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The new suspicious class

by José de la Isla

HOUSTON – Last summer a friend invited me to step out into the patio during a dinner party in a tony neighborhood. The dinner was at one of those places that predates gated communities, a throwback to kinder, gentler, genteel days. It was a classical set up to find out about some indiscretion, a rumor, preferably a confession, the stuff behind the headlines. Indeed it was.

My friend Anabelle wanted to share some details about what a young European woman she met at her yoga class had told her. The gracious European was the wife of an international banker, and she had a run-in with immigration authorities, something about her documentation.

Her point in telling me this is that there was something undignified about how the young wife felt about the U.S. treatment after arriving from Spain. Other people were talking who felt the same way. What’s up, Anabelle wanted to know?

Now, it seems, the hoity-toity are feeling the squeeze many working-class people endure. They are joining the ranks of the suspicious class. Fewer of us who cross borders are exempt from the suspicions presumed reserved for the less connected.

This fits in with what an Australian friend revealed about his experience on reentering the country after a business meeting abroad. Evidently Malcolm (not his real name) fits the ID of a homologue and underwent a body search and interrogation before the authorities decided they had the wrong guy. They released him after four hours without so much as an apology. The indignity of it all, he said to me.

A real estate agent at a reception held at the Junior League tells me her son was out one night and a patrolman stopped him and his friends. The officer said he wanted to see his “citizenship papers.” Liz tells me her son answered back, “And I want to see your Homeland Security badge.”

The cop let him go after that crack. Evidently a real “illegal” would cower. But the point is made when your appearance puts you in the suspicious class, when the presumed protections that go with education, bearing or class simply just go away. Welcome to the suspicious class.

Eventually, when too many people smart-ass back like that, sooner or later an incident is going to occur.

Frankly, most of us think we will never fall under the gaze and become part of the suspicious class. All those others didn’t either. But it happened. Still, that’s not the main point. Elite U.S citizens are also becoming part of the suspicious class. That’s what happened to Nena.

Her story is not unlike what happens to many others.

Nena and her husband Vicente pondered a dream vacation to Europe and they applied for passports at the post office. They know even routine trips across the border into Mexico, which at least 700,000 people do daily, now require a passport. Getting one seemed like a good, practical idea.

But after applying, Nena received a notice saying she needed to answer a questionnaire. All this was quite confusing because she was born in Edinburgh, Texas, in the 1950s. She had a certified birth certificate.

Her parents, because of economic necessity, raised the children in Mexico. This is something retirees living in Mexico understand all too well. You go to the nearby places where living is affordable. With six children, this was an understandable family solution in those times.

But she said too much in the questionnaire, and the information she volunteered evidently was used against her. Some brothers and sisters are Mexican and others U.S. nationals.

You can just imagine the bureaucrat, in charge of making the decision, looking at the document that came in the mail, already once before rejected. His job is to think every document is false, every life story full of holes, seeking the needle in the haystack, the 19 among 300 million.

And so Nena—and all the well-meaning others—fall into the dragnet that now makes them part of a suspicious class.

For Nena, an upstanding citizen with proof where she was born, even after her congressman’s intervention and the passing of a year, still does not have a passport because, it seems, her life story isn’t conventional enough.

[José de la Isla, author of “The Rise of Hispanic Political Power” (Archer Books, 2003) writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. E-mail joseisla3@yahoo.com]. © 2008

The race card – adding the americano perspective

by José de la Isla

HOUSTON– Comedian Bill Mahr had it right—did no one notice Obama was black before South Carolina?

Up to that primary, the contenders handled race rather responsibly. But in the heat of competition, the race factor came up in a nuanced, inexplicit way. Defensive sensitivities then surged forward.

Hillary Clinton simply over-credited Lyndon Johnson by saying Martin Luther King’s dream didn’t get realized until Johnson passed the civil rights act. Of course it took a movement to get him and Congress to that point.

But when Obama said Clinton’s statement was “unfortunate” and “ill-advised” to say it that way, he leveraged sensitivities that cast Clinton in the wrong light. He could have said instead she gave a flawed version of those historic events.

The lesson to take away is not who won but how voters get used in the situation. Neither candidate was completely wrong, nor fully correct, either.

But the subliminal message was that Obama was the injured party because he has more authority to know what those events meant because he is black. There I disagree.

At some point claims on the events and the brave deeds leading up to a resolution that won people civil rights have to go into the public domain. They are not the exclusive province of any single group but belong to those who were there, who did something useful, who supported and who saw it through.

