By Mariana Martínez
La Prensa San Diego

It is an overcast Saturday morning in August, with the border wall penetrating the ocean as usual, when journalists start dropping in, quietly saying hello and leaving their usual work companions on the ground by the border fence; phones, coffee stained notebooks, cameras, voice recorders and pens.

We take signs showing a black and red face with the ears, mouth and eyes covered: the image of a censured journalist with which we replace our own faces walking up to the border wall.

We take turns taking pictures, we cover our own silent protest as we later interview one another under the condition of anonymity.

It was a surreal experience for the 50 Tijuana journalists having to stand in front of the cameras, become part of the news, protesting instead of covering a protest, but with 64 journalists killed and 12 disappeared in the last 10 years in Mexico, and hundreds more under threat, it would be absurd and even suicidal not to do this.

In Tijuana alone...

Finish reading Journalists at the fence for Press Freedom

Filed 27 de Agosto, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Pablo Jaime Sáinz
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- If community clinics like the Family Health Center of San Diego in Logan Heights didn't exist, Jose Guzman said that most likely he would have to take his three young daughters to receive health care in Tijuana.

Since he doesn't have health insurance and he can't afford to pay a private insurance provided by his employer, Guzman said that the low-cost health services offered at the Logan clinic are a blessing.

"This is truly a great help," said Guzman, who works in maintenance. "If they didn't offer a program for low-income families, I wouldn't be able to pay for private health insurance."

He and his wife, Karla Marquez, have come here to receive health care at the Family Health Center of San Diego in Logan Heights for more than a decade. Their oldest daughter has seen the same pediatrician since she was born.

"The truth is that we are very happy with the service they provide us," said Marquez, who is a stay-at-home mother. "Also, we don't go into debt to see a doctor."

The Family Health Center of San Diego offers health care to thousands of families in similar situations to the Guzmans: Those that don't have health insurance, that are low-income, and that come from Latino homes.

That's exactly what Mrs. Laura Rodriguez wanted to accomplished when 40 years ago she...

Finish reading Health center celebrates 40 years of serving el barrio

Filed 21 de Julio, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Sherehe Hollins
La Prensa San Diego

Part I

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Lowrider Council pillar in historic Chicano Park. The commemoration was created by the Council's second generation.

The history of lowriding in San Diego is as rich as the tradition, culture, and legacy that it was founded upon. Lowriding, which started in the late 1930's, early 40's in California by Chicano youth, first began as a style of dress that was commonly expressed through the flamboyant, llamativo threads of Zoot Suiters. The lavish, smooth, sleek, and cool style of clothes was eventually translated into the cars, which had once been out of economic reach for most working class families. At the end of World War II, which sparked a boom in the automotive industry, Chicano and African American youth began to accent their unique styles of dress with the customized lowrider car, restored from throwaway car and plane parts. One of the trademarks of the lowrider, which set it a part from other styles of cars was that, they were made to drive slow and ride low by cutting the coils or weighing it down with sand bags, or cinder blocks. These innovative cars, much like the Zoot Suiters themselves, defied the trends, image and attitudes of mainstream America. From its inception, the lowrider, a term, which refers to the cars and the people who drive them, was deemed inferior and widely dismissed by the dominant society. The beauty of the lowrider culture is that in spite of the many negative stereotypes placed on it, and constantly reinforced through the media, it continues to survive and evolve as a legitimate and respected art form that is practiced both nationally and internationally. California's pioneering cities have paved the way for lowriders from younger generations to continue to define themselves, refine their skills, and see themselves as members of a community rooted in solidarity, and self-determination. San Diego is no exception. In fact...

Finish reading Riding Low: The Birth of a Movement

Filed 14 de Julio, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Pablo Jaime Sáinz
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- A milpa (corn field) located in Balboa Park symbolizing the struggle of the Chiapas Indigenous Zapatista population against discrimination and genetically modified (GMO) corn was recently vandalized and destroyed.

