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Temporal Temporal : Hurricane Irene Hits VivirLatino HQ

8:29 am By Maegan La Mala · New York City|Weather · Comments Off

28 Aug 2011

As I write this, Hurricane Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm, leaving a path of destruction behind her. Here at VivirLatino headquarters, in lovely Queens, NYC, there has been lots of wind, lots of rain, and lots of leaking but we have power and are grateful for our safety. We are hoping that all of you readers who have dealt with, are dealing with, or will be dealing with the storm, are also safe and have what you need.

From Coast to Coast : More Actions Against Secure Communities

12:55 pm By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Immigration|Justice|New York City|Secure Communities · 1 Comment

26 Aug 2011

When the Secure Communities Task Force took their sham of a “community hearing” to Arlington, Virginia earlier this week, they heard testimony for, but mostly against the deportation policy that has contributed to a million deportations under the Obama administration.

It should be noted, that in the video above Maria Bolanos, whom we have written about, is peaking directly to the assistant director of Secure Communities , Marc Rapp.

Like in meetings past, the action included a call for task force members to resign and a walk out. After the walk out, the meeting did continue.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the site of the first S-Comm task force meeting, there was a protest at the federal detention facility, that ended in the arrests of five people, included DREAMers. All of those arrested have since been released.

VL at the NY International Latino Film Festival: Gun Hill Road

23 Aug 2011

This film was not an official part of the NY International Latino Film Festival. However, there was a lot of support and marketing among the NYILFF for this film and I watched it during the festival as one of the films I chose to review.

I tried really hard not to put in spoilers, however, there may be some in this review, but not enough that the entire film is spoiled!

By now many have heard about this film from one space or another. It is still only in theaters on a limited release basis in NYC and LA. As one of the (very) few films that feature and center Latinos and is created by Latinos, the fact that this film is in theaters is a huge accomplishment. The film stars Judy Reyes as Angela, Esai Morales as Ernesto, and presents Harmony Santana as Vanessa. View the trailer below:

Read more…

NYC : Lo Que Hay This Weekend – Poetry

3:53 pm By Maegan La Mala · Culture|Events|New York City · Comments Off

12 Aug 2011

There a few interesting events this weekend in NYC that are worthy of checking out, especially as summer days are drawing to a close.

I have done stuff with CityLore before and this event caught my eye because it is in Queens and at one of my favorite spots in Queens :

¡Voices in Flight!: Poetry from the Mexican-American Community

An Evening of Poetry and Music

Hosted by Raúl Hurtado, we will present poetry readings as part of the project, A White Wing Brushing the Building: Poetry in NYC Communities, presented by City Lore and Bowery Arts & Sciences. This event’s poets are Gabriel Rvera, Galix, Chepo, and Abelardo Duran. As part of the reading, poems will be projected onto the facade of the Terraza Café right off Roosevelt Blvd, which is the heart of the Latino community in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.

There will also be music and dance by Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de New York and Zompantli who will perform the danzón, a national dance of Cuba, though beloved in Mexico.

When: Saturday, August 13th, 8:00 pm
Where: Terraza Café, 40-19 Gleane St., Elmhurst, NY 11373. Take the #7 train to 82nd St./Jackson Hieghts.
Admission: Free
For more information: City Lore 212-529-1955 , x 306

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New York International Latino Film Festival : The Difference Between Movies & Films

9:45 am By Maegan La Mala · Movies|New York City · 1 Comment

8 Aug 2011

Film festivals usually tend to present cutting edge films that go against the standard multiplex offerings. The New York International Film Festival, for 12 years has been pushing short and long form films featuring Latino directors, producers, scripts, actors and issues that push up against the often stereotypical presentation of our communities. This year promises to be no different.

The NYILFF is capitalizing on their reputation as cutting edge while simultaneously taking a critical look at Hollywood’s blockbuster mentality and clichés and contrasting it against the “film” mentality – in particular, the Latino film mentality, which focuses on real, complex issues rather than simple entertainment. Take for example their ad campaign that focuses on the roles that Latinos traditionally play in mainstream Hollywood films.

We will be reviewing and featuring some of the films from the New York Latino Film Festival so stay tuned for that. In the meantime if you want to check out some of the festival for yourself. You can check out the schedule and plan your festival experience here.

