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Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man

10:48 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · GLBT| New York City| Puerto Rico · 1 Comment

19 Nov 2009

This just came into VL’s email, sorry for the late notice pero this is especially important given how Latino clergy and religious leaders in the New York area have been actively speaking against equal rights for all. I am a firm believer that the rhetoric put out there, be it about immigration or marriage equity, has a direct impact on how people treat each other. When people in positions of power speak hate, hate manifests.

Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members
To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man

On Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12 pm, Puerto Rican and Latino pastors, professors
of theology and concerned members of the community will gather in front of the
Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Office, 135 West 50th Street, between 6th and 7th
Avenues, to condemn the brutal, hateful killing of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and
pray for him and his family.

Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a 19 year old gay man, was found on the side of a road
in Puerto Rico on Friday. He was decapitated, dismembered and partially burned.
While a suspect has been arrested in the slaying, many disturbing and homophobic
comments from police officers and local clergy have been reported.

“The purpose of this gathering is to pray for his family and also to denounce the
bigotry and homophobia that would lead some people of faith to condone such a
crime,” said Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz, a professor at Union Theological Seminary. “We
are also going to call on other people of good faith to stand up to such hate crimes
regardless of their beliefs in terms of the LGBT community.”

The religious leaders also want to make it clear that there are many Latino people
of faith who condemn violence against anyone regardless of their religion, political
ideology and sexual orientation and will be calling on all people of faith to stand
up and denounce this horrible crime.

WHAT: Puerto Rican and Latino clergy, theological professors
and community members to denounce hate crime and pray for victim and his family

WHEN: Thursday, November 19, 2009
12 pm

WHERE: Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Office
135 West 50th Street, between 6th and 7th
Avenues

Queens, NYC State Senator : Once a Community Defender, Now an Attacker?

11:00 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Justice| New York City| Politics| Violence| Women · 3 Comments

30 Oct 2009

How do we deal with men in our communities who hurt the women in our community? And I’m not just talking about our physical communities like our neighbors or relatives. What of those who claim to represent us in public office.

I wrote about my discomfort surrounding the NYC State Senator Hiram Monserrate case when charges first surfaced against him, accusing him of attacking his girlfriend. It feels complicated for me on multiple levels. Monserratte was my local council person and he is my local state senator. That never has stopped me before. That wasn’t it. I had dealings with Monserrate before he was involved in electoral politics, when he worked with the Latino Police Officers Association here in NYC and he and his organization stood with the Latino families of those killed by police brutality and us organizers. As a Latina who has dealt with domestic violence both personally, politically, and professionally, how did this man whom I identified as a defender of the community suddenly become an attacker?
Read more…

NYC On the Clock : Lives at Work

7:34 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Labor| Media| New York City · No Comments

21 Oct 2009

Local NYC PBS station Channel 13 is highlighting how the city that never sleeps does it through videos featuring those that keep it moving.

New York on the Clock: Carlos, Coffee Man from Thirteen.org on Vimeo.

On the clock is a euphemism for on the job, working. Pero isn’t this how so many see Latino faces already in NYC and around the country? Immigrants who work? I guess I’m a little tired of what I see as the work personal divide. I want to know is Carlos making ends meet? Is he sending money back to Mexico? He works in a busy section of NYC catering to business types pero where does he live? Most likely in a community like where I live and that is the side that most people don’t see.

Via / NY On the Clock

New NYC Gallery Opens Tonite in Long Island City : Ravel Gallery

11:37 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Arts| Culture| Events| New York City · Comments Off

1 Jul 2009

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A friend of mine is behind this. If it doesn’t rain and if my children cooperate I may show up…you should show up if you’re in the NYC area regardless.

GALLERY OPENING EVENT

Ravel Hotel celebrates the opening of its gallery’s 1st international exhibit, with a rooftop party from 7:30 – 10:30 pm on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, featuring live music, half-priced drinks, and an opportunity for LIC art collectors, gallery directors, artists and art lovers in general to network while enjoying the visual work of 13 established artists from South America. Admission to the Ravel’s rooftop party and exhibit is free to the public.

Located at: 8-08 Queens Plaza South, LIC, NY, the Ravel Hotel opens its doors to the first exhibition, with a progressive concept where each of its 5 floors will have the hallways (and some of the rooms) double as a gallery and showcase one hundred original paintings by renowned artists from all over the world, all available for purchase.

The exhibition will be up until November 1, 2009. The gallery is directed by Elizabeth Torres, professional artist, and internationally recognized speaker.

