Friday, July 31, 2026
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Thanks to God and to all the sponsoring companies we are celebrating 32 years

Thirty-two years ago a baby was born that I called The Reporter, but later, at my journalist father’s insistence, I renamed it El Reportero, because it was born as an English publication, and became the bilingual newspaper that you all know now.

There was no internet yet, and unlike today’s technology where pages are created on the computer and sent to the print shop by email, one had to bring the finished art in person.

Before, I would print the pages on a printer, and with scissors I would cut out the content and paste it on cardboard, like putting together a puzzle. It was then taken to the printing shop, where the pre-press technician took the photos and created the plates, which are (still) placed on the rotary press – and then the bundle of newspapers comes out already tied, ready for distribution.

The first time I went to the printing press – one that was on 16th Street in SF – to pick up the first edition of The Reportero, I passed by Mission Street, and I was on my way to the University. I was eager to start distributing – the 10,000 copies I had just picked up – at SF State University.

I stopped for the traffic light at 25th Street. To the left was the famous Taqueria, and next to it was the newly opened Casa Blanca Taqueria, owned by Blanca and Barnes Gomez, and now gone.

My car, which was a two-seater, a white Pontiac GT, didn’t have room to hold all the copies, so I spread them out in front and on the hood of the car.

What is that?” Barnes asked me curiously.

“It’s my newspaper,” I replied excitedly. “I come from the printer.”

Immediately I got out stopping traffic in double parking in the middle of the street – to hand out some copies of the newspaper to him and his friends.

When I got into my car, I said to myself with great enthusiasm: “is a community newspaper!”

What you see now, dear readers, is the fruit of a passion that I already had in me since my birth, and that I suddenly discovered unintentionally. Simply, I heard a phrase that someone said: “journalism has the highest ethics of all professions”, and with that reference I chose to choose the career of journalism to that of law, since I had already dealt with that field when I graduated with a certificate in Paralegal Studies at one of those non-certified colleges out there that offer certificates without much value.

I hope to continue telling you my story and that of El Reportero in future editions. But today I thank God for the energy deposited in me to reach these 32 years that the newspaper is fulfilling, and to the companies that have sponsored us.

 

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Truckers block US border crossing

Mandatory inspection for every vehicle has throttled the flow of commercial traffic

by Mexico News Daily

Truckers blocked an international crossing between Tamaulipas and Texas on Monday to protest the Lone Star State’s more stringent inspection policy for commercial vehicles.

Governor Greg Abbott last week directed Texas authorities to conduct more thorough inspections of all commercial vehicles crossing into the state from Mexico in order to detect drugs and migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally.

“Governor Abbott announced on Wednesday aggressive actions by the state of Texas to secure the border in the wake of President Biden’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions” next month, the Texas government said in a press release, referring to expulsions to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Truck drivers say that the enhanced inspections, which began last Thursday, have resulted in them being stranded at the border for up to 16 hours.

On Monday, they blocked the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge to protest the lengthy inspections, which drivers say take about 45 minutes per truck and are not conducted after 10:00 p.m., leaving truckers stranded overnight.

The bridge normally opens at 6:00 a.m. but didn’t open on Monday morning. It is is the most important point of entry for food imports to the United States.

“Colleagues have fainted from the heat in the cabin – they don’t let you get out,” one protesting trucker told the newspaper Reforma.

“A lot of colleagues suffered hunger and thirst on the first day and they couldn’t go to the bathroom. They took lunch and water the next day, but they were still unable to go to the bathroom,” he said.

“They start [the inspections] at six in the morning and they leave at ten at night. … You have to wait until the next day to unload.”

Truckers said they were previously able to take as many as three loads of freight across the border per day, but now they can only transport one load every two or three days, which affects drivers’ earnings. “You spend what you earn on food,” one trucker said.

Texas State Senator Juan Hinojosa told the news website Border Report that 3,000 trucks per day usually crossed the Pharr-Reynosa bridge into Texas, but only about 300 per day had made it across since the stricter inspection process began.

“The truckers from Mexico are upset because they don’t have food. They don’t have bathrooms to use. They’re running out of fuel and some of the produce is rotting. So they are pretty upset,” Hinojosa said.

He and other Texas senators who represent border communities sent a letter to Abbott urging him to reconsider the mandatory inspection policy for all trucks.

