Latino Daily News: Bringing You the Latest Hispanic Current Events and News Stories 24/7

According to the 2008 American Community Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are nearly 38 million foreign-born persons residing in the United States.  Although in absolute numbers this represents the highest figure ever, it amounts to only 12.5 percent of the population compared to nearly 15 percent between 1870 to 1920.  The impact of immigration on the labor market during the early part of the twentieth century was much greater than it is at the present time.  In order for the labor market to be similarly impacted today, immigration would have to increase dramatically!

Rather than increasing, however, the current number of immigrants to the United States from Mexico is diminishing noticeably according to a survey completed in 2009 by the Pew Hispanic Center.  Survey data from the U.S. and Mexico reveal that in recent years there has been a large flow of migrants back to Mexico.  However, since 2006, the size of the annual return flow appears to be stable.  As for immigration to the U.S. from Mexico, surveys from both countries attest to recent substantial decreases in the number of new arrivals.  This finding is reinforced by U.S. Border Patrol data showing markedly reduced apprehensions of Mexicans trying to cross into the United States illegally.

The current immigration controversy with its focus on illegal immigrants, is being viewed through the lens of a post 9/11 perspective and the current economic downturn.  The lingering fear and tightened security are causing the nation to reconsider and redefine its laws once again.  United States citizens who are currently unemployed are beginning to resent the immigrant who has a job.  Whether the unemployed would actually do the work that the immigrant is doing seems to be of little concern.  The belief that America’s traditions and customs are being threatened by the influx of immigrants is on the rise.  The current state of the economy, high unemployment rates and foreclosures are exacerbating feelings of fear and paranoia.

Read more by HS News Staff →

One of Mexico’s best known living writers is featured on the cover of AARP’s Viva magazine possessing all the wit and insight he is known for. 

At 82 years old he doesn’t show any signs of wanting to retire noting to AARP that “retiring is the worst thing you can do for your mind.”  “Then what? You ride around on a bicycle?  You have to work until the very end.”  Earlier this year he presented his most recent book ‘Destiny and Desire’ where he stoically reflects on the state of affairs in Mexico and its ever-present violence.

Behind Carlos Fuentes’ stoic exterior hides a man who, like the characters in his narratives, is multidimensional. In the spring issue of AARP Viva, Fuentes shares his views on life, love and the impact of his work. 

On being a writer he comments “First comes love, for one’s wife, children, family and friends. Then comes what we do as writers. Without that life, I couldn’t have written those books; without those books, I wouldn’t have lived.”

Read more by HS News Staff →

The $38 billion in proposed budget cuts would cost the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico $200 million that are currently allocated to it.

The current budget proposal before U.S. legislators would reduce by 10% all funds that Puerto Rico receives from the U.S. to operate.  Puerto Rico’s representative in Washington, resident commissioner Pedro Pierluisi said yesterday that he puts the funding loss between $100 million to $200 million.

Residents and the island’s government is worried since Puerto Rico has been in a deep economic crisis and has one of the highest rates of unemployment in all of the U.S.  The budget reduction would only exaggerate the 16% rate of unemployment and hopes for recovery. 

Read more at LAHT →

A school in Chicago’s predominantly Hispanic, Little Village neighborhood is making headlines from coast to coast, as its attempt to make student lunches healthier has parents up in arms.

Administrators at Little Village Academy on Chicago’s West Side enacted a school-wide rule Six years ago that bans students from bringing their lunch to school, and instead requires them to eat the often-healthier school-provided lunch.

Principal Elsa Carmona said she stands by the six-year-old rule, and sayd is was put in place after many children were seen bringing “bottles of soda and flaming hot chips” for their midday meal.

“Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school. It’s about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It’s milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception,” Carmona told the Chicago Tribune.

It is unclear why the parents and their advocates are suddenly revolting against the rule, but family members like Anna Torrez, say the predominately Hispanic school doesn’t account for finicky eaters, or for the fact that it’s not any better that they choose not to eat at all.

“[My grandson] is really picky about what he eats,” said Torrez. “I think they should be able to bring the food from home. Other schools let them. But at this school, they don’t.”

Not all parents are against the “school lunch or no lunch” policy, however. Parent Miguel Medina said, “The school food is very healthy and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food.”

