La Voz de Aztlan, May 7 1990
Item
Title
La Voz de Aztlan, May 7 1990
Creator
Associated Students of Fresno State
Relation
La Voz de Aztlan (Daily Collegian, California State University, Fresno)
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
5/7/1990
Format
PDF
Identifier
SCUA_lvda_00189
extracted text
Cubano's break with Ballet Hispanico
-See center
Volume XXI, Number IV
Poet
Herrera
new prof
California State University, Fresno
ESP jams in the Pit
I
Matthew Polanco
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Poet, artist and educator Juan Felipe
Herrera will join the faculty in the
Chicano and Latin American Studies
Program this fall.
Herrera is an English professor at the
University of Iowa.
Born in nearby Fowler, Herrera said,
"it is another rebirth for me to be coming
back to the Vallev where I was born."
"I am very excited about teaching here
at Fresno State. I like seeing so much
energy in the Raza here." He will be
teaching CLS 5 and 116 in the fall, and
in the sprmg, he will add a Chicano
literature course to the program.
As a child, Herrera and his family did
fannwork up and down California. When
he was eight, his family moved to San
Diego, in the colonia of Logan Heights.
Later he moved to San Francisco's
Mission District. Herrera spent his
childhood between San Francisco and San
Diego.
In 1967, with an Educational
Oportunity Program grant, he attended
UCLA. Herrera said he was one of 60
Chicanos on campus at that time.
He was active in the United Mexican
American Students (UMAS) which later
became Movimiento Estuclientil Chicano
de Aztlan (MEChA).
In 1969, he was involved with the
development of MEChA at UC Santa
Hector AmezCWIISPECIAL TO I.A VOZ
Mike Gonzales has played the base for 15 years. He said he has played with many bands and is
currently with ESP, a Latin jazz band that performed in the Pit May 3 as part of the Semana de la
Raza festivities.
SeeHERRERA, page7
San chez aims to Huerta calls for
influence County student support
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Virginia Sanchez
"As a Latina, I would be able to provide a role
model for the community. We've never had
anyone Latino on the county level and certainly
not a female," said Virginia Sanchez about her
running for Fresno County Clerk.
Sanchez said she has always been involved in
community activities, and she wanted to take
some time off for herself. "But I decided to run
for county clerk. I have to do this one more
thing. I could do things on the county-wide level.
I could be influential. I could do a lot of things
for kids, and I could promote the importance of
voting and motivate the puplic," she said.
The clerk's office is a repository for Fresno
County documents. It oversees the entire clerk's
office and court documents that go to the superior
courts and the elections office which.handles all
See CLERK, page 8
I
without a brain," said Huerta, "Pesticides
are the cause of this. But the state is
not doing anything."
She said that there have been 2,100
incidents of pesticide poisonings, and
The audience came to be informed and three deaths as a result. But since most
that's exactly what happened. Dolores farm workers are afraid of getting fired
Huerta, Vice President and co-founder or are undocumented, many of the
of the United Farm Workers of America incidents of cancer go unreported.
Though farmers claim the pesticides
AFL-CIO had a lot of information
regarding pesticide dangers to give to are washed off before being sold in a
her audience May 2 in the Satellite market place, pesticides don't wash off
easily, she said.
Student Union.
"A woman in Austin, Texas, who
She explained that the farm worker,
along with being amongst the lowest crossed a picket line at a local
paid workers in the United States, is supermarket became violently ill after
ingesting grapes," said Huerta.
also the most expendable.
"After going to her doctor, she found
Huerta spoke of incidents of children
born to farm workers with birth defects out that a high amount of sulfites on the
the union believes were caused by grapes had caused her an allergic
reaction. She came back to the store that
pesticides.
"One family had a child who was born
See HUERTA, pages
without eyes and another was born
Sylvia Castro
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
ii.
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NuESTRA OPINION
OUR OPINION
Good ol' boys mad at La Voz ... So what?
editor that La Voz was, "worthy of no more
then wrapping fish or lining bird cages."
The statistics Wells cited, if they are
correct,areimpressive.
Those facts and figures were certainly
enough to outrage Wells. The nerve of
those damn "super radicals" in the ASL
How dare they increase the Chicano Youth
Conference budget by 181 percent and the
African American student recruitment by
421 percent? That might actually aid in
getting more people ofcolor to come to this
campus. We certainly can't have that.
Their increased presence could upset the
balance of things at good ol' Fresno Stat.e.
Wells also wrote in his letter that
cultural and other such clubs and
organizations had their budgets increased
while an established organization like the
Interfraternity Council/Panhellinic,
"representing students from all walks of
life had funds slashed from their budgets."
Of course, this comes from a guy whose
idea of a cultural event is swigging a
Corona and singing a few bars of "La
Bamba"
with
brother
Biff.
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
Two weeks ago our old friend, Ted
Hallisey exercised his so-called "media
skills" in his Collegian column and
attacked La Voz forincom pet.ent reporting.
Hallisey also said we were biased and
that student fees should not be used for
such things as this supplement to the
Daily Collegian. As I wrot.e in my letter to
the CoUegian editor, 18 percent of the
CSUF student body is Chicano and they
have a right to be heard.
People like Hallisey cannot understand
"Balalalalabamba..."
our views. They have never been, nor will
they ever be in our position.
Includinghis opposition ofChicano and
African American advancement in our
editorials offended him so much that he
accused us of being biased in our
presentation ofthe news. Hallisey's vision
must have been so blurred by frustration
that he confused our Eye on ASI editorials
with news in the rest of La Voz.
The fact that Hallisey did oppose such
things as capital expenditures for a
Chicano and Latin American/African
American studies resourse cent.er and the
fact that he blatantly opposed the
application ofthe first openly gay senator
is of importance to our readers.
Hallisey argues that we should at least
ask a US/Reality senator for her or his
opinion on certain matt.ers. What for?
Their actions speak louder then their
bullshit rhetoric about serving the needs
of"every" student, without discrimination.
(The fact that our own university
president hasn't been able to take
significant action against the problem of
low numbers of people of color at CSUF
has perturbed him so much that he is
considering resigning and returning to
teaching and doing research. In his own
Thesecomfortablerich boys are getting
words, "I would leave this all tomorrow to
scared. They have always been in control·
be a Broadway si:tger.")
and now they can see that Chicanos as
It's interestinghow frat boys, like Wells,
well as African Americans are gaining
have traditionaly monopolized student
power on this campus. And when people of
money. After all some of the fraternities
color have papers like La Voz and Uhuru
have their tokenAfricanAmerican or their
in which to voice their opinions, it makes
token "Hispanic" so they can consider that
the job of maintaining a "good ol' boy"
makeup representative of the entire
network even more difficult.
student body. And now that the ASI is
This was made evident by yet another
really trying to represent all students by
attack on La Voz. In the May 3 issue ofthe
first evening the score, they start crying
Daily Collegian, Ron Wells wrote to the
about the inequalities and injustices.
EDITOR APPLICATIONS DUE
J,.sllo<ikatASJJ>reside,#Karen Cogley
and,: t/i.e_val9es·~~ .h9s.fqy,g!jtfor,·p,:e
imptjr.tance'.;'. of]{ir.: : tJOi~.#isfj,/liever<be
Applications for the Fall 1990
La Voz de Aztldn editor-inchief position are available in
the Daily Collegian office
located in the Keats Campus
Building. All applicants
must submit three letters of
reference and a statement of
proposed editorial policy.
The deadline to submit
applications is May 9.
NosoTRos .•• LA Voz
EYE ON
ASI
JOSEPH M. TORRES
DE
Azn.AN
Editor in Chief- Chris Heredia
Assistant Editor-Eloy Garcia
Copy Editor-Celeste Saldivar
Graphics Editor -Oscar G. Ramirez
Calendario Editor-Marta Villasenor
Staff Artist-Ralph Avitia
Staff Writers-Sylvia Castro, Michaela
Diez-Lopez, Selene Flores, Sostenes
Infante Jr., Krista Lemos, Rosemary
Lopez, Sandra D. Ortiz, Matthew
Polanco, Al Robles, Jill Soltero, Sara
Soria, Joseph M. Torres.
Photographers - Laura Hernandez,
Jose Luis Gil, Angel De Jesus.
• Flag designed by Ralph Avitia •
The La Voz staff would like to thank
Eric Burney, Terry Pierson, and Lisa
McKinney of The Daily Collegian Staff.
La Voz ~ Aztllm Is published monthly by the Aaao·
elated Students, Inc. of Caltfomta State University,
Fresno. The newspaper office Is located tn the Kuta
campus Building. Fresno, Calif., 93740-0042. The
opinions published on thts page are not necessarily
those of the Associated Students, Inc., 11w DalJy
~tan or La VozDeAztlanand tta staft Umt#}ed
editorials are the majority optnton of the paper'• edl·
torial board.
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
Pella
brings
Salvadoran
women's
message
I
Al Robles
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The people of the United States must
become more aware of the problems in
El Salvador regarding human rightsespecially the conditions facing womenand the work done by Salvadorans to
end the war in their country and to begin
rebuilding a devastated economy.
This was the message of Marina
Judith Pena, a representative of the
Association of Salvadoran Women
(ADEMUSA). She spoke at a press
conference in the University Student
Union as part of the May Day portion of
MEChA's Semana De La Raza program.
May Day is commemorated every May 1
as International Workers Day.
That afternoon she spoke to the
students in the Free Speach Area about
the situation in her home country. She
described the conditions in El Salvador
brought on by 10 years of civil war and
the resulting economic crisis.
"The poor destribution of wealth and
military repression waged by the
wealthy against the majority of the
people has resulted in the armed conflict
which began in 1980."
Pena cited economic underdevelopment and scarcity of available
resources in her country as a historical
condition which has been made worse by
the war.
See FMLN, page 6
CSU,FRESNO
PAGE3
HUERTA
Continued from page 1
same day and we had a press conference.
She was saying she was sorry for not
having paid attention to the picket line."
The picket line was set up to boycott
the grapes sold at that particular
supermarket. The UFW is calling for
people to boycott grapes once again, she
said.
Even when something is labeled as
"organic" such as in "organic grapes,"
that doesn't mean the grapes are
pesticide-free. This means they are
tagged below tolerance level, said
Huerta. This is still a high level. "Last
year, of the 400 million pounds of grapes
that were tested, guess how many were
tested? Only 23 pounds of grapes were
tested," said Huerta.
"It will be 2025 before all the pesticides
are tested," Huerta said. "There are so
many we can't catch up . Only 17
pesticides are tested per year." But the
year 2025 will have been 36 years too
late for Jose Carvello Campos Martinez,
25, of Kern County.
Huerta said Martinez had been out
spraying pesticides on a ranch at about
10 a.m. A while later he called his
brother and complained of nausea. He
said he needed to go to the hospital. His
brother borrowed his friend's car, drove
to Martinez' house to find him on the
floor in convulsions and foaming at the
mouth. He was taken to the hospital but
by 3:30 p.m. he had died.
The coroner's report said that 400
milligrams of a deadly pesticide had been
in his system---0nly 23 milligrams were
fatal. The coroner reported that Martinez
must have ingested the pesticide and
listed his death as a suicide.
Huerta said that Martinez had an 18year-olp. wife and a baby boy. This is not
the profile of a suicide victim.
She said the responsibility to change
this situation is in everyone's hands. "We
cannot sit back and wait for someone to
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta
change thing for us. It will never
happen.," she said.
She cited several cases µi which the
UFW believes pesticides to be the culprit
of cancer clusters in small towns such
as McFarland and Earlimart.
In McFarland she said nine children
have died of cancer in the last year.
That's 400 percent above the average,
she said.
''When labor laws went into effect in
1934, farm workers were excluded
because of racism. Most of them were
black and brown farm workers and no
one was really watching their interests,"
she said.
"The government does everything it
can to help people who have a lot of
money."
About 400 people attended Huerta's
40-minute speech as part of Semana de
la Raza's week-long activities at CSUF.
Latinos awarded for fiction and photography
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Latino accomplishments abounded in the Spring 1990
issue of "Common Wages." The book is compiled and
distributed by the English Department. Two of the
winners of the $100 prizes offered in the categories of
fiction, essay, poetry, and photography were Lawrence
Guerra, a senior philosophy major, and Angel DeJesus,
a senior photojournalism major.
Adam Hlll, editor-in-chief of "Common Wages" and
judge of the work submitted, said of the judging criteria,
"We picked what was the best story using the best style
of writing and containing the best subject matter."
Hi1 l called Guerra's short st.ory "On The Job" "A terrific
moment when two girls look at each other. It is both
moving and interesting."
Hill also said that Guvrra's subject matter concerning
On the lighter side, Hill also noted the criteria for
the field worker's plight was obviously important in the the photography category which Angel DeJesus won
San Joaquin Valley. About the entire episode, Hill said, for "Kiss Me," a picture of a cow with its monstrous
tongue reaching for the camera lens.
"Not a lot is said, but it is very moving."
The work submitted, Hill said, was judged on what
Guerra's portrayal of a field workers's struggle is one
he believes is often overlooked. He said, "It is a they believed was interesting. "We try to look for what
disenfranchised part of society." His inspiration of this is most important [which is] excellence." Hill expressed
fictional account came from his work in the fields, Guerra his feelings toward the photo when he said, "I knew
said. "It isn't factual,"he said, "but a lot of the story was immediately it would be for the cover because it was
eye-catching and humorous." Overall, he believed the
based on some of the things I saw."
Guerra said, "People really aren't conscious of the life content was very interesting.
DeJesus could not be reached for comment.
of a field worker and the many experiences." He said he
"Common Wages" is a yearly publication of any
just wanted to prove a point.
For the future, he alluded to a desire to write more; CSUF students' works which are submitted to the
however, time is a major hindrance for Guerra. "I like English Department for judging. Staff may also submit
to write and enjoy doing i.t once in a while, but I don't poetry, prose, or photography to "Common Wages"
have enough time. There are a number of stories I Next year's editor-in-chief will be Daniel Chacon, an
could do and, if done well, I could help people understand English graduate student who was co-editor of La Voz
de Aztlan in the Spring of 1987.
my message," said Guerra.
Writer Soto autographs work in bookstore
I
1
Krista Lemos
L~ VOZ STAFF WRITER
"I was raked over the coals of poverty
in Fresno," was what Gary Soto said
about how his experiences growing up in
Fresno color his writing.
Soto grew up in an area of south Fresno
that has virtually disappeared. He said
it, too, was "raked over by
redevelopment." The author of twelve
books was on-hand for book-signing at
the Kennel Bookstore May 4.
"I don't live a really exciting life. I
wake up in the morning feeling awful. I
start writing and I feel awful. And then
I complete my thing and I still feel awful. That's it," he said as his autograph
session
came to an
end.
He hastened to
add that he
does feel a
sense of accomplishment, however.
"I
didn't say
that I don't
feel accomplished," Soto said.
In the last eight or nine years, Soto
feels that the level of Chicano artistry
has improved because of three or four
prominent
writers including
Jimmy Santiago-Baca,
Sandra
Cisneros.
Through his
work,
he
hopes to let
other Chicanos see themselves.
Soto said he wants to write more children's books, "My latest book "Baseball
in April" is for children. I write about
childhood a lot because children are very
lush and impressionable."
When asked about the message he
hopes to give through his prose, he said,
"You don't write for a message, you write
so that the subjects of the stories come
alive." It isn't his intent to deliver a specific message, it's through the characters
and the story that a message is trans•
mitted to the people," he explained.
Soto has another book which should
be out in the fall. He said he's also working on another project; he plans to work
on a movie this summer called "The
Magic Tricks."
Cubano dancer makes
Because of the large amount of time he spends on the road performing, Vilaro said he has found
it necessary to carry the most valuable tools he has.
Among the many things Vilaro enjoys about the dance company is interacting
with other people like Kathryn Ross.
Having had a late start in d
Vilaro said, "I wish my pare
track team during high scho
La Voz de Aztlan, California State University, Fresno, May 1990
'big with Ballet Hispanico
Despite late start and
an unsupportive fat her,
Vilaro became a
professional dancer
I
Hector Amezcua
WRITER & PHOTOGRAPHER
After a period of suffering in his
homeland, Cuba, during the 1969
revolution, Eduardo Vilaro immigrated with his family to the United
States in pursuit of a better life.
Vilaro is one of five male dancers in
New York's Ballet Hispanico who
performed at the Student Satellite
Union May 4 and 5. He has had to
leap several obstacles to get to the
position he is now at: Professional
dancer.
Preparing for his performance in
a very hot, compact dressing room,
Vilaro explained what it has taken
to become a professional dancer.
Some of the obstacles he has faced
the auditions for Ballet Hispanico.
However, after a call to the company, with good luck and perseverance, Vilaro was accepted into the
dance troup.
"I called and asked them if I could
take a class, because I was interested in a company that was of
primarily Hispanic origin where I
would feel very much at home."
After graduating from Adelphi
University at Long Island N.Y.,
Alviro was permanently accepted as
part of the company.
Vilaro has many ambitions and
dreams he hopes to someday fulfill.
Among his goals is traveling to
foreign countries for vaned performances. "I would like to perform in
France. Also, I would like to perform in Spanish countries. I would
"I like ,naking people react)
perhaps to sadness or the
dra,na that we are doing. "
' it difficult for Eduardo Vilaro to become a profesional dancer.
Ve encouraged me to take dance classes instead of being on the
L•
include a late start in dancing and
like to go to Cuba."
Dancing has br_ought much satisstrained relations with his father . .
faction to Vilaro. "Dance is the
Among the things Vilaro regrets
from the past is not having an early whole body, it's a total freedom of
expresion." Vilaro enjoys seeing the
start at dancing. He wishes he
reactions of the audience, and
would have started dancing when
talking to them about his performhe was young. This stems from the
ance at the end of the show.
attitude his father had toward
"I like making people react,
performers and because of politics.
"My father is totally against what perhaps to sadness or the drama
that we are doing. It's very interestI do, simply because he is Republiing when someone comes up to you
can and he's a very strong Hispanic
after you've done a performance and
figure. In his eyes, the arts are a
tells you, 'I enjoyed your performleisure, and he would rather be
ance very much because it made me
entertained by someone else rather
feel like this, or it made me think
than by his own children."
Vilaro spoke highly of his mother. like this."'
When he's not rehearsing, Vilaro
He said she raised him and his two
brothers alone, and before coming to relaxes by writing. He said that
the United States, she got her
when he is in New York, he likes to
husband out of jail through the
play ball with his brothers and
black market.
spend time with his mother.
Though he considered medicine as
"Now my mother on the other
a career when he was younger,
hand, she is all for it. She says 'as
long as you're happy."'
Vilaro said now he would not switch
While applying makeup for his
dancing for anything else. He is
performance May 4, Vilaro said that proud about what he does. "All my
he started dancing in high school
brothers are doing very well at
plays and musicals. "I worked hard, whatever area they are, but I am
took classes and tried to get scholar- also doing quite well in my own
ships in certain dance schools."
way." After some thought, Vilaro
Vilaro was inspired by dancing in
said he would like to invite his
movies'like "Flash Dance."
father to one of his performances
While in college, Vilaro missed
when he goes back to New York.
I~*
PAGE 6
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
%
Professional journalist Carrejo's job gro\Vs as ASI
liason to ca:rnpus childcare
group· elects new board Goals
include stabilizing staffs at 3 centers
The California Chicano News Media
Association-Fresno Chapter recently
elected its new executive board.