Nuevo León authorities said that Governor Samuel García would travel to the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge on Monday afternoon to lobby for swifter inspections.

“They’re now inspecting 100% of trucks … and that has been delaying the entire trade flow,” said Nuevo León Regional Development Minister Marco González.

“That’s why the governor will arrive to [the border town of] Colombia today,” he said.

“We have a meeting with businesspeople and customs authorities, … [including those] from Texas to look at the problem. The governor will make an announcement of an action … that will help speed up [border crossings],” González said.

But getting the Texas government to drop or change its recently implemented policy would appear to be a difficult proposition given its tough border security rhetoric.

“The Biden Administration’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous cartels and deadly drugs to pour into the United States, and this crisis will only be made worse by ending Title 42 expulsions,” Abbott said last week.

“With the end of Title 42 expulsions looming next month, Texas will immediately begin taking unprecedented action to do what no state has done in American history to secure our border. The new strategies announced … will further strengthen our already robust response to the Biden border disaster, and we will use any and all lawful powers to curtail the flow of drugs, human traffickers, illegal immigrants, weapons, and other contraband into Texas,” the governor said.

With reports from Reforma, The Border Report and The Texas Tribune

 

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Want to improve your brain performance? Eat avocados

by Joanne Washburn

Here’s one good reason to eat avocados: They can help improve your ability to focus on tasks even in the face of distraction, particularly if you’re overweight or obese.

In a study published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, researchers found that overweight or obese participants who ate a fresh avocado every day did better on a cognitive test that measured attentional inhibition than those who didn’t eat an avocado.

The researchers believe that the avocado’s beneficial effects on cognitive performance could be due to nutrients like fiber, monounsaturated fats and lutein.

Previous studies have shown that people who are overweight or obese are at an increased risk for dementia and cognitive decline in later life. The researchers of the study were interested to know whether dietary approaches, such as adding an avocado to your daily meals, may have benefits for cognitive health, especially in midlife.

To that end, they gave daily meals to 84 adults who were overweight or obese for 12 weeks. The meals were identical in calories and macronutrients, but one group’s meals included a fresh avocado every day. The control group had no avocado in their meals.

At the beginning and end of the study, the participants had to complete three cognitive tests that measured attention and inhibition. The researchers also measured the participants’ levels of lutein, a powerful compound that accumulates in the retina. Lutein, which is found in avocados, is linked to better cognitive function.

They found that participants who had avocados with their meals did better than those in the control group on a cognitive test called the Flanker task, which measures attentional inhibition. This refers to the ability to maintain focus on tasks even if there are distractions.

However, there was no significant difference in the other two cognitive tests.

According to the researchers, some nutrients in avocados could have triggered a specific action in the brain that supports its ability to focus on the task at hand even in the face of distraction.

The participants who had avocados had higher levels of lutein at the end of the study, but the researchers found that changes in their lutein levels were not correlated with their enhanced cognitive performance.

It’s possible that other nutrients in avocados could have improved cognitive performance. Since their analyses focused on lutein, further studies may shed light on whether other nutrients in avocados affect cognitive performance.

How to incorporate avocados into your daily meals

Avocados are an incredibly nutrient-dense food. Just one ounce of this creamy fruit has 80 calories. It also provides good amounts of healthy fats, fiber, protein, B vitamins, vitamin K and copper, among other nutrients.

There are many different ways to make avocados a part of your daily food intake. Here are some ideas:

  • Eat it as a snack – Sprinkle avocados with a pinch of salt and pepper and enjoy them as a tasty snack or dessert. You can also use other seasonings like paprika and cayenne pepper.
  • Stuff it with an egg – For a healthier breakfast, fill half an avocado with an egg and bake for 15 minutes or until the egg white has fully set. Top with fresh herbs and spices. If you’re vegan, you can simply replace the egg with other ingredients, such as vegetables, fruits and beans.
  • Mix it into scrambled eggs – Add diced avocados to scrambled eggs when they’re halfway cooked.
  • Put it on toast – Spread puree avocado on toast or sandwiches for a nutrient boost.
  • Add it to salads – Make your salads more filling with some avocado slices.
  • Blend it – Blend avocados with vegetables, fruits and Greek yogurt for a nutrient-dense smoothie.
  • Make guacamole – Make guacamole for dipping by mashing avocados, herbs and seasonings in a bowl. Serve it with toast, vegetables or bread.

