General Planning meeting

13th Annual Latino Heritage parade & jamaica

"A Golden Era" 1946-1955

October 15, 2011

11:00 a.m. - parade on Los Robles & Washington

12 noon to 3:00 p.m. jamaica at La Pintoresca Library and Park

Planning meeting: Thursday, June 30th 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Armory Center for the Arts145 N. Raymond AvenuePasadena, CA 91103

latinoheritage@mindspring.com

Levitt Pavilion Pasadena

Our second opportunity as Community Partner with the Levitt Pavilion will take place this coming Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. in Memorial Park.

We couldn't find a current poster that would download for Quetzal Guerrero but wanted to share this image from the Levitt fb wall. His music is a blend of American Folk, Soul, Jazz, Funk, Samba, Bossa Nova, reggae, and Afrobeat.

Hope to see you at the Levitt Pavilion Pasadena in Memorial Park!

On Defining America and Americans

Both of the images here are copyrighted, meaning that the creator, or owner, have the right to adapt, copy, or distribute the work. To learn more about each you can go to the websites noted below. There is an inherent understanding that there is something unique about the work.

Each of the stories unique but each reflect a more universal experience.

The implications of being undocumented, of being labeled "illegal", of having to work within and without the law are themes that are a part of the movie A Better Life and of the column written by Pulitzer winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas.

Centuries of the convenience and complexity where morals, values, work, and the meaning of legality are brought to both stories. As is the weight of being a story that changes from a philosophical or theoretical discussions of a reality that affects numbers of individuals, in numbers that are hard to comprehend.

Jose has written about his experience - you can read it at site listed below.

"A Better Life" opens today. Because it is not driven by explosions or a U.S. celebrity name it is released in a limited number of theaters. The numbers of people who view it this weekend will make will make difference in future distributions. Please, go see it. This is a story that bears telling to anyone who lives in the U.S. no matter their political affiliation or ideological persuasion.

http://www.facebook.com/ABetterLifeMovie

http://defineamerican.org/

Time to get ready

I'm double posting today - same text on Pasadena Latina and Latin Heritage.

In a bit I'm going to start getting ready for our table that will be at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena. I'm really looking forward to hearing the group Novalima and what seems will be a rocking night of Afro/Peruvian fusion y más.

In the meantime I'm getting myself ready to really focus on preparing for this year's Latino Heritage parade and jamaica. It's set for October 15th - although the day has been set for months, who knows how the event will evolve this year.

This image was taken by former Latino Heritage board president Yvonne Chavez Lombardi a while back. Artist/illustrator Javier Harriman is working with students at Washington Middle School helping them learn about 20 Day Names and then helping develop headwear reflecting that information which was worn in the parade.

Our focus this year is on the era that followed World War II and ended in the mid-50s.

Levitt Pavilion Pasadena

The Levitt Pavilion Pasadena has been presenting free summer concerts in Memorial Park since 2002. This year they are hosting 50 free concerts and are expecting to have and audience of about 60,000 over the course of the summer.

They have established the Community Partners Program where they will provide free booth space at the summer concerts in Memorial Park. Partners will have a chance to distribute information, recruit new services and provide simple services.

We are very fortunate to be one of the Community Partners. So, throughout the summer we'll be highlighting the concerts where we'll have a table so that you can learn more about Latino Heritage.

Our first opportunity to do so is on this Thursday, June 23. Novalima is a Peruvian band that blends Afro-peruvian music, electronica, and club reggae that is a blending of roots and dance music. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Bring a blanket and be sure to stop and learn more about the community partners of the Levitt Pavilion.

http://www.levittpavilionpasadena.org/

http://www.novalima.net/afro/index.html

So much going on

This weekend is full of exciting and new events.

And there will be a big announcement regarding Latino Heritage and the summer on Monday.

In the meantime...here's an image from the Pasadena Digital History Collaboration - we're a contributing organization. This image is part of a current exhibit: Roots of Education in Pasadena: 1870s to 1920s. We worked staff from The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, Pasadena City College, Pasadena Museum of History, and Pasadena Public Library.

These are teachers from the Junipero Serra School: one of two Mexican Schools in Pasadena. It's one of the PUSD images that we were aware of and were able to share for the exhibit.

http://www.pasadenadigitalhistory.com/exhibit.php

Saturday is Make Music Pasadena. There'll be over 100 free concerts in the city. One of our favorite groups is La Santa Cecilia. They'll be performing at 1:00 p.m. on the Luckman Stage on El Molino. If you can 't make their performance you'll have only 99 other choices from which to choose.

http://www.makemusicpasadena.org/program.html

If you're passing by the Paseo Colorado from one concert to the next you might see local artist Liz Espinoza. Don't know what she'll be drawing this year. She'll be one of about 600 artists participating in the 2011 Pasadena Chalk Festival.

http://www.pasadenachalkfestival.com/

A new event in town is the Mumbo Gumbo Fest presented by Chef Claude Beltran. You need to buy tickets and make reservations for this event - seating is limited.

Call ahead.

http://www.mumbogumbos.com/tickets.html

Here's to weekend that is full of opportunities to remember those dads and male role models who gave their time and energy to us all. We're lucky they were there for us - it's a great thing to spend time with them doing something fun.

An Integral Part

Here is an image of Manuel Garfias - photo taken in 1882.

Let's hope that his image is included somewhere in the 125th anniversary celebration. Or that the image of Doña Eulalia is included, or for that matter, images of Arturo Bandini or Manuel Piñeda.

If you read most of the accounts of the founding of Pasadena, there is included the phrase, "the first non-Hispanic" owner. What that sentence insinuates is that the non-Hispanic owner and the first U.S. owner are automatically mutually exclusive. According to records, Garfias first filed with the U. S. Land Commission in 1852.

To begin history without at least his name makes clear that some groups matter more than others.

People sometimes express upset that different affinity groups are focused on highlighting members of their own community. Often the simplest answer to that sort of concern, and the best way to share history in its fullest, is to make sure as many threads of a community's story are woven into every telling of the tale.