Hispanic Nashville Notebook

Club 700 Hoy taping today; audience members needed

2009-11-20T03:42:00.005-06:00

Guests: Fernando Arau, Carlos Baerga

Christian Broadcast Network's Spanish-language version of The 700 Club - translated as Club 700 Hoy (The 700 Club Today) - is looking for live audience members for a taping today in Nashville. The show has been taped in Nashville three times a year, a week at a time, for the past five years. Club 700 Hoy can be viewed at 6am Central Time Sundays on Galavision, on the show's web site club700hoy.com, and on the show's YouTube channel.

Today's guests are Fernando Arau, former co-host of Univision's Despierta America, and Carlos Baerga, major league baseball player from Puerto Rico. The taping will take place at North Star Studios at 3201 Dickerson Pike, Nashville, TN 37207 today November 20, 2009 from 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The taping is free, and audience members will also receive gifts.

For more information, contact Monica Perez, 700 Club Audience Club coordinator, at entremedioslatinos@gmail.com or 787-485-8758.

More about Club 700 Hoy, from CBN:

CBN has broadcast The 700 Club continuously in Latin America for the last 40 years, making it one of the longest-running programs in the region's broadcast history.

Now Club 700 Hoy presents its latest cutting-edge Spanish version of the program. Hosted by reknowned musician Hector Hermosillo and the multitalented Amarilis Rivera. The show continues to offer a mix of commentary, interviews, music highlights, and feature stories.

Club 700 Hoy airs in many local markets across the United States, including the number one ranked Hispanic market in the United States, Univision 34, broadcast in Los Angeles. It can also be seen in more than 16 countries across Latin America.

Alba Gonzalez-Nylander a winner of Office Depot "Adopt a Small Business Contest"

2009-11-19T05:33:00.006-06:00

Alba Gonzalez-Nylander of Alba Videos Production announced her company's winning entry in The Office Depot Adopt a Small Business Contest. The contest asked small business owners to submit short videos explaining how they were weathering the economy, and the video submitted by Gonzalez-Nylander was selected as one of the winning entries.

“I was very pleased and surprised to be one of the winners,” said Gonzalez-Nylander. “I have really adapted my business to serve those who the need for high quality video and production but not necessarily large budgets. I have been able to sustain my business through these tough times by being more flexible.”

Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Alba Video Production produces television commercials, corporate videos and other video content. In addition, the company provides streaming of video content to the web.

As a winner, Alba Video Production received a prize package of Office Depot gift cards and technical services with a value of approximately $2,000.

The company's winning video entry can be viewed on Facebook here.

For more information on the company, visit
www.albavideos.com.
Facebook: Alba Videos Production
Twitter: AlbaDeli_Video
Phone: 615-479-3046

Rotary Nashville group returns from month-long Argentina trip

2009-11-18T04:17:00.004-06:00

Volunteer requests went out in fall 2008
Travel blog recounts photos, stories of trip

Remember last fall when the Rotary Club of Nashville was asking for local Spanish-speaking volunteers for a month-long trip to Argentina? Lindsey Peterson, Tonya Miller and Tom Turk took the plunge, according to the Tennessean:

Turk, a Rotarian and a retired TV producer and arts administrator, sponsored and accompanied the group on this trip. Miller, a native of Michigan and graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Belmont, is a Spanish translator working in local courts, hospitals and conferences. Peterson, born in Colorado and raised in Missouri and holding a sociology degree from Abilene University, works as an office manager for the Tennessee Respite Coalition, that provides home care services for families and caretakers of the disabled.

The Tennessean article on the group and the trip is here.

The group's travel blog is at rotaryargentina2009.blogspot.com, with the first post of the trip to Argentina starting here.

Dr. Stella Flores: Harvard-educated, quoted-in-Economist Vanderbilt professor

2009-11-17T04:48:00.006-06:00

A reader alerted me to a mention of Vanderbilt professor Stella Flores in an Economist article about a higher education gap in achievement "between Hispanic and 'Anglo' students" and how to close that gap. In the article, Flores is cited for the proposition that

the best thing that can be done at the state level is to adopt policies that allow all of a state’s high-school students to pay fees at its public universities at the discounted rate that normally applies to people from that state, regardless of their legal status.

(It would have been my preference that the Economist clarify that not all Hispanic students have legal status problems or are even immigrants - (almost half of all Hispanic residents of Tennessee are U.S.-born, and half of those who were born abroad have legal status) - but maybe the sophisticated readers of that British publication already knew that.)

Dr. Flores tells the Hispanic Nashville Notebook that when in-state tuition is offered to high school students regardless of legal status,

they are more likely to take advantage of such a benefit and enroll in college as compared to similar students who live in states without an in-state resident tuition policy. The overall numbers of students are not massive. However, if the benefit is available, over time, students do go to college as a result of having such a policy in a state.

Flores' latest article on the subject will appear in The Review of Higher Education.

About Dr. Stella Flores

Flores got doctoral and masters degrees from Harvard University, her doctorate being in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in Higher Education. She has another masters in public affairs from U.T. (Texas, not Tennessee), and her bachelors is from Rice, where she spent one semester at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago.

Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Flores served as a program evaluator for the U.S. General Accountability Office and as a program specialist for the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Professor Flores has also served as a policy researcher for the Texas State Legislature and various city governments in Texas.

