Latino USA Episode 17

This is Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture.

[Opening Theme]

I'm Maria Hinojosa. Today on Latino USA, remembering a 20-year-old case of police misconduct.

Santos is a symbol of what was happening to the Mexican-American community and the African-American community back in 1973. It can never happen again. It's like those bumper stickers: Remember Santos, nunca mas. Because there were a lot of other Santos' all throughout the United States. There's a lot of other Rodney Kings.

And the musical legacy of Cachao, the creator of the Mambo.

Cachao has been, in a sense, overlooked for his contributions musically to the world of music. Musicians know of him and anyone would say, "Oh, he's the master," but in terms of the general public, he's been really ignored.

That's all coming up on Latino USA. But first, las noticias.

This is news from Latino USA. I'm Maria Martin. The struggle over the North American free trade agreement continues to intensify. Even as treaty negotiations draw to a close, supporters and opponents of NAFTA heat up the lobbying effort for votes in Congress. Among vocal opponents of NAFTA coming to Capitol Hill recently were members of Mexico's opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party. From Washington, Patricia Guadalupe reports.

While Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari has staked his political reputation on passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Congressman Miguel Huerta of Mexico's Democratic Revolutionary Party said he had to come to Washington to tell his counterparts here that the North American Free Trade Agreement would hurt citizens of both countries.

It's not the problem that because we are opposed to Salinas, we are opposed to NAFTA. It's not... that's not the argument. We are opposed to some fundamental chapters of this NAFTA because it's bad for the citizen of the two countries. We are opposed to NAFTA because some chapters and some principles establishing the NAFTA are opposed to the interest of citizens of Mexico, of United States, and of Canada.

Since then, six Democratic senators have sent a letter to President Clinton, urging him to renegotiate the free-trade agreement. For Latino USA, I'm Patricia Guadalupe, in Washington.

US Senator Barbara Boxer of California is defending her controversial proposal to have the National Guard patrol the US-Mexico border. Boxer says her suggestion is meant to limit the backlash against legal immigration by using the troops to deter undocumented immigrants. Boxer's suggestion is being heavily criticized by many Hispanic officials in California, and another immigration-related proposal came under fire in Washington.

It's not going to accomplish anything in keeping people from crossing the border. It'll simply prevent them from wanting to come over to buy American goods.

That's California Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard reacting to Senator Diane Feinstein's proposal to charge a fee for crossing the border as a way to pay for more border patrol agents. At a hearing in Congress, some experts warn such a fee might cause even longer delays at the border and perhaps difficulties with the governments of Mexico and Canada. Larry Francis is the mayor of El Paso, Texas.

Any kind of fee will cause Mexican nationals to cross the Rio Grande illegally, worsening our problem. Over a broader view, any attempt to reduce the flow of people will have an economic impact on both countries.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service also expressed concerns about the border-crossing fee.

A Stanford University study says Latinos who eat traditional diets may be all the healthier for it. A diet heavy on rice, corn, and beans - high in carbohydrates and fiber - may mean a lesser risk of cardiovascular disease. But the more acculturated the diet, the more red meat and fat, the greater the risk for high blood pressure and other health problems. This is news from Latino USA.

The great flood of 1993 has left millions of acres of Midwest farmland underwater and thousands of farm workers with no work. Many of those unemployed migrants are now returning early to their homes in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Attorney Ray Gill is with the United Farm Workers in San Juan.

Many of the people are going to be without unemployment insurance. They're going to be without the wages that they would have earned, that would protect them during the winter, because, typically, the migrant farm workers come back here, hopefully after a good summer of work cashed up to where they have enough money to be able to live at least for a while, buy shoes for the children and clothes for the children and the family, and fix up the family car and maybe fix up the family home. Hopefully, to collect unemployment during the winter to be able to, again, have enough money in May to get the family car together, to buy some gas to go back up North.

Resources to help the expected flood of returning farm workers are scarce in the Valley, says Gill, and many may not be eligible for emergency unemployment insurance.