You can purchase tickets here.

Ticket & badge info can be found here.

If you want to keep it old school and prefer to buy your tickets in person, box office info is here.

Today NYC : Rally to Stop the Deportation of Julio Hernandez

8:24 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Immigration|New York City · 4 Comments

26 Jul 2011

From our inbox. Also I just want to note, that I don’t necessarily agree with the framing of the call to protest/support. I don’t necessarily think that Julio will be safer in the U.S. – as if the U.S. has shown itself to protect and take care of young, queer youth. Pero, the point is that if Julio wants to stay he should be able to, especially if it is true, as the Obama administration keeps telling us, that they are not deporting young people like Julio. If that was true then why is this protest even needed?

Students, community leaders and elected officials will hold a rally and march in the Bronx to demand the halt of the deportation of Julio Hernandez.
We are calling on to ICE director John Morton to stop Julio’s deportation, and we are urging Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to advocate for deferred action for undocumented youth.

Julio Hernandez, a 24-year-old New York student, faces an imminent deportation order after being detained on a Greyhound bus during his spring break in April.

Julio was enrolled in Bronx Community College, and during his return trip from Chicago to New York, he was detained by Border Patrol in a Greyhound bus in Erie, PA.
Julio is set to be deported back to El Salvador where he faces gang violence due to his sexual orientation. Julio came to the United States in 2007, fleeing threats on his life from gang members. After arrival, he quickly learned English and decided to pursue his dream of becoming a radiologist. Julio is a bright, hard-working student, who has aspirations to contribute and serve his community. He wants to be a role model to younger kids.

The New York State Youth Leadership Council is leading a campaign to stop Julio’s deportation. With a record number of deportations, the Obama administration continues to place hard-working immigrant youth in deportation proceedings. In an effort to keep Julio in the nation he now calls home, we have collected numerous petitions from the community and contacted ICE Director John Morton to urge him to defer Julio’s deportation. In addition, we are also urging Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to advocate for deferred action for undocumented immigrant youth, and stop wasting valuable talent and brainpower due to a broken immigration law system.

What: Press conference, rally and march
Who: Julio, immigrant youth, Bronx college students, community leaders and elected officials
Where: Bronx Community College – 2155 University Ave, Bronx NY 10453
When: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 12:30pm
Why: Julio is a deserving and hard-working undocumented young American who is facing deportation. If deported to El Salvador, Julio’s life is at risk because of his sexual orientation. We need to stop his deportation!

NYC Protesting Prisons and Deportations

15 Jul 2011

I’m working on a few posts right now, including a book review and a post about the California DREAM Act but in the meantime, I wanted to give a heads up to NYC area folks about some rallies where it might be good to say presente at. The weather is supposed to be lovely so the perfect reason to get outside and yell a little.

Today Friday, July 15th

PROTEST IN SOLIDARITY WITH PELICAN BAY PRISON HUNGER STRIKERS
Today FRIDAY July 15 at 12:00 Noon
Federal Bldg. at Broadway & Thomas St. near Worth St. & Duane St.; MAP: < http://is.gd/bsM8D-/>
Info: <http://ow.ly/5EZG2 >

Prisoners on hunger strike in California are close to death.

Immigrants and Advocates Gather to Tell ICE: New Adjustments Fail to Hide Reality of Mass Deportation Program

Groups Also Confront Agency for Refusing to Meet with Families Affected by Unjust Immigration Laws and Policies

WHAT: Immigrants, faith leaders, and advocates will hold a rally to condemn Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s so-called reforms to the mass deportation program known as “Secure Communities” and its refusal to meet with directly impacted immigrants. ICE officials are scrambling to save face, as the program has come under intense scrutiny from Congress and advocates across the country. On a desperate marketing tour through Illinois, Massachusetts, and on Friday in New York – the three states who have refused to participate in “Secure Communities” – ICE is trying to sell advocates, police, and elected officials on the adequacy of recent cosmetic changes made to the fundamentally flawed program.

WHEN: Friday, July 15, 2011, 12:00pm (before ICE’s 1:00pm meeting with New York advocates)

WHERE: 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY (Broadway side) [probably Broadway & Thomas St.]