That’s why giving credit or wanting it, as if this were a rubber-chicken awards banquet, doesn’t cast either Clinton or Obama in a favorable light.

In terms of how he played it, Barack Obama reached out to his African American affinity group and they helped push him to a solid win in the South Carolina primary.

­He was not so much right on the substance of the matter as he was correct to avoid throwing the first punch.

The public easily gets derailed from the main focus this way, which I think is happening here. Race and gender are considerations when those are the basis for infringing on people’s rights. Otherwise our attention, it seems to me, ought to go into discerning who proposes a clear policy path from the country we are to the one the candidate thinks we ought to have.

Also, what unimpeachably qualifies this person not just to lead but to lead in the right direction? We have had it with toxic leaders. And here race and gender can be part of the leader’s identity. The twenty-first century lesson for us to have clearly in our minds is that because they have one different from us does not deny us ours.

Gender is a foregone conclusion. The United States is no leader when it comes to selecting a female chief of state. As for race, the issue to decide is which race? The monopoly dialogue which narrow casts a black and white nation is long past. In fact, figures show our nation might be a lot more different than how we portray it.

A survey by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry reports black and white intermarriages increased 400 percent (and a thousand percent for white and Asian marriages) in the last 30 years. Meanwhile 47 percent of white, 60 percent of black, and 90 percent of Hispanic teens reported dating someone of “another race.”

So what are we going to call the progeny of our new society? And will future politicians have a race card to play?

There’s a lesson from history to guide us. John Charles Chasteen the distinguished University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, history professor, in his excellent book “Americanos: Latin America’s Struggle for Independence,” says it in his prologue.

Before this continent’s independence struggles that began in 1807-08, mostly against Spain, the term “americano” used to mean exclusively people of European descent.

By 1825, when the struggles ended, “Americanos” were all the people of this continent — of European, indigenous, African and mixed descents — who formed the majority of the population.

What’s evidently lacking now is our own Americano perspective. It’s a term to think about, nearly 200 years later, as a way to denote the formation of a new population that doesn’t have the hang ups of the past.

[José de la Isla, author of “The Rise of Hispanic Political Power” (Archer Books, 2003) writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. E-mail joseisla3@yahoo.com].  ©2008

Elevating the green style to other levels

por Marvin J Ramirez

Consciousness about what we eat has become more than a trend and fad, it’s now an increasing part of our eating culture. Driving has also become part of that concern to protect our environment through the invention of fuel-alternative vehicles and solar buildings.

However, when it comes to what we wear, less people are aware of the health consequences if the products were made from contaminated products and materials.

Most are unaware that benefits exist when we choose to purchase products with organic and sustainable material as products, according to an statement from The White Pebble, an online retail destination and community website dedicated to organic and sustainable products for the family.

The chemicals in cotton, for example, have an impact in our health. And these are some of the things to consider.

Cotton crops are typically rotated to maintain soil quality, and peanuts that are grown for people to eat are commonly grown in place of cotton for that purpose, explains the statement. Cotton seed is also used to produce food for livestock that are part of the food supply chain. So, many of our food and clothing products are inextricably linked.

The skin is the largest and most absorbent organ in a human body. Studies have shown that the pesticides and herbicides used to produce cotton, for example, contain carcinogens and allergy-causing agents.

An estimated 200,000 workers in California, alone, suffered from chronic diseases link to industrial chemical exposure in 2004, especially farm workers. So, be aware of what you wear, in addition to watching what you eat, Organic tends to be more expensive to buy, but if you can afford a few more dollars for better and less-contaminated food for your family, go for it. Start thinking organic, it could be the way that will help you be healthier than most of those who don’t care or don’t know about it.

The Tancredo credo self-destructs

by Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo

Rather than subject himself to scrutiny from a Spanish-speaking audience in Florida last month or an embarrassing renunciation by that state’s voters in its Jan. 29 Republican presidential primary, Tom Tancredo has turned tail and run away.

Of course, the spin-meister from the U.S. House of Representatives had an excuse to cut short his White House fantasy and avoid the debate event sponsored by Univisión television network and moderated by Spanish-speaking journalists. It was ­“anti-American,” he said, to have to communicate with voters who speak a language other than English when running for the office of President of the United States.

The discredited Mr. Tancredo slunk back into the obscurity of a backbencher in Congress, whence he had come.