Professor Flores’ work employs large-scale databases and quantitative methods to investigate the impact of state and federal policies on college access and completion for low-income and underrepresented populations. She has written on the role of alternative admissions plans and financial aid programs in college admissions, demographic changes in higher education, the role of the Hispanic Serving Institution in U.S. higher education policy, and Latino students and community colleges.

The lawyers who read my blog will be particularly interested the citation of her work in the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision Gratz v. Bollinger (dissenting opinion) and in various amicus briefs in the Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger Supreme Court cases on affirmative action in higher education admissions. (Flores and another researcher concluded that "it is incorrect to attribute any significant increase in campus diversity to a percent plan alone." Percent Plans in College Admissions: A Comparative Analysis of Three States’ Experiences (2003)).

Her publications also include two edited volumes, Legacies of Brown: Multiracial Equity in American Education published by the Harvard Educational Review (with Dorinda J. Carter and Richard J. Reddick) and Latino Educational Opportunity published by Jossey-Bass as part of the New Directions for Community College series (with Catherine L. Horn and Gary Orfield).

Professor Flores currently teaches courses in college access policy and general education policy. Her recent work includes an examination of the effect of in-state resident tuition policies on the college enrollment and persistence of undocumented students across the United States, an analysis of institutional response to federal and state changes in race-conscious admissions policies and programs, and an investigation of the interaction of state and institutional financial aid policies targeted at low-income students also across the United States.

Dr. Flores was recently named a co-investigator in a $1.9 million grant from the Gates Foundation on barriers to college completion, and she was also a research expert for Governor Bredesen’s Task Force on Readiness, Acceleration, Models, and Paths (RAMP UP).

Dr. Flores is at the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University. According to Vanderbilt, Peabody is the top-ranked school of education in the nation as ranked by the U.S. News & World Report's 2010 survey. Peabody has held a top-10 ranking for the last 14 years.

Some information taken verbatim from Flores' Vanderbilt bio and the Peabody web site.

Hispanic politicians in Nashville

2009-11-16T04:32:00.010-06:00

Fabian Bedne, one of the Nashvillians mentioned in the article
"Finding Nashville's Hispanic Voice" is the title of today's Nashville City Paper article that takes a deeper dive into the city's Hispanic politicians and how more might appear in the future.

Among the people quoted are Fabian Bedne, Yuri Cunza, Cesar Muedas, Mario Ramos, and me:

The election of Latinos can be accelerated by these and other appointments to boards and commissions, said John Lamb, editor of the Hispanic Nashville Notebook — one of several Web sites dedicated to news about the city’s Hispanic community.

“Maybe it’s more likely for someone to be electable when they’ve been introduced to the community in places where they can serve,” he said.

Lamb pointed to how Bedne’s community involvement served as something of a launching pad.

Read the full article, written by Tim Ghianni, here.

Nuevo Tango, Bandoneón, & Ravel’s Bolero: Nashville Symphony November 19-21

2009-11-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

Incorporates elements of jazz and classical music
Piazzolla performances to be recorded for future CD release

From the Nashville Symphony:

Schermerhorn Symphony Center will crackle with the bracing, sensuous rhythms of the tango as Giancarlo and the Nashville Symphony perform works by Astor Piazzolla, whose nuevo tango style incorporates elements of jazz and classical music. The Argentine composer was also a master of the accordion-like bandoneón, an instrument that his countryman, the renowned Daniel Binelli, will bring to life in Piazzolla's "Aconcagua" concerto. Keep dancing through intermission as the evening draws to a rousing finish with the hypnotic rhythms and dynamic orchestration of Ravel's always popular Boléro.

There's been a renewed interest in Astor Piazzolla's compositions in recent years, and the Nashville Symphony will be helping to promote that interest by recording the three Piazzolla pieces for future release on the Naxos record label. You'll want to be in the audience for this special performance!

Tickets start at just $37.50! You may purchase tickets online at NashvilleSymphony.org, by calling 615.687.6400 or in person at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Box Office.

Special thanks to series sponsor SunTrust, concert sponsor Vanderbilt University Medical Center and media sponsor Nashville Scene.

Where are the English as a Second Language classes in Nashville?

2009-11-12T06:37:00.003-06:00

It's a frequently asked question: where are the English as a Second Language Classes in Nashville? Ruben de Pena of Metro Nashville Public Schools offers an answer.

Photo by ira. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Veterans Day statement of Fabian Bedne, President of Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats

2009-11-11T03:30:00.001-06:00

On Veterans Day 2009, the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats honor the service of all U.S. veterans. MTNHD President Fabian Bedne reflects on the life and death of Major Libardo Caraveo:

"I was reading the biographies of the victims of the horrible tragedy at Fort Hood, and one in particular struck me: Major Libardo Caraveo, a 52-year-old psychologist from Mexico who moved to the U.S. as a teenager and earned his way to a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. It caught my attention that Caraveo's biography mentioned being born in Mexico and coming to the U.S. knowing little English."

"It brought me to tears to see the moving comments below the news story of Caraveo's tragically abbreviated life. Family and colleagues commemorated his joy of living and his barrier-busting accomplishments. They all mourn his loss, along with the rest of the country."

"I was also born outside the U.S., and English wasn't my first language. Part of my work in the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats is about highlighting the contributions and the potential of immigrants and people who arrive here who aren't yet bilingual. I can't help but be inspired by the life of Major Libardo Caraveo and the military commitment to his adopted country for which he gave his life."