So far, the outraged parents’ are not winning, as the Chicago Public Schools’ spokesperson Monique Bond stated there is little the district officials can really do.

“While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments,” said Bond. “In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom.”

Read more at Chicago Tribune →

First Guatemala, and now the Dominican Republic, are seeking to pull a ‘Kirshner’.

Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, the first lady of the Dominican Republic, has been approved by the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) as a possible presidential candidate for the 2012 elections. Her husband Leonel Fernandez recently announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term in office, which opened the office to new leadership in nearly a decade.  His fervent supporters were hoping he would change the constitution so he could run again - he didn’t but found the second best thing to that - have his wife run.

Cedeño, Vice President Rafael Alburqueque, former candidate Danilo Medina, former senators Francisco Domínguez and José Tomás Pérez, former Minister of Interior Franklyi Almeyda and political leader Radhamés segura will face off in the Liberation Party’s internal elections in late June 26th, according to the secretary general of the party and Senate President Reinaldo Pared Pérez.

Neither Cedeño nor her husband, has offered a public comment on the issue.

First Ladies running to succeed their husbands, seems to have become a trend, since the Kirshners pulled it off in Argentina. Dominican Republic’s current political climate is eerily similar to the current political scene in Guatemala, where first lady Sandra Torres has filed for divorce from her husband and current president Alvaro Colom, in an attempt to circumvent constitutional laws preventing her to compete in September’s presidential elections.

Despite both Fernández and Colom’s efforts to subtract relevance to the fact that their wives are running, and both men’s promises to remain impartial through the election period, it is hard not to see the Central American nations turn toward “housewifecracy” as a faux reelection, where the reelected is not the president, but the First Lady.

Read more by HS News Staff →

With a Mexican-American mayor and the largest Latino population in the United States, it made little sense that Los Angeles had no Latino museum or cultural center, but with the help of actress Eva Longoria, that changed.

After watching Chicago, New York, Dallas, Long Beach, and even Omaha, Nebraska establish Latino- and Latin American-themed institutions, Los Angeles stepped up to the plate, and on Saturday, held the inaugural gala for LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Ms. Longoria not only chaired the gala, she is also a Board of Trustees member.

According their website, “LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is the nation’s premier center of Mexican American culture. Providing an experience unlike any other, LA Plaza’s interactive exhibits and dynamic programs invite visitors to explore as well as contribute to the ongoing story of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles and beyond. Located near the site where Los Angeles was founded in 1781, LA Plaza’s 2.2-acre campus includes two historic and newly renovated buildings (the Vickrey-Brunswig Building and Plaza House) surrounded by 30,000 square feet of public garden.”

The cultural center will provide educational programs, and include exhibitions on L.A.’s Mexican-American heritage. The center will be open to the public, and will occasionally have live music. Officials are hoping the center will bring the mish-mash of culturally relevant tourist attractions together and complete the “big picture” that is L.A.’s Mexican-American and Latino history.

President and CEO of LA Plaza, Miguel Angel Corzo, said, “We want to compare, or to counterpoint, the historic aspect of Los Angeles and the presence of the Mexicans and Mexican Americans with a bold here-and-now presence in terms of music, in terms of film, in terms of food.”

The center’s grand opening will be April 16th, when it will open to the public.

Read more at Los Angeles Times →

America’s ability to answer President Obama’s call to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build” the rest of the world is inextricably linked to the future of the Latino community, said Secretary Duncan in a speech at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) National Capitol Forum in Washington, DC.

Nearly 150 presidents and other leaders from Hispanic-serving institutions gathered at the 16th Annual Forum to discuss initiatives to ensure greater college access and completion for the country’s Latino population. 

Secretary Duncan also answered questions about the DREAM Act—a bill that failed to pass Congress last year, and had it been adopted would have opened the doors of higher education and military service to young people brought to America without documentation by their parents while they were children.  Duncan voiced his strong support for Congress to continue working on a solution:

“There are thousands of hard-working, patriotic, young people who are leaders in their communities and who are looking for an opportunity to attend college or serve our country in the military, but they cannot, through no fault of their own. We need the talent and skills of all of these students.”