Comprised of professional Valley-area
journalists, the CCNMA-Fresno Chapter
was established in 1974. It is part of a
six-chapter, state-wide association based
in Los Angeles. Other chapters are located
in San Diego, Orange County, Riverside/
San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Jos
Fresno Bee Reporter Carlos Cordova,
was elected President. Cordova covers the
courts for The Fresno Bee.
KSEE Channel 24 photographer Louie
Valle was elected Professional Vice
President. He covers general assignement
stories for the station.
The post of Eductional Vice President
will be held by Bee reporter Angela
Valdivia. Valdivia covers general
assignment stories for the Bee
Fresno Bee reporter Louie Galvan will
be secretary. Galvan covers the police
stories for the Bee.
Former CCNMA President Felix
Contreras, will hold the position of
treasurer in the new board.
Fresno Bee reporter Pablo Lopez will
hold the at-large post No.1. Lopez covers
general assignment stories at the Madera
Bureau.
At-Large Post No. 2 will be held by
Fresno Bee Reporter Edward R. Jimenez.
Jimenez covers general assignement
stories at the Visalia Bureau.
At-large post No. 3 will be held by
CSUF Outreach Public Affairs Specialist
Tom Uribes. Uribes was Chapter
Representative to the State Board. He is
director of the Minority Journalism
Workshop and advisor and founder of
CCNMA-Fresno's student chapter, the
CSUF Chicano Journalism Students
Association.
An installation dinner to honor the new
board will be held in early June, where
CCNMA State President George Ramos
will officially swear-in the board during
the celebration dinner. Ramos won a
pulitzer prize as a reporter for the Los
Angeles Times.
CCNMA Executive Director Mike
Castro will also attend the dinner. Castro
took a leave of absence as reporter for
The Sacrmento Bee to hold this postion
for a two-year term.
CCNMA headquarters is housed in the
University of Southern California's School
of Journalism.
For more information regarding tickets
to the event or CCNMA, contact Tom
Uribes at 278-2048.
I
for all three. However , one site is
used solely for infants while the 0theris are for the care of toddlers.
JosephM. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Carrejo said there is a one and a
half to two-year waiting list for all
three centers.
Linda Carrejo was appointed by
the ASI as liaison to the three campus children centers. She said her
job is to provide information to the
sentate on the status of the daycare
centers.
Some of the changes Carrejo
wants to see in the coming year inc1ude a dental hygiene program for
the children. She said she would
like to have them brush their teeth
once a day at the center.
Her new title added periodic reports to the senate to her list of duties at the center which she said caters to low income mothers who
would not otherwise be able to attend college without childcare programs like CSUF's.
Carrejo said she would also like
to help stabilize the staff at the centers. She said having staff members
for longer periods of time would
improve the security at the centers
and give the children a sense of stability.
Carrejo explained some of the requirements she and others watch for
when reviewing applications for oncampus child care.
CSUF students interested in having their children in the daycare
program need to begin th e application procedure as soon as possible.
If you have questions about campus
childcare, call 278-2652 Monday
through Friday between 8 a.m. and
2p.m.
"All kids have to be up to date on
immunizations and student-parents
must carry at least 12 units," she
said. There are currently two sites-one on-campus and another off-campus. The requirements are the same
Santan a
e lectrifies
Warnors
Griping poetry
I
Joseph M. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The sheer steel guitar poetry of Santana dominated Warnors Theater April
24. The return ofSantanacommemorated
its 20th anniversary in the public eye.
Santana was born in the Woodstock festival ofl 969 and since then, the group has
been known for its cool Latinjazz style of
music.
The group led by guitarist Carlos Santana evoked a firm presentation to a crowd
of long-time Santana fans and m any
newcomers to his sound. His steel guitar
solos echoed a rich sound throughout the
theater .
Featured in the two hour an d fifteen
minuteconcertwer e"Black MagicWomen"
'°[
,,., and "Oye Como Va!" These tunes were
~ both intensified and tested mth the full
ui'
range of Carlos Santana's steel guitar
fil ability. One song, "Mandela" was per~ formed commemorating Nelson Mandela's
~
visit to the United States.
2 Another performance was done in protest to the political movement to make
English an official language, and it was
appropriately titled, "Let's Make Spanish
the second official language."
Margarita Luna Robles reads her poem "It's about class" during Semana de La
Raza's Noche Floricanto, April 30. Robles will be a part-time instructor this fall.
She will join her husband Juan Felipe Herrera who will be part of the CLS faculty.
FMLN
Continued from page 3
commission documented 2,184 people assassinated, 41 the Fresno Mexican American Political Association
disappeared, and 908 who were arrested and tortured Del Valle.
Chacon said that Chicanos need to become more
in the jails in the capitol city, San Salvador.
politically active in orPena was also arrested on
der to deal effectively
two occasions and tortured
with
the problems facing
both physically and psy.
.
the barrio. "We as Chichologically by the police.
· 75 perd~tifotchildren under five · canos need to know our
The organization ADErights under the law and
MUSA was formed in
January 1988 to address
defend them because no
the effects of the country's
one else is going to do it
social and economic crisis :::t \?//?:· ·,• . '·.- ::::>-· ;:-::/:':"•>::'.<•
for us."
. ..
:-.. :=:<-:::-=::.;:/::. ·.· ::_ ,·
·-: .•. ,::=
on women. The organizaThe problems facing
tion helps women with
Chicano youth in the
services such as locating employment and housing. public school system, farm workers, and the undocuADEMUSA also organizes workers and peasant women mented are problems of negligence and many times
as well as those displaced by the earthquake to become outright abuse by those in power, said Chacon.
politically active in the issues facing the whole society.
The second speaker was Rick Chacon, president of
See FMLNt page 8
.
She went on to state that, "60 percent of the urban
population and 20 percent of the rural population in El
Salvador cannot sustain a decent standard ofliving."
According to Pefia, the problems with health care are
also very critical. "75 percent .o f children under five
years old show signs of malnutrition and 427 children
die every week as a result."
The only pediatric hospital, she said, was devastated
during the 1986 earthquake and was never rebuilt.
The problem with human rights abuses, she said is
the most dramatic problem facing El Salvador. She
said that in the period between November 1989 and
February 1990 alone, the country's human rights
.
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=~:-=::
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HERRERA
Continued from page 2
f
,
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~
I
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S:
Juan Felipe Herrera
Barbara.
From 1972 to 1975, he went back to Logan Heights to
work in the Chicano community at a cultural center.
There he helped develop theaters, poetry organizations
and music groups about La Raza.
In 1970-1973, he helped with the foundation of
Chicano Park in San Diego. He was specifically
responsible for placing murals around the park with
the help of local Chicano artists.
He said, "This was an artistic and spritual rebirth for
the Chicano. A movement from oppression and
segregation to the glorification of the Chicano. It also
gave the Chicano community something tangible,
something that we owned."
In 1977, he went back to school at Stanford University.
In 1982, he obtained his Masters of Arts in Social
Anthropology. He will be receiving his Ph.D. soon in
the same field.
Herrer~ along with his teaching experience at the
University of Iowa, has taught at Stanford University,
New College in San Francisco, and De Anza Community
College in Sunnyvale.
He has also lectured on Chicano studies at UC
Berkeley and the University of Texas, Austin, as well
as on the East Coast.
Herrera has gained national recognition for his work .
He received awards from the National End!:. .wment of
Arts in 1980 and 1985. "I only mention this to draw
attention t.o other Chicanos who haven't been recognized
and are as deserving of these awards as I was then.
"I am not the only Chicano writer in the U.S.," he said
while remembering the time he received his first award.
"I was all dressed up, with no other Chicano faces to
look at. I was nervous, but I was proud. When a man of
the white persuasion walked up t.o me and asked me
what nation I was from? It.old him that I was from th(<
nation of California.
"I have two goals, and with the help of the CLS
faculty and the voices of the Chicano students, I would
like to start a [master's in fine arts] program here.
Nationwide, there are 328 MFA programs and less thar
5 percent of those deal with Chicano studies.
He said that for the last two decades, "the Chicano
writer has gone underground, but the '90s will bring
out Chicano artists publicly. The Chicano will issue a
new challenge to society with our unique and creative
style of writing. We will be at the national and
international centers ofliterature circles.
"Chicanos will no longer be held down, pushed back,
or stiffied. The Chicano voices will be heard around the
world and no longer just around the room," Herrera
said.
Herrera said his plans as CSUF professor include
developing a writing workshop here.
Education students form. group
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Last September, six CSUF students set out on the
long road to forming a new organization. March 8
marked the end of their six month trek.
After hours of preparation, the first meeting of the
Chicano-Latino Education Student Association was
supported by wide student interest. Nineteen students
attended the introductory meeting.
Founders of the organization, Ralph Avitia, Amelia
Vasquez, Porfirio Lopez, Daniel Salinas, and Eddie
Perez, said they saw a need for an organization which
concentrated on students interested in pursuing
educational careers.
Vasquez said she thought the idea of the group was
good because she was lost when she first came to CSUF.
She and the others expressed a desire for C.L.E.S.A. to
be an avenue of support, guiding student.s in their
academic progress.
Perez said the main purpose of C.L.E.S.A. is to "guide
students" in the process toward graduation.
The three original objectives, said Salinas, are to
teach survival skills and to provide career counseling
and group support. Workshops, speakers, study teams,
Chicano literature
gets exposure
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
"Our voices have not been heard," said Mark
Anthony Alvidrez, a senior English major and
a member of the new Chicano Writers and
Artists Association.
CWAA is one of the newest Chicano
organization on campus and the only one of its
kind. Andres Montoya, a junior history major
who co-founded CWAA with Alvidrez, Dan
Chacon and Victor Canales said, "When we
started this group, our intension was to provide
an outlet for Chicano artistic expression.
"There are a lot of Chicano artists out there
and they don't have an avenue to express
themselves. Because they are Chicanos they
ai:,e usually locked out of the mainstream
literature and art in this country."
Chacon, a graduate English major, said,
"Being Chicano, our literature is unique and
because of that uniqueness, it is not always
accepted by the conventional literary circles.
So when we started CWAA, we just wanted to
give ourselves a forum where we can show each
other our work and get it out to the people."
Because of the mixed use oflanguage and its
subject matter, Chicano literature has not been
fully accepted as true literature.
Chacon said, "There's a certain amount of
conservatism in traditional literature that
doesn't like to accept things that are new, things
that are different. We're saying we don't care,
we're going to do it anyway. And if we're not
accepted by literary critics, that's okay because
we're bringing ours directly to the people.
"We need to bring this literature out to the
people. Let the people evaluate it, let the people
reject it, let the people accept it," Chacon said.
Guerilla poetry is a technique CWAA has
used this semester to do exactly that. They
have held two poetry readings infront of the
bookstore. The last reading was held April 25.
Some 30 people sat on the steps of the
bookstore and listened to poems from members
of CWAA as well as that of non-members.
"Our concept of guerilla poetry, of going out
and taking it to the people has worked great
for us this semester," said Chacon. Alvidrez
added that the group having-regular readings
was helping him be more consistent in his
writing.
"I've always been writing short stories and
poems but this has helped me to be more
consistent. The last reading was a weak ago so
know I have to produce more. I have to come
up with some new material," Alvidrez said.
CWAA also held a poetry reading on April
18 as its first official event, where Luis Omar
Salinas, considered by many to be the godfather
of Chicano poetry, Leonard Adame, an
instructor at Fresno City College, and Pedro
Ramirez, a former CSUF student read their
poetry.
As for the future, Chacon said they will
continue their style of guerilla poetry. CWAA
also plans on putting together a play next year
and bringing theater to the people as well.
CWAA will also hold workshops where they
will bring professional Chicano writers to read
students' work and possibly work with them.
Another of their goals is to start chapters at
the high school and junior college levels.
"You'll be surprised how many Chicanos are
writing on the the high school and junior
college levels," Chacon said.
"Chicanos are always writing. Chicanos have
a lot to contribute... the next literary movment
that comes out of American literature is going
to be Chicano Literature," Chaoon said.
and general information are just a few of the planned
activities.
The organization is very open to change and student
input, said Perez. "We don't want to leave any needs
untended to."
Cecilia Maciel, a psychology major, said at the first
meeting. "[C.L.E.S.A.] seems to provide a good support
system for anyone involved in education or anyone with
similar problems within the academic system," she said.
Officers have not been elected, though a constitution
and by-laws have been drawn and adopted. Dr. Hisauro
Garza, a faculty member in the Chicano-Latino Studies
Program is the group's advisor.
I WILL. I WILL.
Trees that line the asphalt path
are blooming purple flowers .
They smell sweet, like bathroom tissue,
perfume, the breath of the woman I love.
Soon the flowers will sway in the wind,
dropping their peddles, they will sail
to the ground, and dot the path.
I will walk between the trees
the peddles will fall against my body
like confetti from God-as if he were
celebrating my arrival
saying, See? See?
See how important you are?"
Sunlight will leak through the branches
I will be like a movie star
a dancer in the spotlight
I will extend my arm s
twirl on my roes
dance like David danced.
I don't care who sees me and I will ask many to join me.
Sweat will squirm down my body
pedals will stick to my face
I will be hot and cold
naked and clothed
in love and not in love
with friends and alone
Indian and European
in all places at one time
dancing on my grandmother's cement porch
as red lights race across the treetops
and my handcuffed uncle is pushed head-first into the backseat,
dancing on the dark river bank with La Llorona
and we will swim together in the nude,
dancing on the balcony of my apartment
and The Malaysian girls across the path will think rm nuts,
on the too fresh grave of my mother
and she will rise from the dead and dance with me too.
In The anteroom I will dance on The oak floor;
and God, pleased with me, will let me in.
by Daniel Chacon
I
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
PAGES
martes, 5/8
Chicano Commencement Committee will
meet today from 5 to 7 p.m. in JAd, Room 203.
Graduation is near! Come help with final preparations.
miercoles. 5/9
iliillliililililill1• - - - - - - - - - - ~~
The HBSA will hold a General Meeting at 6
pm in the Peters Building. Check bulletin board
for room number.
jueves, 5/24
••••••-----------
~!t!:~~~s~::!~!~: :a~:~fi!~t
0
Final touc}Jes to ~De.$tittos'
-~·-. · ._; __•~ - {-:·~;:-~-~-;..··~---_
MAY, 1990
\~: -~ ,,( . _·:-,)•,: ·:.-/, ·_. ·
<rJSA:'nx_~~s'~d~y~tnp.lll._in Jt'd;;:~ nf2.~3;, Ceremony in Upstairs Cafeteria 200 at 7 p.m.
'Fbe~o~tlwj]lp~t ,t}i~p~aJt1:>µcb~S;~JilA~si8~zine ~
,-(~~~'iy~~~~J»!R~~~~~~t $tu~~~-.i~9-' f~A1i}i~s ~~8
icano:~onnn.encemen\. ,~·" ',
,_, ~.;-r v~~Grads
>
Poets in front of bookstore
practice for big day
"'.~~IC(Y'.<u,
~;;'//\, '!f, :~cano Commencement graduates prac-
CWAA, Chicano Writers and Artists
tion will have a poetry reading at 8 p.m. ·
of the bookstore
-""-""""~~--'!""'~..
--,-;\"'
·":"
'
hicano Graduation! Practice will be held
. at theAmphitrreatre. For more
n, call 278-2048.
jueves, 5/10
5/26
MEChA will hold a general meeting
in the USU. Check glass case at south e
for room number.
aduacion Chicana tonight
Annual Chicano Commencement
onies in the amphitheater. Entertaingins at5:45p.m. withCSUF'sDanzantes
Exploring Southeast Asian li ·
an.
May 10-12: Conference: ''BuildingUm
Through Diversity" Exploring the Southeas
Asian Culture, Dispute Mediation at the Airport
Picadil1y Inn, 2 p.m.
lunes, 5/14
mingo, 5/27
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will meet today at 5 p.m. in San Ramon
3 Room 131.
Latin Jazz Band ESP along with Tito
Puente will perform at the courthouse Park
this afternoon.
Latino Jazz band tonight
Latin Jazz Band ESP, willl perform in
the Pit tonight at 8 p.m.
Since then, performance standards
have been set and the new clerk will
have to work within their confines.
Continued from page 1
Sanchez said her master's degree in
public administration and her "handson" experience would be the tools she
would use to
county elections. All courts, judges, and manage the
attorneys rely on the office to file elections
documents to get into court on time in office and the
clerk's office.
order to try cases.
"I believe I
Sanchez said the public needs someone
an
in that position who they feel they can am
trust to do a good job managing the office. extremely
The current race for Fresno County effective
Clerk has six candidates including manager,
Sanchez. Others who are running for the problem
position include Susan B. Anderson, a solver, and
deputy district attorney; George Brown, motivator,"
son of former County Clerk Les Brown; s a i d
Paul Gookins, a medical practices Sanchez.
consultant; Dale Doig, former Fresno She believes
Mayor; and Albert G. Stewart.
she is the
Current County Clerk Galen Larson m o s t
has been the target of numerous qualified for
criticisms which could put his successor the position
in a difficult position. Lar:.:::on has been because she has chosen administration
cited by the Grand Jury for mismanaging as her profession and career.
the office and the Fresno County Bar
Since 1984, Sanchez has been the
Association has complained about delays Director of Children and Family
in getting documents.
Programs at the Fresno County Economic
CLERK
ESP with Tito Puente
jueves, 5/17
Opportunities Commissidn where she
supervises 300 employees and oversees a
$13 million annual budget.
"I derive a great deal of not only job
satisfaction but personal satisfaction serving the public. I believe the public
'
has
a
right to
demand
ooinean
I believe the public
___ :· ·: h as a.: right to ·
d·ema-nd.
excelle_n ·c e ..-~an.d ::
fh~!i~;,i~~,!, l,atWaYS
·- str:iv.e:?for::: : ;t::
EYE ONASI
Continued from page 2
Althletics has been funded $300,000. "Administrators
are not looking at the proposals based on merit. It's
based on the fact they've been funded for the last few
years."
The final approval for clubs and organizations and
their allocations came through. However, not without
protest. School ofNatural Sciences Senator Frank Aviles
suggested taking $25 out of each club that was given at
least $1,000. This would have given theSoutheastAsi~,
student organization more for the book they're publishing,
"Passages."
The $25 request was voted out. Senator Montoya
thanked the senate for at least deliberating and discussing
this proposal.
The Majorie Mason center was given $1,200 from the
Bulldog Republicans and the Campus Childrens Center
were approved $2,284 of unallocated funds.
that's
what I
always
strive
for."
Being
the only
Latina
running
f o r
county
clerk is
also very
signifrant
to the
race,
Sanchez said.
She thinks it will
encourage many Latinos who do not vote
to come out and vote. She believes there
is a lot of voter apathy, and she wants to
try to correct that.
"I would serve as a role model not only
for the Latino community, but for women
and for other minorities," she said.
Sanchez's campaign has included going
door to door. She said she this has been
successful thanks to many volunteers.
Also on the ballot J une 5 will be the
Bar Association's attempt to keep politics
out of the clerk's office. If passed, the
amendment will mandate that the office
be fi11ed by appointment instead of by
election.
The amendment would also ensure that
the winner of the race only serve one 4year term. Then she or he will have to be
a candidate for appointment. A few years
ago the same amendment failed to pass.
Sanchez is opposed to the amendment.
"I am of the strong opinion that the person
who runs our elections should be elected
by the voters and removed by [them]."
She did, however, say she would apply
for the appointment and believes she is
qualified to be selected.
Sanchez is a third generation Fresno
County resident who was born in Sanger.