Twitter: @muybna

2009-11-10T06:50:00.003-06:00

I tweet under the user ID @muybna over at Twitter. "muy bna" stands for "Very Nashville" and "Very Good."

My list of Hispanic Nashvillians who are Tweeting is at twitter.com/muybna/inbna

Conexion Americas launches special edition of "Rumba Roast" coffee Tuesday at 2pm at Bongo Java

2009-11-09T03:22:00.000-06:00

J.A. Yances donates original oil painting to raffle
Ticket and coffee sales benefit Latino families

Local nonprofit Conexión Americas will launch a special edition of its Cafe Rumba Roast organic, fair trade coffee on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Bongo Java, 107 S. 11th Street in East Nashville.

The Special Edition Cafe Rumba Roast features original art on the package from renowned artist J. A. Yances, based on Yances’ oil painting “Tucán Colores de la Selva” (Toucan Colors of the Jungle).

“The Special Edition of Cafe Rumba Roast is a one-of-a-kind present for the coffee connoisseurs or the community-minded on your gift list,” said Renata Soto, executive director of Conexión Americas. “Your friends will love the coffee, and you’ll support Conexión Americas, a local nonprofit. Your gift to our community will last far beyond the holidays.”

Yances has donated the painting, valued at $8,000, to Conexión Americas. Art-lovers will have a chance to own the painting with a $10 donation to the nonprofit. Tickets are limited to 2,000 and are available until December 15, 2009.

Tickets and the Special Edition of Cafe Rumba Roast can be purchased online (www.conexionamericas.org) by phone at 615-320-5152 or at Conexión Americas’ office at 800 18th Avenue South. The coffee is also available at Ten Thousand Villages, 3900 Hillsboro Road in Green Hills.

Proceeds from ticket and coffee sales support Conexión Americas' mission to help local Latino families; these entrepreneurial initiatives reduce the nonprofit’s dependence on donations.

About Conexión Americas:

Conexión Americas is a nonprofit dedicated to helping Latino families realize their aspirations for social and economic advancement by promoting their integration into the Middle Tennessee community. The organization provides Latino families with education, local resources, support networks and opportunities for advancement. Learn more at www.conexionamericas.org

About Cafe Rumba Roast:

Cafe Rumba Roast is the result of an unusual partnership between Conexión Americas and Bongo Java Roasting Company. Organic coffee beans are purchased at a fair price from Latin American farmers and are roasted in Nashville by Bongo Java.

Alexia Medina represents Brentwood at Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2010, places in top five

2009-11-05T03:15:00.005-06:00

Alexia Medina
Alexia Medina was named 4th runner-up in the 2010 Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageant held on October 3 in Clarksville. The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle has the story, including a photo of Medina in a yellow evening gown. Medina is the reigning Miss Teen Tennessee Latina and Miss Brentwood Teen USA.

Medina's spot among the top five finalists was also featured in Hola TN. (The Hola TN article reports that Medina won 4th runner-up in the nationals of the Miss Teen US Latina contest, but that event is on hiatus.)

For more information on Alexia Medina, see her web site at www.alexiamedina.com, which includes photos of Medina with various law enforcement and elected officials, including Nashville mayor Karl Dean and U.S. congressman Marsha Blackburn.

Medina with Karl Dean and Marsha Blackburn
In an interview with eSpanglish magazine earlier this year, Medina described her decision to participate in the Miss Teen Tennessee Latina pageant:

Alexia says that she thought for several months about whether or not to participate in the Miss Tennessee Latina pageant. She was intrigued by how someone could benefit from being pretty. Her mother always told her that true beauty is inside a person and that there is no such thing as an ugly woman. She is determined to maintain her action in representing what it means to be a young Latina and has done so with glamour, honesty, loyalty and intelligence, and she has felt very honored to do so.

Alexia has done everything in their power to represent the Latin youth in Tennessee and has sought to influence youth participation in society. Her recommendation for young people is to always look for ways to be better people. Besides the incentive of honoring her family and respecting the laws while maintaining clear goals and convictions, most important for her is to never forget that the Creator of all things, God will always be with us.

Medina has roots in Georgia, Mexico, and Spain. She enjoys yoga, reading, animal protection, cheerleading, volleyball, and bicycle riding. According to eSpanglish, she hopes to study international law.

Photo used with permission of Miss Teen Tennessee Latina Pageant. Photo by SamFotos.com. All rights reserved.

Most Tennesseans want to grant legal immigration status to workers, according to MTSU poll

2009-11-03T06:21:00.013-06:00

"They should be allowed to stay...": 51.0%

The 2009 MTSU poll asked this question:

Which comes closest to your view about illegal immigrants who are currently working in the U.S.?
"They should be allowed to stay in their jobs, and to eventually apply for US citizenship."
"They should be allowed to stay in their jobs only as temporary guest workers, but not to apply for U.S. citizenship."
"They should be required to leave their jobs and leave the U.S."

And these were the answers:

"They should be allowed to stay...": 51.0%
"...and to eventually apply for U.S. citizenship": 29.4%
"...but not to apply for U.S. citizenship": 21.6%
"They should be required to leave...": 42.8%

Conducted by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Mass Communication, the telephone poll of 716 randomly selected Tennessee adults has an error margin of plus or minus four percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Theoretically, this means that a sample of this size should produce a statistical portrait of the population within four percentage points 95 out of 100 times. The Survey Group at MTSU provides independent, non-partisan and unbiased public opinion data regarding major social, political and ethical issues affecting Tennessee. The poll began in 1998 as a measure of public opinion in the 39 counties comprising Middle Tennessee and began measuring public opinion statewide in 2001. Learn more and view the full report on the poll’s website, www.mtsusurveygroup.org.