For all the people that were going someplace in hopes of finding work, but didn't have a solid job that they were going to, but had heard there's there's corn detasseling around the Davenport area in Iowa, there are sugar beets in a particular area in North Dakota, who were going there in the hopes of finding work but didn't have anything solid or substantial ahead of them. Those people may not be eligible for this federal insurance. It's the typical syndrome. People will come back, they'll get on welfare program, aid the family with dependent children, or food stamps, and hopefully find a little bit of work here and there in the Valley, but that's highly unlikely given the 26 or 27% unemployment rate that's here in the best of times. You have a very disasterful situation.

Attorney Ray Gill is with the United Farm Workers in San Juan, Texas. I'm Maria Martin with news from Latino USA.

[Pararararan--Sotavento]

The incident that happened 20 years ago with Santos Rodriguez certainly cast a shadow or a cloud over the city of Dallas.

Santos is a symbol, a symbol of what was happening to the Mexican-American community and the African-American community back in 1973.

20 years ago this summer, a 12-year-old boy named Santos Rodriguez was killed by Dallas police officer Darrell Cain. The incident occurred after the boy and his brother were pulled from their beds in the middle of the night, accused of breaking into a soda machine at a gas station. The boys denied taking part in the robbery. Santos was killed when Officer Cain attempted to wring a confession from him by playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun. The incident ignited protests in Chicano communities throughout the country, and recently members of the Latino community in Dallas held a full day of events to commemorate Santos' life and death.

[Background--Hymns]

A memorial service for Santos Rodriguez was held at the Santuario de Guadalupe in downtown Dallas, just south of the neighborhood called Little Mexico. Now mostly an African-American neighborhood, back in 1973 it was the heart of the Mexican barrio.

In 1973 I was 14 years old and I didn't know Santos even though I lived about three blocks from his house.

Now, a member of the Dallas City Council, Domingo Garcia recalls the early seventies when Santos was killed, as a time when minorities had absolutely no political clout in Dallas. "We were invisible Dallasites," he says. "Vulnerable to mistreatment by authorities." He himself remembers being stopped often by the police.

Being put up against the wall and pressed. What was my crime? Happened to be brown, happened to be young, happened to be on the streets, especially if it was after dark. And it wasn't like just one time, it was just common, and it wasn't just common to me, it was common to most of my friends. And so, in that type of environment, the police were seen not as the people who protected you, who were there to serve and to protect, but in essence as an occupying force. And when you see that type of relationship between a community and a police department and in a political establishment, then you see the tragic consequences of what happened to Santos Rodriguez.

We're trying to make correction within the police department. That's the reason the Latino Police Officers Association formed nearly two years ago.

Dallas Police Officer Gil Cerda, President of the Dallas Latino Police Officers Association, says that, "20 years after the death of Santos Rodriguez, there are still problems with the city police department."

20 years ago it was more blunt. Hispanic police officers would face discrimination on a daily basis. Today it's faced covert. In other words, they're not going to come out flat outright and tell you, "Hey, you know what? I don't like Hispanic officers being on the police department," but it's out there.

Dallas police spokesperson, Sandra Ortega de King says, despite two shootings of Mexican men by Dallas police officers in recent years, the relationship between the city's police department and the Latino community is better, more lenient, she says than ever before.

They are listening a little bit more to the community because the community within the Dallas area has grown. Population of the Hispanics has grown so dramatically. Just the city of Dallas is 20% Hispanic.

Councilman Garcia believes relations between the police and the Hispanic community of Dallas have come a long way since the death of Santos Rodriguez, as the Latino community has grown and slowly become a part of the city's political structure.

As a police department is diversified, we've seen that now the police department is looked on on a more favorable light. Crime has gone down and the amount of police abuses has gone down. Before Santos, police abuse was institutional and systematic. After Santos it became more sort of haphazard. What we need to learn about Santos Rodriguez's death, is that it can never happen again. It's like those bumper stickers. Remember Santos, nunca mas, because there were a lot of other Santos' all throughout the United States, there's a lot of other Rodney Kings.

City council member Domingo Garcia of Dallas, Texas.

[Pararararan--Sotavento]

We've just heard a report about relations between the police and Latino community in the city of Dallas, Texas. With us on the phone to address the issue from the perspective of other communities, our attorney, Juan Milanes, legal counsel for Washington DC's Latino Civil Rights task force, and from California, professor Gloria Romero, chair of the Hispanic Advisory Council for the Los Angeles Police Commission. Welcome to both of you. Is there a problem, a historical problem between the Latino community and police departments across this country, or is it just a question of isolated incidents in certain areas?