The artists participating in this international exhibition are: Jorge Posada, Alvaro Daza, Juan Carlos Palacios, Rocar, Juan Carlos Vasco, Rafael Ordoñez, Alfredo Vivero Paniza, Carlos Orrea, Martha Guzman, Nico Daza, Elizabeth Torres, Camilo Pinto and Margarita Isaza.

For this opening night, the Ravel hotel has the honor to announce a special live performance by the band Los Neuronautas, which will be presenting its new album “Las Horas sin Tiempo”. Formed in 2006 in New York City, by singer/guitarist David Vanegas, drummer Jeff Ortiz, and bassist Gabriel Gutierrez, the band set out to combine sounds of hard rock and psychedelia into an evolving entity that stands apart from other bands of the latin rock circuit in the US.

For more information, please write to:

info@ravelgallery.com

SUPPORT THE DECOLONIZATION OF PUERTO RICO AND THE SIX PRO-INDEPENDENCE PROTESTERS

8:32 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism| Events| Puerto Rico · 28 Comments

22 May 2009

liberacion2 This was in my inbox this morning, about how to support the Ricans that were arrested earlier this month for their civil disobedience in Congress and how their personal struggle is linked to the issue of the colonial status of Puerto Rico.

“Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States for 111 years: a disgraceful colonial condition in the 21st century. It is time to resolve this crime against our people.” This is the demand of the six pro-independence protesters who interrupted the U.S. Congress and who hope their actions will produce more acts of civil disobedience regarding the colonial status of the island.

The protesters, who have been summoned to court on May 26, are the artists Luis Enrique Romero, María “Chabela” Rodríguez y José Rivera (Tony Mapeyé), mechanic designer Luis Suárez, nurse Eugenia Pérez-Martijo, and retired laborer Ramón Díaz.

The six interrupted a U.S. Congress session by singing “Oubao Moin” and carrying Puerto Rican flags and signs that read “111 years of colonization is a disgrace.” The protesters could face sentences of up to six months in jail and fines.

The struggle for Puerto Rican independence is the result of many battles that have not ceased. In 1954, five Puerto Rican conducted a shooting attack against member of the U.S. Congress to demand the independence of the island. The 1954 attackers have served more than 25 years in U.S. federal prisons. To date, thousands of pro-independence activists have been persecuted and incarcerated by the U.S. government for their actions. Now is time to decolonize Puerto Rico and put an end to the lies and deceit used by the U.S. government for the past 111 years.
Freedom for Puerto Rico and its political prisoners.
NYC PROTEST IN SUPPORT OF THE 6 PRO-INDEPENDENCE ACTIVISTS
Where: 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan
When: May 26 at 5:30 pm
Directions: 4, 6, R, W to City Hall

Support by making a monetary contribution for the activists at any Banco Popular and make a deposit to bank account #760060177 to María I. Rodríguez and specify that it is for a Banco Popular (BPPR) account in Puerto Rico.
GO TO WASHINGTON DC AND SUPPORT
Solidarity groups will go to Washington DC on the day of the hearing. For more information contact decolonizeprnow@gmail.com

¡Free Puerto Rico! ¡Freedom for our political prisoners!

A Tale of Two Rallies : Latinos Speak for and Against Marriage Equity in NYC

7:49 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism| GLBT| Linking Latinos| New York City · Comments Off

19 May 2009

Andrés Duque from Blabbeando has some great video and pictures from two very different rallies that took place this past Sunday here in NYC. Both rallies dealt with the lives of GLBT people and both had Latinos speaking on the issues.

First here’s Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz (no relation), speaking at a rally organized by Broadway Impact and co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, the Empire State Pride Agenda, Marriage Equality New York, the Civil Rights Front and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

NYC Public Schools Pay $35 million per Year for Nothing

11 Mar 2009

I was dumbstruck after listening to last week’s episode of Chicago Public Radio’s This American Life program this morning. The episode featured a story so Kafkaesque I first doubted its veracity and then just sat shocked. It’s simple enough to sum up in just a few words: the New York City Public School system sends teachers who “misbehave” or are suspected of having done something wrong to what amounts to detention hall for teachers. Teachers are told they will be going to a “reassignment center” and when they arrive, wait to meet with district authorities.

But there will never be a meeting. The teachers sit in rooms for hours doing nothing. Those hours turn in to weeks. Weeks into months for most. And for some into a year or more than one year. Doing nothing.