Seventy-five percent of Tennessee Hispanics are U.S. citizens or legal residents (story here).

Illustration by HispanicNashville.com

CAO Cigars is next stop on TN Hispanic Chamber's Latin America "Tour" November 19

2009-11-02T03:55:00.008-06:00

Premium cigars from Honduras, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

For the November 19 stop on its "Tour" of Latin America, the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce* will feature world-renowned CAO Cigars:

Join us on our second stop of our Latin America Tour Networking Series, as we enjoy premium cigars from Honduras, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
The Tour of Latin America Networking Series is a series of events created to invite you to enjoy the Latin American culture right here in Nashville. With over 20 countries in Latin America to visit and an array of Latin sub-cultures, music, food, and much more, the TNHCC invites its current and potential members to enjoy the Tour of Latin America Series without getting on an airplane.

Join us on our second stop of our tour as we enjoy premium cigars from Honduras, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

As a token of our appreciation the TNHCC and our sponsor GuyBrown will give each attendee to our first stop of the Tour of Latin America Series a premium cigar.

November 19th
6:00 p.m.

CAO CIGARS
6172 Cockrill Bend Circle
Nashville, TN 37209

R.S.V.P. before November 17th

Click here to R.S.V.P.

Cecilia Melo-Romie launches Williamson County dialogue on new arrival integration

2009-10-29T05:49:00.007-05:00

Cecilia Melo-Romie and Avi Poster

Avi Poster: "My parents were immigrants; they had challenges when they came here, but they were made to feel welcome in this country"

On September 30 at La Hacienda in Franklin, Williamson County resident and Chile native Cecilia Melo-Romie (no relation to Eva Melo) threw an event to launch a dialogue on the successful integration of new arrivals in Williamson County. The event featured two of the county's elected officials and many of its residents.

The moderator was Avi Poster, who jokingly described himself as an "adopted" Williamson County resident on account of his frequent visits to its restaurants. After Poster asked the crowd to thank La Hacienda owner and host Salvador Guzman ("one of Williamson County's favorite citizens"), he described Nashville's efforts to redirect "awful" conversations about new arrivals to the city, which led to the Coalition of Education about Immigration, which now claims 1200 individuals and 40 organizations among its members. Poster said the purpose of the event was to help bring "that conversation" to Williamson County about 30 days out from the event, which is right about now.

Poster said:

My parents were immigrants; they had challenges when they came here, but they were made to feel welcome in this country.

Williamson County resident and Loews Vanderbilt Hotel's Tom Negri described the efforts of Nashville for All of Us to beat back the Virginia-funded English Only referendum in January. He mentioned that the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce was recently named the No. 1 large chamber of commerce in the country by American Chamber of Commerce Executives, in part because of the chamber's role in Nashville for All of Us. Negri also mentioned that he spent three years in Colombia, his wife is Colombian, and that his oldest son Danny just bought a house in Williamson County. He told the story that on Danny's first night in the home, one of his neighbors called the police reporting a Hispanic male in the back yard of that house. So while Danny was watering trees he had planted behind his own home, three police cars pulled up and wanted to know what he was doing there. Negri said "the officers were great" - in fact, they actually knew Danny. "But these things happen, and we don't want them to happen," said Negri.

Fabian Bedne of the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats urged new citizens to vote so that political campaigns would take them into account. He also pointed out that even though some campaign strategies focus on the voters of the last ten election cycles as those voters most likely to influence an election, candidates should remember that such a metric will discount active and interested new citizen voters, who will show up only for the election cycles since they obtained their U.S. citizenship.

Bedne also mentioned his bipartisan efforts, along with his Republican colleague Raul Lopez, to register new citizens to vote. Together, they fought the misperception that speaking Spanish means that you aren't a U.S. citizen, when the fact is that certain U.S.-born citizens (like residents of Puerto Rico), as well as older immigrants, may not be fluent in English but are nonetheless U.S. citizens and eligible voters. See their joint statement here, including the excerpt, "To say that a Latino who doesn't speak perfect English is not a citizen is simply wrong."

Another attendee's account of the event is at Sarah's Juniper Tree. I have more on the event which I hope to post later.

Photo by John Lamb. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Metro Council's Frank Harrison: why I voted against 287(g)

2009-10-28T04:13:00.002-05:00

Metro Council Member Frank Harrison

City Paper also provides broad coverage of opposition viewpoint

Last Tuesday, October 20, three Metro Council members expressed Nashville's first official opposition to 287(g) in its current form. "287(g)" is the name for the program that ratchets up the interactions between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. In some of the 60 or so jurisdictions where 287(g) is in place, thousands of people have been deported even though they are not dangerous criminals. Nashville is one of those jurisdictions.

The council members voting against 287(g) were Megan Barry, Sam Coleman and Frank Harrison.

I asked Frank Harrison why he voted the way he did, and this was his response:

I felt that it was the right thing for me to do and would have preferred some debate before the vote. Perhaps more would have felt the same. Also I would not feel comfortable being part of causing hardships on families.

The lack of debate before the vote was reported by the Tennessean here and lamented by local blogger Aunt B. here:

If you cannot face the people most affected by a decision you make and explain your reasons for making your decision, even if it will be wildly unpopular with them, it tells both you and those people something–that you know you’re doing the wrong thing.