The act of vandalism of The Zapatista Milpa is a clear sign of the anti-Mexican sentiment throughout the United States, but especially in border states, states a press release by Schools for Chiapas, the local group that planted the milpa and that supports Zapatista communities in Chiapas. 

Filed 18 de Junio, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Pablo Jaime Sáinz
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Many voters in the City of San Diego District 8 can relate to David Alvarez's life story: He comes from a working-class family in Barrio Logan, his parents worked low-paying jobs as a janitor and fast-food worker, he was the first one in his family to attend college, and he is of Mexican origin.

These shared experiences to other residents in the district, he said in a recent interview, make him the people's choice for the seat in the city council.

"I think that there are many families in the district that share the story of my family," said Alvarez, who is 29. "People have a positive reaction to me because I'm someone with a similar story to them or to someone they know in their families. My story is about overcoming obstacles. I think people find that very gratifying. Not by chance I've received the endorsements of many in the community."

Alvarez, the candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party, works as a district representative for state Sen. Denise Ducheny.

District 8 has historically been considered the "Latino" district in the city. Since it was formed, all of the council members from this district have been Latinos.

District 8 includes communities such as Barrio Logan, Sherman Heights, and to the south, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Nestor.

It has also been one of the most neglected areas in the city, Alvarez said.

"District 8 places last in conditions of roads, of infrastructure," he said. "Few jobs are being created in our district. We have the least number of libraries and parks in the city. We need a change of direction. I'm very realistic of the hard work is going to take to find solutions to those problems."

The race for District 8 includes, in addition to Alvarez, the following candidates: B. D. Howard, Felipe Hueso, Nick Inzunza, Sr., Lincoln Pickard, Adrian Vazquez, and James Wright.

At a March candidate forum, which he clearly was the winner, Alvarez stated that one of the most important issues in the district was decreasing the high foreclosure rate in the area.

It was clear at the forum that Alvarez was the candidate who presented his ideas more clearly, and, judging by the applauses from the crowd, the most popular at the event. He is also the candidate who has raised the most money during the campaign.

"We have run a grassroots campaign. We have outreached to every corner of District 8. I'm proud of what we have achieved," he said.

He said that he will put a special emphasis to the southern portion of the district, which includes San Ysidro, Nestor, and Otay Mesa, areas that, because of their distance to downtown, have been neglected.

"The city has forgotten of these communities. There's been a lack of respect," he said. "There's potential for real future economic development in the border region."

He said he opposes Arizona's SB-1070 because...

Finish reading The candidate of the people

Filed 28 de Mayo, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Katia Lopez-Hodoyan
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO-- It was a day just like any other when Jill Galvez started thinking about running for office. She was socializing with a group of friends when she suddenly felt distraught.

Several parents from her son's elementary school were facing economic troubles. Sending their children to camp wasn't an option anymore. Money was tight and there was no remedy in sight. 

Filed 19 de Mayo, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Mariana Martínez
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- The debate over Health Care reform in the US is far from over. Meanwhile, thousands of US citizens, many of them Mexican-Americans rather tend to their health needs in Mexico, but experts say there are important changes in pharmaceutical legislation and other considerations that medical tourists should be aware of.

According to the Deloitte Center report, "Medical Tourism: Update and Implications," in 2007 more than 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for outbound medical care. Since then, medical tourism has experienced a slowdown driven by the economic recession and consumers putting off elective medical procedures over the past two years with an estimated 20 and 10 percent decrease in 2008 and 2009.

"Medical tourism has transitioned from a cottage industry to an acceptable alternative for elective care," said Paul Keckley, Ph.D. and executive director, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, based in Washington, D.C.

"Despite the setbacks of the economic downturn (it) may begin to recover in 2010, as quality is better defined, new business models emerge, insurers, legislators and employers explore pilots and programs, health care providers become increasingly involved in coordinating care and consumers continue to test it out to explore savings," he added.