She attended Edison High School. After
marriage and two daughters, she, as a
working single mother, earned her degree
atCSUF.
-See center
Volume XXI, Number IV
Poet
Herrera
new prof
California State University, Fresno
ESP jams in the Pit
I
Matthew Polanco
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Poet, artist and educator Juan Felipe
Herrera will join the faculty in the
Chicano and Latin American Studies
Program this fall.
Herrera is an English professor at the
University of Iowa.
Born in nearby Fowler, Herrera said,
"it is another rebirth for me to be coming
back to the Vallev where I was born."
"I am very excited about teaching here
at Fresno State. I like seeing so much
energy in the Raza here." He will be
teaching CLS 5 and 116 in the fall, and
in the sprmg, he will add a Chicano
literature course to the program.
As a child, Herrera and his family did
fannwork up and down California. When
he was eight, his family moved to San
Diego, in the colonia of Logan Heights.
Later he moved to San Francisco's
Mission District. Herrera spent his
childhood between San Francisco and San
Diego.
In 1967, with an Educational
Oportunity Program grant, he attended
UCLA. Herrera said he was one of 60
Chicanos on campus at that time.
He was active in the United Mexican
American Students (UMAS) which later
became Movimiento Estuclientil Chicano
de Aztlan (MEChA).
In 1969, he was involved with the
development of MEChA at UC Santa
Hector AmezCWIISPECIAL TO I.A VOZ
Mike Gonzales has played the base for 15 years. He said he has played with many bands and is
currently with ESP, a Latin jazz band that performed in the Pit May 3 as part of the Semana de la
Raza festivities.
SeeHERRERA, page7
San chez aims to Huerta calls for
influence County student support
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Virginia Sanchez
"As a Latina, I would be able to provide a role
model for the community. We've never had
anyone Latino on the county level and certainly
not a female," said Virginia Sanchez about her
running for Fresno County Clerk.
Sanchez said she has always been involved in
community activities, and she wanted to take
some time off for herself. "But I decided to run
for county clerk. I have to do this one more
thing. I could do things on the county-wide level.
I could be influential. I could do a lot of things
for kids, and I could promote the importance of
voting and motivate the puplic," she said.
The clerk's office is a repository for Fresno
County documents. It oversees the entire clerk's
office and court documents that go to the superior
courts and the elections office which.handles all
See CLERK, page 8
I
without a brain," said Huerta, "Pesticides
are the cause of this. But the state is
not doing anything."
She said that there have been 2,100
incidents of pesticide poisonings, and
The audience came to be informed and three deaths as a result. But since most
that's exactly what happened. Dolores farm workers are afraid of getting fired
Huerta, Vice President and co-founder or are undocumented, many of the
of the United Farm Workers of America incidents of cancer go unreported.
Though farmers claim the pesticides
AFL-CIO had a lot of information
regarding pesticide dangers to give to are washed off before being sold in a
her audience May 2 in the Satellite market place, pesticides don't wash off
easily, she said.
Student Union.
"A woman in Austin, Texas, who
She explained that the farm worker,
along with being amongst the lowest crossed a picket line at a local
paid workers in the United States, is supermarket became violently ill after
ingesting grapes," said Huerta.
also the most expendable.
"After going to her doctor, she found
Huerta spoke of incidents of children
born to farm workers with birth defects out that a high amount of sulfites on the
the union believes were caused by grapes had caused her an allergic
reaction. She came back to the store that
pesticides.
"One family had a child who was born
See HUERTA, pages
without eyes and another was born
Sylvia Castro
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
ii.
• ~p~~~G~E:.i2;.. _ _ _ _..;LA;.;.V;.;O;..;Z;.D;.;E.;.A;;Z;.;T..1..A_N_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _c_s_u_,_F_R_E_sN_o_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _M_A_Y_,1_9_9_0
.,
~}}
NuESTRA OPINION
OUR OPINION
Good ol' boys mad at La Voz ... So what?
editor that La Voz was, "worthy of no more
then wrapping fish or lining bird cages."
The statistics Wells cited, if they are
correct,areimpressive.
Those facts and figures were certainly
enough to outrage Wells. The nerve of
those damn "super radicals" in the ASL
How dare they increase the Chicano Youth
Conference budget by 181 percent and the
African American student recruitment by
421 percent? That might actually aid in
getting more people ofcolor to come to this
campus. We certainly can't have that.
Their increased presence could upset the
balance of things at good ol' Fresno Stat.e.
Wells also wrote in his letter that
cultural and other such clubs and
organizations had their budgets increased
while an established organization like the
Interfraternity Council/Panhellinic,
"representing students from all walks of
life had funds slashed from their budgets."
Of course, this comes from a guy whose
idea of a cultural event is swigging a
Corona and singing a few bars of "La
Bamba"
with
brother
Biff.
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
Two weeks ago our old friend, Ted
Hallisey exercised his so-called "media
skills" in his Collegian column and
attacked La Voz forincom pet.ent reporting.
Hallisey also said we were biased and
that student fees should not be used for
such things as this supplement to the
Daily Collegian. As I wrot.e in my letter to
the CoUegian editor, 18 percent of the
CSUF student body is Chicano and they
have a right to be heard.
People like Hallisey cannot understand
"Balalalalabamba..."
our views. They have never been, nor will
they ever be in our position.
Includinghis opposition ofChicano and
African American advancement in our
editorials offended him so much that he
accused us of being biased in our
presentation ofthe news. Hallisey's vision
must have been so blurred by frustration
that he confused our Eye on ASI editorials
with news in the rest of La Voz.
The fact that Hallisey did oppose such
things as capital expenditures for a
Chicano and Latin American/African
American studies resourse cent.er and the
fact that he blatantly opposed the
application ofthe first openly gay senator
is of importance to our readers.
Hallisey argues that we should at least
ask a US/Reality senator for her or his
opinion on certain matt.ers. What for?
Their actions speak louder then their
bullshit rhetoric about serving the needs
of"every" student, without discrimination.
(The fact that our own university
president hasn't been able to take
significant action against the problem of
low numbers of people of color at CSUF
has perturbed him so much that he is
considering resigning and returning to
teaching and doing research. In his own
Thesecomfortablerich boys are getting
words, "I would leave this all tomorrow to
scared. They have always been in control·
be a Broadway si:tger.")
and now they can see that Chicanos as
It's interestinghow frat boys, like Wells,
well as African Americans are gaining
have traditionaly monopolized student
power on this campus. And when people of
money. After all some of the fraternities
color have papers like La Voz and Uhuru
have their tokenAfricanAmerican or their
in which to voice their opinions, it makes
token "Hispanic" so they can consider that
the job of maintaining a "good ol' boy"
makeup representative of the entire
network even more difficult.
student body. And now that the ASI is
This was made evident by yet another
really trying to represent all students by
attack on La Voz. In the May 3 issue ofthe
first evening the score, they start crying
Daily Collegian, Ron Wells wrote to the
about the inequalities and injustices.
EDITOR APPLICATIONS DUE
J,.sllo<ikatASJJ>reside,#Karen Cogley
and,: t/i.e_val9es·~~ .h9s.fqy,g!jtfor,·p,:e
imptjr.tance'.;'. of]{ir.: : tJOi~.#isfj,/liever<be
Applications for the Fall 1990
La Voz de Aztldn editor-inchief position are available in
the Daily Collegian office
located in the Keats Campus
Building. All applicants
must submit three letters of
reference and a statement of
proposed editorial policy.
The deadline to submit
applications is May 9.
NosoTRos .•• LA Voz
EYE ON
ASI
JOSEPH M. TORRES
DE
Azn.AN
Editor in Chief- Chris Heredia
Assistant Editor-Eloy Garcia
Copy Editor-Celeste Saldivar
Graphics Editor -Oscar G. Ramirez
Calendario Editor-Marta Villasenor
Staff Artist-Ralph Avitia
Staff Writers-Sylvia Castro, Michaela
Diez-Lopez, Selene Flores, Sostenes
Infante Jr., Krista Lemos, Rosemary
Lopez, Sandra D. Ortiz, Matthew
Polanco, Al Robles, Jill Soltero, Sara
Soria, Joseph M. Torres.
Photographers - Laura Hernandez,
Jose Luis Gil, Angel De Jesus.
• Flag designed by Ralph Avitia •
The La Voz staff would like to thank
Eric Burney, Terry Pierson, and Lisa
McKinney of The Daily Collegian Staff.
La Voz ~ Aztllm Is published monthly by the Aaao·
elated Students, Inc. of Caltfomta State University,
Fresno. The newspaper office Is located tn the Kuta
campus Building. Fresno, Calif., 93740-0042. The
opinions published on thts page are not necessarily
those of the Associated Students, Inc., 11w DalJy
~tan or La VozDeAztlanand tta staft Umt#}ed
editorials are the majority optnton of the paper'• edl·
torial board.
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
Pella
brings
Salvadoran
women's
message
I
Al Robles
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The people of the United States must
become more aware of the problems in
El Salvador regarding human rightsespecially the conditions facing womenand the work done by Salvadorans to
end the war in their country and to begin
rebuilding a devastated economy.
This was the message of Marina
Judith Pena, a representative of the
Association of Salvadoran Women
(ADEMUSA). She spoke at a press
conference in the University Student
Union as part of the May Day portion of
MEChA's Semana De La Raza program.
May Day is commemorated every May 1
as International Workers Day.
That afternoon she spoke to the
students in the Free Speach Area about
the situation in her home country. She
described the conditions in El Salvador
brought on by 10 years of civil war and
the resulting economic crisis.
"The poor destribution of wealth and
military repression waged by the
wealthy against the majority of the
people has resulted in the armed conflict
which began in 1980."
Pena cited economic underdevelopment and scarcity of available
resources in her country as a historical
condition which has been made worse by
the war.
See FMLN, page 6
CSU,FRESNO
PAGE3
HUERTA
Continued from page 1
same day and we had a press conference.
She was saying she was sorry for not
having paid attention to the picket line."
The picket line was set up to boycott
the grapes sold at that particular
supermarket. The UFW is calling for
people to boycott grapes once again, she
said.
Even when something is labeled as
"organic" such as in "organic grapes,"
that doesn't mean the grapes are
pesticide-free. This means they are
tagged below tolerance level, said
Huerta. This is still a high level. "Last
year, of the 400 million pounds of grapes
that were tested, guess how many were
tested? Only 23 pounds of grapes were
tested," said Huerta.
"It will be 2025 before all the pesticides
are tested," Huerta said. "There are so
many we can't catch up . Only 17
pesticides are tested per year." But the
year 2025 will have been 36 years too
late for Jose Carvello Campos Martinez,
25, of Kern County.
Huerta said Martinez had been out
spraying pesticides on a ranch at about
10 a.m. A while later he called his
brother and complained of nausea. He
said he needed to go to the hospital. His
brother borrowed his friend's car, drove
to Martinez' house to find him on the
floor in convulsions and foaming at the
mouth. He was taken to the hospital but
by 3:30 p.m. he had died.
The coroner's report said that 400
milligrams of a deadly pesticide had been
in his system---0nly 23 milligrams were
fatal. The coroner reported that Martinez
must have ingested the pesticide and
listed his death as a suicide.
Huerta said that Martinez had an 18year-olp. wife and a baby boy. This is not
the profile of a suicide victim.
She said the responsibility to change
this situation is in everyone's hands. "We
cannot sit back and wait for someone to
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta
change thing for us. It will never
happen.," she said.
She cited several cases µi which the
UFW believes pesticides to be the culprit
of cancer clusters in small towns such
as McFarland and Earlimart.
In McFarland she said nine children
have died of cancer in the last year.
That's 400 percent above the average,
she said.
''When labor laws went into effect in
1934, farm workers were excluded
because of racism. Most of them were
black and brown farm workers and no
one was really watching their interests,"
she said.
"The government does everything it
can to help people who have a lot of
money."
About 400 people attended Huerta's
40-minute speech as part of Semana de
la Raza's week-long activities at CSUF.
Latinos awarded for fiction and photography
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Latino accomplishments abounded in the Spring 1990
issue of "Common Wages." The book is compiled and
distributed by the English Department. Two of the
winners of the $100 prizes offered in the categories of
fiction, essay, poetry, and photography were Lawrence
Guerra, a senior philosophy major, and Angel DeJesus,
a senior photojournalism major.
Adam Hlll, editor-in-chief of "Common Wages" and
judge of the work submitted, said of the judging criteria,
"We picked what was the best story using the best style
of writing and containing the best subject matter."
Hi1 l called Guerra's short st.ory "On The Job" "A terrific
moment when two girls look at each other. It is both
moving and interesting."
Hill also said that Guvrra's subject matter concerning
On the lighter side, Hill also noted the criteria for
the field worker's plight was obviously important in the the photography category which Angel DeJesus won
San Joaquin Valley. About the entire episode, Hill said, for "Kiss Me," a picture of a cow with its monstrous
tongue reaching for the camera lens.
"Not a lot is said, but it is very moving."
The work submitted, Hill said, was judged on what
Guerra's portrayal of a field workers's struggle is one
he believes is often overlooked. He said, "It is a they believed was interesting. "We try to look for what
disenfranchised part of society." His inspiration of this is most important [which is] excellence." Hill expressed
fictional account came from his work in the fields, Guerra his feelings toward the photo when he said, "I knew
said. "It isn't factual,"he said, "but a lot of the story was immediately it would be for the cover because it was
eye-catching and humorous." Overall, he believed the
based on some of the things I saw."
Guerra said, "People really aren't conscious of the life content was very interesting.
DeJesus could not be reached for comment.
of a field worker and the many experiences." He said he
"Common Wages" is a yearly publication of any
just wanted to prove a point.
For the future, he alluded to a desire to write more; CSUF students' works which are submitted to the
however, time is a major hindrance for Guerra. "I like English Department for judging. Staff may also submit
to write and enjoy doing i.t once in a while, but I don't poetry, prose, or photography to "Common Wages"
have enough time. There are a number of stories I Next year's editor-in-chief will be Daniel Chacon, an
could do and, if done well, I could help people understand English graduate student who was co-editor of La Voz
de Aztlan in the Spring of 1987.
my message," said Guerra.
Writer Soto autographs work in bookstore
I
1
Krista Lemos
L~ VOZ STAFF WRITER
"I was raked over the coals of poverty
in Fresno," was what Gary Soto said
about how his experiences growing up in
Fresno color his writing.
Soto grew up in an area of south Fresno
that has virtually disappeared. He said
it, too, was "raked over by
redevelopment." The author of twelve
books was on-hand for book-signing at
the Kennel Bookstore May 4.
"I don't live a really exciting life. I
wake up in the morning feeling awful. I
start writing and I feel awful. And then
I complete my thing and I still feel awful. That's it," he said as his autograph
session
came to an
end.
He hastened to
add that he
does feel a
sense of accomplishment, however.
"I
didn't say
that I don't
feel accomplished," Soto said.
In the last eight or nine years, Soto
feels that the level of Chicano artistry
has improved because of three or four
prominent
writers including
Jimmy Santiago-Baca,
Sandra
Cisneros.
Through his
work,
he
hopes to let
other Chicanos see themselves.
Soto said he wants to write more children's books, "My latest book "Baseball
in April" is for children. I write about
childhood a lot because children are very
lush and impressionable."
When asked about the message he
hopes to give through his prose, he said,
"You don't write for a message, you write
so that the subjects of the stories come
alive." It isn't his intent to deliver a specific message, it's through the characters
and the story that a message is trans•
mitted to the people," he explained.
Soto has another book which should
be out in the fall. He said he's also working on another project; he plans to work
on a movie this summer called "The
Magic Tricks."
Cubano dancer makes
Because of the large amount of time he spends on the road performing, Vilaro said he has found
it necessary to carry the most valuable tools he has.
Among the many things Vilaro enjoys about the dance company is interacting
with other people like Kathryn Ross.
Having had a late start in d
Vilaro said, "I wish my pare
track team during high scho
La Voz de Aztlan, California State University, Fresno, May 1990
'big with Ballet Hispanico
Despite late start and
an unsupportive fat her,
Vilaro became a
professional dancer
I
Hector Amezcua
WRITER & PHOTOGRAPHER
After a period of suffering in his
homeland, Cuba, during the 1969
revolution, Eduardo Vilaro immigrated with his family to the United
States in pursuit of a better life.
Vilaro is one of five male dancers in
New York's Ballet Hispanico who
performed at the Student Satellite
Union May 4 and 5. He has had to
leap several obstacles to get to the
position he is now at: Professional
dancer.
Preparing for his performance in
a very hot, compact dressing room,
Vilaro explained what it has taken
to become a professional dancer.
Some of the obstacles he has faced
the auditions for Ballet Hispanico.
However, after a call to the company, with good luck and perseverance, Vilaro was accepted into the
dance troup.
"I called and asked them if I could
take a class, because I was interested in a company that was of
primarily Hispanic origin where I
would feel very much at home."
After graduating from Adelphi
University at Long Island N.Y.,
Alviro was permanently accepted as
part of the company.
Vilaro has many ambitions and
dreams he hopes to someday fulfill.
Among his goals is traveling to
foreign countries for vaned performances. "I would like to perform in
France. Also, I would like to perform in Spanish countries. I would
"I like ,naking people react)
perhaps to sadness or the
dra,na that we are doing. "
' it difficult for Eduardo Vilaro to become a profesional dancer.
Ve encouraged me to take dance classes instead of being on the
L•
include a late start in dancing and
like to go to Cuba."
Dancing has br_ought much satisstrained relations with his father . .
faction to Vilaro. "Dance is the
Among the things Vilaro regrets
from the past is not having an early whole body, it's a total freedom of
expresion." Vilaro enjoys seeing the
start at dancing. He wishes he
reactions of the audience, and
would have started dancing when
talking to them about his performhe was young. This stems from the
ance at the end of the show.
attitude his father had toward
"I like making people react,
performers and because of politics.
"My father is totally against what perhaps to sadness or the drama
that we are doing. It's very interestI do, simply because he is Republiing when someone comes up to you
can and he's a very strong Hispanic
after you've done a performance and
figure. In his eyes, the arts are a
tells you, 'I enjoyed your performleisure, and he would rather be
ance very much because it made me
entertained by someone else rather
feel like this, or it made me think
than by his own children."
Vilaro spoke highly of his mother. like this."'
When he's not rehearsing, Vilaro
He said she raised him and his two
brothers alone, and before coming to relaxes by writing. He said that
the United States, she got her
when he is in New York, he likes to
husband out of jail through the
play ball with his brothers and
black market.
spend time with his mother.
Though he considered medicine as
"Now my mother on the other
a career when he was younger,
hand, she is all for it. She says 'as
long as you're happy."'
Vilaro said now he would not switch
While applying makeup for his
dancing for anything else. He is
performance May 4, Vilaro said that proud about what he does. "All my
he started dancing in high school
brothers are doing very well at
plays and musicals. "I worked hard, whatever area they are, but I am
took classes and tried to get scholar- also doing quite well in my own
ships in certain dance schools."
way." After some thought, Vilaro
Vilaro was inspired by dancing in
said he would like to invite his
movies'like "Flash Dance."
father to one of his performances
While in college, Vilaro missed
when he goes back to New York.
I~*
PAGE 6
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
%
Professional journalist Carrejo's job gro\Vs as ASI
liason to ca:rnpus childcare
group· elects new board Goals
include stabilizing staffs at 3 centers
The California Chicano News Media
Association-Fresno Chapter recently
elected its new executive board.