Monday's City Paper gave opponents' points a lot of ink, starting with the main story:

"The reality of the program here is that the vast majority of people who are being identified by this program have committed misdemeanors,” Esquivel said. “Rather than focusing on what I think there's a broad consensus on — which is using this program to target real criminals — we're using it to target people who are not criminals in any sense that the community had in mind when this was rolled out or what it ought to be used for.”

The City Paper's anonymous columnist "Rex Noseworthy" caught a hypothetical about the potential economic impact of 287(g):

“How long will it be a until a Nissan executive from Mexico has a rental car with a faulty blinker and winds up in a Metro jail because of it?” Esquivel asked.

Kleinheider, from the City Paper's sister publication the Nashville Post, explored the influence of ideology on support for or opposition to 287(g):

Most people who support the 287(g) program no more want the police actively targeting undocumented workers to deport than most opponents want the government giving illegal immigrants unfettered access to public services.

The City Paper excerpts above are brief clips; there is more discussion about 287(g) in the full content of the main story here, in Rex's column here, and in Kleinheider's column here.

For full coverage of 287(g) visit hispanicnashville.com/labels/287g

Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Announces 5th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Business & Community Awards

2009-10-27T05:46:00.006-05:00

(Left to right) Ionela Chera, Shannon Kasakevics, Gil Veda, Brenna Davenport-Leigh, Mario Ramos, Holly Spann, Santos Gonzalez, Dr. Alicia Griffin, Loraine Segovia-Paz, Luis Bustillos, Dr. Galen Hull. At the podium, Yuri Cunza, NAHCC President & CEO
The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce* held its fifth annual Hispanic Heritage Month Business & Community Awards at and in partnership with Nashville Public Television.

Chamber President and CEO Yuri Cunza had the following comment:

On behalf of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, our Board of Directors, and our network of more than 200 businesses members, we celebrate this year's award recipients. The individuals and businesses selected are great examples of entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and the hard work of our emergent and established business community. We were very honored to recognize NAHCC members whose support has helped us continue the empowerment of Hispanic business.

The 2009 recipients, selected from among nominations received from NAHCC members, are as follows:

Manuel Cuevas with daughter Morelia

Hispanic Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award presented to designer Manuel Cuevas - Manuel American Designs Inc.

Outstanding Hispanic Business Achievement Award presented to La Hacienda Taqueria

Outstanding Advocacy in Education Award presented to Volunteer State Community College

Outstanding Business Program Achievement Award presented to Office of International Business Programs, College of Business, Tennessee State University

Outstanding Arts & Culture Innovation Achievement Award presented to visual artist and composer Gil Veda

Nashville Hispanic Founder Award presented to NAHCC Chairman and community advocate Luis Bustillos

Outstanding Business Advocacy Certificate of Recognition presented to SBA (Small Business Administration) Tennessee District Office

Hershell Warren (Mayor's Office) Loraine Segovia, Luis Bustillos (NAHCC Board), Charlie Cook (NPT Chairman), Shannon Kasakevics (Leave Them Speechless Events/NAHCC Board)

More photos of the event, co-produced by chamber member LTSEvents, are here.

About the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 2000, the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NAHCC) is a non-profit member based organization representing the interests of more than 200 businesses, individuals and organizations with interest in Nashville's booming Hispanic market. The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce promotes actively the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and businesses.

About LTS Events

President/Owner, Shannon Martinez Kasakevics, CMP of Leave Them Speechless Events. LTSEvents is a 5-Star, full-service event management, production, marketing and PR firm created by award-winning and certified hospitality and entertainment industry event producers. Our goal is to infuse and enhance our clients' inspiration, vision, and energy into unforgettable events.

About Nashville Public Television
Nashville Public Television is available free and over the air to nearly 2.2 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky viewing area, and is watched by more than 600,000 households every week. NPT provides, through the power of traditional television and interactive telecommunications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.

Gumucio one of 500 relationship builders to participate in The Davidson Group

2009-10-26T04:29:00.002-05:00

Ed Gumucio is featured in a Tennessean article about the Davidson Group, a 28-year-old Nashville organization dedicated to pairing people from different backgrounds for conversation and mutual understanding.

From the article:

The program, founded by the late Nashville businessman Nelson C. Andrews, has had about 500 people participate during its history.
...
Eduardo Gumucio, a native of Bolivia who has lived in Nashville for the last 15 years, plans to be there. He operates a business, Hablemos, that helps companies tap into the growing the Latino community. When he met his Davidson Group partner, an older Nashville businessman who is white, Gumucio was the first Bolivian the man had ever met.
...
"The concept is it's hard to dislike your friends; it's hard to not understand and even appreciate something about them once they are in your life," said Deborah Varallo, who is also chairman of the group's advisory board and a participant in what is now her second Davidson Group pairing.

Stonecrest Medical Center, where Gumucio is a trustee, has this abbreviated Gumucio bio:

Born in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Eduardo “Ed” Gumucio now lives in Smyrna and serves as the president of The Hispanic Solution, LLC, a consulting firm that developed the Hispanic Friendly Corporation™ model. This model analyzes a company’s key organizational functions and recommends methods for interacting more successfully with the Hispanic population. Mr. Gumucio’s civic involvement includes chairing the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s multi-cultural task force for three years, as well as serving on the boards of the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the American Diabetes Association.