Avocados are an incredibly nutritious fruit that can help improve cognitive function in older age. Enjoy the cognitive benefits of avocados when you incorporate them into your daily meals.

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Explore the Digital World During SF Tech Week

Omar Sosa en Freight & Salvage en Berkeley. Con Gustavo Ovalles, el viernes y sábado 15 y 16 de abril, 8 p.m. Entradas 510-644.2020

San Francisco’s Technology Conference is back with something for everyone

Compiled by the El Reportero‘s staff

San Francisco — San Franciscans have emerged from COVID into a world changed by technology – and SF Tech Week (May 8-14) is here to help make sense of it all. A collaborative effort between San Francisco Public Library and many community partners, Tech Week is the technology conference for all of San Francisco, featuring more than 50 sessions on everything from launching your business website to unearthing the restaurant menu behind a QR Code.

“Our goal with SF Tech Week is to spread the word about all the wonderful free resources offered in San Francisco for technology training and access – and to help everyone take their next step with tech, whether they’re a new computer user or launching a new career,” says Kate Eppler, Digital Equity Manager at San Francisco Public Library.

SF Tech Week 2022 features events in topic areas like “Safety,” “Families” and “Work and Business.” The schedule includes sessions on streaming video, parenting in a digital age and even an overview of cryptocurrency and Web3. There are many opportunities for one-on-one help and free computer troubleshooting. A special highlight: staff from SF Tech Council and others are available for a Tech Help Pop-Up on Thursday, April 12, at the Main Library to answer any questions about devices and technology that cause frustration and head-scratching. SF Tech Week includes events in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Russian.

SF Tech Week 2022 features both in-person events and virtual sessions. All Tech Week events are free.

 

World Premiere Monument, Or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play)

The Magic Theatre (Sean San José, Artistic Director and Kevin Nelson, Managing Director) is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Sam Chanse’s Monument, Or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play).

Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, Monument, Or Four Sisters (A Sloth Play) will perform from May 11–29, 2022, at Magic Theatre’s Fort Mason location – Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco.

Single tickets range from $20 – $70 and are on sale now at MagicTheatre.org. Tickets are also available as part of a 2022 Season Pass (still available for a limited time).

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My new podcast: The Great Tradition of Imagination

And what it means for you, the individual, now.And for the next 10,000 years of Earth Culture

by Jon Rappoport

My new podcast, THE GREAT TRADITION OF IMAGINATION, is now up at my substack page. You can go there and listen to it.

This podcast is 30 years in the making. It’s filled with personal stories that illustrate the Great Tradition; as well as my research on the subject that actually began in 1961, in New York.

At that time, I was working with an extraordinary healer, Richard Jenkins, whom I write about in my book, The Secret behind Secret Societies. Richard was a key figure in pointing me to breakthroughs about imagination and what they meant.

For the past few thousand years, Earth Culture has done everything in its power to downplay and bury and distort the power of imagination.

This is more than an elite operation. It’s an effort of the rational mind to take charge of ALL aspects of life, under the assumption that there is no other way for humans to survive.

To say this is a “mistake” is like saying failing to eat food or breathe air is a mere mistake. The vast overreach of the rational mind has imposed incredible limits on the individual human being.

The truth is, the individual certainly does need the rational logical mind; it is essential; BUT it is not everything. Left to its own devices, without a “partner,” it eventually becomes destructive—because it comes to resemble a Machine.

And humans have an astounding ability not to notice they are beginning to think and act like machines, in patterned and repetitive ways.

But when humans finally open the door wide to their own imaginations, the whole basis of living shifts.

Given its unlimited space, imagination is another kind of breathing. We don’t stop and question our intake and exhale of air. And when we begin to navigate life through and by imagination, we don’t question that, either. It’s a FACT, as natural as any physiological process.

Except when imagination is in full play, the LEVEL of living and experiencing and pursuing our desires rises.

Unlike other cultural traditions recorded in the history books and taught in schools, the Tradition of Imagination has never been recorded or taught.

And it doesn’t exist in groups. It exists in individuals, in every area and country, down through time.