Comprised of professional Valley-area
journalists, the CCNMA-Fresno Chapter
was established in 1974. It is part of a
six-chapter, state-wide association based
in Los Angeles. Other chapters are located
in San Diego, Orange County, Riverside/
San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Jos
Fresno Bee Reporter Carlos Cordova,
was elected President. Cordova covers the
courts for The Fresno Bee.
KSEE Channel 24 photographer Louie
Valle was elected Professional Vice
President. He covers general assignement
stories for the station.
The post of Eductional Vice President
will be held by Bee reporter Angela
Valdivia. Valdivia covers general
assignment stories for the Bee
Fresno Bee reporter Louie Galvan will
be secretary. Galvan covers the police
stories for the Bee.
Former CCNMA President Felix
Contreras, will hold the position of
treasurer in the new board.
Fresno Bee reporter Pablo Lopez will
hold the at-large post No.1. Lopez covers
general assignment stories at the Madera
Bureau.
At-Large Post No. 2 will be held by
Fresno Bee Reporter Edward R. Jimenez.
Jimenez covers general assignement
stories at the Visalia Bureau.
At-large post No. 3 will be held by
CSUF Outreach Public Affairs Specialist
Tom Uribes. Uribes was Chapter
Representative to the State Board. He is
director of the Minority Journalism
Workshop and advisor and founder of
CCNMA-Fresno's student chapter, the
CSUF Chicano Journalism Students
Association.
An installation dinner to honor the new
board will be held in early June, where
CCNMA State President George Ramos
will officially swear-in the board during
the celebration dinner. Ramos won a
pulitzer prize as a reporter for the Los
Angeles Times.
CCNMA Executive Director Mike
Castro will also attend the dinner. Castro
took a leave of absence as reporter for
The Sacrmento Bee to hold this postion
for a two-year term.
CCNMA headquarters is housed in the
University of Southern California's School
of Journalism.
For more information regarding tickets
to the event or CCNMA, contact Tom
Uribes at 278-2048.
I
for all three. However , one site is
used solely for infants while the 0theris are for the care of toddlers.
JosephM. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Carrejo said there is a one and a
half to two-year waiting list for all
three centers.
Linda Carrejo was appointed by
the ASI as liaison to the three campus children centers. She said her
job is to provide information to the
sentate on the status of the daycare
centers.
Some of the changes Carrejo
wants to see in the coming year inc1ude a dental hygiene program for
the children. She said she would
like to have them brush their teeth
once a day at the center.
Her new title added periodic reports to the senate to her list of duties at the center which she said caters to low income mothers who
would not otherwise be able to attend college without childcare programs like CSUF's.
Carrejo said she would also like
to help stabilize the staff at the centers. She said having staff members
for longer periods of time would
improve the security at the centers
and give the children a sense of stability.
Carrejo explained some of the requirements she and others watch for
when reviewing applications for oncampus child care.
CSUF students interested in having their children in the daycare
program need to begin th e application procedure as soon as possible.
If you have questions about campus
childcare, call 278-2652 Monday
through Friday between 8 a.m. and
2p.m.
"All kids have to be up to date on
immunizations and student-parents
must carry at least 12 units," she
said. There are currently two sites-one on-campus and another off-campus. The requirements are the same
Santan a
e lectrifies
Warnors
Griping poetry
I
Joseph M. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The sheer steel guitar poetry of Santana dominated Warnors Theater April
24. The return ofSantanacommemorated
its 20th anniversary in the public eye.
Santana was born in the Woodstock festival ofl 969 and since then, the group has
been known for its cool Latinjazz style of
music.
The group led by guitarist Carlos Santana evoked a firm presentation to a crowd
of long-time Santana fans and m any
newcomers to his sound. His steel guitar
solos echoed a rich sound throughout the
theater .
Featured in the two hour an d fifteen
minuteconcertwer e"Black MagicWomen"
'°[
,,., and "Oye Como Va!" These tunes were
~ both intensified and tested mth the full
ui'
range of Carlos Santana's steel guitar
fil ability. One song, "Mandela" was per~ formed commemorating Nelson Mandela's
~
visit to the United States.
2 Another performance was done in protest to the political movement to make
English an official language, and it was
appropriately titled, "Let's Make Spanish
the second official language."
Margarita Luna Robles reads her poem "It's about class" during Semana de La
Raza's Noche Floricanto, April 30. Robles will be a part-time instructor this fall.
She will join her husband Juan Felipe Herrera who will be part of the CLS faculty.
FMLN
Continued from page 3
commission documented 2,184 people assassinated, 41 the Fresno Mexican American Political Association
disappeared, and 908 who were arrested and tortured Del Valle.
Chacon said that Chicanos need to become more
in the jails in the capitol city, San Salvador.
politically active in orPena was also arrested on
der to deal effectively
two occasions and tortured
with
the problems facing
both physically and psy.
.
the barrio. "We as Chichologically by the police.
· 75 perd~tifotchildren under five · canos need to know our
The organization ADErights under the law and
MUSA was formed in
January 1988 to address
defend them because no
the effects of the country's
one else is going to do it
social and economic crisis :::t \?//?:· ·,• . '·.- ::::>-· ;:-::/:':"•>::'.<•
for us."
. ..
:-.. :=:<-:::-=::.;:/::. ·.· ::_ ,·
·-: .•. ,::=
on women. The organizaThe problems facing
tion helps women with
Chicano youth in the
services such as locating employment and housing. public school system, farm workers, and the undocuADEMUSA also organizes workers and peasant women mented are problems of negligence and many times
as well as those displaced by the earthquake to become outright abuse by those in power, said Chacon.
politically active in the issues facing the whole society.
The second speaker was Rick Chacon, president of
See FMLNt page 8
.
She went on to state that, "60 percent of the urban
population and 20 percent of the rural population in El
Salvador cannot sustain a decent standard ofliving."
According to Pefia, the problems with health care are
also very critical. "75 percent .o f children under five
years old show signs of malnutrition and 427 children
die every week as a result."
The only pediatric hospital, she said, was devastated
during the 1986 earthquake and was never rebuilt.
The problem with human rights abuses, she said is
the most dramatic problem facing El Salvador. She
said that in the period between November 1989 and
February 1990 alone, the country's human rights
.
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HERRERA
Continued from page 2
f
,
f
~
I
!
~
~
S:
Juan Felipe Herrera
Barbara.
From 1972 to 1975, he went back to Logan Heights to
work in the Chicano community at a cultural center.
There he helped develop theaters, poetry organizations
and music groups about La Raza.
In 1970-1973, he helped with the foundation of
Chicano Park in San Diego. He was specifically
responsible for placing murals around the park with
the help of local Chicano artists.
He said, "This was an artistic and spritual rebirth for
the Chicano. A movement from oppression and
segregation to the glorification of the Chicano. It also
gave the Chicano community something tangible,
something that we owned."
In 1977, he went back to school at Stanford University.
In 1982, he obtained his Masters of Arts in Social
Anthropology. He will be receiving his Ph.D. soon in
the same field.
Herrer~ along with his teaching experience at the
University of Iowa, has taught at Stanford University,
New College in San Francisco, and De Anza Community
College in Sunnyvale.
He has also lectured on Chicano studies at UC
Berkeley and the University of Texas, Austin, as well
as on the East Coast.
Herrera has gained national recognition for his work .
He received awards from the National End!:. .wment of
Arts in 1980 and 1985. "I only mention this to draw
attention t.o other Chicanos who haven't been recognized
and are as deserving of these awards as I was then.
"I am not the only Chicano writer in the U.S.," he said
while remembering the time he received his first award.
"I was all dressed up, with no other Chicano faces to
look at. I was nervous, but I was proud. When a man of
the white persuasion walked up t.o me and asked me
what nation I was from? It.old him that I was from th(<
nation of California.
"I have two goals, and with the help of the CLS
faculty and the voices of the Chicano students, I would
like to start a [master's in fine arts] program here.
Nationwide, there are 328 MFA programs and less thar
5 percent of those deal with Chicano studies.
He said that for the last two decades, "the Chicano
writer has gone underground, but the '90s will bring
out Chicano artists publicly. The Chicano will issue a
new challenge to society with our unique and creative
style of writing. We will be at the national and
international centers ofliterature circles.
"Chicanos will no longer be held down, pushed back,
or stiffied. The Chicano voices will be heard around the
world and no longer just around the room," Herrera
said.
Herrera said his plans as CSUF professor include
developing a writing workshop here.
Education students form. group
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Last September, six CSUF students set out on the
long road to forming a new organization. March 8
marked the end of their six month trek.
After hours of preparation, the first meeting of the
Chicano-Latino Education Student Association was
supported by wide student interest. Nineteen students
attended the introductory meeting.
Founders of the organization, Ralph Avitia, Amelia
Vasquez, Porfirio Lopez, Daniel Salinas, and Eddie
Perez, said they saw a need for an organization which
concentrated on students interested in pursuing
educational careers.
Vasquez said she thought the idea of the group was
good because she was lost when she first came to CSUF.
She and the others expressed a desire for C.L.E.S.A. to
be an avenue of support, guiding student.s in their
academic progress.
Perez said the main purpose of C.L.E.S.A. is to "guide
students" in the process toward graduation.
The three original objectives, said Salinas, are to
teach survival skills and to provide career counseling
and group support. Workshops, speakers, study teams,
Chicano literature
gets exposure
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
"Our voices have not been heard," said Mark
Anthony Alvidrez, a senior English major and
a member of the new Chicano Writers and
Artists Association.
CWAA is one of the newest Chicano
organization on campus and the only one of its
kind. Andres Montoya, a junior history major
who co-founded CWAA with Alvidrez, Dan
Chacon and Victor Canales said, "When we
started this group, our intension was to provide
an outlet for Chicano artistic expression.
"There are a lot of Chicano artists out there
and they don't have an avenue to express
themselves. Because they are Chicanos they
ai:,e usually locked out of the mainstream
literature and art in this country."
Chacon, a graduate English major, said,
"Being Chicano, our literature is unique and
because of that uniqueness, it is not always
accepted by the conventional literary circles.
So when we started CWAA, we just wanted to
give ourselves a forum where we can show each
other our work and get it out to the people."
Because of the mixed use oflanguage and its
subject matter, Chicano literature has not been
fully accepted as true literature.
Chacon said, "There's a certain amount of
conservatism in traditional literature that
doesn't like to accept things that are new, things
that are different. We're saying we don't care,
we're going to do it anyway. And if we're not
accepted by literary critics, that's okay because
we're bringing ours directly to the people.
"We need to bring this literature out to the
people. Let the people evaluate it, let the people
reject it, let the people accept it," Chacon said.
Guerilla poetry is a technique CWAA has
used this semester to do exactly that. They
have held two poetry readings infront of the
bookstore. The last reading was held April 25.
Some 30 people sat on the steps of the
bookstore and listened to poems from members
of CWAA as well as that of non-members.
"Our concept of guerilla poetry, of going out
and taking it to the people has worked great
for us this semester," said Chacon. Alvidrez
added that the group having-regular readings
was helping him be more consistent in his
writing.
"I've always been writing short stories and
poems but this has helped me to be more
consistent. The last reading was a weak ago so
know I have to produce more. I have to come
up with some new material," Alvidrez said.
CWAA also held a poetry reading on April
18 as its first official event, where Luis Omar
Salinas, considered by many to be the godfather
of Chicano poetry, Leonard Adame, an
instructor at Fresno City College, and Pedro
Ramirez, a former CSUF student read their
poetry.
As for the future, Chacon said they will
continue their style of guerilla poetry. CWAA
also plans on putting together a play next year
and bringing theater to the people as well.
CWAA will also hold workshops where they
will bring professional Chicano writers to read
students' work and possibly work with them.
Another of their goals is to start chapters at
the high school and junior college levels.
"You'll be surprised how many Chicanos are
writing on the the high school and junior
college levels," Chacon said.
"Chicanos are always writing. Chicanos have
a lot to contribute... the next literary movment
that comes out of American literature is going
to be Chicano Literature," Chaoon said.
and general information are just a few of the planned
activities.
The organization is very open to change and student
input, said Perez. "We don't want to leave any needs
untended to."
Cecilia Maciel, a psychology major, said at the first
meeting. "[C.L.E.S.A.] seems to provide a good support
system for anyone involved in education or anyone with
similar problems within the academic system," she said.
Officers have not been elected, though a constitution
and by-laws have been drawn and adopted. Dr. Hisauro
Garza, a faculty member in the Chicano-Latino Studies
Program is the group's advisor.
I WILL. I WILL.
Trees that line the asphalt path
are blooming purple flowers .
They smell sweet, like bathroom tissue,
perfume, the breath of the woman I love.
Soon the flowers will sway in the wind,
dropping their peddles, they will sail
to the ground, and dot the path.
I will walk between the trees
the peddles will fall against my body
like confetti from God-as if he were
celebrating my arrival
saying, See? See?
See how important you are?"
Sunlight will leak through the branches
I will be like a movie star
a dancer in the spotlight
I will extend my arm s
twirl on my roes
dance like David danced.
I don't care who sees me and I will ask many to join me.
Sweat will squirm down my body
pedals will stick to my face
I will be hot and cold
naked and clothed
in love and not in love
with friends and alone
Indian and European
in all places at one time
dancing on my grandmother's cement porch
as red lights race across the treetops
and my handcuffed uncle is pushed head-first into the backseat,
dancing on the dark river bank with La Llorona
and we will swim together in the nude,
dancing on the balcony of my apartment
and The Malaysian girls across the path will think rm nuts,
on the too fresh grave of my mother
and she will rise from the dead and dance with me too.
In The anteroom I will dance on The oak floor;
and God, pleased with me, will let me in.
by Daniel Chacon
I
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
PAGES
martes, 5/8
Chicano Commencement Committee will
meet today from 5 to 7 p.m. in JAd, Room 203.
Graduation is near! Come help with final preparations.
miercoles. 5/9
iliillliililililill1• - - - - - - - - - - ~~
The HBSA will hold a General Meeting at 6
pm in the Peters Building. Check bulletin board
for room number.
jueves, 5/24
••••••-----------
~!t!:~~~s~::!~!~: :a~:~fi!~t
0
Final touc}Jes to ~De.$tittos'
-~·-. · ._; __•~ - {-:·~;:-~-~-;..··~---_
MAY, 1990
\~: -~ ,,( . _·:-,)•,: ·:.-/, ·_. ·
<rJSA:'nx_~~s'~d~y~tnp.lll._in Jt'd;;:~ nf2.~3;, Ceremony in Upstairs Cafeteria 200 at 7 p.m.
'Fbe~o~tlwj]lp~t ,t}i~p~aJt1:>µcb~S;~JilA~si8~zine ~
,-(~~~'iy~~~~J»!R~~~~~~t $tu~~~-.i~9-' f~A1i}i~s ~~8
icano:~onnn.encemen\. ,~·" ',
,_, ~.;-r v~~Grads
>
Poets in front of bookstore
practice for big day
"'.~~IC(Y'.<u,
~;;'//\, '!f, :~cano Commencement graduates prac-
CWAA, Chicano Writers and Artists
tion will have a poetry reading at 8 p.m. ·
of the bookstore
-""-""""~~--'!""'~..
--,-;\"'
·":"
'
hicano Graduation! Practice will be held
. at theAmphitrreatre. For more
n, call 278-2048.
jueves, 5/10
5/26
MEChA will hold a general meeting
in the USU. Check glass case at south e
for room number.
aduacion Chicana tonight
Annual Chicano Commencement
onies in the amphitheater. Entertaingins at5:45p.m. withCSUF'sDanzantes
Exploring Southeast Asian li ·
an.
May 10-12: Conference: ''BuildingUm
Through Diversity" Exploring the Southeas
Asian Culture, Dispute Mediation at the Airport
Picadil1y Inn, 2 p.m.
lunes, 5/14
mingo, 5/27
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will meet today at 5 p.m. in San Ramon
3 Room 131.
Latin Jazz Band ESP along with Tito
Puente will perform at the courthouse Park
this afternoon.
Latino Jazz band tonight
Latin Jazz Band ESP, willl perform in
the Pit tonight at 8 p.m.
Since then, performance standards
have been set and the new clerk will
have to work within their confines.
Continued from page 1
Sanchez said her master's degree in
public administration and her "handson" experience would be the tools she
would use to
county elections. All courts, judges, and manage the
attorneys rely on the office to file elections
documents to get into court on time in office and the
clerk's office.
order to try cases.
"I believe I
Sanchez said the public needs someone
an
in that position who they feel they can am
trust to do a good job managing the office. extremely
The current race for Fresno County effective
Clerk has six candidates including manager,
Sanchez. Others who are running for the problem
position include Susan B. Anderson, a solver, and
deputy district attorney; George Brown, motivator,"
son of former County Clerk Les Brown; s a i d
Paul Gookins, a medical practices Sanchez.
consultant; Dale Doig, former Fresno She believes
Mayor; and Albert G. Stewart.
she is the
Current County Clerk Galen Larson m o s t
has been the target of numerous qualified for
criticisms which could put his successor the position
in a difficult position. Lar:.:::on has been because she has chosen administration
cited by the Grand Jury for mismanaging as her profession and career.
the office and the Fresno County Bar
Since 1984, Sanchez has been the
Association has complained about delays Director of Children and Family
in getting documents.
Programs at the Fresno County Economic
CLERK
ESP with Tito Puente
jueves, 5/17
Opportunities Commissidn where she
supervises 300 employees and oversees a
$13 million annual budget.
"I derive a great deal of not only job
satisfaction but personal satisfaction serving the public. I believe the public
'
has
a
right to
demand
ooinean
I believe the public
___ :· ·: h as a.: right to ·
d·ema-nd.
excelle_n ·c e ..-~an.d ::
fh~!i~;,i~~,!, l,atWaYS
·- str:iv.e:?for::: : ;t::
EYE ONASI
Continued from page 2
Althletics has been funded $300,000. "Administrators
are not looking at the proposals based on merit. It's
based on the fact they've been funded for the last few
years."
The final approval for clubs and organizations and
their allocations came through. However, not without
protest. School ofNatural Sciences Senator Frank Aviles
suggested taking $25 out of each club that was given at
least $1,000. This would have given theSoutheastAsi~,
student organization more for the book they're publishing,
"Passages."
The $25 request was voted out. Senator Montoya
thanked the senate for at least deliberating and discussing
this proposal.
The Majorie Mason center was given $1,200 from the
Bulldog Republicans and the Campus Childrens Center
were approved $2,284 of unallocated funds.
that's
what I
always
strive
for."
Being
the only
Latina
running
f o r
county
clerk is
also very
signifrant
to the
race,
Sanchez said.
She thinks it will
encourage many Latinos who do not vote
to come out and vote. She believes there
is a lot of voter apathy, and she wants to
try to correct that.
"I would serve as a role model not only
for the Latino community, but for women
and for other minorities," she said.
Sanchez's campaign has included going
door to door. She said she this has been
successful thanks to many volunteers.
Also on the ballot J une 5 will be the
Bar Association's attempt to keep politics
out of the clerk's office. If passed, the
amendment will mandate that the office
be fi11ed by appointment instead of by
election.
The amendment would also ensure that
the winner of the race only serve one 4year term. Then she or he will have to be
a candidate for appointment. A few years
ago the same amendment failed to pass.
Sanchez is opposed to the amendment.
"I am of the strong opinion that the person
who runs our elections should be elected
by the voters and removed by [them]."
She did, however, say she would apply
for the appointment and believes she is
qualified to be selected.