Feel Good Friday: the song of U.S. citizenship

2009-10-23T05:59:00.004-05:00

My friend Alejandro from Miami told me this wonderful story about when he became a U.S. citizen.

Alejandro moved to Florida from Chile a number of years ago, and recently he was eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. When he got to the point of his citizenship test, where you have to be able to name the 13 colonies, the number of voting representatives in the House of Representatives, the name of the U.S. President during World War II, and other facts like that, along with a basic command of English, he passed.

When they told him he had passed, he asked, "May I sing at the ceremony?" Alejandro is a trained classical tenor.

The test administrator wasn't sure what to think. She asked him what he had said, and he repeated his request: "May I sing at my naturalization ceremony?" The administrator, befuddled, excused herself and walked to the office of her supervisor. She and the supervisor returned a few moments later, wanting to make sure they understood right, and they had.

"You want to sing at the ceremony," the supervisor asked, now the second person in the office who was trying to make sense of the unusual request.

"Yes, I am a singer," he replied, "and I would like to sing the national anthem of my new country."

"And you really can sing?"

"Yes," Alejandro answered.

They then asked him to step into another room and requested that Alejandro provide a demonstration of his vocal skills. In full performance volume, Alejandro started belting out the Star-Spangled Banner.

The women were blown away.

Not only did Alejandro sing the Star-Spangled Banner at his own naturalization ceremony, but officials have since asked him to return for two other naturalization ceremonies.

And so Alejandro has become a beautiful part of the first moments of being an American.

Photo by Josh Hallett. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Saturday at Cheekwood: 10th annual Dia de los Muertos family festival, also opening of "Dichos" exhibit on art of bus drivers' self-expression

2009-10-22T04:39:00.000-05:00

From Cheekwood:

Cheekwood’s 10th Annual
EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
Fall Festival
Saturday, October 24th 2009
11:00am – 5:00pm
Come celebrate with us at our 10th annual Fall Family Day, El Día de los Muertos. In recognition of this Latin American holiday, Cheekwood will bring the traditions of Mexico to Nashville. We’ll celebrate with traditional music and dance, vibrant art activities and authentic Mexican food. Learn about the culture of our Latin American neighbors as you explore the beautiful altar displays, shop in the bustling Mexican marketplace, and enjoy the fine cuisine from local bakeries and restaurants.

Dichos: Words to Live, Love, and Laugh by in Latin America
October 24 2009 - January 17 2010
Truck and bus drivers across Latin America delight in inscribing dichos—sayings or amusing expressions—on their vehicles. Hand painted in an endless variety of graphic styles and colors, dichos address subjects ranging from religion and love to puns and earthy humor. Unfortunately, with the emergence of corporate trucking and government push for standardized public transportation, this vibrant folk art may gradually disappear.

The 46 color photographs are accompanied by miniature dicho-laden vehicles, including one painted by well-known Latin American artist Arturo Sosa Perez, and full-size metal bumpers with text and graphics. The exhibition is organized thematically according to the content of the dichos. The four categories are Love; Faith and Devotion; Wit, Commentary, and Egotism; and Buses of Panama.

RNHA event today: Hispanic Heritage Month with Attorney General Gonzales

2009-10-22T04:03:00.002-05:00

Download now or preview on posterous

RNHA Come join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.doc (1137 KB)

Posted via email from BonusTrack.HispanicNashville.com

Today marks 6 years of the Hispanic Nashville Notebook

2009-10-21T04:55:00.002-05:00

I started the Hispanic Nashville Notebook on October 21, 2003 - six years ago today. For the four years up to that point, I had been printing and keeping a physical notebook of Nashville's Hispanic stories, but online technology made me give that up. Keeping an electronic record was easier, and so this web site was born. From 2003 forward, whenever I wanted to share a story that I had seen about our Hispanic neighbors in Nashville, I knew where I could find it. And eventually, so did you.

Looking back over those six years, we see not only news but also lives collected here - from the first child born in Nashville in 2004 to the 2009 passings of writer Tim Chavez, 5-year-old Max Gomez, and singer Azucena Rios.

The stories in these archives are Nashville stories as much as they are Hispanic stories. I recently started celebrating the Hispanic identity of Nashville as being "muy bna" - very Nashville, and very good (a play on "BNA" being both the Nashville airport code and also an abbreviation of "buena" - the Spanish word for "good.")

To my Hispanic neighbors in Nashville, including my own Hispanic family, you are muy bna. Since these are your stories, Happy Sixth Anniversary.

John

To hear the story of Humberto, the man in the photo above, click here. Photo by Susan Adcock, copyright 2008. Used with permission.

Lamar Alexander: Spanish-speaker, Latin American major

2009-10-21T04:31:00.001-05:00

"Impressed with all of the student demonstrations in Latin America"

From a recent Vanderbilt Hustler interview with Tennessee's senior U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander:

Vanderbilt Hustler: When you were an editor at The Hustler, I understand that you habitually made speeches in Spanish at really early morning hours. What were those about?

Lamar Alexander: I don’t remember what they were about. They were at 2 in the morning. I had gone to Latin America; I was a Latin American major, and I traveled in Latin America the summer before I was a senior. I was impressed with all of the student demonstrations in Latin America so I had nothing better to do than make a speech about uprisings and revolutions and that kind of thing.

They made no sense. And they weren’t serious. But they were in Spanish, so nobody else knew what they said either.

Read the entire interview here.

Nashville faces wisdom of 287(g) vote

2009-10-20T07:12:00.008-05:00

Photo by Brent Moore. Licensed by Creative Commons.