[TRANSIT: J to Chambers (north exit to Pearl St./Foley Sq.); #4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall (north exit to Reade St./Foley Sq.); R (not N) to City Hall (at Broadway & Warren); A, C (not E) to Chambers St. (north exits to Chambers St. & Church St.); #1, 2, 3 to Chambers St. (at W. Broadway); E to WTC;
Broadway BUS; M22 bus via East Broadway, Worth & Chambers; M103 via Essex & Park Row;
MAP: < http://is.gd/bsM8D-/> -t.]

WHO: Immigrants and their families, faith leaders, and other advocates

WHY: New York immigrants and advocates join their Illinois and Massachusetts counterparts in lambasting the tweaks ICE announced on June 17 to the irreparable “Secure Communities” program. Advocates have decried the record-breaking deportations under the Obama Administration – nearly 400,000 in 2010 – and the role “Secure Communities” has played in exiling en masse immigrants from their families and communities. Protesters will rebuke ICE for excluding from its meetings the very people who are most greatly impacted by “Secure Communities” and call for a nationwide termination of the program, which funnels people directly into the deportation system, jeopardizes trust in the police, and encourages racial profiling.

Monday, July 18th

PROTEST IN SOLIDARITY WITH PELICAN BAY PRISON HUNGER STRIKERS
MONDAY, July 18 from 11:30am-1:00pm
California State Franchise Office
1212 6th Ave. btw. 47th & 48th Streets: B, D, F, M to 47-50 St./Rockefeller Ctr.;
212.633.6646 < www.iacenter.org> 917.328.6470

NYC : Stop Puerto Rico Gas Pipeline Protest on Thurs 7/14

2:30 pm By Maegan La Mala · New York City|Puerto Rico · Comments Off

12 Jul 2011

The struggle against the Puerto Rican gas pipeline continues on the island and wherever the Puerto Rican diaspora are.

Rally Against Gasoducto Puerto Rico Gas Pipeline:
Demand US Army Corps of Engineers Deny Permit
Thursday July 14 at 5:00PM
26 Fed Plaza at Broadway & Thomas St., near Worth St. & Duane St.

On Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 5 pm in front of 26 Federal Plaza, members of NY Against the Puerto Rico Gas Pipeline will be joined by local activists and supporters of the Puerto Rican people and the environment, to rally and demand that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deny the permit requested by the PR Electric Power Authority (PREPA) in which they propose to construct a dangerous natural gas pipeline over 92 miles long.

Public opposition to the project is strong. Polls indicate that 70% of the citizens of Puerto Rico oppose the construction of the pipeline (El Nuevo DÃa – March 2011). On May 1, 2011, over 30,000 people marched together to protest the Via Verde Gas Pipeline. Different sectors of Puerto Rican society have manifested their opposition to this project, including Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas, church groups, cultural organizations, academics, labor unions, community groups, and Puerto Rican citizens in the U.S. mainland.

Recently all documentation pertinent to the evaluation of the natural gas pipeline project was transferred to US Army Corps of Engineers Offices in Jacksonville, Florida. This disingenuous act represents yet another step to hide from public scrutiny and avoid an open and transparent public discussion of the projects merits and costs. Representatives from Casa Pueblo will be traveling to Jacksonville, Florida on July 15th to meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA) proposes to construct and install a 24-inch diameter steel gas pipeline approximately 92 miles long with a construction right-of way of 150 feet wide. The pipeline will transverse Puerto Rico from the EcoElectrica/EcoEléctrica Liquid Natural Gas Terminal to the northern thermoelectric power plants that only produces 20% of the total electric energy of the island. To avoid compliance with basic regulatory standards and ignore procedural safeguards for the construction of such a high-risk project, the governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño/Luis Fortu~no, declared a state of energy emergency designed to maintain secrecy, fast-track the permit process and thwart full public participation in the discussion of the project. The implications of this proposal for the future of Puerto Rico are too detrimental to accept. We need to break the
dependency on fossil fuels while promoting economic development of the island with self-sustaining resources.