Sanchez is a third generation Fresno
County resident who was born in Sanger.
She attended Edison High School. After
marriage and two daughters, she, as a
working single mother, earned her degree
atCSUF.
Cubano's break with Ballet Hispanico
-See center
Volume XXI, Number IV
Poet
Herrera
new prof
California State University, Fresno
ESP jams in the Pit
I
Matthew Polanco
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Poet, artist and educator Juan Felipe
Herrera will join the faculty in the
Chicano and Latin American Studies
Program this fall.
Herrera is an English professor at the
University of Iowa.
Born in nearby Fowler, Herrera said,
"it is another rebirth for me to be coming
back to the Vallev where I was born."
"I am very excited about teaching here
at Fresno State. I like seeing so much
energy in the Raza here." He will be
teaching CLS 5 and 116 in the fall, and
in the sprmg, he will add a Chicano
literature course to the program.
As a child, Herrera and his family did
fannwork up and down California. When
he was eight, his family moved to San
Diego, in the colonia of Logan Heights.
Later he moved to San Francisco's
Mission District. Herrera spent his
childhood between San Francisco and San
Diego.
In 1967, with an Educational
Oportunity Program grant, he attended
UCLA. Herrera said he was one of 60
Chicanos on campus at that time.
He was active in the United Mexican
American Students (UMAS) which later
became Movimiento Estuclientil Chicano
de Aztlan (MEChA).
In 1969, he was involved with the
development of MEChA at UC Santa
Hector AmezCWIISPECIAL TO I.A VOZ
Mike Gonzales has played the base for 15 years. He said he has played with many bands and is
currently with ESP, a Latin jazz band that performed in the Pit May 3 as part of the Semana de la
Raza festivities.
SeeHERRERA, page7
San chez aims to Huerta calls for
influence County student support
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Virginia Sanchez
"As a Latina, I would be able to provide a role
model for the community. We've never had
anyone Latino on the county level and certainly
not a female," said Virginia Sanchez about her
running for Fresno County Clerk.
Sanchez said she has always been involved in
community activities, and she wanted to take
some time off for herself. "But I decided to run
for county clerk. I have to do this one more
thing. I could do things on the county-wide level.
I could be influential. I could do a lot of things
for kids, and I could promote the importance of
voting and motivate the puplic," she said.
The clerk's office is a repository for Fresno
County documents. It oversees the entire clerk's
office and court documents that go to the superior
courts and the elections office which.handles all
See CLERK, page 8
I
without a brain," said Huerta, "Pesticides
are the cause of this. But the state is
not doing anything."
She said that there have been 2,100
incidents of pesticide poisonings, and
The audience came to be informed and three deaths as a result. But since most
that's exactly what happened. Dolores farm workers are afraid of getting fired
Huerta, Vice President and co-founder or are undocumented, many of the
of the United Farm Workers of America incidents of cancer go unreported.
Though farmers claim the pesticides
AFL-CIO had a lot of information
regarding pesticide dangers to give to are washed off before being sold in a
her audience May 2 in the Satellite market place, pesticides don't wash off
easily, she said.
Student Union.
"A woman in Austin, Texas, who
She explained that the farm worker,
along with being amongst the lowest crossed a picket line at a local
paid workers in the United States, is supermarket became violently ill after
ingesting grapes," said Huerta.
also the most expendable.
"After going to her doctor, she found
Huerta spoke of incidents of children
born to farm workers with birth defects out that a high amount of sulfites on the
the union believes were caused by grapes had caused her an allergic
reaction. She came back to the store that
pesticides.
"One family had a child who was born
See HUERTA, pages
without eyes and another was born
Sylvia Castro
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
ii.
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~}}
NuESTRA OPINION
OUR OPINION
Good ol' boys mad at La Voz ... So what?
editor that La Voz was, "worthy of no more
then wrapping fish or lining bird cages."
The statistics Wells cited, if they are
correct,areimpressive.
Those facts and figures were certainly
enough to outrage Wells. The nerve of
those damn "super radicals" in the ASL
How dare they increase the Chicano Youth
Conference budget by 181 percent and the
African American student recruitment by
421 percent? That might actually aid in
getting more people ofcolor to come to this
campus. We certainly can't have that.
Their increased presence could upset the
balance of things at good ol' Fresno Stat.e.
Wells also wrote in his letter that
cultural and other such clubs and
organizations had their budgets increased
while an established organization like the
Interfraternity Council/Panhellinic,
"representing students from all walks of
life had funds slashed from their budgets."
Of course, this comes from a guy whose
idea of a cultural event is swigging a
Corona and singing a few bars of "La
Bamba"
with
brother
Biff.
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
Two weeks ago our old friend, Ted
Hallisey exercised his so-called "media
skills" in his Collegian column and
attacked La Voz forincom pet.ent reporting.
Hallisey also said we were biased and
that student fees should not be used for
such things as this supplement to the
Daily Collegian. As I wrot.e in my letter to
the CoUegian editor, 18 percent of the
CSUF student body is Chicano and they
have a right to be heard.
People like Hallisey cannot understand
"Balalalalabamba..."
our views. They have never been, nor will
they ever be in our position.
Includinghis opposition ofChicano and
African American advancement in our
editorials offended him so much that he
accused us of being biased in our
presentation ofthe news. Hallisey's vision
must have been so blurred by frustration
that he confused our Eye on ASI editorials
with news in the rest of La Voz.
The fact that Hallisey did oppose such
things as capital expenditures for a
Chicano and Latin American/African
American studies resourse cent.er and the
fact that he blatantly opposed the
application ofthe first openly gay senator
is of importance to our readers.
Hallisey argues that we should at least
ask a US/Reality senator for her or his
opinion on certain matt.ers. What for?
Their actions speak louder then their
bullshit rhetoric about serving the needs
of"every" student, without discrimination.
(The fact that our own university
president hasn't been able to take
significant action against the problem of
low numbers of people of color at CSUF
has perturbed him so much that he is
considering resigning and returning to
teaching and doing research. In his own
Thesecomfortablerich boys are getting
words, "I would leave this all tomorrow to
scared. They have always been in control·
be a Broadway si:tger.")
and now they can see that Chicanos as
It's interestinghow frat boys, like Wells,
well as African Americans are gaining
have traditionaly monopolized student
power on this campus. And when people of
money. After all some of the fraternities
color have papers like La Voz and Uhuru
have their tokenAfricanAmerican or their
in which to voice their opinions, it makes
token "Hispanic" so they can consider that
the job of maintaining a "good ol' boy"
makeup representative of the entire
network even more difficult.
student body. And now that the ASI is
This was made evident by yet another
really trying to represent all students by
attack on La Voz. In the May 3 issue ofthe
first evening the score, they start crying
Daily Collegian, Ron Wells wrote to the
about the inequalities and injustices.
EDITOR APPLICATIONS DUE
J,.sllo<ikatASJJ>reside,#Karen Cogley
and,: t/i.e_val9es·~~ .h9s.fqy,g!jtfor,·p,:e
imptjr.tance'.;'. of]{ir.: : tJOi~.#isfj,/liever<be
Applications for the Fall 1990
La Voz de Aztldn editor-inchief position are available in
the Daily Collegian office
located in the Keats Campus
Building. All applicants
must submit three letters of
reference and a statement of
proposed editorial policy.
The deadline to submit
applications is May 9.
NosoTRos .•• LA Voz
EYE ON
ASI
JOSEPH M. TORRES
DE
Azn.AN
Editor in Chief- Chris Heredia
Assistant Editor-Eloy Garcia
Copy Editor-Celeste Saldivar
Graphics Editor -Oscar G. Ramirez
Calendario Editor-Marta Villasenor
Staff Artist-Ralph Avitia
Staff Writers-Sylvia Castro, Michaela
Diez-Lopez, Selene Flores, Sostenes
Infante Jr., Krista Lemos, Rosemary
Lopez, Sandra D. Ortiz, Matthew
Polanco, Al Robles, Jill Soltero, Sara
Soria, Joseph M. Torres.
Photographers - Laura Hernandez,
Jose Luis Gil, Angel De Jesus.
• Flag designed by Ralph Avitia •
The La Voz staff would like to thank
Eric Burney, Terry Pierson, and Lisa
McKinney of The Daily Collegian Staff.
La Voz ~ Aztllm Is published monthly by the Aaao·
elated Students, Inc. of Caltfomta State University,
Fresno. The newspaper office Is located tn the Kuta
campus Building. Fresno, Calif., 93740-0042. The
opinions published on thts page are not necessarily
those of the Associated Students, Inc., 11w DalJy
~tan or La VozDeAztlanand tta staft Umt#}ed
editorials are the majority optnton of the paper'• edl·
torial board.
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
Pella
brings
Salvadoran
women's
message
I
Al Robles
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The people of the United States must
become more aware of the problems in
El Salvador regarding human rightsespecially the conditions facing womenand the work done by Salvadorans to
end the war in their country and to begin
rebuilding a devastated economy.
This was the message of Marina
Judith Pena, a representative of the
Association of Salvadoran Women
(ADEMUSA). She spoke at a press
conference in the University Student
Union as part of the May Day portion of
MEChA's Semana De La Raza program.
May Day is commemorated every May 1
as International Workers Day.
That afternoon she spoke to the
students in the Free Speach Area about
the situation in her home country. She
described the conditions in El Salvador
brought on by 10 years of civil war and
the resulting economic crisis.
"The poor destribution of wealth and
military repression waged by the
wealthy against the majority of the
people has resulted in the armed conflict
which began in 1980."
Pena cited economic underdevelopment and scarcity of available
resources in her country as a historical
condition which has been made worse by
the war.
See FMLN, page 6
CSU,FRESNO
PAGE3
HUERTA
Continued from page 1
same day and we had a press conference.
She was saying she was sorry for not
having paid attention to the picket line."
The picket line was set up to boycott
the grapes sold at that particular
supermarket. The UFW is calling for
people to boycott grapes once again, she
said.
Even when something is labeled as
"organic" such as in "organic grapes,"
that doesn't mean the grapes are
pesticide-free. This means they are
tagged below tolerance level, said
Huerta. This is still a high level. "Last
year, of the 400 million pounds of grapes
that were tested, guess how many were
tested? Only 23 pounds of grapes were
tested," said Huerta.
"It will be 2025 before all the pesticides
are tested," Huerta said. "There are so
many we can't catch up . Only 17
pesticides are tested per year." But the
year 2025 will have been 36 years too
late for Jose Carvello Campos Martinez,
25, of Kern County.
Huerta said Martinez had been out
spraying pesticides on a ranch at about
10 a.m. A while later he called his
brother and complained of nausea. He
said he needed to go to the hospital. His
brother borrowed his friend's car, drove
to Martinez' house to find him on the
floor in convulsions and foaming at the
mouth. He was taken to the hospital but
by 3:30 p.m. he had died.
The coroner's report said that 400
milligrams of a deadly pesticide had been
in his system---0nly 23 milligrams were
fatal. The coroner reported that Martinez
must have ingested the pesticide and
listed his death as a suicide.
Huerta said that Martinez had an 18year-olp. wife and a baby boy. This is not
the profile of a suicide victim.
She said the responsibility to change
this situation is in everyone's hands. "We
cannot sit back and wait for someone to
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta
change thing for us. It will never
happen.," she said.
She cited several cases µi which the
UFW believes pesticides to be the culprit
of cancer clusters in small towns such
as McFarland and Earlimart.
In McFarland she said nine children
have died of cancer in the last year.
That's 400 percent above the average,
she said.
''When labor laws went into effect in
1934, farm workers were excluded
because of racism. Most of them were
black and brown farm workers and no
one was really watching their interests,"
she said.
"The government does everything it
can to help people who have a lot of
money."
About 400 people attended Huerta's
40-minute speech as part of Semana de
la Raza's week-long activities at CSUF.
Latinos awarded for fiction and photography
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Latino accomplishments abounded in the Spring 1990
issue of "Common Wages." The book is compiled and
distributed by the English Department. Two of the
winners of the $100 prizes offered in the categories of
fiction, essay, poetry, and photography were Lawrence
Guerra, a senior philosophy major, and Angel DeJesus,
a senior photojournalism major.
Adam Hlll, editor-in-chief of "Common Wages" and
judge of the work submitted, said of the judging criteria,
"We picked what was the best story using the best style
of writing and containing the best subject matter."
Hi1 l called Guerra's short st.ory "On The Job" "A terrific
moment when two girls look at each other. It is both
moving and interesting."
Hill also said that Guvrra's subject matter concerning
On the lighter side, Hill also noted the criteria for
the field worker's plight was obviously important in the the photography category which Angel DeJesus won
San Joaquin Valley. About the entire episode, Hill said, for "Kiss Me," a picture of a cow with its monstrous
tongue reaching for the camera lens.
"Not a lot is said, but it is very moving."
The work submitted, Hill said, was judged on what
Guerra's portrayal of a field workers's struggle is one
he believes is often overlooked. He said, "It is a they believed was interesting. "We try to look for what
disenfranchised part of society." His inspiration of this is most important [which is] excellence." Hill expressed
fictional account came from his work in the fields, Guerra his feelings toward the photo when he said, "I knew
said. "It isn't factual,"he said, "but a lot of the story was immediately it would be for the cover because it was
eye-catching and humorous." Overall, he believed the
based on some of the things I saw."
Guerra said, "People really aren't conscious of the life content was very interesting.
DeJesus could not be reached for comment.
of a field worker and the many experiences." He said he
"Common Wages" is a yearly publication of any
just wanted to prove a point.
For the future, he alluded to a desire to write more; CSUF students' works which are submitted to the
however, time is a major hindrance for Guerra. "I like English Department for judging. Staff may also submit
to write and enjoy doing i.t once in a while, but I don't poetry, prose, or photography to "Common Wages"
have enough time. There are a number of stories I Next year's editor-in-chief will be Daniel Chacon, an
could do and, if done well, I could help people understand English graduate student who was co-editor of La Voz
de Aztlan in the Spring of 1987.
my message," said Guerra.
Writer Soto autographs work in bookstore
I
1
Krista Lemos
L~ VOZ STAFF WRITER
"I was raked over the coals of poverty
in Fresno," was what Gary Soto said
about how his experiences growing up in
Fresno color his writing.
Soto grew up in an area of south Fresno
that has virtually disappeared. He said
it, too, was "raked over by
redevelopment." The author of twelve
books was on-hand for book-signing at
the Kennel Bookstore May 4.
"I don't live a really exciting life. I
wake up in the morning feeling awful. I
start writing and I feel awful. And then
I complete my thing and I still feel awful. That's it," he said as his autograph
session
came to an
end.
He hastened to
add that he
does feel a
sense of accomplishment, however.
"I
didn't say
that I don't
feel accomplished," Soto said.
In the last eight or nine years, Soto
feels that the level of Chicano artistry
has improved because of three or four
prominent
writers including
Jimmy Santiago-Baca,
Sandra
Cisneros.
Through his
work,
he
hopes to let
other Chicanos see themselves.
Soto said he wants to write more children's books, "My latest book "Baseball
in April" is for children. I write about
childhood a lot because children are very
lush and impressionable."
When asked about the message he
hopes to give through his prose, he said,
"You don't write for a message, you write
so that the subjects of the stories come
alive." It isn't his intent to deliver a specific message, it's through the characters
and the story that a message is trans•
mitted to the people," he explained.
Soto has another book which should
be out in the fall. He said he's also working on another project; he plans to work
on a movie this summer called "The
Magic Tricks."
Cubano dancer makes
Because of the large amount of time he spends on the road performing, Vilaro said he has found
it necessary to carry the most valuable tools he has.
Among the many things Vilaro enjoys about the dance company is interacting
with other people like Kathryn Ross.
Having had a late start in d
Vilaro said, "I wish my pare
track team during high scho
La Voz de Aztlan, California State University, Fresno, May 1990
'big with Ballet Hispanico
Despite late start and
an unsupportive fat her,
Vilaro became a
professional dancer
I
Hector Amezcua
WRITER & PHOTOGRAPHER
After a period of suffering in his
homeland, Cuba, during the 1969
revolution, Eduardo Vilaro immigrated with his family to the United
States in pursuit of a better life.
Vilaro is one of five male dancers in
New York's Ballet Hispanico who
performed at the Student Satellite
Union May 4 and 5. He has had to
leap several obstacles to get to the
position he is now at: Professional
dancer.
Preparing for his performance in
a very hot, compact dressing room,
Vilaro explained what it has taken
to become a professional dancer.
Some of the obstacles he has faced
the auditions for Ballet Hispanico.
However, after a call to the company, with good luck and perseverance, Vilaro was accepted into the
dance troup.
"I called and asked them if I could
take a class, because I was interested in a company that was of
primarily Hispanic origin where I
would feel very much at home."
After graduating from Adelphi
University at Long Island N.Y.,
Alviro was permanently accepted as
part of the company.
Vilaro has many ambitions and
dreams he hopes to someday fulfill.
Among his goals is traveling to
foreign countries for vaned performances. "I would like to perform in
France. Also, I would like to perform in Spanish countries. I would
"I like ,naking people react)
perhaps to sadness or the
dra,na that we are doing. "
' it difficult for Eduardo Vilaro to become a profesional dancer.
Ve encouraged me to take dance classes instead of being on the
L•
include a late start in dancing and
like to go to Cuba."
Dancing has br_ought much satisstrained relations with his father . .
faction to Vilaro. "Dance is the
Among the things Vilaro regrets
from the past is not having an early whole body, it's a total freedom of
expresion." Vilaro enjoys seeing the
start at dancing. He wishes he
reactions of the audience, and
would have started dancing when
talking to them about his performhe was young. This stems from the
ance at the end of the show.
attitude his father had toward
"I like making people react,
performers and because of politics.
"My father is totally against what perhaps to sadness or the drama
that we are doing. It's very interestI do, simply because he is Republiing when someone comes up to you
can and he's a very strong Hispanic
after you've done a performance and
figure. In his eyes, the arts are a
tells you, 'I enjoyed your performleisure, and he would rather be
ance very much because it made me
entertained by someone else rather
feel like this, or it made me think
than by his own children."
Vilaro spoke highly of his mother. like this."'
When he's not rehearsing, Vilaro
He said she raised him and his two
brothers alone, and before coming to relaxes by writing. He said that
the United States, she got her
when he is in New York, he likes to
husband out of jail through the
play ball with his brothers and
black market.
spend time with his mother.
Though he considered medicine as
"Now my mother on the other
a career when he was younger,
hand, she is all for it. She says 'as
long as you're happy."'
Vilaro said now he would not switch
While applying makeup for his
dancing for anything else. He is
performance May 4, Vilaro said that proud about what he does. "All my
he started dancing in high school
brothers are doing very well at
plays and musicals. "I worked hard, whatever area they are, but I am
took classes and tried to get scholar- also doing quite well in my own
ships in certain dance schools."
way." After some thought, Vilaro
Vilaro was inspired by dancing in
said he would like to invite his
movies'like "Flash Dance."
father to one of his performances
While in college, Vilaro missed
when he goes back to New York.
I~*
PAGE 6
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
%
Professional journalist Carrejo's job gro\Vs as ASI
liason to ca:rnpus childcare
group· elects new board Goals
include stabilizing staffs at 3 centers
The California Chicano News Media
Association-Fresno Chapter recently
elected its new executive board.