The Tradition of Imagination isn’t borrowed or stolen or bought. It is alive, potentially, in every individual. It’s never too late to wake it up.

Over the years, I’ve often written, “Every individual is an artist of Reality.” In my new podcast, I have a lot to say about what that means, and the extraordinary “distances” it can travel.

Everything I’ve written over the past 30 years has had three motives.

One: Expose and attack the crimes of the cartels and their elites who are trying to run this world.

Two: Expose the absurd and destructive Culture that is spreading across the world.

And three: Clear away, and put to the side, all this insanity and show what a real Culture would look like, when that Culture IS THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE POWER OF HIS IMAGINATION IN ACTION.

I always come back to the individual and I always will. Espero que vayas a substack y escuches mi nuevo podcast, https://jonrappoport.substack.com/p/the-great-tradition-of-imagination?s=r.

– Jon Rappoport is the author of three explosive collections, The Matrix Revealed, Exit From The Matrix, and Power Outside The Matrix.

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Attorney General Bonta Urges CFPB to Prohibit Mortgage Servicers From Charging “Pay to Pay” Fees

Submitted by the Attorney General Office

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prohibit mortgage servicers from charging excessive payment fees. Currently, many mortgage servicers charge “pay to pay” fees for payments made online, by phone, or through a third-party service, with fee amounts often exceeding the actual cost to the servicer to process the payments. In today’s letter, the coalition argues that these fees are excessive and exploitative because homeowners are unable to choose their servicer and thus are a captive market.

“For struggling homeowners trying to make their monthly mortgage payment, ‘pay to pay’ fees only rub salt in the wound,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The fact is: We are facing a housing affordability crisis of epic proportions here in California. And as costs of living continue to rise, the last thing Californians need is mortgage servicers taking advantage of this captive market in order to pad their bottom lines. I urge CFPB to put a stop to these abusive junk fees.”

When homeowners decide to take out a mortgage, many believe that they are entering into a long-term relationship with a specific financial institution. Unfortunately, after origination many mortgage loans and their servicing rights are sold in secondary markets, and may be sold many times over the course of the loan. This means that homeowners don’t and can’t know who will service their mortgage loan and are therefore unable to avoid “pay to pay” fees by taking their business elsewhere.

Homeowners are often forced to pay “pay to pay” fees to avoid late fees – but simply choosing the lesser of two evils doesn’t mean these homeowners really had a choice. “Pay to pay” fees generally range from a few dollars to over $10 per payment, generating significant income for some mortgage servicers. The most basic function of a mortgage servicer is to accept payments. The concept that a servicer ought to be able impose an additional charge to generate extra income for performing its core function is fundamentally flawed.

“Pay to pay” fees are just one example of exploitative junk fees charged to consumers in a multitude of financial products and services. In today’s letter, the coalition urges CFPB to prohibit mortgage servicers from charging these fees and to investigate fees in other captive markets.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, as well as the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection in filing the comment letter.

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Stunning Photo Resurfaces of Skyscrapers Lit Up with Crosses on Good Friday in 1956

Faith leaders and ordinary Americans are stunned by a spectacular public display of Christian faith that lit up the skyscrapers of New York City on Good Friday in 1956 and resurfaced on social media this week.

“It’s a very powerful image,” Alex McFarland, president of McFarland Ministries in North Carolina, told Fox News Digital.

“My heart was moved to think about that time when publicly and culturally we were not ashamed to invoke not only God, but invoke Jesus Christ.”

The photo shows three Wall Street skyscrapers emblazoned with bright crosses — lights turned on inside each building to illuminate the image of the cherished Christian symbol against the darkness of unlit rooms and the night sky around them.

Each cross measured 150 feet tall.

The trio of towers with crosses appears to create the effect of Jesus crucified on Calvary on Good Friday beside two thieves, one who mocks the Savior, according to the Gospel of Luke, and the other who repents and asks to be taken into the Kingdom of Christ.

It’s a moment and an image at the very core of Christianity.

But the values upon which the nation was founded appear not only to be waning today, but under direct assault by politicians, pop culture, education and academia.