In my mind, there's no doubt that it's a national issue, and I think that if we look at Washington D.C., if we look at Miami, Florida, if we take a look at Houston or Dallas or Albuquerque, Denver, LA, San Jose; in every community, historically, the issues of tensions between police and community have arisen. And that's not only in the contemporary period, but historically within the last 50 years. We can even go back to the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles. So there is a legacy I think that's present.

Why is that legacy there? What is the root of the tension between police departments and the Latino community?

I think if you want to take a look at the underlying issues of police community tensions, you're looking at not simply the police, but what police symbolize. And to me, that comes down to taking a look at perhaps an institution of society that is there to maintain what people perceive to be an unjust order. And over the last 50 years, we have seen movements to raise the quality of life, to equalize conditions between Latinos and others in this society, and in that sense, as long as you're going to find inequity in just the day-to-day living standards of people, it's not surprising to find challenges to that order, which is there to maintain.

In Washington D.C. you saw a very large influx of new immigrants, which is the predominant group of Latinos here in Washington, that the city truly just wasn't prepared to deal with because the increase in the population has been exponential when compared to any other group. So that in the last 10 years, Hispanics have doubled in size here, especially with regard to the police department. So few Hispanics and so few bilingual police officers has led to the problem of cultural clashes as well as a language barrier.

In both of your communities, there have been studies and recommendations made about how to deal with the issue of police and Latino community relations. In the aftermath what has been done to address those issues?

Well, I think on one hand we still have to look at quote, unquote the aftermath. The aftermath is more immigrant bashing than ever. In Los Angeles you're looking at the picking up just recently of skinheads accu- basically ready to bomb. It was focused on the south central African-American community, but the issues around which this aroused the greatest sentiment was around issues of Rodney King police brutality. So I think we have to look at the aftermath. There is the criminalization of the Latino that is not new. We can go back 50 years again and it's still the Frito Bandito. You still have the Latino, the Mexican, the Salvadorian as the criminal illegal alien. That's the language that's being used. So I believe that yes, in Los Angeles and nationally we had the Christopher Commission report. We've had the Colts report, we've had the Webster's report and decades before we had the McCone Commission and the Kerner reports. We have had study after study after study, and these are significant and important, but the bottom line is I will continue to take a look at, until we as a society at all levels, federal and state and local, take a look at some of the underlying complications of economic, social, political, racial inequity. We can put all the reports we want in impressive array in our library shelves, but we're not getting to the root causes and consequences of tensions in the community into which police immerse themselves.

And in Washington D.C., Juan.

Not that different. One of the things that we found when we did our investigation was that officers would compete in the third and fourth police districts, which are the police districts with the largest Hispanic populations in the District of Columbia, would compete for what was known, Officer of the Month Award. The Officer of the Month Award is based on a number of different factors, one of which is number of arrests, and one practice would be that officers would routinely go into the poorer, most immigrant sections of the Latino community and pick up individuals on disorderly conduct arrests to basically hike up their own arrest records to be able to compete for that Officer of the Month Award, and would ultimately trump up charges against anyone for anything.

Well, thank you very much for joining us on Latino USA. Attorney Juan Milanes, legal counsel for Washington D.C.'s, Latino Civil Rights Task Force, and Professor Gloria Romero, chair of the Hispanic Advisory Council for the Los Angeles Police Commission. Thanks again, for Latino USA.

[Pajaro Loco--Sotavento]

One of the torch-bearers at the US Olympic Festival, recently held in San Antonio, Texas, was a hometown favorite. 33 year old, Helena Gonzalez, took a silver medal in judo and as Rosalind Soliz reports, that's pretty remarkable when you consider that at an age when most competitive judo athletes are set to retire, Gonzalez is making a comeback.

Welcome to Our Lady of the Lake University and the United States Olympic Festival, '93 Judo appearance.

