Topic: Chicago | VivirLatino

Water, Water Everywhere For Immigrants Coming In Via Arizona

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:53:37 -0500

In an effort to draw attention to the human rights crisis facing immigrants coming from Arizona, today The Chicago Immigrant Defense Committee (IDC) is handing out 2000 bottles of water during lunchtime in downtown Chicago.

While hundreds of migrants needlessly die in the Arizona border desert, Joe Arpaio, Sheriff of Maricopa County/Phoenix, deputizes hundreds of self-proclaimed white supremacists who conduct sweeps of Latino neighborhoods and recklessly violate the rights of immigrants.
Wells Fargo Bank leases luxurious office spaces to Sheriff Arpaio in downtown Phoenix, AZ. A delegation of leaders will deliver a letter to Chicago Wells Fargo officials at high noon requesting that the bank stop supporting the Sheriff’s wholesale violations of human rights by not renewing his lease in Phoenix. Similar demands have been made by leaders in Phoenix and San Francisco.
Arizona is the proving ground for large-scale programs designed to destroy the rights of immigrants and tear apart their families and communities. If these violations continue unchecked, they could spread to the entire country—especially since Arizona is the home state of John McCain.

What is a Jibarito Sandwich?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:21:13 -0500

In 2005, I had an opportunity to visit Chicago for a few days for a business conference and as soon as I arrived to the hotel my conference was being held at, I recieved an email on my blackberry from a friend Dulce Ramos. Dulce Ramos is a Chicago native and very successful woman that has an amazing career in real estate as well as very unique women's shoe store called the Pump Room Boutique. I decided to call Dulce to let her know I was in town and before I knew it...she was at the Hotel picking me up to give me the Chicago Express Latino Tour.

You see...I had written an article inquiring about the existence of Latino Life in Chicago and Dulce really wanted to show me how proud the Boricuas are out in Paseo Boricua. What I encountered was fascinating, all these really nice shops and boutiques with very interesting themes and personality all of their own. She asked me if I wanted to have a "Jibarito" and I looked at her with a puzzled look...I had no idea what she was talking about. She took her time to explain it to me as we drove to a place called "Borinquen Restaurant" which is also known as the home of this Mysterious "Jibarito Sandwich".

I Am Latino...Ask Me: Americanos ask about the power of the Chancleta...

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:35:10 -0500

Dear Urban Jibaro,

I work in the toy department of a major retailer in a pretty diverse part of Pennsylvania. I see a lot of Latino families and I am curious about something. Whenever a kid throw a tantrum in my department, I hear their mothers threaten them with "John Kletter" and they immediately start behaving in most cases.

I have 3 kids myself and I would love to know how John Kletter can help me when they act up.

My question is "Who is John Kletter, and why are Latino children so afraid of him?

"Gracias" (thats all the Spanish I know)

Misty (Lancaster PA)

***************************************************

Ok...so being that fact that I am completely new at this, I honestly did not know what the hell Misty was talking about. I googled "John Kletter" and did not find much...and was about to move on to our next submission...that is until I mentioned the question to one of my friends (she made me swear not to reveal her name) who has a thick accent and she said "que eso de jon kleta?"and then it hit me me like a ton of bricks...we had a phonetic translation issue here....John Kletter doesn't exist...at least not in the Latino universe what Misty actually witnessed was the power of the almighty "CHANCLETA".

This whole ASK A LATINO thing is gonna be fun...

So now that we got that squared away...Click below to read my official response to the first "ASK A LATINO" question.

Meet the New Elvira Arellano

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:11:33 -0500

Following the footsteps of Elvira Arellano is Flor Crisostomo. Flor took sanctuary yesterday inside of Adalberto United Methodist Church, the same church where Elvira stayed with her son for over a year. Flor had been ordered to voluntarily leave (how can you be ordered to voluntarily do anything) the country by the 28th after being arrested in an immigration raid in April of 2006.

"I am taking a stand of civil disobedience to make America see what they are doing," Crisostomo said in a statement that was translated into English. Speaking in broken English, she said immigrants are not terrorists but hard-working people contributing to the economy.
"The real problem is the color and the language," she said.

Illinois City Wants to Block Police from Asking for Papers

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:22:39 -0500

The Chicago-area city of Evanston, Illinois is looking to make itself a safe place for immigrants by blocking police and other authorities from inquiring about legal status:

The City Council's Human Services Committee unanimously approved a draft resolution Monday prohibiting such inquiries unless it is required by law or deemed integral to a police investigation, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The resolution would also have government workers and police accept a passport or consular card in lieu of a driver's license as proof of identity.

Chicago's NBC 5 reports that this would make Evanston the first city to be declared an "immigrant sanctuary". That's funny because that's what all of the Republican candidates call New York City under Rudy Giuliani when they take jabs at the former mayor.

Other major cities that have enacted pro-immigrant policies recently include San Francisco and New Haven, Connecticut.