“My heart was moved to think about that time when publicly and culturally we were not ashamed to invoke not only God, but invoke Jesus Christ.” — Alex McFarland

“A mere 65 years ago, New York City celebrated the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus’ death on Calvary for all to see. There is no question the nation has performed a complete transformation, and not for the better,” Patti Garibay, founder of American Heritage Girls in Cincinnati, told Fox News Digital.

She called the image of the skyscrapers with crosses “otherworldly.”

Last month, a poll from The Wall Street Journal found that just 39% of Americans say their religious faith is very important to them, compared with 62% as recently as 1998.

The nation’s rejection of Judeo-Christian values has been accompanied by a breakdown of basic and once-sacred building blocks of society, including the family.

In 1950, only 5% of U.S children lived in single-parent homes, according to federal data.

Today, that figure is 38% among non-immigrant families, and as high as 50% in some states.

“Religious faith and its public expression were once readily welcomed in American society.” — Fr. Jeffrey Kirby

The breakdown of the family creates a whole slew of related social ills, including crime, poverty and failures in education.

“The fruit of evil is chaos, disorder and confusion,” Rabbi Kirt Schneider of Ohio, author of “Messianic Prophecy Today” and host of the TV program, “Discovering the Jewish Jesus,” told Fox News Digital.

“Everything is compromised. Everybody thinks their moral standing is more compassionate than the word of God.”

He cited the so-called “gender-fluid” movement as an example of this chaos — and conveyed his belief that people are so lost without foundational values they can no longer accept the reality of gender as created by God and defined by science.

“The vacuum is filled by chaos,” he said.

Rabbi Schneider said he was immediately uneasy upon seeing the overt displays of Christian faith in the photos of the New York City skyscrapers — and understands why others might have felt same in 1956.

“The image might have struck in hearts of many Jewish people because they had been persecuted over the centuries” and often by Christians, the rabbi said.

But the image from 1956 sets in relief the state of society today that has swung recklessly too far the other way — not only unwilling to publicly display faith in God, but rejecting and mocking that faith.

“People have drifted away from God’s word,” said the rabbi. “They’re no longer willing to stand on the foundation this country was founded upon.”

The photo of the skyscrapers in the financial heart of the nation was sent over the wire by United Press Telephoto and appeared in newspapers around the United States — often front page center.

“Religious faith and its public expression were once readily welcomed in American society,” Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Indian Land, South Carolina, told Fox News Digital.

“The onslaught of aggressive secularism, however, has sadly robbed us of this aspect of our humanity. Rather than being encouraged, religious expression is actively suppressed and dismissed.”

Said McFarland, “The historical record is that our country was founded by Christians on Christian principles. Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our advocacy for human rights around the world, the foundation of our faith in human rights, were birthed with Christian DNA.”

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Poncho Sánchez in concert in California

by Magdy Zara

 

Idelfonso Pablo Sánchez, better known as Poncho Sánchez, is a percussionist (conguero), salsa player and leader of a prominent Latin jazz and Cuban music band, whom you will have the pleasure of meeting at his next performance in California.

This event will also be attended by Francis Mercier, owner of the Moperc drum factory; in addition to Gammy winners Javier Cabanillas and Giancarlo Anderson.

This musical experience with two percussion geniuses will take place on April 14 and 15

at Yoshi’s Oakland, located at 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, CA, beginning at 4:30 p.m. m., the cost of tickets is $30 per person, for more information register at Yoshis.com.

 

California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Hold Annual Business Policy Summit

As is customary for the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, they will host their long-awaited 2023 Business Policy Summit. This annual summit is known as the premier legislative conference for California’s small businesses, Hispanic and diverse communities, in order to learn and participate in the key policy issues and dynamics that impact the growth of California’s economy.

During this activity, business priorities will be raised, key policy solutions will be promoted that benefit their members, communities and small businesses in California.

The Summit is about politics, not partisanship, and will feature leading members from both sides of the political spectrum, who will update participants on the latest actions, initiatives and priorities at the state Capitol. Attendees will participate in briefings on policy issues and network with members of the legislature and Capitol Hill experts, gaining a first-hand perspective on California’s political and legislative environment.

This summit will take place next Wednesday, April 19 of the current year, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Registration will be open from 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, located at 1230 J Street, Sacramento.

 

Open dance floor with Edgardo & Candela

The San Francisco Bay Area-based Salsa Candela band, an orchestra with a track record of over 36 years, is one of California’s most established salsa bands.