This growing tendency has not escaped doctors and dentists in Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada, who had been working on strong public campaigns to establish themselves as trustworthy destinations for US patients looking for affordable medical procedures and medications.

According to the latest census, Tijuana has over 876 pharmacies, 345 of them are located around the border and Revolution Street, showing just how great the market is for medication for US visitors.

But very few people may know of a new law that went into effect April 1st...

Finish reading Medical tourism expected to rise in 2010

Filed 21 de Abril, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Jose Guzman
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Usually when a movie rolls its credits, people empty the theater. Not at the San Diego Latino Film Festival.

Almost 20,000 people attended the festival over the last two weeks and many were still in their seats when the lights came on after their movie was over. They wanted to ask questions and hear the stories from the movie-makers themselves.

Actress Maya Zapata and producer Alan Jonsson Gavica presented the movie "Morenita El Escandalo" to San Diego audiences. (Photo by Aron Martinez)

But while movies and actors were the main ingredient of the festival, some said it was the stories the movie-makers told about their triumphs over adversity that added the spice to the festival.

The most common theme directors and producers touched on were the hardships of making movies in non-U.S. countries.

Mexican Co-director Rafael Lebrija, for example, who played a big role in making the festival's feature film "Amar o Morir," said the story was about overcoming forbidden love, but the making of it was about overcoming forbidden funding, or at least a lack of it.

Investors pulled out on the film in 2006 after a controversial presidential election that left the country with an unstable air of revolution. The U.S. recession hit full swing in 2008 and more investors pulled their money.

Then the swine flu brought the Mexican economy to a grinding halt, all the while the movie's production crew slogged forward with their filming. The movie...

Finish reading Latino film No. 1, even in the face of Swine Flu

Filed 8 de Abril, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Randy Shaw
La Prensa San Diego

I became suspicions about Richard Rodriguez's Wilson Quarterly Winter 2010 essay, "Saint Cesar of Delano," with the author's recollection that when he first saw the UFW leader speak in the late 1960s, "Something about Chavez embarrassed me."

Embarrassed by Cesar Chavez? Chavez's small physical stature and moderate voice often surprised those first seeing him, but Rodriquez's feeling of embarrassment is unusual. It helps explain why he wrongly concludes that Cesar Chavez "died as a loser" and describes the UFW as "largely a failure."

Both history and current social movements defy Rodriquez's conclusions.

Chavez and UFW's Historic Success

Prior to Chavez's launching his drive to create a farmworkers union, every previous effort had failed. California agribusiness dominated the fields, using government, law enforcement and the courts to suppress worker organizing. Agribusiness was so powerful that farmworkers were excluded from the National Labor Relations Act and were denied the federal protections for union organizing afforded most other workers.

Cesar Chavez spent his teenage years in the fields, performing the stoop labor that left him with chronic back problems. He had seen workers come together to strike, only for the effort to quickly fail due to lack of organization and strategy.

Chavez began his impossible quest without money or political connections, but with a strong background in community organizing and a deep religious faith.

Cesar Chavez had so little money at the start that he and his wife Helen picked cotton from 6:00am to 2:00 p.m., after which he spent the balance of the afternoon and evening knocking on doors and meeting with farmworkers.

By the end of the 1960s, this man who Rodriquez now brands a "loser" had spawned the largest consumer boycott in United States history, and the broadest grassroots movement for farmworkers in history.

Chavez became the first labor leader to actively recruit students to join a workers struggle, and he forged the most powerful labor-clergy alliance seen in decades. The UFW was also the only union of predominately male members that recruited and utilized woman organizers (with Dolores Huerta and Jessica Govea being two of the most prominent).

Cesar Chavez and the UFW built this grassroots movement amidst an extremely hostile political environment. In 1967, pro-grower Republican Ronald Reagan became Cali-fornia's Governor. Reagan loved to be photographed eating non-union grapes and used his state's resources to oppose the UFW grape boycott.

