Annotations for People: Arcos-betto 1962-

It's the essence of love, femininity, and the affirmation of human nature that Laura Esquivel conveys through a novel which evolved when the author was cooking in her home in Mexico.

Set in a border ranch during the Mexican Revolution, "Like Water for Chocolate" is the story of Tita, the youngest of three daughters born to Mama Elena. It is a family tradition that the youngest daughter not marry, but stay at home to care for her mother. Soon, however, Tita falls in love, but her tyrannical mother makes no exception and arranges for Tita's older sister, Rosaura to marry Tita's love, Pedro. Tita's sister is played by actress Yareli Arizmendi.

Creo que tenemos pendiente una conversacion, no crees? Creo que fue desde que te casaste con mi novio. Empecemos por ahí si quieres... In this scene from the film "Like Water for Chocolate", the two sisters confront each other about the family tradition Tita refuses to uphold. Ya no hablemos del pasado, Pedro se caso conmigo y punto. Y no voy a permitir que ustedes dos se burlen de mí... But most of the action in "Like Water for Chocolate" centers around the kitchen. After the family cook dies, Tita takes over the kitchen responsibilities, and in her hands every meal and dessert becomes the agent of change. Anyone who eats her food is transformed by it, and sometimes in very surprising ways, according to Laura Esquivel.

Raymond Williams, professor of Latin American literature and coordinator of the novel of the America Symposium at the University of Colorado in Boulder says that "Like Water for Chocolate" is a novel that goes against a traditional literary point of view.

The recipes in "Like Water for Chocolate", which range from turkey mole with almonds and sesame seeds to chilis in walnut sauce, are far removed from fast food and frozen dinners. They require a lot of dedication and can take days or weeks to prepare. And in the age of microwave ovens and technology, Esquivel says, people have moved away from that which is naturally human.

Last year, the film "Like Water for Chocolate" received over 10 international awards, including one for best actress at the Tokyo Film Festival, and for Best Picture, Mexico's Ariel Award. The film is a collaboration between Esquivel and director Alfonso Arau, one of Mexico's leading filmmakers and Esquivel's husband. The novel has been published in English by Doubleday. The film is currently playing in major theaters across the country. For Latino USA, this is Beto Arkos in Boulder, Colorado.

Lesbian and gay Latino journalists and activists confronted reporters in Denver via satellite about the decision to cancel the conference scheduled for April in Colorado. Some NAHJ members from Colorado were still angry about the decision, saying it could have been more effective to fight the amendment in that state, but other members who supported the relocation defended their decision. Rosemary Arce, a TV producer in New York, said that the relocation decision served as an educational experience for the NAHJ members.

Arce said that for the members to become engaged in the cause of Hispanic journalists, the organization has to commit itself to making people more politically aware. For "Latino USA," this is Beto Argos in Washington.

It's the essence of love, femininity, and the affirmation of human nature that Laura Esquivel conveys through a novel which evolved when the author was cooking in her home in Mexico.

Set in a border ranch during the Mexican Revolution, "Like Water for Chocolate" is the story of Tita, the youngest of three daughters born to Mamá Elena. It is a family tradition that the youngest daughter not marry, but stay at home to care for her mother. Soon, however, Tita falls in love. But her tyrannical mother makes no exception and arranges for Tita's older sister, Rosaura, to marry Tita's love, Pedro.

Tita's sister is played by actress Yareli Arizmendi.

In this scene from the film "Like Water for Chocolate," the two sisters confront each other about the family tradition Tita refuses to uphold.

But most of the action in "Like Water for Chocolate" centers around the kitchen. After the family cook dies, Tita takes over the kitchen responsibilities, and in her hands, every meal and dessert becomes the agent of change. Anyone who eats her food is transformed by it and sometimes in very surprising ways, according to Laura Esquivel.

Raymond Williams, Professor of Latin American Literature and Coordinator of the Novel of the America Symposia at the University of Colorado in Boulder, says that Like Water for Chocolate is a novel that goes against the traditional literary point of view.

The recipes in "Like Water for Chocolate," which range from turkey mole with almonds and sesame seeds to chiles in walnut sauce, are far removed from fast food and frozen dinners. They require a lot of dedication and can take days or weeks to prepare. And in the age of microwave ovens and technology, Esquivel says, people have moved away from that which is naturally human.

Last year, the film "Like Water for Chocolate" received over 10 international awards, including one for Best Actress at the Tokyo Film Festival and for Best Picture, Mexico's Ariel Award. The film is a collaboration between Esquivel and director Alfonso Arau, one of Mexico's leading filmmakers and Esquivel's husband. The novel has been published in English by Doubleday. The film is currently playing in major theaters across the country.

For "Latino USA," this is Betto Arcos in Boulder, Colorado.

Founded in 1981 by a group of Latin Americans living in Madison, Wisconsin. Sotavento's early recordings focused on the legacy of the Nueva canción movement. Traditional music primarily from South American regions played on over 30 instruments, but as the group grew musically and new members replaced the old ones, their approach to music making also changed.

For percussionist. Orlando Cabrera, a native of Puerto Rico, the band search for a new sound helps each member bring his or her own musical background.

[Flute music] The hybrid group always searching for its own sound is how founding member Anne Fraioli defines the music of Sotavento and in their last recording, mostly original compositions. Sotavento takes Latin American music one step ahead by blending instruments and styles to form a new one.