There are currently more than 12 million Latino students in America’s public schools, making up more than 1 in 5 (22 percent) of all pre-K-12 public school students. 

Only about half of Latino children earn their high school diploma on time, and those who do finish high school are only half as likely as their peers to be prepared for college.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Peru’s presidential race is set to continue after no candidate was able to garner the vote majority required in. Now, a runoff election is set for June between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori.

Humala, 48, is a nationalist former military officer, who changed his image during his campaign to present himself as more of a moderate family man. Previously, he had taken after the object of his admiration, fellow-leftist, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Humala

Fujimori, 33, is the daughter of jailed former president Alberto K. Fujimori who is currently serving time for human rights violations. Ms. Fujimori ran on a platform advocating the pardon of her father. She highlighted his record in defeating leftist guerilla groups in the 1990s, though few have forgotten the rough period which included espionage scandals that plagues his career before he finally fled to Japan in 2000. He was later extradited and returned to Peru from Chile in 2007, and stood trial on charges of corruption and human rights violations.

With about 85.4 percent of the votes in Sunday night, Humala had 31.2 percent, and Fujimori grabbed 23.2 percent.

Humala’s lead in the first round of voting is likely due to Peru’s upset over the large income gaps, as he advocated for more “equitable distribution of proceeds from Peru’s commodities exports,” wrote the NY Times. As of today, about 30 percent of Peru’s population lives in poverty, and while this is a remarkable improvement from 10 years ago, when poverty affected about 53 percent, that is still very high.

Read more at New York Times →

Did Czech leader Vaclav Klaus pocket the silver pen that the Chilean government had provided for him to sign cooperation treaties between the two nations? You be the judge.

The Czech leader can be seen opening the case and admiring the pen, before hiding it under the table, and presumably putting it in his pocket.

Then, he casually closes the box, and gives an inconspicuous nod to the camera.

Since the video was published, the spokesperson for the Czech presidency has said the pen was a gift, and thus the president didn’t steal it, but just “put it away.”

Read more by HS News Staff →

Latin American films, after many years of struggling, are now seeing a boom with their original content, with the international film business taking notice.

After countries like Argentina have seen a jump in production levels, the region is now looking to grow even more to give a boost to local production sectors.

Films are seeing success at national, mini-regional and pan-Latin American levels. Under the direction of Jorge Sanchez, for example, Mexico’s Guadalajara mart has been able to expand and add Cannes’ Producers Network and a Guadalajara Construye rough-cut section.

At marts like Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur, which was custom-built for Latin American films, saw at least 300 buyers and 1,969 non-Latin American participants, buyers, and financiers. It was reported that the most recent Ventana Sur festival this past December, 12 films were sold.

The last week in March was the Guadalajara Film Market, which saw a number of deals made with international film bodies as well. The deals were mostly in the low-six-figure range.

Lucero Garzon, at Pyramide Intl., said, “Sales in Mexico facilitate further sales to smaller territories—Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru—which depend on the availability of Spanish-subtitled prints in Mexico or Argentina). So pre-sales are very helpful right before Cannes.”

Variety wrote:

Guadalajara, though a much smaller market than Ventana Sur, is, however, much more than just a market.

Flooded by young Mexican producers, and boasting the influential Ibero-American Co-Production Meeting—energized by the presence of topnotch Latin American players RCN Films, Patagonik and Fabula—and two Cannes Producers’ Network sessions, it functions essentially as a production-networking platform.

Guadalajara and Ventana Sur look more complementary than rivalrous.
But Latin America’s mini-mart explosion doesn’t stop there. Chile’s Valdivia fest hosts the prestigious rough-cut Austra Lab. Colombia inaugurated the Bogota Audiovisual Market last July. La Paz is bowing a Bolivia Lab.

“There’s something very fresh going on in that region,” enthuses FiGa’s Sandro Fiorin.

Read more at Variety →

Gravity played a trick on Lady Gaga as she sang one foot on a bench, and the other foot on a flaming piano.

A true professional, the “Born this Way” star got right back up, and carried on with the show as if nothing happened.

Watch the video below, as the piano bench tumbles and Lady gaga looses her balance, plummets and ends up underneath the piano.

Read more by HS News Staff →

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that it will launch an effort to better address national origin based housing discrimination during Fair Housing Month in April.