A culture emerges within this confinement. It is reported by those who have been in what is called “the rubber room” – the informal name for the facility — that the overwhelming boredom and depression felt by the teachers translates into childlike behavior, violent fights and territorial squabbles. In effect, they become a lot like children in detention.

Teachers awaiting their fate — a decision by the NYC school system on whether they will be reinstated and return to teaching or terminated — continue to earn their full salary, even though they are doing absolutely nothing in the rubber room day in and day out. The estimated cost to NYC taxpayers? Some 35 million dollars per year. Read more…

A Celebration of Words, Power & Latina Lesbian Identity

7:00 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Events| GLBT| New York City · Comments Off

1 Mar 2009

Seems like this is a good way to start March.

Sunday
A Celebration of Words, Power & Latina Lesbian Identity

March 1, 2009 / 3p.m. – 5p.m.

LGBT Community Center
208 West 13th Street (close to 14th street trains: A, 1, 2/3, C)
NYC 10019
Hosted by Las “Buenas Amigas”
Refreshments served – $5 donation

Sinister Wisdom and Las “Buenas Amigas” co-host a stimulating,
scintillating, thought-provoking afternoon of “Words, Power & Latina
Lesbian Identity” – Issue74 available on site with signing by
authors

Sinister Wisdom “Issue 74″ features 76 Latina contributors –

Juanita Ramos, Guest Editor

“This issue of Sinister Wisdom brings together the voices of 76 women born in 12 Latin American countries and across the United States. It is an honor for me at this time to once again gather together the voices of so many Latina lesbians.”

“Este ejemplar the Sinister Wisdom reune las voces de 76 mujeres
nacidas en 12 paises latinoamericanos y los Estados Unidos. Es para mi un gran honor una vez mas poder exponer a las voces de tantas lesbianas latinas.”

Featured NYC Writers include:

Rosita Angulo Libre de Marulanda
Glorya Cabrera
Alina Galliano
Antonieta Gimeno
Juanita Ramos
Rose Santos-Cunningham
Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural lesbian literary & art journal, based in Berkeley California, committed to publication of voices of all lesbians be heard and documented.

Las “Buenas Amigas” is a Latina Lesbian educational, social/cultural, political, and recreational organization; based in New York, devoted to the ideal of creating a visible presence in our society, and a unique, safe space in which to address, discuss, inform, act on, and empower ourselves on the issues that affect our community the most (such as homophobia and any and all other forms of oppression).

For more information, contact: Glorya Cabrera @ lababycakes@ yahoo.com

Real Scary Stories : Homelessness in NYC Reaches Record High

9:21 am By Maegan La Mala · New York City| children| housing · Comments Off

31 Oct 2008

NYC Mayor Bloomberg may be the boogeyman this year. With him running for a third term, he is pretending to be the business man who can save the city from a tumbling economy. Problem is, so far, he hasn’t handled the situation that well.

According to the Coalition for the Homeless, the number of new homeless families has surpassed all-time record levels each of the past three months.

Last month, 1,464 new families moved into the shelter system, which is the “highest one-month count since the City began keeping records 25 years ago” and it’s 22% higher than September 2007. The group’s head, Mary Brosnahan, told the Daily News, “While both city and state budget shortfalls require difficult choices, vulnerable New Yorkers now need more support, not less.”

Via / Gothamist

Image Via / NYT

Update : Outcome of Court for Educator Amaris Mesa Arrested at Religious event in the Bronx

10:03 am By Maegan La Mala · Justice| New York City| Religion · Comments Off

1 Oct 2008

Last night, we wrote about how a religious event in the Bronx, NY ended with community members harassed and arrested. This is how the powers that be treat even the most sacred things in our lives : with suspicion and ultimately, violence and repression.

Those expecting justice in the court system come out with a mixed bag.

Last evening about 15 members of the community gathered in court to await Amari’s arraignment. The Judge, District Attorneys and Court Officers were not happy. As Amaris was released on here own recognizance on multiple misdemeanor charges and her supporters walked out of the courtroom, court officers grabed Mujahid, a member of Taino Survivalists.
A face off between community people and court officers ensued in which we were told that Mujahid was arrested for disorderly conduct. When asked what had he done , we were told that “Constitution had been suspended by officer James badge # 3726. This was then echoed by officer Jack # 6788.

All supporters were then ordered out of the Court Building. About 1/2 hour later Mujahid was released without charges.

They just need to remind us who is in charge.

Via / Personal Email

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