Sotavento's approach to composing and playing music is the group's artistic response to a top 40 music industry that overlooks creativity and experimentation. For Francisco López, a native of Mexico, this commercial environment and the group's principles of Nueva Canción have a lot to do with Sotavento's search for a new sound.

According to lead vocalist, Laura Fuentes. The fact that the group's music may be heard on a light jazz or new age radio station proves that Sotavento's music is what is happening right now and that it is not completely folkloric or passe.

However, Laura Fuentes believes that Sotavento's music is not specifically designed to sell. Sharing what they feel as artists is hard.

For Fuentes, a native of Chile, Sotavento is also a way of establishing a connection between an artistic musical expression and its historical background.

An example of this connection is a Afro Peruvian style, known as Festejo, a musical style created by a small black community in Peru as a result of the living conditions they experienced during slavery.

In keeping with the tradition of the new song movement, Sotavento arranged music for a poem by Cuba's Poet Laureate, Nicolás Guillén. The poem called, Guitarra is for Sotavento's and Farioli a symbol of the voice of the people.

This summer Sotavento will perform in Milwaukee and Madison, and in the fall there will begin a tour of Spain. The recording called El Siete was released on Redwood records. For Latino USA, this is Betto Arcos, Colorado.

As a visitor walks into the exhibition of The Year of the White Bear, images of the past and the present provoke a sense of humor and seriousness. With the title Mickey Meets His Match, a ceramic figure of a pre-Hispanic warrior sits next to a Mickey Mouse doll on a wall, a painting of Columbus holding a slice of pizza by Chicano artist Alfred Quiroz. Across from it, a custom of Queen Isabella designed by Puerto Rican artist Pepon Osorio and worn by one of the curators during a performance. The Year of the White Bear was conceived as a reflection on the 500 years of the so-called discovery of America, and according to one of the curators, performance artist Guillermo Gomez-Pena, the exhibition is also meant to dispute preconceived notions of what constitutes political art.

The title of the exhibition was taken from the name given to the Spaniards by the Paez Indians of Colombia. They called the Europeans, "Pale in color and covered with hair, White Bears" Gomez-Pena says that the main idea behind the installation of The Year of the White Bear is to create a multicentric, multifaceted portrait of the debates that were generated around the quincentenary and that still have not been resolved. Within this debate, a number of issues are touched on including the North American Free Trade Agreement and the current anti-immigration sentiment.

In a viewing room, built like an entrance to a pre-Hispanic pyramid with the Aztec calendar above in a sculpture of the Mayan god Chaac down below is an ongoing slideshow of images of past and recent history, pictures of ancient cities and peoples that dissolve into modern day events like the Gulf War and attention along the US Mexico border, with the soundtrack that provides a narrative as the audience watches and listens quietly.

The hybrid nature of the installation is but one of the many ambiguities The Year of the White Bear instills in the senses of the visitor. From art piece to art piece one is faced with images of the past right next to current events. On a wall, a velvet painting of LA Mayor Richard Riordan holding a book like a Bible. It's title, "INS Mexico as seen through foreign eyes".

From the gallery ceiling, a voice that sounds like that of a Border Patrol agent.

The artists and the curators of The Year of the White Bear would like visitors to come out of the exhibit with a broader sense of reflection about the relationship between the past and the present, and a consciousness about the many perspectives on the founding of the Americas. Artists Robert Sanchez, who along with Richard Lou, created In Search of Columbus and Other White Peoples says this piece is meant to call into question certain issues about history.

The exhibit continues at the Otis Gallery in Los Angeles until November 6th. For Latino USA, this is Beto Arcos. (Guitar Music)

The exhibition was conceived around the theme of a traditional cemetery, but the most powerful images are the altars and paintings that celebrate death and life, as in a large canvas painting of a cemetery at night. Standing near tombs covered with cempasúchil or marigold flowers, a man sings and plays the guitar. Artist Carlos Frésquez. [Choir vocals]

For inspiration leading to the exhibition of Noche de Muertos: Chicano Journey into a Michoacan Night, in 1991, a Chicano artist from Colorado traveled to the Mexican state of Michoacan.

George Rivera is professor of sociology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and co-curator of Noche de Muertos: Chicano Journey into Michoacan Night.

In Noche de Muertos, the artist also paid tribute to the life and struggle of farm worker leader Cesar Chavez, who passed away last April. [Choir vocals]

The altar is shaped like an inverted pyramid, representing the eagle emblem of the Farm Workers Union, and built with empty letters boxes sent by the UFW's office in Salinas, California. [Choir vocals and whispers]

Noche de Muertos also features a number of collaborative altars in memory of deceased relatives. One of them called Altar a Nuestras Abuelas includes an image of the Lady of Guadalupe, surrounded by photographs of the artist's grandmothers. Artist Sylvia Montero. [Whispers]

Another prominent altar is dedicated to the memory of the early '50s rocker Ritchie Valens. The altar is designed as a stage, with Ritchie Valens at the center, and two little angels holding an electric guitar on top. It's the work of artists Rick Manzanares and Carlos Frésquez.

For all of those involved in Noche de Muertos: Chicano Journey into a Michoacán Night, the exhibit is more than just an art show. George Rivera says, "It's a celebration and a revitalization of Chicano culture."

Currently, an exhibition at the University of Colorado Art Galleries, Noche de Muertos: Chicano Journey into Michoacan Night moved to the Museo de Las Americas in Denver until December 4th. In 1995, it will travel to Amsterdam and other European cities. For Latino USA, this is Betto Arcos in Boulder, Colorado.