How many peace-loving families have to be sacrificed to get rid of dangerous criminals?
Prayer vigil at 5:30 p.m.

Last night, I was at the Courthouse to watch the Metro Council public safety committee deliberate the "287(g)" agreement between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Thousands of people have been deported out of Middle Tennessee as a result of the program, most of whom were not dangerous criminals. The 287(g) agreement was nonetheless unanimously approved by the committee.

Two 287(g) opponents were given the chance to express their concerns that people who aren't dangerous are being caught up in the program more than dangerous criminals are. David Esquivel, the son of Cuban immigrants, talked about the disproportionately severe impact on ordinary people in the immigrant community. Pastor Gwen Brown-Felder of Ernest Newman United Methodist Church offered the committee a vision of 287(g) as contrary to our faith. Her comments crystallized for me that we will look back on 287(g) in shame.

The good news is that a handful of council members asked thoughtful questions of the Sheriff, who gave his own presentation. At least two council members, however, took a simplistic view of the issue. One of them quoted the Bible and in the next breath concluded with, "what part of illegal don't you understand." So much for Letter from Birmingham Jail.

The committee's unanimous vote in favor of the program was disappointing. I left the Council chambers concerned for my hometown. To see the city so far from Brown-Felder's vision was disheartening.

As I was walking off the beautiful new lawn of Public Square, under a refreshingly clear field of stars, my only recourse was to pray. I prayed for my city. I prayed for the hearts of stone to be softened. God was close, bigger than the city machinations that had just taken place.

Below my feet as I faced War Memorial auditorium and the newly refurbished Deaderick Avenue, I noticed the word "STRENGTH" in an artistic feature in the Public Square pavement. "Strength" was a value the committee likely thought it was implementing perfectly by approving 287(g) without a second thought. I wondered what other values appeared in the pavement around the circle-shaped lawn, and whether there might be a complimentary value to strength that the city aspired to. I walked around the circle to the towers that bump up against the Cumberland River to see what was the counterbalance to "Strength."

It was "PROTECTION" - surely another value that the committee would consider it had upheld last night. Was I surprised that "Strength" would be balanced by "Protection" - definitely, yes. Not much of a check and balance.

Then I noticed I wasn't done examining the circle. In the 6 o'clock position in the circle there was another value.

It was "WISDOM."

Particularly appropriate that wisdom is the closest of the three values to the new reflecting pools and also to the fountain that rises from the ground at the southern entrance to the plaza. A city that so thoughtfully developed this place of reflection and meditation rightly honored wisdom with this central and thoughtful location.

It's an empty wisdom, however, that merely defers to strength and protection instead of informing the exercise of those values. In the words of Primo Levi:

A country is considered the more civilized the more the wisdom and efficiency of its laws hinder a weak man from becoming too weak or a powerful one too powerful.

The charge of this city to the members of the Metro Council is that they bring wisdom to their full vote on 287(g) tonight. I would ask council members, have you spent any time with immigrants and their world-class advocates in Nashville, without which it is impossible to fully consider the facts about an immigrant-related local program?

Have you asked how many peace-loving families have to be sacrificed to get rid of dangerous criminals? Can the disproportions ever become so great before the trade-off is deemed unjust, inefficient and unwise?

Constituents of Nashville's council, please ask yourself the same questions and urge your representatives to write our laws and give our city's approval not just with safety or protection in mind. Wisdom calls for more.

A prayer vigil will be held tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Courthouse.

For more on the strength, protection, and wisdom symbolism at the Courthouse, as well as other values, see Paragraph II B of this 1981 report by Ann Reynolds, Historic Preservationist, Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County and section 1.G. of this recent call for artwork to represent those values. See the diagram below for the layout of Public Square and the pavement decorations.

Tim Chavez v. 287(g): excerpts from his opposition

2009-10-19T04:44:00.000-05:00

The late Tim Chavez
Former Tennessean columnist and blogger Tim Chavez, whose passing on June 18, 2009 was mourned by Nashvillians across the political spectrum, was a vigorous opponent of 287(g), which is up for a vote in the Metro Council on Tuesday (Resolution 2009-997) and will be heard before the Public Safety committee on Monday at 6pm.

287(g) is a section of federal immigration law that allows local law enforcement to screen for immigration violations in partnership with federal immigration authorities. Local and state governments have to opt in to participate, and different levels of local approval have to be given in order for the program to be put in place. In Nashville, the Sheriff has to sign an agreement with Washington, and the Metro Council has to approve that agreement. The Metro approval is the vote scheduled for committee review on Monday and Council vote on Tuesday.

Chavez used his Political Salsa blog to register his opposition to the implementation of 287(g) in Nashville. Excerpts from 2008 are below, with links to the related posts.

"Gross dysfunction of the sheriff's advisory board"

The gross dysfunction of the sheriff's advisory board was well known before Ozment's public comment on a TV program. Gregg Ramos, a Nashville attorney and chairman of Catholic Charities for the Dioicese of Nashville, has said that the sheriff does not even listen to board members. And Hall did not invite members of the board to his political dog and pony show earlier this year touting the success of the program in mistreating undocumented human beings. September 3, 2008

"Where is their sense of decency?"

Sheriff Daron Hall made a big mistake in bringing 287g here and grossly misleading the public on its true intent for personal political gain. Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper deserve rebuke for their silence over the outrage of 287g and the torture of Mrs. Villegas, not to mention her newborn son.