Comprised of professional Valley-area
journalists, the CCNMA-Fresno Chapter
was established in 1974. It is part of a
six-chapter, state-wide association based
in Los Angeles. Other chapters are located
in San Diego, Orange County, Riverside/
San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Jos
Fresno Bee Reporter Carlos Cordova,
was elected President. Cordova covers the
courts for The Fresno Bee.
KSEE Channel 24 photographer Louie
Valle was elected Professional Vice
President. He covers general assignement
stories for the station.
The post of Eductional Vice President
will be held by Bee reporter Angela
Valdivia. Valdivia covers general
assignment stories for the Bee
Fresno Bee reporter Louie Galvan will
be secretary. Galvan covers the police
stories for the Bee.
Former CCNMA President Felix
Contreras, will hold the position of
treasurer in the new board.
Fresno Bee reporter Pablo Lopez will
hold the at-large post No.1. Lopez covers
general assignment stories at the Madera
Bureau.
At-Large Post No. 2 will be held by
Fresno Bee Reporter Edward R. Jimenez.
Jimenez covers general assignement
stories at the Visalia Bureau.
At-large post No. 3 will be held by
CSUF Outreach Public Affairs Specialist
Tom Uribes. Uribes was Chapter
Representative to the State Board. He is
director of the Minority Journalism
Workshop and advisor and founder of
CCNMA-Fresno's student chapter, the
CSUF Chicano Journalism Students
Association.
An installation dinner to honor the new
board will be held in early June, where
CCNMA State President George Ramos
will officially swear-in the board during
the celebration dinner. Ramos won a
pulitzer prize as a reporter for the Los
Angeles Times.
CCNMA Executive Director Mike
Castro will also attend the dinner. Castro
took a leave of absence as reporter for
The Sacrmento Bee to hold this postion
for a two-year term.
CCNMA headquarters is housed in the
University of Southern California's School
of Journalism.
For more information regarding tickets
to the event or CCNMA, contact Tom
Uribes at 278-2048.
I
for all three. However , one site is
used solely for infants while the 0theris are for the care of toddlers.
JosephM. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Carrejo said there is a one and a
half to two-year waiting list for all
three centers.
Linda Carrejo was appointed by
the ASI as liaison to the three campus children centers. She said her
job is to provide information to the
sentate on the status of the daycare
centers.
Some of the changes Carrejo
wants to see in the coming year inc1ude a dental hygiene program for
the children. She said she would
like to have them brush their teeth
once a day at the center.
Her new title added periodic reports to the senate to her list of duties at the center which she said caters to low income mothers who
would not otherwise be able to attend college without childcare programs like CSUF's.
Carrejo said she would also like
to help stabilize the staff at the centers. She said having staff members
for longer periods of time would
improve the security at the centers
and give the children a sense of stability.
Carrejo explained some of the requirements she and others watch for
when reviewing applications for oncampus child care.
CSUF students interested in having their children in the daycare
program need to begin th e application procedure as soon as possible.
If you have questions about campus
childcare, call 278-2652 Monday
through Friday between 8 a.m. and
2p.m.
"All kids have to be up to date on
immunizations and student-parents
must carry at least 12 units," she
said. There are currently two sites-one on-campus and another off-campus. The requirements are the same
Santan a
e lectrifies
Warnors
Griping poetry
I
Joseph M. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The sheer steel guitar poetry of Santana dominated Warnors Theater April
24. The return ofSantanacommemorated
its 20th anniversary in the public eye.
Santana was born in the Woodstock festival ofl 969 and since then, the group has
been known for its cool Latinjazz style of
music.
The group led by guitarist Carlos Santana evoked a firm presentation to a crowd
of long-time Santana fans and m any
newcomers to his sound. His steel guitar
solos echoed a rich sound throughout the
theater .
Featured in the two hour an d fifteen
minuteconcertwer e"Black MagicWomen"
'°[
,,., and "Oye Como Va!" These tunes were
~ both intensified and tested mth the full
ui'
range of Carlos Santana's steel guitar
fil ability. One song, "Mandela" was per~ formed commemorating Nelson Mandela's
~
visit to the United States.
2 Another performance was done in protest to the political movement to make
English an official language, and it was
appropriately titled, "Let's Make Spanish
the second official language."
Margarita Luna Robles reads her poem "It's about class" during Semana de La
Raza's Noche Floricanto, April 30. Robles will be a part-time instructor this fall.
She will join her husband Juan Felipe Herrera who will be part of the CLS faculty.
FMLN
Continued from page 3
commission documented 2,184 people assassinated, 41 the Fresno Mexican American Political Association
disappeared, and 908 who were arrested and tortured Del Valle.
Chacon said that Chicanos need to become more
in the jails in the capitol city, San Salvador.
politically active in orPena was also arrested on
der to deal effectively
two occasions and tortured
with
the problems facing
both physically and psy.
.
the barrio. "We as Chichologically by the police.
· 75 perd~tifotchildren under five · canos need to know our
The organization ADErights under the law and
MUSA was formed in
January 1988 to address
defend them because no
the effects of the country's
one else is going to do it
social and economic crisis :::t \?//?:· ·,• . '·.- ::::>-· ;:-::/:':"•>::'.<•
for us."
. ..
:-.. :=:<-:::-=::.;:/::. ·.· ::_ ,·
·-: .•. ,::=
on women. The organizaThe problems facing
tion helps women with
Chicano youth in the
services such as locating employment and housing. public school system, farm workers, and the undocuADEMUSA also organizes workers and peasant women mented are problems of negligence and many times
as well as those displaced by the earthquake to become outright abuse by those in power, said Chacon.
politically active in the issues facing the whole society.
The second speaker was Rick Chacon, president of
See FMLNt page 8
.
She went on to state that, "60 percent of the urban
population and 20 percent of the rural population in El
Salvador cannot sustain a decent standard ofliving."
According to Pefia, the problems with health care are
also very critical. "75 percent .o f children under five
years old show signs of malnutrition and 427 children
die every week as a result."
The only pediatric hospital, she said, was devastated
during the 1986 earthquake and was never rebuilt.
The problem with human rights abuses, she said is
the most dramatic problem facing El Salvador. She
said that in the period between November 1989 and
February 1990 alone, the country's human rights
.
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HERRERA
Continued from page 2
f
,
f
~
I
!
~
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S:
Juan Felipe Herrera
Barbara.
From 1972 to 1975, he went back to Logan Heights to
work in the Chicano community at a cultural center.
There he helped develop theaters, poetry organizations
and music groups about La Raza.
In 1970-1973, he helped with the foundation of
Chicano Park in San Diego. He was specifically
responsible for placing murals around the park with
the help of local Chicano artists.
He said, "This was an artistic and spritual rebirth for
the Chicano. A movement from oppression and
segregation to the glorification of the Chicano. It also
gave the Chicano community something tangible,
something that we owned."
In 1977, he went back to school at Stanford University.
In 1982, he obtained his Masters of Arts in Social
Anthropology. He will be receiving his Ph.D. soon in
the same field.
Herrer~ along with his teaching experience at the
University of Iowa, has taught at Stanford University,
New College in San Francisco, and De Anza Community
College in Sunnyvale.
He has also lectured on Chicano studies at UC
Berkeley and the University of Texas, Austin, as well
as on the East Coast.
Herrera has gained national recognition for his work .
He received awards from the National End!:. .wment of
Arts in 1980 and 1985. "I only mention this to draw
attention t.o other Chicanos who haven't been recognized
and are as deserving of these awards as I was then.
"I am not the only Chicano writer in the U.S.," he said
while remembering the time he received his first award.
"I was all dressed up, with no other Chicano faces to
look at. I was nervous, but I was proud. When a man of
the white persuasion walked up t.o me and asked me
what nation I was from? It.old him that I was from th(<
nation of California.
"I have two goals, and with the help of the CLS
faculty and the voices of the Chicano students, I would
like to start a [master's in fine arts] program here.
Nationwide, there are 328 MFA programs and less thar
5 percent of those deal with Chicano studies.
He said that for the last two decades, "the Chicano
writer has gone underground, but the '90s will bring
out Chicano artists publicly. The Chicano will issue a
new challenge to society with our unique and creative
style of writing. We will be at the national and
international centers ofliterature circles.
"Chicanos will no longer be held down, pushed back,
or stiffied. The Chicano voices will be heard around the
world and no longer just around the room," Herrera
said.
Herrera said his plans as CSUF professor include
developing a writing workshop here.
Education students form. group
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Last September, six CSUF students set out on the
long road to forming a new organization. March 8
marked the end of their six month trek.
After hours of preparation, the first meeting of the
Chicano-Latino Education Student Association was
supported by wide student interest. Nineteen students
attended the introductory meeting.
Founders of the organization, Ralph Avitia, Amelia
Vasquez, Porfirio Lopez, Daniel Salinas, and Eddie
Perez, said they saw a need for an organization which
concentrated on students interested in pursuing
educational careers.
Vasquez said she thought the idea of the group was
good because she was lost when she first came to CSUF.
She and the others expressed a desire for C.L.E.S.A. to
be an avenue of support, guiding student.s in their
academic progress.
Perez said the main purpose of C.L.E.S.A. is to "guide
students" in the process toward graduation.
The three original objectives, said Salinas, are to
teach survival skills and to provide career counseling
and group support. Workshops, speakers, study teams,
Chicano literature
gets exposure
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
"Our voices have not been heard," said Mark
Anthony Alvidrez, a senior English major and
a member of the new Chicano Writers and
Artists Association.
CWAA is one of the newest Chicano
organization on campus and the only one of its
kind. Andres Montoya, a junior history major
who co-founded CWAA with Alvidrez, Dan
Chacon and Victor Canales said, "When we
started this group, our intension was to provide
an outlet for Chicano artistic expression.
"There are a lot of Chicano artists out there
and they don't have an avenue to express
themselves. Because they are Chicanos they
ai:,e usually locked out of the mainstream
literature and art in this country."
Chacon, a graduate English major, said,
"Being Chicano, our literature is unique and
because of that uniqueness, it is not always
accepted by the conventional literary circles.
So when we started CWAA, we just wanted to
give ourselves a forum where we can show each
other our work and get it out to the people."
Because of the mixed use oflanguage and its
subject matter, Chicano literature has not been
fully accepted as true literature.
Chacon said, "There's a certain amount of
conservatism in traditional literature that
doesn't like to accept things that are new, things
that are different. We're saying we don't care,
we're going to do it anyway. And if we're not
accepted by literary critics, that's okay because
we're bringing ours directly to the people.
"We need to bring this literature out to the
people. Let the people evaluate it, let the people
reject it, let the people accept it," Chacon said.
Guerilla poetry is a technique CWAA has
used this semester to do exactly that. They
have held two poetry readings infront of the
bookstore. The last reading was held April 25.
Some 30 people sat on the steps of the
bookstore and listened to poems from members
of CWAA as well as that of non-members.
"Our concept of guerilla poetry, of going out
and taking it to the people has worked great
for us this semester," said Chacon. Alvidrez
added that the group having-regular readings
was helping him be more consistent in his
writing.
"I've always been writing short stories and
poems but this has helped me to be more
consistent. The last reading was a weak ago so
know I have to produce more. I have to come
up with some new material," Alvidrez said.
CWAA also held a poetry reading on April
18 as its first official event, where Luis Omar
Salinas, considered by many to be the godfather
of Chicano poetry, Leonard Adame, an
instructor at Fresno City College, and Pedro
Ramirez, a former CSUF student read their
poetry.
As for the future, Chacon said they will
continue their style of guerilla poetry. CWAA
also plans on putting together a play next year
and bringing theater to the people as well.
CWAA will also hold workshops where they
will bring professional Chicano writers to read
students' work and possibly work with them.
Another of their goals is to start chapters at
the high school and junior college levels.
"You'll be surprised how many Chicanos are
writing on the the high school and junior
college levels," Chacon said.
"Chicanos are always writing. Chicanos have
a lot to contribute... the next literary movment
that comes out of American literature is going
to be Chicano Literature," Chaoon said.
and general information are just a few of the planned
activities.
The organization is very open to change and student
input, said Perez. "We don't want to leave any needs
untended to."
Cecilia Maciel, a psychology major, said at the first
meeting. "[C.L.E.S.A.] seems to provide a good support
system for anyone involved in education or anyone with
similar problems within the academic system," she said.
Officers have not been elected, though a constitution
and by-laws have been drawn and adopted. Dr. Hisauro
Garza, a faculty member in the Chicano-Latino Studies
Program is the group's advisor.
I WILL. I WILL.
Trees that line the asphalt path
are blooming purple flowers .
They smell sweet, like bathroom tissue,
perfume, the breath of the woman I love.
Soon the flowers will sway in the wind,
dropping their peddles, they will sail
to the ground, and dot the path.
I will walk between the trees
the peddles will fall against my body
like confetti from God-as if he were
celebrating my arrival
saying, See? See?
See how important you are?"
Sunlight will leak through the branches
I will be like a movie star
a dancer in the spotlight
I will extend my arm s
twirl on my roes
dance like David danced.
I don't care who sees me and I will ask many to join me.
Sweat will squirm down my body
pedals will stick to my face
I will be hot and cold
naked and clothed
in love and not in love
with friends and alone
Indian and European
in all places at one time
dancing on my grandmother's cement porch
as red lights race across the treetops
and my handcuffed uncle is pushed head-first into the backseat,
dancing on the dark river bank with La Llorona
and we will swim together in the nude,
dancing on the balcony of my apartment
and The Malaysian girls across the path will think rm nuts,
on the too fresh grave of my mother
and she will rise from the dead and dance with me too.
In The anteroom I will dance on The oak floor;
and God, pleased with me, will let me in.
by Daniel Chacon
I
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
PAGES
martes, 5/8
Chicano Commencement Committee will
meet today from 5 to 7 p.m. in JAd, Room 203.
Graduation is near! Come help with final preparations.
miercoles. 5/9
iliillliililililill1• - - - - - - - - - - ~~
The HBSA will hold a General Meeting at 6
pm in the Peters Building. Check bulletin board
for room number.
jueves, 5/24
••••••-----------
~!t!:~~~s~::!~!~: :a~:~fi!~t
0
Final touc}Jes to ~De.$tittos'
-~·-. · ._; __•~ - {-:·~;:-~-~-;..··~---_
MAY, 1990
\~: -~ ,,( . _·:-,)•,: ·:.-/, ·_. ·
<rJSA:'nx_~~s'~d~y~tnp.lll._in Jt'd;;:~ nf2.~3;, Ceremony in Upstairs Cafeteria 200 at 7 p.m.
'Fbe~o~tlwj]lp~t ,t}i~p~aJt1:>µcb~S;~JilA~si8~zine ~
,-(~~~'iy~~~~J»!R~~~~~~t $tu~~~-.i~9-' f~A1i}i~s ~~8
icano:~onnn.encemen\. ,~·" ',
,_, ~.;-r v~~Grads
>
Poets in front of bookstore
practice for big day
"'.~~IC(Y'.<u,
~;;'//\, '!f, :~cano Commencement graduates prac-
CWAA, Chicano Writers and Artists
tion will have a poetry reading at 8 p.m. ·
of the bookstore
-""-""""~~--'!""'~..
--,-;\"'
·":"
'
hicano Graduation! Practice will be held
. at theAmphitrreatre. For more
n, call 278-2048.
jueves, 5/10
5/26
MEChA will hold a general meeting
in the USU. Check glass case at south e
for room number.
aduacion Chicana tonight
Annual Chicano Commencement
onies in the amphitheater. Entertaingins at5:45p.m. withCSUF'sDanzantes
Exploring Southeast Asian li ·
an.
May 10-12: Conference: ''BuildingUm
Through Diversity" Exploring the Southeas
Asian Culture, Dispute Mediation at the Airport
Picadil1y Inn, 2 p.m.
lunes, 5/14
mingo, 5/27
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will meet today at 5 p.m. in San Ramon
3 Room 131.
Latin Jazz Band ESP along with Tito
Puente will perform at the courthouse Park
this afternoon.
Latino Jazz band tonight
Latin Jazz Band ESP, willl perform in
the Pit tonight at 8 p.m.
Since then, performance standards
have been set and the new clerk will
have to work within their confines.
Continued from page 1
Sanchez said her master's degree in
public administration and her "handson" experience would be the tools she
would use to
county elections. All courts, judges, and manage the
attorneys rely on the office to file elections
documents to get into court on time in office and the
clerk's office.
order to try cases.
"I believe I
Sanchez said the public needs someone
an
in that position who they feel they can am
trust to do a good job managing the office. extremely
The current race for Fresno County effective
Clerk has six candidates including manager,
Sanchez. Others who are running for the problem
position include Susan B. Anderson, a solver, and
deputy district attorney; George Brown, motivator,"
son of former County Clerk Les Brown; s a i d
Paul Gookins, a medical practices Sanchez.
consultant; Dale Doig, former Fresno She believes
Mayor; and Albert G. Stewart.
she is the
Current County Clerk Galen Larson m o s t
has been the target of numerous qualified for
criticisms which could put his successor the position
in a difficult position. Lar:.:::on has been because she has chosen administration
cited by the Grand Jury for mismanaging as her profession and career.
the office and the Fresno County Bar
Since 1984, Sanchez has been the
Association has complained about delays Director of Children and Family
in getting documents.
Programs at the Fresno County Economic
CLERK
ESP with Tito Puente
jueves, 5/17
Opportunities Commissidn where she
supervises 300 employees and oversees a
$13 million annual budget.
"I derive a great deal of not only job
satisfaction but personal satisfaction serving the public. I believe the public
'
has
a
right to
demand
ooinean
I believe the public
___ :· ·: h as a.: right to ·
d·ema-nd.
excelle_n ·c e ..-~an.d ::
fh~!i~;,i~~,!, l,atWaYS
·- str:iv.e:?for::: : ;t::
EYE ONASI
Continued from page 2
Althletics has been funded $300,000. "Administrators
are not looking at the proposals based on merit. It's
based on the fact they've been funded for the last few
years."
The final approval for clubs and organizations and
their allocations came through. However, not without
protest. School ofNatural Sciences Senator Frank Aviles
suggested taking $25 out of each club that was given at
least $1,000. This would have given theSoutheastAsi~,
student organization more for the book they're publishing,
"Passages."
The $25 request was voted out. Senator Montoya
thanked the senate for at least deliberating and discussing
this proposal.
The Majorie Mason center was given $1,200 from the
Bulldog Republicans and the Campus Childrens Center
were approved $2,284 of unallocated funds.
that's
what I
always
strive
for."
Being
the only
Latina
running
f o r
county
clerk is
also very
signifrant
to the
race,
Sanchez said.
She thinks it will
encourage many Latinos who do not vote
to come out and vote. She believes there
is a lot of voter apathy, and she wants to
try to correct that.
"I would serve as a role model not only
for the Latino community, but for women
and for other minorities," she said.
Sanchez's campaign has included going
door to door. She said she this has been
successful thanks to many volunteers.
Also on the ballot J une 5 will be the
Bar Association's attempt to keep politics
out of the clerk's office. If passed, the
amendment will mandate that the office
be fi11ed by appointment instead of by
election.
The amendment would also ensure that
the winner of the race only serve one 4year term. Then she or he will have to be
a candidate for appointment. A few years
ago the same amendment failed to pass.
Sanchez is opposed to the amendment.
"I am of the strong opinion that the person
who runs our elections should be elected
by the voters and removed by [them]."
She did, however, say she would apply
for the appointment and believes she is
qualified to be selected.
Sanchez is a third generation Fresno
County resident who was born in Sanger.
She attended Edison High School. After
marriage and two daughters, she, as a
working single mother, earned her degree
atCSUF.
