Annotations for People: Sarabia-tony

For some, Pedro Albizu Campos is a hero who fought for Puerto Rico's independence, but his philosophy has many of Chicago's Puerto Ricans opposed to honoring a man who was jailed for attempting to assassinate President Harry Truman. A park district board spokesperson says the board didn't want to contribute to the community's division, so it decided not to accept the statue. Supporters are incensed the board is censoring a monument when it has never done so in the past. Chicago alderman Billy Ocasio calls the action hypocritical.

Ocasio says the vote isn't the end of the issue. He and other Puerto Rican community leaders plan on taking their fight to court. For Latino USA I'm Tony Sarabia in Chicago,

The theme of the song is about a community united in an effort that is uncontainable. On a sweltering August afternoon, a throng of protestors stood on the steps of the Chicago Park District headquarters singing that and other songs as they awaited the outcome of the board's vote. Inside close to 200 people listen to community leaders who backed the effort to raise a statue in Campos's Honor. Absent however, were voices of opposition, which led many to argue that none exists. One prominent opponent however, the commissioner of the city's Human Services Department, Daniel Alvarez, says those who spoke out against Campos were intimidated with threats of violence.

Alvarez says only 5% of the city's Puerto Rican community support the idea of honoring a man he says relied too much on violence. Supporters however say it's more like 95% for and only five against. Pedro Albizu Campos began his fight for Puerto Rico's independence shortly after World War I. He led that Caribbean Island's only armed revolt against the US and was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the US government. For those reasons part of Chicago's Puerto Rican community say Campos is a patriotic hero who deserves honor. Opponents argue a community that is already plagued with violence doesn't need a role model like Campos. But Magdalia Rivera, head of a Latino advocacy group in the city, counters the statue is exactly what the community needs.

But Alvarez says if that's the case, there are other Puerto Ricans who have done more for the island. But supporters maintain this is what the community wants. And as proof produced a petition with 3,000 signatures in favor of the statue. Chicago alderman Billy Ocasio, whose ward includes the Puerto Rican community says, "The park board has never turned down the donation of a statue."

But a spokesperson for the board says the commissioners had the whole community in mind when it decided not to accept the statue. And while the opposition is pleased with the board's decision supporters say their fight is far from over. They plan on taking the board to court to force them to erect the statue of Pedro Albizu Campos. For Latino USA, I'm Tony Sarabia in Chicago.

According to summit organizers, the meeting was an effort to persuade gangs to make peace among themselves and in the neighborhoods they dominate, something critics say isn't possible. But Latino gangs made only a few appearances at the summit. Juan Rangel of United Neighborhood Organization, a social service agency in one of Chicago's Latino communities, says, "While the summit was more or less a publicity stunt, it still would've been helpful to formally include Latino gangs."

Rangel also says it's important for Latino gangs to work for peace with their African American counterparts. But he says, "None of these efforts will work if all the gangs don't give up their guns or drug trade." For Latino USA, I'm Tony Sarabia in Chicago.

Manny Gonzalez was one of a handful of students who shared their gratitude with Dr. Ed Ernesto Zedillo, Mexico's secretary of public Education. Zedillo was in Chicago recently to present city and school officials with over $1 million in books and audio visual materials. The collection will benefit both elementary and high schools with bilingual education programs, but it will also help with the community's adult literacy efforts and the city's community college system. The books aren't just mere translations of works by European novelists, poets or historians, but works by Latinos, specifically Mexicans. Zedillo says his country realizes the need to increase in the community, the available sources of information about Mexican culture and history.

Books range from encyclopedias with a Mexican perspective to romance novels, to Spanish language copies of the classic novel Don Quixote by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Sadillio says these and other books will bring students closer to their culture, which will in turn strengthen ties between Mexico and Chicago's burgeoning Mexican-American community.

City Council member Ambrosio Medrano represents residents of a mostly Mexican American community, but unlike the city's other Mexican American enclave, many aren't recent immigrants. Medrano says many families have been there for up to three generations and says many students lose touch with their culture. He hopes the books will help reverse that trend.

Maria Elena Gordinas has three kids in the public school system. She says it's very important for students to know the Spanish language and to know about their history and culture. She says the Mexican government is performing an honorable task by providing books that will help students discover their roots. Her daughter, Nancy, a high school senior, says the collection will also give students here something they need, higher self-esteem.

But besides that, Nancy says the books will be filling a gap that exists in the city’s public schools.

Gordinas says, while the gift comes too late for her and other Mexican American seniors, it will be an important educational asset for those students still making their way through school. Although the focus was school and education before leaving Chicago, Dr. Ernesto Zedillo put in a lengthy plug for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Zedillo says learning more about Mexican culture will in turn boost support for NAFTA within Chicago's Mexican American community. For Latino USA, I'm Tony Sarabia in Chicago.