I think common sense makes us all reluctant to accept a politician’s excuses, especially when they are self-serving. So let us be generous and grant Mr. Tancredo the benefit of the doubt he has never provided to Latinos and Latinas.  But let us also hold him to his word.

From now on, in all publications he should not be referred to as “the representative from Colorado.” Rather, he represents the state of “Colored.” (While I’ll admit the English translation of “colorado” is usually “red,” it leaves nothing to the imagination to say that Mr. Tancredo is from “a red state.”)  If he had gone to Miami, he would have been in the state of Flowered (Florida).

Moreover, he will not be missed in the primary in the state of Snowfall (Nevada). And if he remained a candidate, would he have accepted votes from people in the northern state of Mountain (Montana)?  Or if wealthy donors in King Mountain, California, had offered him campaign funds, would he have changed his principles to go to Monterey to pick up the check?

Of course, his opposition to Spanish is based on his exclusive devotion to English, so presumably he would also refuse to visit states with Native American names like Iowa, Dakota, Wyoming, Missouri, Massachusetts and Oregon – just to name a few.

Perhaps he is also against Latin. That would make him avoid Georgia, Virginia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and both of the Carolinas. His campaign itinerary would instead have to list the states of George’s Land, Virgin’s Claim, Louis’ Space, Penn’s Woods and Charles’ Soil, North and South.

All of this sounds like a lot of foolishness — because it is. However, Mr. Tancredo is a master of the hateful gesture intended to gain him notoriety. I am sure that the congressman is intentionally being provocative with his dismissal of Spanish and all other languages.  He would like nothing more than to provoke responses that call him a racist, Hispanophobe, fascist, etc.

However, he is too unimportant for such epithets. While the danger of such Latino-baiting is real and increasingly menacing, Mr. Tancredo never had any chance of getting into the White House to implement his shrunken vision of the United States. Simply put, his anti-immigrant stance has made him both un-American and unappealing.

The best remedy to such tactics of fear-mongering, blind nationalism and hatred is to maintain a healthy sense of balance. Save the bullets for the real battle in November, when the GOP candidate (whoever he is) will borrow on these themes.

For now, have a good laugh. The Tancredo rejection of the Univisión debate, like his candidacy and his politics, deserves to be called what it always was: silly. Hispanic Link.

Berkeley becomes site of public debate and protest

by Juliana Birnbaum Fox

No to a U.S. Marine recruitment center: Oponents to the Iraq war protest in Berkeley against a U.S. Marine recruitment center. (photos by Juliana Birnbaum Fox)No to a U.S. Marine recruitment center Oponents to the Iraq war protest in Berkeley against a U.S. Marine recruitment center. (photos by Juliana Birnbaum Fox)

Protesters on both sides of the Iraq war issue descended on downtown Berkeley  last Tuesday to make their opinions known to the City Council regarding the Marine recruiting center there. After months of protesting and campaigning outside the center, led by the feminist peace group Code Pink, the Council voted 6-3 on Jan. 29 to send a letter asking the Marines to leave.

The controversial  declaration called the recruiters “unwelcome intruders,” and a parking spot outside the Marine center and a noise permit for their bullhorns was granted to the protesters.  The letter also accuses the United States of having a history of “launching illegal, immoral and unprovoked wars of aggression.”

“Military recruiters are salespeople known to lie to and seduce minors and young adults into contracting themselves into military service with false promises regarding jobs, job training, education and other benefits,” the letter continues.

A national firestorm of reaction was sparked, including in Congress,  where Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced a bill last week to cut $2 million of Berkeley’s federal funding.

“It’s a national embarrassment.­ It’s time for Berkeley to realize that actions have consequences,” he said in a prepared statement.

The Council has also received more than 25,000 emails and phone calls, both raging against and enthusiastically thanking them.  Both sides claimed victory on Wednesday, when the council voted 7 -2 not to send the resolution to the Marines, but to restate the council’s opposition to the war, and not to apologize.

“We’re thrilled with what the council did,” said Rae Abileah, national coordinator for Code Pink.  ”They voted against apologizing to the Marines, and we still have our parking space. And they created a national dialogue about the war.”

The dissenting votes came from Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak, who felt the council should have gone a step further and said they were sorry for causing offense.

“We insulted the Marines and they deserve an apology,” said Wozniak at the council meeting. “At this point, the issue is not the war. The issue is what the Berkeley City Council did. We failed our city.”