HUD will initiate a national media campaign and a series of community discussions on topics ranging from rental practices to mortgage lending. HUD’s first Immigrant Housing Conference, which will educate the public and housing providers about their fair housing rights and responsibilities, will be conducted in Omaha, Nebraska, April 14.

“The new Census data demonstrate that newcomers are settling not only in traditional gateway states. They reside in communities across the Midwest and South. Through this education campaign, HUD will work with communities to prevent housing discrimination and promote immigrant integration into the broader society,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in rental, sales or home lending transactions based on a person’s national origin. This includes discrimination based on a person’s ancestry, country of birth outside the United States, and the language they speak. National origin discrimination often involves immigrants or non-English speaking individuals, but can also involve native-born U. S. citizens based on their family ancestry. This type of discrimination may also occur in conjunction with the other protections of the Fair Housing Act against race, color, religion, gender, disability, and family status discrimination.

One part of HUD’s “Live Free” national media campaign is a print advertisement featuring a Latino worker looking into the horizon, with a caption in Spanish reading: “You have the right to live where you choose. Report housing discrimination.”

HUD also recently awarded nearly $41 million to 108 fair housing organizations and non-profit agencies across the country to educate the public and combat housing and lending discrimination. Many of the groups will use the grants to address discrimination against immigrants, Latinos, non-native English speakers and minority communities. See this selected list of grantees and their work.

Some examples of how the grants will be used to combat national origin discrimination include:

The Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, California, will test for discrimination in the sale and rental of housing units in the area of national origin;

The Equal Rights Center in Washington, DC, will investigate 240 new complaints of housing discrimination alleging violation of federal fair housing laws with an emphasis on national origin;

The Idaho Legal Aid Services will broadcast public service announcements in Spanish about FHA lending information; and

Prairie State Legal Services in Rockford, Illinois, will focus on educational outreach to Spanish-speaking residents, a group recognized statewide as at-risk.

Read more by HS News Staff →

The 1996 Best Short Oscar Winner director from Spain, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo,  has said he’ll stay true to ‘The Crow’s’ franchise’s comic-book origins.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who directed the thriller “28 Days Later” will helm a new, darker, take on the story of lost love, murder and revenge.

Details have not been provided, with the exception that production should be starting this fall.

“The Crow” was taken to the big screen by director Alex Proyas in 1994, turning instantly into a classic cult film, due to its thrilling story, daunting soundtrack and flawless performances.

Several sequels have been made, but it is the first time an auteur looks at reexamining the original crow.

What do you think? Who do you think should play Eric Draven?

Read more by HS News Staff →

A number of immigrant laborers are feeling “free” after winning a $60 million against a Houston company they say made them indentured servants.

In 2008, a group of 26 immigrants traveled to Houston to work for Coast to Coast Resources, who promised the workers jobs and work visas. They were to be laborers near the Houston Ship Channel. They were told they’d be paid $15 to $22 an hour for 30 months.

Shortly after arriving, the primarily Vietnamese workers were presented with a “fine print” surprise. According to the lawsuit filed by the workers, per their contract, each worker was to pay the American company as much as $7,000 to get a job in the U.S.

The lawsuit also stated that each of the men was to pay $125 a week to live at the Pasadena apartment complex were they lived in squalor. Additionally, they had to pay $75 a week for the transportation to work.

According to the lawsuit the “Defendants threatened Plaintiffs that if they had contact with outsiders they would be arrested or subject to violence because, according to the Defendants, they would be the subject of scorn in America given the fact they were citizens of a communist country.”

After only working a few of the 30-month contract the men were fired. In response, the workers filed a lawsuit, and while they won $60 million and are happy to be free of the company, saying “justice prevailed,” they still have their eye on the American dream.

Because the work visas were never given, the men are now getting assistance from Professor Naomi Bang and students from South Texas College of Law. Despite the poor treatment the men received, they still wish to stay in Texas, and help their families.

Prof. Bang stated, “What they came for is to stay here and provide a life for their children and spouses who are still waiting in Vietnam.”

Read more at My Fox Houston →

Oil wells off of the Brazil coast are indicating in early testing that they can produce as much as 50,000 barrels of oil a day. 