-See center
Volume XXI, Number IV
Poet
Herrera
new prof
California State University, Fresno
ESP jams in the Pit
I
Matthew Polanco
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Poet, artist and educator Juan Felipe
Herrera will join the faculty in the
Chicano and Latin American Studies
Program this fall.
Herrera is an English professor at the
University of Iowa.
Born in nearby Fowler, Herrera said,
"it is another rebirth for me to be coming
back to the Vallev where I was born."
"I am very excited about teaching here
at Fresno State. I like seeing so much
energy in the Raza here." He will be
teaching CLS 5 and 116 in the fall, and
in the sprmg, he will add a Chicano
literature course to the program.
As a child, Herrera and his family did
fannwork up and down California. When
he was eight, his family moved to San
Diego, in the colonia of Logan Heights.
Later he moved to San Francisco's
Mission District. Herrera spent his
childhood between San Francisco and San
Diego.
In 1967, with an Educational
Oportunity Program grant, he attended
UCLA. Herrera said he was one of 60
Chicanos on campus at that time.
He was active in the United Mexican
American Students (UMAS) which later
became Movimiento Estuclientil Chicano
de Aztlan (MEChA).
In 1969, he was involved with the
development of MEChA at UC Santa
Hector AmezCWIISPECIAL TO I.A VOZ
Mike Gonzales has played the base for 15 years. He said he has played with many bands and is
currently with ESP, a Latin jazz band that performed in the Pit May 3 as part of the Semana de la
Raza festivities.
SeeHERRERA, page7
San chez aims to Huerta calls for
influence County student support
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Virginia Sanchez
"As a Latina, I would be able to provide a role
model for the community. We've never had
anyone Latino on the county level and certainly
not a female," said Virginia Sanchez about her
running for Fresno County Clerk.
Sanchez said she has always been involved in
community activities, and she wanted to take
some time off for herself. "But I decided to run
for county clerk. I have to do this one more
thing. I could do things on the county-wide level.
I could be influential. I could do a lot of things
for kids, and I could promote the importance of
voting and motivate the puplic," she said.
The clerk's office is a repository for Fresno
County documents. It oversees the entire clerk's
office and court documents that go to the superior
courts and the elections office which.handles all
See CLERK, page 8
I
without a brain," said Huerta, "Pesticides
are the cause of this. But the state is
not doing anything."
She said that there have been 2,100
incidents of pesticide poisonings, and
The audience came to be informed and three deaths as a result. But since most
that's exactly what happened. Dolores farm workers are afraid of getting fired
Huerta, Vice President and co-founder or are undocumented, many of the
of the United Farm Workers of America incidents of cancer go unreported.
Though farmers claim the pesticides
AFL-CIO had a lot of information
regarding pesticide dangers to give to are washed off before being sold in a
her audience May 2 in the Satellite market place, pesticides don't wash off
easily, she said.
Student Union.
"A woman in Austin, Texas, who
She explained that the farm worker,
along with being amongst the lowest crossed a picket line at a local
paid workers in the United States, is supermarket became violently ill after
ingesting grapes," said Huerta.
also the most expendable.
"After going to her doctor, she found
Huerta spoke of incidents of children
born to farm workers with birth defects out that a high amount of sulfites on the
the union believes were caused by grapes had caused her an allergic
reaction. She came back to the store that
pesticides.
"One family had a child who was born
See HUERTA, pages
without eyes and another was born
Sylvia Castro
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
ii.
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NuESTRA OPINION
OUR OPINION
Good ol' boys mad at La Voz ... So what?
editor that La Voz was, "worthy of no more
then wrapping fish or lining bird cages."
The statistics Wells cited, if they are
correct,areimpressive.
Those facts and figures were certainly
enough to outrage Wells. The nerve of
those damn "super radicals" in the ASL
How dare they increase the Chicano Youth
Conference budget by 181 percent and the
African American student recruitment by
421 percent? That might actually aid in
getting more people ofcolor to come to this
campus. We certainly can't have that.
Their increased presence could upset the
balance of things at good ol' Fresno Stat.e.
Wells also wrote in his letter that
cultural and other such clubs and
organizations had their budgets increased
while an established organization like the
Interfraternity Council/Panhellinic,
"representing students from all walks of
life had funds slashed from their budgets."
Of course, this comes from a guy whose
idea of a cultural event is swigging a
Corona and singing a few bars of "La
Bamba"
with
brother
Biff.
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
Two weeks ago our old friend, Ted
Hallisey exercised his so-called "media
skills" in his Collegian column and
attacked La Voz forincom pet.ent reporting.
Hallisey also said we were biased and
that student fees should not be used for
such things as this supplement to the
Daily Collegian. As I wrot.e in my letter to
the CoUegian editor, 18 percent of the
CSUF student body is Chicano and they
have a right to be heard.
People like Hallisey cannot understand
"Balalalalabamba..."
our views. They have never been, nor will
they ever be in our position.
Includinghis opposition ofChicano and
African American advancement in our
editorials offended him so much that he
accused us of being biased in our
presentation ofthe news. Hallisey's vision
must have been so blurred by frustration
that he confused our Eye on ASI editorials
with news in the rest of La Voz.
The fact that Hallisey did oppose such
things as capital expenditures for a
Chicano and Latin American/African
American studies resourse cent.er and the
fact that he blatantly opposed the
application ofthe first openly gay senator
is of importance to our readers.
Hallisey argues that we should at least
ask a US/Reality senator for her or his
opinion on certain matt.ers. What for?
Their actions speak louder then their
bullshit rhetoric about serving the needs
of"every" student, without discrimination.
(The fact that our own university
president hasn't been able to take
significant action against the problem of
low numbers of people of color at CSUF
has perturbed him so much that he is
considering resigning and returning to
teaching and doing research. In his own
Thesecomfortablerich boys are getting
words, "I would leave this all tomorrow to
scared. They have always been in control·
be a Broadway si:tger.")
and now they can see that Chicanos as
It's interestinghow frat boys, like Wells,
well as African Americans are gaining
have traditionaly monopolized student
power on this campus. And when people of
money. After all some of the fraternities
color have papers like La Voz and Uhuru
have their tokenAfricanAmerican or their
in which to voice their opinions, it makes
token "Hispanic" so they can consider that
the job of maintaining a "good ol' boy"
makeup representative of the entire
network even more difficult.
student body. And now that the ASI is
This was made evident by yet another
really trying to represent all students by
attack on La Voz. In the May 3 issue ofthe
first evening the score, they start crying
Daily Collegian, Ron Wells wrote to the
about the inequalities and injustices.
EDITOR APPLICATIONS DUE
J,.sllo<ikatASJJ>reside,#Karen Cogley
and,: t/i.e_val9es·~~ .h9s.fqy,g!jtfor,·p,:e
imptjr.tance'.;'. of]{ir.: : tJOi~.#isfj,/liever<be
Applications for the Fall 1990
La Voz de Aztldn editor-inchief position are available in
the Daily Collegian office
located in the Keats Campus
Building. All applicants
must submit three letters of
reference and a statement of
proposed editorial policy.
The deadline to submit
applications is May 9.
NosoTRos .•• LA Voz
EYE ON
ASI
JOSEPH M. TORRES
DE
Azn.AN
Editor in Chief- Chris Heredia
Assistant Editor-Eloy Garcia
Copy Editor-Celeste Saldivar
Graphics Editor -Oscar G. Ramirez
Calendario Editor-Marta Villasenor
Staff Artist-Ralph Avitia
Staff Writers-Sylvia Castro, Michaela
Diez-Lopez, Selene Flores, Sostenes
Infante Jr., Krista Lemos, Rosemary
Lopez, Sandra D. Ortiz, Matthew
Polanco, Al Robles, Jill Soltero, Sara
Soria, Joseph M. Torres.
Photographers - Laura Hernandez,
Jose Luis Gil, Angel De Jesus.
• Flag designed by Ralph Avitia •
The La Voz staff would like to thank
Eric Burney, Terry Pierson, and Lisa
McKinney of The Daily Collegian Staff.
La Voz ~ Aztllm Is published monthly by the Aaao·
elated Students, Inc. of Caltfomta State University,
Fresno. The newspaper office Is located tn the Kuta
campus Building. Fresno, Calif., 93740-0042. The
opinions published on thts page are not necessarily
those of the Associated Students, Inc., 11w DalJy
~tan or La VozDeAztlanand tta staft Umt#}ed
editorials are the majority optnton of the paper'• edl·
torial board.
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
Pella
brings
Salvadoran
women's
message
I
Al Robles
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The people of the United States must
become more aware of the problems in
El Salvador regarding human rightsespecially the conditions facing womenand the work done by Salvadorans to
end the war in their country and to begin
rebuilding a devastated economy.
This was the message of Marina
Judith Pena, a representative of the
Association of Salvadoran Women
(ADEMUSA). She spoke at a press
conference in the University Student
Union as part of the May Day portion of
MEChA's Semana De La Raza program.
May Day is commemorated every May 1
as International Workers Day.
That afternoon she spoke to the
students in the Free Speach Area about
the situation in her home country. She
described the conditions in El Salvador
brought on by 10 years of civil war and
the resulting economic crisis.
"The poor destribution of wealth and
military repression waged by the
wealthy against the majority of the
people has resulted in the armed conflict
which began in 1980."
Pena cited economic underdevelopment and scarcity of available
resources in her country as a historical
condition which has been made worse by
the war.
See FMLN, page 6
CSU,FRESNO
PAGE3
HUERTA
Continued from page 1
same day and we had a press conference.
She was saying she was sorry for not
having paid attention to the picket line."
The picket line was set up to boycott
the grapes sold at that particular
supermarket. The UFW is calling for
people to boycott grapes once again, she
said.
Even when something is labeled as
"organic" such as in "organic grapes,"
that doesn't mean the grapes are
pesticide-free. This means they are
tagged below tolerance level, said
Huerta. This is still a high level. "Last
year, of the 400 million pounds of grapes
that were tested, guess how many were
tested? Only 23 pounds of grapes were
tested," said Huerta.
"It will be 2025 before all the pesticides
are tested," Huerta said. "There are so
many we can't catch up . Only 17
pesticides are tested per year." But the
year 2025 will have been 36 years too
late for Jose Carvello Campos Martinez,
25, of Kern County.
Huerta said Martinez had been out
spraying pesticides on a ranch at about
10 a.m. A while later he called his
brother and complained of nausea. He
said he needed to go to the hospital. His
brother borrowed his friend's car, drove
to Martinez' house to find him on the
floor in convulsions and foaming at the
mouth. He was taken to the hospital but
by 3:30 p.m. he had died.
The coroner's report said that 400
milligrams of a deadly pesticide had been
in his system---0nly 23 milligrams were
fatal. The coroner reported that Martinez
must have ingested the pesticide and
listed his death as a suicide.
Huerta said that Martinez had an 18year-olp. wife and a baby boy. This is not
the profile of a suicide victim.
She said the responsibility to change
this situation is in everyone's hands. "We
cannot sit back and wait for someone to
UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta
change thing for us. It will never
happen.," she said.
She cited several cases µi which the
UFW believes pesticides to be the culprit
of cancer clusters in small towns such
as McFarland and Earlimart.
In McFarland she said nine children
have died of cancer in the last year.
That's 400 percent above the average,
she said.
''When labor laws went into effect in
1934, farm workers were excluded
because of racism. Most of them were
black and brown farm workers and no
one was really watching their interests,"
she said.
"The government does everything it
can to help people who have a lot of
money."
About 400 people attended Huerta's
40-minute speech as part of Semana de
la Raza's week-long activities at CSUF.
Latinos awarded for fiction and photography
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Latino accomplishments abounded in the Spring 1990
issue of "Common Wages." The book is compiled and
distributed by the English Department. Two of the
winners of the $100 prizes offered in the categories of
fiction, essay, poetry, and photography were Lawrence
Guerra, a senior philosophy major, and Angel DeJesus,
a senior photojournalism major.
Adam Hlll, editor-in-chief of "Common Wages" and
judge of the work submitted, said of the judging criteria,
"We picked what was the best story using the best style
of writing and containing the best subject matter."
Hi1 l called Guerra's short st.ory "On The Job" "A terrific
moment when two girls look at each other. It is both
moving and interesting."
Hill also said that Guvrra's subject matter concerning
On the lighter side, Hill also noted the criteria for
the field worker's plight was obviously important in the the photography category which Angel DeJesus won
San Joaquin Valley. About the entire episode, Hill said, for "Kiss Me," a picture of a cow with its monstrous
tongue reaching for the camera lens.
"Not a lot is said, but it is very moving."
The work submitted, Hill said, was judged on what
Guerra's portrayal of a field workers's struggle is one
he believes is often overlooked. He said, "It is a they believed was interesting. "We try to look for what
disenfranchised part of society." His inspiration of this is most important [which is] excellence." Hill expressed
fictional account came from his work in the fields, Guerra his feelings toward the photo when he said, "I knew
said. "It isn't factual,"he said, "but a lot of the story was immediately it would be for the cover because it was
eye-catching and humorous." Overall, he believed the
based on some of the things I saw."
Guerra said, "People really aren't conscious of the life content was very interesting.
DeJesus could not be reached for comment.
of a field worker and the many experiences." He said he
"Common Wages" is a yearly publication of any
just wanted to prove a point.
For the future, he alluded to a desire to write more; CSUF students' works which are submitted to the
however, time is a major hindrance for Guerra. "I like English Department for judging. Staff may also submit
to write and enjoy doing i.t once in a while, but I don't poetry, prose, or photography to "Common Wages"
have enough time. There are a number of stories I Next year's editor-in-chief will be Daniel Chacon, an
could do and, if done well, I could help people understand English graduate student who was co-editor of La Voz
de Aztlan in the Spring of 1987.
my message," said Guerra.
Writer Soto autographs work in bookstore
I
1
Krista Lemos
L~ VOZ STAFF WRITER
"I was raked over the coals of poverty
in Fresno," was what Gary Soto said
about how his experiences growing up in
Fresno color his writing.
Soto grew up in an area of south Fresno
that has virtually disappeared. He said
it, too, was "raked over by
redevelopment." The author of twelve
books was on-hand for book-signing at
the Kennel Bookstore May 4.
"I don't live a really exciting life. I
wake up in the morning feeling awful. I
start writing and I feel awful. And then
I complete my thing and I still feel awful. That's it," he said as his autograph
session
came to an
end.
He hastened to
add that he
does feel a
sense of accomplishment, however.
"I
didn't say
that I don't
feel accomplished," Soto said.
In the last eight or nine years, Soto
feels that the level of Chicano artistry
has improved because of three or four
prominent
writers including
Jimmy Santiago-Baca,
Sandra
Cisneros.
Through his
work,
he
hopes to let
other Chicanos see themselves.
Soto said he wants to write more children's books, "My latest book "Baseball
in April" is for children. I write about
childhood a lot because children are very
lush and impressionable."
When asked about the message he
hopes to give through his prose, he said,
"You don't write for a message, you write
so that the subjects of the stories come
alive." It isn't his intent to deliver a specific message, it's through the characters
and the story that a message is trans•
mitted to the people," he explained.
Soto has another book which should
be out in the fall. He said he's also working on another project; he plans to work
on a movie this summer called "The
Magic Tricks."
Cubano dancer makes
Because of the large amount of time he spends on the road performing, Vilaro said he has found
it necessary to carry the most valuable tools he has.
Among the many things Vilaro enjoys about the dance company is interacting
with other people like Kathryn Ross.
Having had a late start in d
Vilaro said, "I wish my pare
track team during high scho
La Voz de Aztlan, California State University, Fresno, May 1990
'big with Ballet Hispanico
Despite late start and
an unsupportive fat her,
Vilaro became a
professional dancer
I
Hector Amezcua
WRITER & PHOTOGRAPHER
After a period of suffering in his
homeland, Cuba, during the 1969
revolution, Eduardo Vilaro immigrated with his family to the United
States in pursuit of a better life.
Vilaro is one of five male dancers in
New York's Ballet Hispanico who
performed at the Student Satellite
Union May 4 and 5. He has had to
leap several obstacles to get to the
position he is now at: Professional
dancer.
Preparing for his performance in
a very hot, compact dressing room,
Vilaro explained what it has taken
to become a professional dancer.
Some of the obstacles he has faced
the auditions for Ballet Hispanico.
However, after a call to the company, with good luck and perseverance, Vilaro was accepted into the
dance troup.
"I called and asked them if I could
take a class, because I was interested in a company that was of
primarily Hispanic origin where I
would feel very much at home."
After graduating from Adelphi
University at Long Island N.Y.,
Alviro was permanently accepted as
part of the company.
Vilaro has many ambitions and
dreams he hopes to someday fulfill.
Among his goals is traveling to
foreign countries for vaned performances. "I would like to perform in
France. Also, I would like to perform in Spanish countries. I would
"I like ,naking people react)
perhaps to sadness or the
dra,na that we are doing. "
' it difficult for Eduardo Vilaro to become a profesional dancer.
Ve encouraged me to take dance classes instead of being on the
L•
include a late start in dancing and
like to go to Cuba."
Dancing has br_ought much satisstrained relations with his father . .
faction to Vilaro. "Dance is the
Among the things Vilaro regrets
from the past is not having an early whole body, it's a total freedom of
expresion." Vilaro enjoys seeing the
start at dancing. He wishes he
reactions of the audience, and
would have started dancing when
talking to them about his performhe was young. This stems from the
ance at the end of the show.
attitude his father had toward
"I like making people react,
performers and because of politics.
"My father is totally against what perhaps to sadness or the drama
that we are doing. It's very interestI do, simply because he is Republiing when someone comes up to you
can and he's a very strong Hispanic
after you've done a performance and
figure. In his eyes, the arts are a
tells you, 'I enjoyed your performleisure, and he would rather be
ance very much because it made me
entertained by someone else rather
feel like this, or it made me think
than by his own children."
Vilaro spoke highly of his mother. like this."'
When he's not rehearsing, Vilaro
He said she raised him and his two
brothers alone, and before coming to relaxes by writing. He said that
the United States, she got her
when he is in New York, he likes to
husband out of jail through the
play ball with his brothers and
black market.
spend time with his mother.
Though he considered medicine as
"Now my mother on the other
a career when he was younger,
hand, she is all for it. She says 'as
long as you're happy."'
Vilaro said now he would not switch
While applying makeup for his
dancing for anything else. He is
performance May 4, Vilaro said that proud about what he does. "All my
he started dancing in high school
brothers are doing very well at
plays and musicals. "I worked hard, whatever area they are, but I am
took classes and tried to get scholar- also doing quite well in my own
ships in certain dance schools."
way." After some thought, Vilaro
Vilaro was inspired by dancing in
said he would like to invite his
movies'like "Flash Dance."
father to one of his performances
While in college, Vilaro missed
when he goes back to New York.
I~*
PAGE 6
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
MAY,1990
%
Professional journalist Carrejo's job gro\Vs as ASI
liason to ca:rnpus childcare
group· elects new board Goals
include stabilizing staffs at 3 centers
The California Chicano News Media
Association-Fresno Chapter recently
elected its new executive board.
Comprised of professional Valley-area
journalists, the CCNMA-Fresno Chapter
was established in 1974. It is part of a
six-chapter, state-wide association based
in Los Angeles. Other chapters are located
in San Diego, Orange County, Riverside/
San Bernardino, Sacramento and San Jos
Fresno Bee Reporter Carlos Cordova,
was elected President. Cordova covers the
courts for The Fresno Bee.