Via / NBC5.com

Elvira Arellano to Leave Her Church Sanctuary

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:22:47 -0500

Elvira Arellano is leaving Aldalberto United Methodist Church, the Chicago church she has sought sanctuary a year ago. She decided to stay within the walls of the church to avoid deportation and more importantly perhaps, avoid being separated from her 8 year old son, Saul . But she isn't just going anywhere? She is taking her story and her struggle to Washington D.C.

"I will go with by Bible and my son and I will read to him from the Holy Scriptures as I do everyday," Arellano said in a statement sent Tuesday to The AP. "If this government would separate me from my son, let them do it in front of the men and women who have the responsibility to fix this broken law and uphold the principles of human dignity."

Sunday To Do Chicago : Cafe Tacuba

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 10:46:11 -0500

Today is the last day of Lollapalooza in Chicago and what better way to close out a concert than with Cafe Tacuba. I already told you how much I loved them and the crowd they brought out here in NYC
and tonight the Midwest gets some of that musica. It is the first time a Latin-music group has ever received such an honor as headlining in such a mainstream concert. Tonight at 7:15 pm the Mexicano alternarockeros will be at The Adidas Stage as a sort of prelude to their first new/original album in four years, to be released late next month. Cafe Tacuba's bassist-vocalist Enrique "Quique" Rangel said this is what they have planned for tonight according to an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times:

We are rearranging some of our standard songs. The sound of the new album is transforming the way we play live. We are getting closer to a pure rock sound on this album. Meme [Cafe Tacuba's Emmanuel del Real] is playing guitar instead of keyboards. And Ruben also is on guitar. We're very happy with this sound.

Chicago the Latest Target of Immigration Raids

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:34:16 -0500

Yesterday Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made the Chicago Latino community their latest target. Searching the Latino Little Village and its strip mall on the Southwest Side of the city yielded over a hundred arrests. Officials say they were targeting a ring that counterfeits and sells immigration documents in the area. Community members, many who took to the streets to protest this latest redada felt they were being targeted because of the string pro-immigrant rallies that have been held in the area over the past year.

It’s a show of force. We believe it was done to intimidate this community. We can’t see it any other way,” said Ald. George Cardenas (12th). “The number of people involved in this operation is just overwhelming.”
Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) called the operation overkill.
“It was way overkill. They had machine guns, shotguns, bullet-proof vests. It was a huge, huge endeavor,” Munoz said. “They struck fear into the heart of the Little Village community.

Via / CBS 2 Chicago

More Immigrant Sweeps Across the Country

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:54:55 -0500

Late last year there were a series of immigration raids across the country targeting the meat packing industry. And while in downtown NYC yesterday, NYU Republicans played "find the illegal alien" amidst protests, in Midtown Manhattan the government was seeking out undocumented workers, except they weren't playing.

In a sweep across 17 states and the District of Columbia, immigration officials descended on popular eateries like Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, arrested almost 200 illegal immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against its top three officials.

Elvira Arellano : Illegal, Alien, Activist?

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:00:27 -0500

By now you should know that 31 year old single Mexican mami Elvira Arellano has been inside Aldalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago with her 7 year old son for three days now. She is not keeping her promise to a santo. she is keeping her promise to her child that she will stay with him and be a mami and confronting the U.S. government that seeks to deport her. Her son Saul was born in the United States and because of that is a U.S. citizen. Earlier this week Elvira was ordered to appear at an immigration office but instead she invoked an old school idea, taken by many activists before her, that churches are sanctuaries and went inside with her child. Elvira knows what's up. She's the President of United Latino Family, which lobbies for families that could be split by deportation. She is now one of those families.

Racist teacher canned in Chicago

Thu, 11 May 2006 17:34:17 -0500

An art teacher who allegedly erupted in racial slurs towards her students -- among them "all Mexicans are criminals" -- has been fired by the Chicago charter school where she works. U.S. press has been reporting on this in bits and pieces, but Spanish daily 20 Minutos sums it up quite well:

According to witnesses, the teacher became angry last Friday during an art class when someone stained her jacket with paint.

It was then that she said, according to the same sources, "all Mexicans are criminals" and "you were born to scrub floors".

The article points out the school was advised by its attorneys that the best thing to do was to fire the teacher. When this was announced last night at a PTA meeting the attendees burst into applause.

According to CBS2 Chicago, all teachers at the school will now have to undergo "sensitivity training".

Watch a report on this case on CBS2 Chicago's website

Via / 20 Minutos and CBS 2

Chicago Hosts Its Own (Latino) Film Festival

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:05:31 -0500

Last Friday, April 20th, marked the opening of one of the largest Latino film festivals in the United States, the Chicago Latino Film Festival. The festival, now in its 22nd year, features close to 100 films from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States and is hosting over 70 visiting filmmakers. The event, sponsored by Univision Chicago and Telefutura Chicago, gave its Gloria Lifetime Achievement Award to Uruguayan/Argentine actress China Zorrilla with the Argentine and Spanish film, Elsa & Fred . Various nights feature films from various Hispanic nations.