In a mat-lined University stadium, 43 men and women dressed in loose white jackets and pants stand at attention. Some are Olympic athletes, others want to be. Judo referees make their calls as the athletes try to score with wrestling-like holds and throws. One of the smallest contestants in the women's competition is Helena Gonzalez.

5'2", 99 pounds.

You're very strong, I take it.

I work out hard. [Laughter]

She's had to work hard. 14 years ago, Helena was a Junior National Judo Champion. Then she stopped competing to marry and raise two sons. Now at 33 years old, she's competing again in the 45 kilo, or 99 pound, weight class. Last year at the US Open in Colorado, she won a bronze medal. Here, Helena has her eyes on the gold.

Maggie Kahn wearing the red sash. Helen Gonzalez wearing the white.

Looking at the other judo athletes in the gym, many are in their teens or twenties. 30 is retirement age. Even one of Helena's coaches, Eddie Elizade, recommends quitting at that age. He had to himself.

You start training in Judo when they're about eight years old and when you get about 30, your mind wants it, but your reflex is not there no more. Your body now doesn't respond as quickly as it used to.

Come on. Helena. Get underneath her. Go, go, go, go.

To sharpen her reflexes and build stamina for this competition, Helena trained four days a week; running, lifting weights, and practicing judo in spite of problems with both knees. Coach Eddie Elizale.

One thing that keeps her going is her determination. If you got the determination she's going to make it. There's no doubt about it. She trains hard and she's going to make it. She don't want to retire yet.

Besides determination, Helena has inspiration: Her family. Watching her two sons, Blue and Golden, compete in judo, fed her own desires to make a comeback. She shared her dream with her husband, Ruben, a San Antonio policeman and Helena's at-home coach.

My two boys would compete and she would say, "I wish I was still competing." I would always tell her, "Hey, you've got the time. You might as well do it now while you're young. And if you don't make it, at least you tried. You say, hey, I was there."

Helena, come on Helen.

By the third match here at the US Olympic Festival, it looks as though Helena is on a winning streak. In-between matches, she watches her competitors move with a laser-straight focus. Experience gives her an edge. She's been competing since she was 10 years old. She's learned the value of developing physical and mental strength. Helena's passed her love of the sport onto her children. Also, it's a way for Helena and her husband to reach out to disadvantaged children living in San Antonio's housing projects. Her husband runs a judo club for these kids and Helena helps coach them.

Well. Judo gives you a lot of discipline and you have a lot of respect for other people on the mat and other people in general. So hopefully that's what'll help them in their lives. Just everyday lives, going to school and everything.

Some of the boys she coaches are here to watch Helena compete and watch her win a medal.

Our silver medalist. Is Helena Gonzalez from San Antonio, Texas. [Cheers]

With the Olympic Festival over Helena will rest for a few weeks. Her home life will seem normal for a while. Then she will start training again for the US Open in November, and if she keeps winning, she'll seriously start thinking about the 1996 Olympics. For Latino USA, I'm Rosalind Soliz in San Antonio.

[No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga--Gloria Estefan]

One of the featured musicians on Gloria Estefan's recent recording of traditional Cuban music, "Mi Tierra", is Israel Lopez. Also known as Cachao, Lopez now in his seventies, is just beginning to gain recognition for creating many of the familiar rhythms associated with styles like the mambo and el cha-cha-cha. From Miami, Emilio San Pedro prepared this musical profile.

[Transition--Cuban Music]

(Background music) In his younger days, Israel Lopez was known for his interpretation of traditional Cuban musical styles, like el son and danzón. Lopez comes from one of Cuba's oldest musical families and got his nickname, Cachao, from his grandfather, a one-time director of Havana's municipal band. Cachao recalls how after a while he and his brother, Orestes, became bored with playing the same old traditional danzónes, and created a new dance music called the mambo.

[Descarga Mambo--Israel “Cachao” Lopez]

Entonces en el año 37 entre mi Hermano y yo nos… [transition to English dub] In 1937, between my brother and I, we took care of this mambo business. We gave our traditional music, our danzón, a 180-degree turn. What we did was modernize it… [transition back to original audio] …lo que hicimos fue modernizarlo.