KSEE Channel 24 photographer Louie
Valle was elected Professional Vice
President. He covers general assignement
stories for the station.
The post of Eductional Vice President
will be held by Bee reporter Angela
Valdivia. Valdivia covers general
assignment stories for the Bee
Fresno Bee reporter Louie Galvan will
be secretary. Galvan covers the police
stories for the Bee.
Former CCNMA President Felix
Contreras, will hold the position of
treasurer in the new board.
Fresno Bee reporter Pablo Lopez will
hold the at-large post No.1. Lopez covers
general assignment stories at the Madera
Bureau.
At-Large Post No. 2 will be held by
Fresno Bee Reporter Edward R. Jimenez.
Jimenez covers general assignement
stories at the Visalia Bureau.
At-large post No. 3 will be held by
CSUF Outreach Public Affairs Specialist
Tom Uribes. Uribes was Chapter
Representative to the State Board. He is
director of the Minority Journalism
Workshop and advisor and founder of
CCNMA-Fresno's student chapter, the
CSUF Chicano Journalism Students
Association.
An installation dinner to honor the new
board will be held in early June, where
CCNMA State President George Ramos
will officially swear-in the board during
the celebration dinner. Ramos won a
pulitzer prize as a reporter for the Los
Angeles Times.
CCNMA Executive Director Mike
Castro will also attend the dinner. Castro
took a leave of absence as reporter for
The Sacrmento Bee to hold this postion
for a two-year term.
CCNMA headquarters is housed in the
University of Southern California's School
of Journalism.
For more information regarding tickets
to the event or CCNMA, contact Tom
Uribes at 278-2048.
I
for all three. However , one site is
used solely for infants while the 0theris are for the care of toddlers.
JosephM. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Carrejo said there is a one and a
half to two-year waiting list for all
three centers.
Linda Carrejo was appointed by
the ASI as liaison to the three campus children centers. She said her
job is to provide information to the
sentate on the status of the daycare
centers.
Some of the changes Carrejo
wants to see in the coming year inc1ude a dental hygiene program for
the children. She said she would
like to have them brush their teeth
once a day at the center.
Her new title added periodic reports to the senate to her list of duties at the center which she said caters to low income mothers who
would not otherwise be able to attend college without childcare programs like CSUF's.
Carrejo said she would also like
to help stabilize the staff at the centers. She said having staff members
for longer periods of time would
improve the security at the centers
and give the children a sense of stability.
Carrejo explained some of the requirements she and others watch for
when reviewing applications for oncampus child care.
CSUF students interested in having their children in the daycare
program need to begin th e application procedure as soon as possible.
If you have questions about campus
childcare, call 278-2652 Monday
through Friday between 8 a.m. and
2p.m.
"All kids have to be up to date on
immunizations and student-parents
must carry at least 12 units," she
said. There are currently two sites-one on-campus and another off-campus. The requirements are the same
Santan a
e lectrifies
Warnors
Griping poetry
I
Joseph M. Torres
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
The sheer steel guitar poetry of Santana dominated Warnors Theater April
24. The return ofSantanacommemorated
its 20th anniversary in the public eye.
Santana was born in the Woodstock festival ofl 969 and since then, the group has
been known for its cool Latinjazz style of
music.
The group led by guitarist Carlos Santana evoked a firm presentation to a crowd
of long-time Santana fans and m any
newcomers to his sound. His steel guitar
solos echoed a rich sound throughout the
theater .
Featured in the two hour an d fifteen
minuteconcertwer e"Black MagicWomen"
'°[
,,., and "Oye Como Va!" These tunes were
~ both intensified and tested mth the full
ui'
range of Carlos Santana's steel guitar
fil ability. One song, "Mandela" was per~ formed commemorating Nelson Mandela's
~
visit to the United States.
2 Another performance was done in protest to the political movement to make
English an official language, and it was
appropriately titled, "Let's Make Spanish
the second official language."
Margarita Luna Robles reads her poem "It's about class" during Semana de La
Raza's Noche Floricanto, April 30. Robles will be a part-time instructor this fall.
She will join her husband Juan Felipe Herrera who will be part of the CLS faculty.
FMLN
Continued from page 3
commission documented 2,184 people assassinated, 41 the Fresno Mexican American Political Association
disappeared, and 908 who were arrested and tortured Del Valle.
Chacon said that Chicanos need to become more
in the jails in the capitol city, San Salvador.
politically active in orPena was also arrested on
der to deal effectively
two occasions and tortured
with
the problems facing
both physically and psy.
.
the barrio. "We as Chichologically by the police.
· 75 perd~tifotchildren under five · canos need to know our
The organization ADErights under the law and
MUSA was formed in
January 1988 to address
defend them because no
the effects of the country's
one else is going to do it
social and economic crisis :::t \?//?:· ·,• . '·.- ::::>-· ;:-::/:':"•>::'.<•
for us."
. ..
:-.. :=:<-:::-=::.;:/::. ·.· ::_ ,·
·-: .•. ,::=
on women. The organizaThe problems facing
tion helps women with
Chicano youth in the
services such as locating employment and housing. public school system, farm workers, and the undocuADEMUSA also organizes workers and peasant women mented are problems of negligence and many times
as well as those displaced by the earthquake to become outright abuse by those in power, said Chacon.
politically active in the issues facing the whole society.
The second speaker was Rick Chacon, president of
See FMLNt page 8
.
She went on to state that, "60 percent of the urban
population and 20 percent of the rural population in El
Salvador cannot sustain a decent standard ofliving."
According to Pefia, the problems with health care are
also very critical. "75 percent .o f children under five
years old show signs of malnutrition and 427 children
die every week as a result."
The only pediatric hospital, she said, was devastated
during the 1986 earthquake and was never rebuilt.
The problem with human rights abuses, she said is
the most dramatic problem facing El Salvador. She
said that in the period between November 1989 and
February 1990 alone, the country's human rights
.
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HERRERA
Continued from page 2
f
,
f
~
I
!
~
~
S:
Juan Felipe Herrera
Barbara.
From 1972 to 1975, he went back to Logan Heights to
work in the Chicano community at a cultural center.
There he helped develop theaters, poetry organizations
and music groups about La Raza.
In 1970-1973, he helped with the foundation of
Chicano Park in San Diego. He was specifically
responsible for placing murals around the park with
the help of local Chicano artists.
He said, "This was an artistic and spritual rebirth for
the Chicano. A movement from oppression and
segregation to the glorification of the Chicano. It also
gave the Chicano community something tangible,
something that we owned."
In 1977, he went back to school at Stanford University.
In 1982, he obtained his Masters of Arts in Social
Anthropology. He will be receiving his Ph.D. soon in
the same field.
Herrer~ along with his teaching experience at the
University of Iowa, has taught at Stanford University,
New College in San Francisco, and De Anza Community
College in Sunnyvale.
He has also lectured on Chicano studies at UC
Berkeley and the University of Texas, Austin, as well
as on the East Coast.
Herrera has gained national recognition for his work .
He received awards from the National End!:. .wment of
Arts in 1980 and 1985. "I only mention this to draw
attention t.o other Chicanos who haven't been recognized
and are as deserving of these awards as I was then.
"I am not the only Chicano writer in the U.S.," he said
while remembering the time he received his first award.
"I was all dressed up, with no other Chicano faces to
look at. I was nervous, but I was proud. When a man of
the white persuasion walked up t.o me and asked me
what nation I was from? It.old him that I was from th(<
nation of California.
"I have two goals, and with the help of the CLS
faculty and the voices of the Chicano students, I would
like to start a [master's in fine arts] program here.
Nationwide, there are 328 MFA programs and less thar
5 percent of those deal with Chicano studies.
He said that for the last two decades, "the Chicano
writer has gone underground, but the '90s will bring
out Chicano artists publicly. The Chicano will issue a
new challenge to society with our unique and creative
style of writing. We will be at the national and
international centers ofliterature circles.
"Chicanos will no longer be held down, pushed back,
or stiffied. The Chicano voices will be heard around the
world and no longer just around the room," Herrera
said.
Herrera said his plans as CSUF professor include
developing a writing workshop here.
Education students form. group
I
Krista Lemos
LA VOZ STAFF WRITER
Last September, six CSUF students set out on the
long road to forming a new organization. March 8
marked the end of their six month trek.
After hours of preparation, the first meeting of the
Chicano-Latino Education Student Association was
supported by wide student interest. Nineteen students
attended the introductory meeting.
Founders of the organization, Ralph Avitia, Amelia
Vasquez, Porfirio Lopez, Daniel Salinas, and Eddie
Perez, said they saw a need for an organization which
concentrated on students interested in pursuing
educational careers.
Vasquez said she thought the idea of the group was
good because she was lost when she first came to CSUF.
She and the others expressed a desire for C.L.E.S.A. to
be an avenue of support, guiding student.s in their
academic progress.
Perez said the main purpose of C.L.E.S.A. is to "guide
students" in the process toward graduation.
The three original objectives, said Salinas, are to
teach survival skills and to provide career counseling
and group support. Workshops, speakers, study teams,
Chicano literature
gets exposure
I
Eloy Garcia
LA VOZ ASSISTANT EDITOR
"Our voices have not been heard," said Mark
Anthony Alvidrez, a senior English major and
a member of the new Chicano Writers and
Artists Association.
CWAA is one of the newest Chicano
organization on campus and the only one of its
kind. Andres Montoya, a junior history major
who co-founded CWAA with Alvidrez, Dan
Chacon and Victor Canales said, "When we
started this group, our intension was to provide
an outlet for Chicano artistic expression.
"There are a lot of Chicano artists out there
and they don't have an avenue to express
themselves. Because they are Chicanos they
ai:,e usually locked out of the mainstream
literature and art in this country."
Chacon, a graduate English major, said,
"Being Chicano, our literature is unique and
because of that uniqueness, it is not always
accepted by the conventional literary circles.
So when we started CWAA, we just wanted to
give ourselves a forum where we can show each
other our work and get it out to the people."
Because of the mixed use oflanguage and its
subject matter, Chicano literature has not been
fully accepted as true literature.
Chacon said, "There's a certain amount of
conservatism in traditional literature that
doesn't like to accept things that are new, things
that are different. We're saying we don't care,
we're going to do it anyway. And if we're not
accepted by literary critics, that's okay because
we're bringing ours directly to the people.
"We need to bring this literature out to the
people. Let the people evaluate it, let the people
reject it, let the people accept it," Chacon said.
Guerilla poetry is a technique CWAA has
used this semester to do exactly that. They
have held two poetry readings infront of the
bookstore. The last reading was held April 25.
Some 30 people sat on the steps of the
bookstore and listened to poems from members
of CWAA as well as that of non-members.
"Our concept of guerilla poetry, of going out
and taking it to the people has worked great
for us this semester," said Chacon. Alvidrez
added that the group having-regular readings
was helping him be more consistent in his
writing.
"I've always been writing short stories and
poems but this has helped me to be more
consistent. The last reading was a weak ago so
know I have to produce more. I have to come
up with some new material," Alvidrez said.
CWAA also held a poetry reading on April
18 as its first official event, where Luis Omar
Salinas, considered by many to be the godfather
of Chicano poetry, Leonard Adame, an
instructor at Fresno City College, and Pedro
Ramirez, a former CSUF student read their
poetry.
As for the future, Chacon said they will
continue their style of guerilla poetry. CWAA
also plans on putting together a play next year
and bringing theater to the people as well.
CWAA will also hold workshops where they
will bring professional Chicano writers to read
students' work and possibly work with them.
Another of their goals is to start chapters at
the high school and junior college levels.
"You'll be surprised how many Chicanos are
writing on the the high school and junior
college levels," Chacon said.
"Chicanos are always writing. Chicanos have
a lot to contribute... the next literary movment
that comes out of American literature is going
to be Chicano Literature," Chaoon said.
and general information are just a few of the planned
activities.
The organization is very open to change and student
input, said Perez. "We don't want to leave any needs
untended to."
Cecilia Maciel, a psychology major, said at the first
meeting. "[C.L.E.S.A.] seems to provide a good support
system for anyone involved in education or anyone with
similar problems within the academic system," she said.
Officers have not been elected, though a constitution
and by-laws have been drawn and adopted. Dr. Hisauro
Garza, a faculty member in the Chicano-Latino Studies
Program is the group's advisor.
I WILL. I WILL.
Trees that line the asphalt path
are blooming purple flowers .
They smell sweet, like bathroom tissue,
perfume, the breath of the woman I love.
Soon the flowers will sway in the wind,
dropping their peddles, they will sail
to the ground, and dot the path.
I will walk between the trees
the peddles will fall against my body
like confetti from God-as if he were
celebrating my arrival
saying, See? See?
See how important you are?"
Sunlight will leak through the branches
I will be like a movie star
a dancer in the spotlight
I will extend my arm s
twirl on my roes
dance like David danced.
I don't care who sees me and I will ask many to join me.
Sweat will squirm down my body
pedals will stick to my face
I will be hot and cold
naked and clothed
in love and not in love
with friends and alone
Indian and European
in all places at one time
dancing on my grandmother's cement porch
as red lights race across the treetops
and my handcuffed uncle is pushed head-first into the backseat,
dancing on the dark river bank with La Llorona
and we will swim together in the nude,
dancing on the balcony of my apartment
and The Malaysian girls across the path will think rm nuts,
on the too fresh grave of my mother
and she will rise from the dead and dance with me too.
In The anteroom I will dance on The oak floor;
and God, pleased with me, will let me in.
by Daniel Chacon
I
CSU,FRESNO
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN
PAGES
martes, 5/8
Chicano Commencement Committee will
meet today from 5 to 7 p.m. in JAd, Room 203.
Graduation is near! Come help with final preparations.
miercoles. 5/9
iliillliililililill1• - - - - - - - - - - ~~
The HBSA will hold a General Meeting at 6
pm in the Peters Building. Check bulletin board
for room number.
jueves, 5/24
••••••-----------
~!t!:~~~s~::!~!~: :a~:~fi!~t
0
Final touc}Jes to ~De.$tittos'
-~·-. · ._; __•~ - {-:·~;:-~-~-;..··~---_
MAY, 1990
\~: -~ ,,( . _·:-,)•,: ·:.-/, ·_. ·
<rJSA:'nx_~~s'~d~y~tnp.lll._in Jt'd;;:~ nf2.~3;, Ceremony in Upstairs Cafeteria 200 at 7 p.m.
'Fbe~o~tlwj]lp~t ,t}i~p~aJt1:>µcb~S;~JilA~si8~zine ~
,-(~~~'iy~~~~J»!R~~~~~~t $tu~~~-.i~9-' f~A1i}i~s ~~8
icano:~onnn.encemen\. ,~·" ',
,_, ~.;-r v~~Grads
>
Poets in front of bookstore
practice for big day
"'.~~IC(Y'.<u,
~;;'//\, '!f, :~cano Commencement graduates prac-
CWAA, Chicano Writers and Artists
tion will have a poetry reading at 8 p.m. ·
of the bookstore
-""-""""~~--'!""'~..
--,-;\"'
·":"
'
hicano Graduation! Practice will be held
. at theAmphitrreatre. For more
n, call 278-2048.
jueves, 5/10
5/26
MEChA will hold a general meeting
in the USU. Check glass case at south e
for room number.
aduacion Chicana tonight
Annual Chicano Commencement
onies in the amphitheater. Entertaingins at5:45p.m. withCSUF'sDanzantes
Exploring Southeast Asian li ·
an.
May 10-12: Conference: ''BuildingUm
Through Diversity" Exploring the Southeas
Asian Culture, Dispute Mediation at the Airport
Picadil1y Inn, 2 p.m.
lunes, 5/14
mingo, 5/27
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers will meet today at 5 p.m. in San Ramon
3 Room 131.
Latin Jazz Band ESP along with Tito
Puente will perform at the courthouse Park
this afternoon.
Latino Jazz band tonight
Latin Jazz Band ESP, willl perform in
the Pit tonight at 8 p.m.
Since then, performance standards
have been set and the new clerk will
have to work within their confines.
Continued from page 1
Sanchez said her master's degree in
public administration and her "handson" experience would be the tools she
would use to
county elections. All courts, judges, and manage the
attorneys rely on the office to file elections
documents to get into court on time in office and the
clerk's office.
order to try cases.
"I believe I
Sanchez said the public needs someone
an
in that position who they feel they can am
trust to do a good job managing the office. extremely
The current race for Fresno County effective
Clerk has six candidates including manager,
Sanchez. Others who are running for the problem
position include Susan B. Anderson, a solver, and
deputy district attorney; George Brown, motivator,"
son of former County Clerk Les Brown; s a i d
Paul Gookins, a medical practices Sanchez.
consultant; Dale Doig, former Fresno She believes
Mayor; and Albert G. Stewart.
she is the
Current County Clerk Galen Larson m o s t
has been the target of numerous qualified for
criticisms which could put his successor the position
in a difficult position. Lar:.:::on has been because she has chosen administration
cited by the Grand Jury for mismanaging as her profession and career.
the office and the Fresno County Bar
Since 1984, Sanchez has been the
Association has complained about delays Director of Children and Family
in getting documents.
Programs at the Fresno County Economic
CLERK
ESP with Tito Puente
jueves, 5/17
Opportunities Commissidn where she
supervises 300 employees and oversees a
$13 million annual budget.
"I derive a great deal of not only job
satisfaction but personal satisfaction serving the public. I believe the public
'
has
a
right to
demand
ooinean
I believe the public
___ :· ·: h as a.: right to ·
d·ema-nd.
excelle_n ·c e ..-~an.d ::
fh~!i~;,i~~,!, l,atWaYS
·- str:iv.e:?for::: : ;t::
EYE ONASI
Continued from page 2
Althletics has been funded $300,000. "Administrators
are not looking at the proposals based on merit. It's
based on the fact they've been funded for the last few
years."
The final approval for clubs and organizations and
their allocations came through. However, not without
protest. School ofNatural Sciences Senator Frank Aviles
suggested taking $25 out of each club that was given at
least $1,000. This would have given theSoutheastAsi~,
student organization more for the book they're publishing,
"Passages."
The $25 request was voted out. Senator Montoya
thanked the senate for at least deliberating and discussing
this proposal.
The Majorie Mason center was given $1,200 from the
Bulldog Republicans and the Campus Childrens Center
were approved $2,284 of unallocated funds.
that's
what I
always
strive
for."
Being
the only
Latina
running
f o r
county
clerk is
also very
signifrant
to the
race,
Sanchez said.
She thinks it will
encourage many Latinos who do not vote
to come out and vote. She believes there
is a lot of voter apathy, and she wants to
try to correct that.
"I would serve as a role model not only
for the Latino community, but for women
and for other minorities," she said.
Sanchez's campaign has included going
door to door. She said she this has been
successful thanks to many volunteers.
Also on the ballot J une 5 will be the
Bar Association's attempt to keep politics
out of the clerk's office. If passed, the
amendment will mandate that the office
be fi11ed by appointment instead of by
election.
The amendment would also ensure that
the winner of the race only serve one 4year term. Then she or he will have to be
a candidate for appointment. A few years
ago the same amendment failed to pass.
Sanchez is opposed to the amendment.
"I am of the strong opinion that the person
who runs our elections should be elected
by the voters and removed by [them]."
She did, however, say she would apply
for the appointment and believes she is
qualified to be selected.
Sanchez is a third generation Fresno
County resident who was born in Sanger.
She attended Edison High School. After
marriage and two daughters, she, as a
working single mother, earned her degree
atCSUF.