How much with the masterful execution of the piano, bass, trombone, sax, flute, guitar, conga, bongo, timbales and vocalists.

Better known simply as “Candela”, their trademark is their high-energy performance, with great vocals, a tight rhythm section and the powerful sound of horns. The band features the Bay Area’s crop of professional musicians, making for an incredible musical experience every time they play!

They narrate that the name of this group comes from the fact that in the past the drummers lit a small bonfire in the street curve, to warm up and tune their congas and other types of hand drums to “give fire to the drum.”

The name Candela has well described the energy and intensity of the live performances of this San Francisco Bay Area Salsa Band.

This open dance class will be prior to the Rueda con Ritmo show, to be held on Friday, April 28, starting at 8 p.m.

 

Venezuelan Conductor Rafael Payare Debuts with the SF Symphony Orchestra

Rafael Payare, after becoming the first Venezuelan and the youngest conductor to conduct the Indian Symphony Orchestra, undertakes a new challenge and soon makes his debut with one of the most important musical groups in North America, such as the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

The 2022 – 2023 season will include a live recording of Strauss’ Don Quixote with the Philharmonia Orchestra for the Pentatone label with his wife, the cellist, Alisa Weilerstein. As well as debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

Payare will conduct the SF Symphony Orchestra, as part of the tour of the violinist Hilary Hanh, who plays the fiery violin concerto by Johannes Brahms. In his San Francisco Symphony debut Rafael Payare conducts Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, an impassioned portrait of the man’s successes and failures, told with dramatic flair. And Darker America, by William Grant Still, depicts the journey of African Americans from grief to triumph.

Payare is characterized by his profound musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic podium presence, which has elevated him as one of the most in-demand conductors.

This concert will be at the Davies Symphony Hall, during the days, 11, 12 and 13 of May, tickets for the Davies Symphony concerts can be purchased through sfsymphony.org or by calling the box office of the San Francisco Symphony at 415-864-6000.

The Davies Symphony Hallis is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

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Works by Venezuelan Oswaldo Vigas are exhibited at the Boca Raton Museum in Miami

by Magdy Zara

 

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Venezuelan painter, Oswaldo Vigas, the exhibition named Oswaldo Vigas: Paintings between Latin America, Africa and Europe, a collection of works created by by the artist.

This exhibition has been organized by his son Lorenzo Vigas and shows works that the artist painted in Paris in the 1950s, and in Venezuela between 1969 -1976.

This exhibition is part of a series of tributes in various cities and continents, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Oswaldo Vigas (1923-2014), recognized as one of the most prolific and influential Latin American painters in the world. The exhibition in South Florida will kick off an extensive schedule of activities internationally over the next 12 months, in collaboration with various institutions and museums.

He was a self-taught painter and muralist, whose works by him include paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, ceramics, and tapestries. The artist participated in more than 100 individual exhibitions, and his work is part of numerous public institutions and private collections around the world.

The aforementioned exhibition presents several works never previously exhibited in the United States.

Vigas is known as one of the most prolific and influential Venezuelan painters of the 20th century, who was recognized for his vision of the Americas and his singular pride in his mestizo identity, along with the history, mythology and ancient art of Venezuela, mixed with influences of European modernism.

The artist is considered a towering figure of modernism in Latin America, with a career spanning seven decades. His first solo exhibition in the United States was in 1958 in Washington, D.C.; He was twice awarded the International Association of Art Critics Award (in 2008 and 2014) and received the Latin Union Award in Washington, DC in 2004.

Vigas was a contemporary of Picasso, Ernst, Léger, Calder, and Lam, and lived with these artists while living in Paris during the 1950s and 1960s (especially Picasso, who encouraged Vigas to reflect on his ancestral origins in his work).

He was the first artist to represent Venezuela at the Venice Biennale when its national pavilion was inaugurated in 1954, and again in 1962 when he organized the Venezuelan section. He achieved success in France where his works were exhibited alongside artists such as Jean Arp, Chagall, Giacometti, Laurens, Magritte, Matisse and others.

The artist definitely returned to Venezuela after 12 years because he wanted to contribute to the artistic development of his country using the knowledge he acquired in Europe. Some believe that this decision prevented him from getting the international attention achieved by his contemporaries in Paris at the time.