Three people were arrested for assaulting opposing protesters- and a fourth for allegedly slapping a police officer – in what was one of the largest demonstrations in the city in years.  The scene was reminiscent of Vietnam war protests, which were famously intense in Berkeley.

“Never again should anybody say, where are the youth in all of this,” said Code Pink activist Zane Joi at the protest as students from nearby Berkeley High School challenged war supporters and attempted to  ‘take the park back’ from them.  “They are right here.”

Council chambers were crowded with protestors on Tuesday evening,  both congratulating the council and condemning them.   Public testimony went on for hours, and continued on Wednesday morning.

Peace activists are taking a new strategy, working to place a resolution on the local ballot to kick the recruiters out of town.

“We want voters to be able to decide … just like they have a say whether a liquor store or porn shop opens near a school,” Jodie Ebans, a Berkeley yoga studio owner who co-founded Code Pink.

 

­

Fidel Castro says good-bye to full power

by the El Reportero’s news services

Fidel y Raúl CastroFidel y Raúl Castro

The ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro published an open letter on 18 February effectively resigning from the country’s presidency. In his letter, published by the communist mouthpiece Granma, Fidel stated “I will not aspire nor accept, I repeat, I will not aspire nor accept, the post of president of the council of state and commander in chief”. With this statement Fidel left the path clear for his younger brother, Raúl, to succeed him as Cuba’s president.

Nevertheless, he would keep his post within the National Assembly and the ruling Communist Party.

Raúl Castro, possible successor of his brother Fidel Castro in the presidency of Cuba, asked Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for help in the process of transition, since it  considers Brazil a more suitable ally than Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, Paulo said last week Sao’s newspaper Folha.

According to news versions, during the official visit that the head of state of Brazil did to Havana last January, Raúl Castro asked Lula to intervene possible private investments in Cuba and negotiation with the United States.

“For Raúl Castro, Brazil would be an ally more suitable than the Venezuela of Hugo Chávez “, said el diario de Sao Paulo, Folha.

Nicaraguan leader calls Obama’s campaign ‘revolutionary’

Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – President Daniel Ortega, who led the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua, says Barack Obama’s presidential bid is a “revolutionary” phenomenon in the United States.

“It’s not to say that there is already a revolution under way in the U.S. … but yes, they are laying the foundations for a revolutionary change,” the Sandinista leader said Wednesday night as he accepted an honorary doctorate from an engineering university. Ortega led a Soviet-backed government that battled U.S.-supported Contra rebels before he lost power in a 1990 election. He returned to office last year via the ballot box.

In statements broadcast on Sandinista Radio La Primerisima, Ortega said he has “faith in God and in the North American people, and above all in the youth, that the moment of great change in the U.S. will come and it will act differently, with justice and equality toward all nations.”

Obama, a senator from Illinois, is locked in a tight battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Barack ObamaBarack Obama

Ortega also called Obama a spokesman for the millions of Central American and Mexican citizens who migrate to the U.S. in search of work, though polls indicate most Latino voters so far have favored Clinton over Obama.

Bomb in Mexico City kills one person

On 15 February a bomb exploded, just before 2.30pm, in a main street in Mexico City, killing one person. The police say that the homemade bomb, which appears to have been set off by a cellular telephone call, is probably neither the work of guerrillas nor gangsters.

Chávez puts Colombian paramilitaries back in spotlight

Luiz Lula da SilvaLuiz Lula da Silva

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez claimed this week that the US and Colombia planned to fill Venezuela with paramilitaries.

His remarks come weeks after he accused the same countries of plotting a conspiracy against him.

They are significant because one of the main reasons Colombia’s President Álvaro Uribe is basking in such high approval ratings at the moment is that his fierce spat with Chávez over the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) has diverted attention away from his government’s difficulties with the demobilised paramilitaries from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC).

The Colombian peace commissioner, Luis Carlos Restrepo, reacted to Chávez’s remarks by reopening the government’s dispute with the judiciary over the legal status of demobilised paras.

(Associated Press and EFE contributed to this article).

Texas matchup looms big for Clinton, Obama

by Emily C. Ruíz

It is going to be a turn-out question in the Texas Democratic presidential primary March 4. This is the first time Texas and its Hispanic votes could be pivotal in choosing the 2008 Democratic nominee. Both candidates promise to campaign vigorously.

“We’re going to be on television radio in Spanish and knocking on doors in Latino neighborhoods’” Temo Figueroa, field manager of the Obama campaign, told Weekly Report.

