by Truth Press

The Joaquín Murieta mural created by Willie Herrón III in East Los Angeles will be restored and reinstalled on the building when its reconstruction is completed early next year.

The mural depicts Murieta, a legendary Mexican and Chilean figure who starred during the California Gold Rush as the “Robin Hood of El Dorado.” Willie Herrón III created it for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) in 1972 with the purpose of honoring the struggle and resistance put up by the Mexican miners, who in those days days they suffered violent discrimination as they sought economic opportunities in California. The artist himself will restore the work personally and the process will be documented by LAFLA itself.

The mural is part of the LAFLA en el 5228 del bulevar Whittier, Los Ángeles 90022.

“I am honored that this piece of art of mine has become a historical landmark that is an integral part of the East Los Angeles community today. I am very proud to have contributed to the legacy of this organization, LAFLA, which has been fighting poverty and discrimination in my hometown for more than half a century,” Herrón said.

The LAFLA organization opened its offices in East Los Angeles in 1972 and plans to rebuild its headquarters in the same current location in order to expand the services it provides to the community, facilitate access to them and generate a welcoming atmosphere for both customers and staff. Private interview rooms will allow lawyers working at the foundation to interview their clients in comfortable environments that allow confidentiality. Finally, a children’s play area will make it more accessible for families to visit services offered for families without child care, and a dedicated event space will allow LAFLA to host more legal clinics for immediate on-site services.

The new building is scheduled to begin construction this spring. During the course of construction, this East Los Angeles LAFLA branch will continue to provide services across the street at 5301 Whittier Boulevard, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90022.

Los Mesoneros – Rock their lollapalooza Chile stage debut and premiere

Chile, Santiago – March 19, 2024 – The acclaimed alternative pop rock band, Los Mesoneros, burst onto the main stage of Lollapalooza Chile this past weekend with a performance that captivated the audience. Their debut at Lollapalooza Chile marks the beginning of an exciting year for the band, who recently released their new single ‘Su Lado De La Cama’. The song was performed live for the first time in front of the 210,000 people who attended the 12th edition of the festival. The next day, the band offered an additional show at the Sala Metrónomo in the same city, concluding their visit to Chile in a stunning way.

Produced by Los Mesoneros, ‘Su Lado De La Cama’ not only paves the way for the band’s fourth studio album, but also captures the essence of their alternative pop rock. Returning to their roots, the song highlights the prominence of the guitar and aims to revive the characteristic energy of their live performances, as they will demonstrate on March 29th and 30th at the prestigious Tecate Pal’ Norte in Monterrey, Mexico. In the event, they will share the stage with renowned bands such as Blink 182, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Arcade Fire, and Limp Bizkit, among others.

In May, the band will kick off their highly anticipated Los Mesoneros Tour 2024 in Mexico with performances in cities including Puebla, León, Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Tijuana, and additional dates to be announced very soon. Subsequently, in September, the band will bring their music to the United States, with shows in Orlando, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Miami.

by Olman Valle Hernández

Hundreds of Nicaraguans and Latinos who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, gathered since 7 a.m. on Thursday to meet in person the first most beautiful woman in Nicaragua who became Miss Universe 2023.

The Nicaraguan beauty went on a press tour to different media outlets in San Jose and San Francisco, then she met with the crowd who longed to meet her and give her all their support after being the first Nicaraguan to win the well-deserved title, not only for Nicaragua, but for all of Central America as Miss Universe 2023.

Palacios’ reception took place at the Nicaraguan restaurant Las Tinajas, a place that does not provide the appropriate conditions for an event like this magnitude because it is very small and not exclusive for the event due to its diners who arrived for their food deliveries.

Miss Universe entered the premises at 11:45 a.m., holding a meet & greet with city authorities and figures from the Latino community, a very secretive event that did not allow access to local San Francisco media and representatives of Latino women groups.

The organization called Chavalos.org and the owners of the Las Tinajas restaurant planned the meeting between Sheynnis and the Nicaraguan community in San Francisco, who from their social networks detailed that Miss Universe’s visit was in commemoration of International Women’s Day, as part of a public activity.

However, not everything was to the liking of her fans, who were not satisfied with the actions developed and improvised before, during and after the event since not everyone managed to meet her and take a souvenir of her home.

In the invitation advertisement, an activity for the general public was announced, however this was not the case; Miss Universe was expected at 11 in the morning, however she had a 50-minute delay upon her arrival.

Despite the massive line that her fans made from the door of the restaurant to around the corner of 20th and Mission St., not everyone managed to meet her in person and take their own photographs, since taking photos was prohibited with mobile phones, and there would be no form of autographs on flags or personalized details. It could only be done with the official Chávalos.org camera, representing a mockery for the majority of her fans who did not know the whereabouts of the photos.

The meeting between Miss Universe and her fans lasted around 2 hours, with the godmother of the Baptism and Palacios’s relatives directly organizing the entrance of the attendees.

Despite the large number of fans, they decided to implement a delivery of tickets, this being a terrible alternative to the avalanche of people, leaving out those who arrived early in the morning who stayed under the sun outside.

As an example of a button, it was noted the exclusivity that some people close to Palacios had and the same authorities who were the first to be photographed with Miss Universe without taking into account and importance the affection and tenderness of the elderly and girls who gathreed to see the most beautiful Nicaraguan in the universe, who ignored their desire.

After that, it was generally reported that there would be no more people entering the premises and no more photographs, a decision that was made by the event organizers and Miss Universe authorities. However, the fans decided to wait for Palacio to leave, who left the restaurant 2 hours later and she left a bad taste by not greeting the Latin0 families who were eagerly waiting to see her, even for a few moments.

“What they did doesn’t seem fair and correct to me, we’ve been waiting for her for hours, some of us stopped working and asked for the day off to meet her, they make us line up under the sun and at the last minute they tell us this story, I don’t think so.”

It’s not good for the image of our Miss, I came from San José with my whole family and we couldn’t even go in to greet her. It seems to me that they did not know how to organize well and yet the place does not provide the conditions, since there is another line waiting for the delivery of the food to go”, said Claudio Pompillio, a Palacios fan.

“We understand that our Miss Universe is a human being like us and that she also gets tired, she needs to eat and rest, but it has not been fair that some entered and others did not. I came with my 7-year-old girl who is her biggest idol, and they didn’t allow her to come in at least to meet her,” said María Elena Quintanilla, a Nicaraguan based in San Francisco.

Miss Universe 2023 has been recognized in a few months of her reign as a successful woman among women in the region, managing to position herself as one of the 50 most influential women in Latin America.

Sheynnis Palacios will visit Miami on March 12 and will be received at the Guacalito restaurant, whose owner has been a sponsor of Miss Nicaragua. Nicaraguans plan to give her a great welcome on this Miss Universe tour of the United States.