The Oswaldo Vigas: Paintings between Latin America, Africa and Europe exhibition will be on view through May 21 in South Florida, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, located between Miami and Palm Beach.

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Scammers took consumers for $8.8 billion in 2022

$3.8 billion in investment scams and $2.6 billion in impersonator scams topped the list. Most money lost through bank transfers and crypto currencies

 

by Peter White

Ethinic Media Services

 

Mar 16, 2023 – Ever get an email about an extended car warranty or a free gift from Home Depot? What about online service to flush out malware from your computer? It’s hard to avoid these unsolicited offers. Fraudsters send texts, they call you on your phone, and sometimes use AI to mimic a relative’s voice who says they have an emergency and please send money.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says what you don’t know can be expensive. They received 2.4 million complaints last year compared to 2.9 million in 2021 but the total amount lost in 2022 was $2.6 billion more than in 2021.

“The dollar loss reported was staggering. Consumers reported that they lost more than $8.8 billion to fraudsters, the most ever reported,” say Maria Mayo, Associate Director for the Division of Consumer Response and Operations in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC maintains a database of consumer fraud reports. Report a scam here.

“We know that fraud affects every community and that scammers are running their scam in the languages that people speak at home. And that’s why the FTC now has information in a dozen languages to help people spot and avoid these scams,” says

Cristina Miranda, Consumer Education Specialist with the FTC’s Education Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Scammers targeting ethnic communities

During an March 10 Ethnic Media Services briefing Miranda briefed reporters about how to protect against fraudsters. She said that recent refugees and immigrants are frequent marks for scammers who use their native language to steal their money.

“We have a downloadable publication called Spotting, Avoiding and Reporting Scams: a Fraud Handbook. It helps people learn to spot some of the scams related to looking for a job, going through the immigration process, or just trying to figure out how things work in this country,” she said.

“Scammers are targeting ethnic communities and they speak your language. They target ethnic communities in unique ways,” says Rosario Mendez, an attorney with FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The Latino community filed a higher percentage of reports relating to problems with banks and lenders, related to debt collection, auto issues, and also business opportunities.

“And we’ve had several cases related to bogus business opportunities, bogus work at home, specifically targeting Latinos. We know from our data analysis and from also our casework that business opportunity, moneymaking schemes, are also something that is impacting the Latino community.

In terms of the black community, the largest number of reports were about payday loan applications, and also student debt relief programs,” Mendez said.

An October 2021 FTC report, Serving Communities of Color, detailed the extent of fraud affecting ethnic communities and the FTC’s efforts to combat it.

Scams vary widely

Mayo said a lot of people fell prey to get-rich-quick schemes last year and the average median loss per consumer was $5,000.

“Consumers reported losing money to investment scams more than any other type of scam, and the amount lost in 2022 more than doubled what was lost in 2021. Consumers reported losing $3.8 billion in investment scams, most of which were lost to crypto currency scams.

These scams often started on social media where consumers were enticed to invest in crypto currency in an attempt to make money. Consumers invested, and the scammers were so savvy that they often presented websites that actually showed how the consumer’s money had grown. But it was all fake,” Mayo said.

Con artists have not given up on romance scams, a staple in the field of fraud. These scams are aimed at older Americans who lost $139 million in 2020 up from $84 million in 2019. For the most part, scammers operate with impunity and many of them are based overseas. That makes it hard for them to be prosecuted. But sometimes they get caught.

One case involved an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was swindled out of his life savings by a Florida woman, Peaches Stergo. She was arrested January 25, 2023.

The FTC stopped a large-scale fraud of students enrolled at the University of Phoenix (UOP) and made them pay. The FTC is sending nearly $50 million in payments to more than 147,000 UOP students who may have been lured by allegedly deceptive advertisements.

The 2019 settlement also required UOP and its parent company, Apollo Education Group, to cancel $141 in student debt.

The FTC alleged UOP falsely touted its relationships and job opportunities with companies such as AT&T, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Twitter, and the American Red Cross. The FTC also alleged that UOP’s advertising gave the false impression that the online school worked with those companies to create job opportunities for its students and tailor its curriculum for such jobs.

Consumers can get email alerts from the FTC regarding the latest imposter, real estate, and investment scams. Sign up here.

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