WHAT: Rally and Press Conference to demand that the US Army Corps of Engineers deny a permit to build a dangerous gas pipeline in PR

WHEN: Thursday, July 14, 2011

WHERE: In front of 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan NY
[almost certainly the Broadway side of bldg., opposite corner of Broadway and Thomas Streets, near Worth St. & Duane St.; but also check Foley Sq. side to be sure: J, M train to Chambers (north exits to Pearl St. or Duane St on Lafayette); #4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall (north exits); R (not N!) to City Hall (Broadway & Warren stairs); #2, 3 to Park Pl. (east exit to Broadway); A, C to Chambers (at Church St.); N, Q to Canal (west exit to Broadway); #1, 2, 3 to Chambers (at West Broadway); E to WTC (north exit to Barclay & Church); PATH to WTC (at Vesey & Greenwich & West Broadway); buses via Broadway or Varick St./West Broadway, or via Bowery & Park Row, or via Greenwich St. & Trinity Pl./Church St. or via East Broadway & Worth; MAP: or Bowery & Park Row

The Perfect Rape Survivor

8:50 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|New York City|sexuality|Women · 7 Comments

2 Jul 2011

If we were to follow the logic of the NYC District Attorney’s office, if you have ever told a lie, even if it is in the face of a system set up to fail you and your family, like say the U.S. immigration system, then your accused rapist deserves to go free. This is the lesson of the recent news surrounding the rape case against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Yesterday, Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest following an announcement by the prosecutor that called into question the “credibility” of the hotel housekeeper who has said that Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in May. What has made the parties responsible for going after Strauss-Kahn throw the Guinean woman under the bus?
The immigrant mother allegedly knows people who are criminals and details regarding her application for immigration asylum are being called into question, specifically details regarding past sexual assault and genital mutilation.

The take-aways from this are pretty clear and serve as reminders to women and people of color who dare to come forward expecting the criminal justice system to protect/serve them.

1: If you are going to call anyone after you are sexually assaulted because you need support, make sure that person has never done anything remotely criminal or been accused of doing anything remotely criminal. Forget that fact that within the United States, people of color communities are policed hard and prosecuted hard over minor violations and that racial profiling means that walking down your street means handing over your papers at a moment’s notice.

2: Don’t be an immigrant, especially an immigrant woman of color. The fact that the accuser has an immigration record has served to hurt her more than help her. It has created an area of access to further violate her life. The questions that are reopened include why did she come here and does she deserve to be here. She is the one that must prove her worthiness to first even exist in the United States before it’s criminal justice system will grant her the honor of considering her valuable enough to defend.
What if she were a citizen? What if she were a White French tourist? Certainly women in general do not fare well under the current criminal justice system, but to be an immigrant woman of color – well she might as well deserved it.

At a time when one of the main arguments being used by “advocates” against immigration enforcement programs like Secure Communities is the fact that it threatens the safety of immigrant women in terms of how they relate to the police aka community policing (ha) – the treatment of the accuser/survivor is an example that the entire criminal justice system places no value in the reality/lives of working, immigrant, women of color and has no respect for their sexual dignity.

What would justice look like here?

For all people interested in getting their hands dirty in some powerful radical work to stop police violence in NYC!!

11:38 am By Maegan La Mala · New York City|Police Violence · Comments Off

29 Jun 2011

These folks are friends of mine and they can be your friends too!

Peoples Justice for Community Control and Police Accountability
Volunteer Open House

Want to volunteer with the coalition?

For all people interested in getting their hand dirty in some powerful radical work to stop police violence in NYC!!

Come find out how your can support PJ’s work on the group through our Cop Watch Network, Know Your Rights Educational Campaign, Public Art and Advertising and Fundraising efforts.

Thursday, July 14 from 7-9pm
@
Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway 6th FL.
(D, F to Broadway Lafayette, 6 Train to Bleecker street)

*Spread far and wide and take a stand against police violence*

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Maegan La Mala: Thank you Julio! To be honest I was a little nervous. [...]

Ana L. Flores: I was very excited when you decided to join us. I really wanted your voice there as it would add dep [...]

Maegan La Mala: Hola Juliana and thanks for commenting. There is a dearth in activist/critical thinking Latino blogg [...]

Julio Ricardo Varela: Good for you for asking. I got goose bumps just reading this and yes, yes, yes, to it all. Thank you [...]

julianabritto: The sense that I get is that you might feel a little frustrated at the dearth in activist bloggers? [...]

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