According to the British BG Group, that holds a minority stake in the oil wells, the oil wells are located in the Santos Basin – 7,000 feet deep and approximately 190 miles off the coast of Sao Paolo. 

The findings reaffirm this site as an “excellent reservoir characteristics of this discovery,” according to the international cooperative drilling there.  The oil reserve was just identified earlier this year and is believed to contain medium-grade crude oil.

Spanish energy giant Repsol, also a partner in the drilling sees Brazil’s offshore coasts as ‘one of the world’s fastest-growing oil and gas reserves.’

Read more at UPI →

First came an unforgettable journey across the world’s greatest habitats. Then viewers were brought nose-to-nose with Earth’s wildest creatures. Now, the makers of PLANET EARTH and LIFE reverse the spotlight to focus on a species closer to home: humans.

From oceans to jungles to deserts,Human Planet, narrated by celebrated actor and filmmaker Gael Garcia Bernal, is a majestic portrait of people’s incredible ability to survive and thrive in our planet’s most extreme environments. This two week, eight-part natural history series premieres on Discovery en Espanol starting Monday, April 25 at 8pm ET.

“Human Planet is an awe inspiring production that will transport viewers to some of the most stunning locations on Earth to share in the captivating images of human’s perseverance and survival. It is the story of us, told via striking visuals and accompanied by the distinct voice of celebrated Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, who will take Spanish speaking audiences on a remarkable odyssey,” said Bilai Joa Silar, Vice President and Channel Director, Discovery U.S. Hispanic.

In each series viewers will find individuals, communities and traditions including:

• The people of the high puna in Peru who take part in the Chiaraje, a ritual battle with its roots in Inca tradition, deemed necessary for a good harvest. 
• The Matis of Brazil, whose hunting techniques utilize ornate blowpipes, some 3.5m long, decorated with turtle shells and capybara teeth.

The series also airs on Discovery Channel in Latin America that include Bogota, Brasilia, Buenos Aires and Mexico City.

Read more by HS News Staff →

Maryland’s own version of the DREAM Act is one step away from becoming law after passing in the state House in a 74-66 vote this last Friday.

Maryland’s DREAM Act would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition fees, in essence recognizing them as state residents, if they have graduated from a Maryland high school and can provide tax returns for the last three years. 

The student or the parents can provide the tax return and if the student’s family members are very ill the tax return requirement will be waived.  In addition, male college applicants will have to register for the military Selective Service if they want the tuition discount. 

The savings for undocumented students is substantial with out of state students paying $24,831 versus in-state tuition of $8,416.  The bill will now move to the Senate and if passed Governor Martin O’Malley has indicated he will sign the bill.  A different version of the DREAM Act had passed the Senate last month but was altered to include three amendments that were more restrictive. 

Once the legislation becomes law, Maryland will then become the 11th state to offer in-state tuition for undocumented students. 

Read more at Colorlines →

For the past nine months, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a Princeton-based Hispanic advocacy non-profit organization, has been issuing municipal identification cards to any one who can prove that they live or work in the city.

For many individuals this is the only form of identification they have. It can be used to cash checks, pick up mail from the post office, or even to pick up medicine at the pharmacy.

Since mid December more than 2500 cards have been issued at a cost of $15.00 each.

“We’ve heard it all,” Princeton New Jersey Township Police Chief Mark Emann said. “But it’s a good program. It’s good for the police department, and it’s good for the community.”

Read more at AZ Central →

Latin America’s largest bank in terms of assets, Banco do Brasil is confirming it is in talks to acquire U.S.-based bank Eurobank.

Brazil’s government owned, Banco do Brasil is confirming earlier reports that it was in advanced negotiations to acquire the Eurobank that has branches throughout Florida. 

This acquisition is part of the banks overall strategy to expand its international operations with a special focus on the U.S.  Last year the bank was able to obtain permission from the Federal Reserve to operate a retail bank here and now maintains offices in New York and two other U.S. cities.

Banco do Brasil however is also looking to expand in other Latin American countries; announcements on pending acquisitions in the region are expected later this year.  Last year the bank acquired a majority 51% stake in Argentina’s Banco Patagonia S.A. 

Read more at Wall Street Journal Online →