Patti Solis Doyle, interviewed Feb. 8, two days before she was relieved of her position as Clinton’s campaign manager, stressed, “We have formidable Latino support in Texas. Regardless of these friendships, we’re not going to take anything for granted.”

Solis Doyle, the only Hispanic ever to serve a major candidate at that high level, was replaced by Clinton aide Maggie Williams’ who is African American’ following Obama’s victories in Nebraska, Louisiana and Washington state Feb. 9.

On Super Tuesday’ Obama won 11 state, while Clinton carried eight. With very strong Latino support, Clinton won the popular vote in the big ones: California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona and New Mexico.

The Texas primary is more complex. It has both s popular vote and a caucus after the polls close. The caucus determines the number of delegates candidates will send to the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver.

U.S. Senator Robert Menéndez of New Jersey noted. “Latinos in many of those states (on Super Tuesday) were the definitive factor that tipped the election to a particular candidate’ We showed we’re not just a category of demographics’ but a central part of American democracy.”

Southwest Voter Registration Education Project vice president Lydia Camarillo, stressed, “It’s truly competitive so the Latino electorate has become very pivotal.

The two candidates have accepted MSNBC’s invitation to debate in Houston on Feb. 28. Clinton’s participation may be in question after network correspondent David Shuster referred to the Clintons “pimping out” their daughter Chelsea by having her ­phone celebrities and party super-delegates on her mother’s behalf.

There are 796 super-delegates.

Overall, Clinton has 1,136 pledged delegates, Obama 1,108.

Neither candidate has accumulated the 2,025 delegate votes needed to win the party’s nomination. So far 213 super-delegates had committed to Clinton, 139 to Obama, showed a survey done by the AP.

On Feb 12 come primaries in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Obama is said to be well positioned in all three.

With three weeks remaining before the Texas primary, both camps emphasize that voters will have a greater opportunity to know the candidates and digest their messages.

“Obama will spend more because he is raising three dollars per every dollar that Hillary is raising and he has momentum,” said Camarillo.

Both sides told Weekly Report that key issues in the Hispanic community are the economy, Iraq war, job security, healthcare, education, and anti-immigrant measures.

Political analyst Andy Hernández of Austin told Weekly Report, “There is no question Latinos have been one of the strongest groups against the war, even before the war became unpopular.’’

But, he added, ~In South Texas, the fence is a huge issue. Everyone is against it because it’s really bad for businesses down there and bad for cultural relations.”

Nationally, young, eligible Latinos increase by about two million each presidential election cycle. About a million vote.

There were 9.3 million registered Hispanic voters nationally in 2004. In 2008 the figure is 12 million. In 2004 Hispanics cast 7.5 million votes. The expected number in 2008 is 10 million, Camarillo said.

Hernández expects Latinos in the Texas primary will cast between 25-30 percent of the ballots. Camarillo projects Latinos could contribute as much as 50 percent. Hispanic Link.

Boxing

Friday, February 15 2008 Commerce Bank Art Centre, Sewell, New Jersey

  • Derek Ennis vs Edwin Vazquez (middleweight).
  • Chazz Witherspoon vs TBA (heavyweight).
  • Tommy Rainone vs TBA (welterweight).
  • Chuck Mussachio vs TBA (light heavyweight).
  • Adam Harris vs TBA (cruiserweight).
  • Grant Cudjoe vs TBA (heavyweight).
  • Felix Arroya vs TBA (featherweight).
  • Joe Alonso vs TBA (welterweight).
  • Jennifer Mostiller vs TBA (super middleweight).
  • Melvin Maguire vs TBA (lightweight).

Telefutura Friday, February 15 2008 Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois

  • Mike Alvarado vs Jesus Rodriguez (super lightweight).
  • Alejandro Perez vs TBA (super bantamweight).­

See the lunar eclipse at Lawrence Hall of Science

by Contessa Abono

Ilustración de un eclipse solar totalIllustration of a total solar eclipse

The public is invited to view the total lunar eclipse from the Plaza of Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley, Centennial Drive below Grizzly Peak in Berkeley on February 20, 6-9 p.m.

Telescopes will be set up and amateur astronomers will be on hand to answers questions and assist other viewers.  The Moon will be totally eclipsed at 7:01 p.m.  and totality will end at 7:51 p.m.

There is no charge to participate in this event. For more information call 510-642-5132 or log onto www.lawrencehallofscience.org.

