partner schools earned “better than performing” ratings compared to 79 percent for similar schools not in the program.

“A well-educated workforce is essential to Arizona’s future and economic well-being,” Coor was quoted in the Hispanic-Today story. “While progress has been made in improving academic achievement in our partner schools, ‘Beat the Odds’ should strive to reach every low-income, minority-intensive school in Arizona.”

“The Arizona We Want 2.0” report also found while Latinos currently make up 10 percent of the U.S. electorate, they make up 20 percent of Arizona’s electorate, surpassed only by New Mexico (39.7 percent), California (27.3 percent) and Texas (26.6 percent)…

Finish reading Latinos to play important role in Arizona’s future

LatinaLista — The disturbing childhood obesity rates and skyrocketing cases of Type 2 diabetes in Latino communities reinforce the fact of just how imperative it is for Latinos to start eating healthy. In a lot of neighborhoods, that’s a losing battle.

Data shows that most predominant Latino neighborhoods have 1/3 less the number of supermarkets than can be found in non-Latino neighborhoods. Yet, fast food restaurants and pushcart food vendors are found in abundance!

Salud America! has released a new video highlighting the disparities in access to healthy food and has created “Better Food in the Neighborhood” research materials for anyone who needs help in convincing local city councils that grocery stores are more valuable to communities than fast food restaurants.