In the late 1950s, Cachao got a group of Cuba's top musical artists together for a set of 4:00 AM recording sessions that started after the musicians got off work at Havana's hotels and nightclubs. The group included Cachao's brother, Orestes, El Negro Vivar, Guillermo Barreto, and Alfredo León of Cuba's legendary Septeto Nacional. Cachao says he called those jam sessions descargas, literally discharges, because of the uninhibited atmosphere that surrounded those recordings.

En la descarga se presa uno libremente, cuando uno esta leyendo música no es los mismo… [transition to English dub] In the descarga you express yourself freely. When you are reading music it's just not the same. You are reading the music and so your heart can't really feel it. That's why that rhythm is so strong and everyone likes it so much… [transition to original audio] Fuerte! Y muy bien, todo el mundo encantado.

[Descarga Mambo--Israel “Cachao” Lopez]

Cachao left Cuba in 1962, but his association with the descarga, el mambo, and el danzón kept him busy in this country playing everything from small parties and weddings to concerts with top musicians like Mongo Santamaria, and Tito Puente. For young Cubans growing up in the United States, the music of Cachao and other artists has served as a link to their cultural roots.

His music has inspired me over the years and has brought solace to me and many times and has been a companion for me. Anybody who knows me will know that I carry tapes of Cachao with me in my pocket.

Actor Andy Garcia is one of those young Cubans on whom Cachao's music made a lasting impact. Garcia recently directed a documentary on the musician's life titled "Cachao...Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos." "Like His Rhythm, There's No Other."

Cachao has been, in a sense, overlooked for his contributions musically to the world of music, world internationally. Musicians know of him and anyone say, "Oh, he's the master," but in terms of the general public, he's been really ignored. So it's important to document something, so somehow that would help bring attention to his contributions to music.

The documentary mixes concert footage with the conversation with Cachao. The concert took place last September in Miami, bringing together young and older interpreters of Cuban and Latin music in a tribute to Cachao and his descarga.

Very modest, extremely modest man. Quiet, shy.

One of the musicians who played with Cachao in that concert is violinist Alfredo Triff. He says, "The 74 year old maestro has lessons to teach young musicians that go beyond music."

He's such a modest person that in fact, I realized that he was the creator of this thing, this mambo thing. And I'll tell you what, not only me, I remember Paquito once in Brooklyn, we were playing, or in the Bronx, we were playing the Lehman College. And Paquito comes to the room and he says, Alfredo, you know that mambos, Cachao invented this thing.

Andy Garcia's documentary, "Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos", is bringing Cachao some long-delayed recognition. And these days, Cachao is quite busy promoting the film, working on a new album, and collaborating with Gloria Estefan on her latest effort, "Mi Tierra", "My Homeland," a tribute to the popular Cuban music of the 1930s and '40s.

[No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga--Gloria Estefan]

The album "Mi Tierra" has become an international hit in the few weeks since its release. The documentary, "Cachao, Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos", has been shown at the Miami and San Francisco film festivals. Cachao also plans to go into the recording studio later this year to put together an album of danzónes.

Es baile de verdad Cubano, y se ha ido olvidado… [transition to English dub] It's the traditional Cuban dance, and it's being forgotten. Here you almost never hear a danzón. I wish the Cubans would realize that this is like the mariachi. The Mexican never forgets his mariachi. Wherever it may be, whatever star may be performing, the mariachi is there. It's a national patrimony, as the danzón should be for us and we should preserve it... [transition to original audio] …danzón…y debemos preservarlo también.

Cachao strongly believes in preserving Afro-Cuban culture and its musical traditions. He hopes to keep those traditions alive with his music. For Latino USA, I'm Emilio San Pedro.

[No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga--Gloria Estefan]

[Closing Theme]

And for this week, this has been Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture. Latino USA is produced and edited by Maria Emelia Martin. The associate producer is Angelica Luevano. We had help this week from Vidal Guzman, Elena Quesada, and Manolita Wetherill. Latino USA is produced at the studios of KUT in Austin, Texas. The technical producer is Walter Morgan. We want to hear from you, so why don't you call us on our toll-free number. It's 1-800-535-5533. That's 1-800-535-5533. Major funding for Latino USA comes from the Ford Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the University of Texas at Austin. Y hasta la próxima, until next time, I'm Maria Hinojosa for Latino USA.