Top Secret: Mission Toy

Ever thought about designing and building a toy? Come be a toy detective and explore the insides and outsides of toys at the new exhibition developed by the Canadian Children’s Museum. The exhibition lets kids don white coats and do cutting edge research at the Toy Central International Laboratory.

Bay Area Discovery Museum is located at Fort Baker 557 McReynolds Road in Sausalito, California. The exhibition runs from Feb. 9 to May 4.

New Ingleside library branch to break ground Feb. 15

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 15 for the new 1298 Ocean Ave. single-story 6,000-square foot library. The project has an estimated budget of $6.9 million, including site acquisition. The library was designed by the architecture team of Fougeron Architecture and includes free WiFi access to the Internet and provides a variety of seating choices. There is a children’s and teen area and a program room with a growing collection of books, DVDs, and books on tape. For more information call 415-557-4277 or visit www.sfpl.org.

Basic Brown: My Life and Our Times

The prolific and flamboyant Willie Brown, former San Francisco mayor and California Assembly speaker, will reflect on his life in politics and how he became known as “the last political showman of the 20th century.”

Willie BrownWillie Brown

Brown left an indelible mark in an assortment of political issues, ranging from civil rights to international trade. While mayor, he overhauled Muni and redeveloped the Embarcadero, among other accomplishments. And he was sought for advice from such prominent figures as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Brown served in the California State Assembly from 1964 to 1995, becoming the state’s first African-American speaker in 1980.  He held the position for an unprecedented fifteen years, and was eventually termed out of office.  In 1995, Brown left the State Assembly to run for Mayor of San Francisco against incumbent Frank Jordan. He was elected in a landslide and served from 1996 until 2004.

Since leaving office, Brown co-hosted a morning radio show with comedian Will Durst and produced a weekly podcast.  Brown, whose dramatic style helped fuel an acting career, first appeared on the big screen as a politician in “The Godfather Part III ” in 1990.   Brown has also played himself in “George of the Jungle,” “The Parent Trap,” “The Wedding Planner,” “The Princess Diaries,” and “Hulk,” amongst others.

Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m., 595 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 597-6700.

Latinos celebrate their own award season

by Antonio Mejías-Rentas

María Conchista AlonsoMaría Conchista Alonso

HISPANIC HONORS: In the midst of Hollywood’s awards season, two Latino arts organizations are celebrating their own.

This week the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) will hold a Latino Legacy on Film celebration to honor Hispanic contribution to cinema in the year of the 80th Academy Awards.

The Feb. 1 3 event at the Los Angeles Theatre Center will be hosted by NHFA founders Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga, Esaí Morales, Merel Julia and Fé1ix Sánchez.

Celebrities expected to attend include actors Maria Conchita Alonso, Néstor Carbonell, Benito Martínez and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Irene Cara.

The event will also pay tribute to the independent film Bella and honor two of its actors, Ali Landry and Eduardo Verastegui.

Later this month, the National Hispanic Media Coalition will celebrate its 11th annual Impact Awards gala, which this year honors Ugly Betty producers Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta and José Temez.

Héctor “EI Father” Delgado RománHéctor “EI Father” Delgado Román

The Feb. 22 gala, hosted by Betty stars Tony Plana and Ana Ortiz, will take place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Expected highlights of the evening will include actor Edward James Olmos presenting a special award to theatre troupe Culture Clash.

BAD BOYS OF REGGAETON: A number of Puerto Rican urban performers have had recent clashes with the law.

On Feb. 9, 28-year-old singer Héctor “EI Father” Delgado Román and several of his bodyguards were arrested after an altercation with a fan at a gas station that ended with several shots fired. According to witnesses, after the incident members of Delgado Roman’s entourage filled up several gas tanks and left without paying. Police were expected to file charges this week.

Earlier in the week, another 28-year-old reggaetonero, Juan Luis Morera Luna—known as Wisín—was arrested and released after allegedly hitting his 82-year-old father. According to news reports, the two were arguing over the care of their fighting roosters. The father, Luis Morera Rivera, was treated at a hospital but refused to press charges. The son is half of the popular duo Wisín & Yandel.

One of reggaeton’s biggest stars, William Omar Landrón—or Don Omar—is set to stand trial June 30 over drug and gun possession charges after a series of legal maneuvers took his case all the way to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. Landrón and two other men were arrested in August 2005, allegedly with several marihuana cigarettes and a firearm. Hispanic Link.

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