Where is their sense of decency? Where are their loyalities to the progressive people who put them in office? Where are the voices of the progressive people who put them in office? Or maybe "progressive" is not what I believe it means? These three elected officials also are Democrats, or what passes for one in the South. August 6, 2008

"Destroying hard-working families"

But from the victims of public policy in Hispanic families in the Nashville area where I live, I can tell you that all Hispanics -- legal or not -- are being painted with the same intolerant brush. The 287g program is destroying hard-working families. I have the personal stories to prove that point, not the backside-covering rhetoric of empty ideological words. June 30, 2008

"The police are not at fault here"

When the undocumented workers cannot produce needed ID with picture -- since Tennessee revoked its law allowing driver's licenses to undocumented workers -- police arrest the Hispanics and book them.

That's the law for anyone who police do not believe will show up in court to pay for a traffic or other offense. The police are not at fault here; it's the local sheriff who then takes the name and fingerprints of offenders to see if they're legally in this country. June 23, 2008

" 287(g) programs like here in Nashville have stigmatized all Hispanics, citizens or not"

As for Hispanic voters, Obama made no mention Tuesday night of the national persecution of people who look like us and our abuelos. ICE raids and 287(g) programs like here in Nashville have stigmatized all Hispanics, citizens or not. The human rights abuses are outrageous. Due process has been sacrificed, because undocumented workers can't read the applications in English waiving their rights to counsel and hearings -- where they could invoke their right to seek asylum from violence and/or political persecution in their homelands. Or to get a guest worker permit. June 5, 2008

"Programs such as 287(g) are not about deporting criminals. They are about scoring political points"

To: Elizabeth_Dole@elizabethdole.org

Sen. Dole,

I've read the e-mail you sent last week to North Carolina voters about your establishment of a 287(g) deportation program with county sheriffs across the state. The purpose of the program, you say, is to deport illegal aliens who are committing crimes to property and people.
...
[In Nashville,] 62 percent of those arrested went to jail for the first time. For the remaining 32% who had criminal records, two-thirds of those records were for misdemeanors.
...
Programs such as 287(g) are not about deporting criminals. They are about scoring political points with talk show hosts, extremists in the immigration debate and sadly, some bigots. America's historical bigotry against Hispanics, parituclarly those of Mexican descent like myself, is well-documented. You may win for the moment in your state, but you are writing the GOP's obituary by going after Hispanics. We will remember these outrages against human decency and human rights. And history will increasingly be written from our point of view as our numbers and economic influence grow.June 3, 2008

"Two thirds ... did not have criminal records"

Here, we have what's called the 287(g) deportation program. The local sheriff -- who is elected -- made an agreement with the Feds to detain immigrants on traffic charges of driving without a seat belt or fishing without a license. Then he checks their immigration status on an INS database and holds them for the Feds.

He sold the program to Nashville, which is predominantly a Democratic and liberal city, as a way to just deport criminal elements of undocumented workers. Now, after 3,000 deportations in only a year, he is basking in praise from local radio talk show hosts, including Phil Valentine of The Tennessean newspaper and local radio.

But the sheriff, who claims to be a Democrat, is now backtracking from claims he started the program to deport criminals. That's because more than two-thirds of the 3,000 people deported did not have criminal records. They did, however, have families. And those families are now being torn apart. The children suffer the most, not knowing when they kiss Papa goodbye for school in the morning if they'll see him for months or years after they return home in the afternoon. May 27, 2008

"Some of the most inhumane treatment of people in this nation since the Civil Rights movement days and the internment of Japanese-American families during World War II"

The 287(g) deportation program in Nashville has produced some of the most inhumane treatment of people in this nation since the Civil Rights movement days and the internment of Japanese-American families during World War II. May 16, 2008

Parthenon hosted Spanish/English "Monday Night Football" Week 5 intro

2009-10-19T04:09:00.000-05:00

In duet with Gloria Estefan, Hank Williams Jr. sings, "¿Estás listo para football?"

From a Habana Avenue press release:

As fall begins to drift south NFL fans are feverous for their football and so is Hank Williams, Jr. Williams is joined by Gloria Estefan to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Week in this 40th anniversary season of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" (MNF.) The broadcast special show open was supervised by Habana Avenue executive producer/creative director Steven J. Levy. Ms. Estefan joined Williams on Week 5 of the open, when the Miami Dolphins battled the New York Jets.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the show ESPN director Robert Toms decided to keep Williams close to home, using Nashville's full-scale replica of the Parthenon to give some historical gravitas to a raucous MNF party. With help from Fresh Paint Visual Effects and Design (now represented by Spots & Content @ Habana Avenue), the classical edifice was cast as the MNF Hall of Fame in which stone statues of football players come to life as Williams performs to cheering crowds. The open marked the 21st season Williams has been featured; he's won four Emmy Awards for his work on MNF.

Habana Avenue was charged with creative consultation, staging and lighting the extensive two-day shoot at the Parthenon, an art museum in Nashville's Centennial Park. Radio and Internet casting calls recruited some 250 extras for an interior Parthenon party scene and another 500 for an exterior party sequence. During this shoot Williams teamed with Gloria Estefan on a rousing bilingual, Miami-themed duet.

"Making of" videos

There are a few "making-of" videos highlighting the behind-the-scenes of the bilingual Parthenon video shoot: the official "making of" video embedded below, the Tennessean version, and the video of a local who was there.