Richard Nixon became President in 1969 and was another avowed UFW opponent. Nixon sought to combat the grape boycott's success by having the Defense Department purchase 9.69 million pounds of grapes in 1969, three million more than the previous year (the Defense Department also tripled its purchases of non-union lettuce in 1971 in response to the UFW lettuce boycott).

Despite all of the political obstacles and powerful business interests aligned against it, the union that Rodriquez calls "largely a failure" won enactment in 1975 of the nation's first Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA). To this day, the ALRA provides California's farmworkers with far greater protections than elsewhere in the United States.

The UFW's Decline

I set forth this brief history of Cesar Chavez and the UFW's remarkable success because it is clear that Rodriquez is among those for whom it is unknown, forgotten or obscured by later events. These events, which tragically began soon after the enactment of the ALRA and escalated following the UFW's great victory in the lettuce strike of 1979, have increasingly taken precedence over Cesar Chavez and the UFW's accomplishments in the minds of revisionist critics...

Finish reading Cesar Chavez and the UFW Legacy: Richard Rodriguez Gets it Wrong

Filed 31 de Marzo, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Mariana Martínez
La Prensa San Diego

Military personnel in Baja California recently announced the biggest seizure of marihuana in state's history; 15 tons of pot found inside a trailer carrying a shipment of "Maria" cookies; 12 tons had been found in a similar case on February 7th, making the grand total of 30 tons of pot seized in less than a month.

What makes the seizures unique is not just the volume, but their destination: you see, the drugs were not going north but where headed to the Ensenada port instead, pointing to the growing trend of drug traffic by sea.

Packages of marijuana are stacked for display during a presentation to journalists of approximately 15 tons (15,445 kilograms) of marihuana at the Morelos army base on 23 February, 2010 in Tijuana, Mexico. The packages of drugs were discovered during a search of a trailer truck at a military roadblock. The man in the center is the driver of the truck. (Photo - David Maung)

Military Commander Alfonso Duarte Mujíca, head of Tijuana military region, said the seizure was done after a routine inspection at a military checkpoint at Federal Highway 3, around Chinero-Ensenada route.

Duarte added the shipment was complete with false governmental seals and the drug was not placed under a false floor but instead was poorly hidden behind a pile of "Maria" cookie boxes, --the Mexican equivalent to animal crackers.

The shipment was headed south, from Mexicali to Ensenada passing trough San Felipe, investigations lead authorities to believe it was headed to the US.

"[We believe] The drugs where headed north by sea so we are putting up another military check point at Ensenada Port and coordinating with Marines so we have stricter examination of cargo ships before they head to the US" said Duarte.

Despite claiming not to know which criminal organization was hit with the seizure, Duarte confirmed the drugs seized had a black market value of at least 18 million dollars.

The truck used for transporting the drugs had a sign in the cabin claiming to be "under 24 hour satellite localization surveillance".

The drug packages were all covered in brown tape and had names and nicknames of possible owners; Virus, Flor (flower), Vaca (cow), H-5, L-V as well as numbers 8 and 9.

The driver who is in military custody is 34-year-old Mario López Castro, born in Guaymas, Sonora, who claimed to be living in Mexicali when he was contacted to make a trip to Ensenada and paid around $4 thousand dollars.

Vicente Sánchez Munguía, senior Public Safety researcher for political think thank COLEF, explains information about this new traffic tendency has not flowed to the public, mainly because the secrecy of the federal forces.

"Since about five years ago we've seen a growing tendency of traffic trough the San Felipe port, --despite it not being in the press, the Golf has been commonly used as a land-sea route for drugs, because it's just a stone throw away from Sonora" he says, "it is widely known by fishermen and even environmental researchers that drugs are thrown from airplanes into the sea, where they are picked up by speedboats."

What's new is not what's happening south of the Peninsula, not even the use of speedboats commonly stopped by both Mexican Marines and US Coast Guards, what's new is...

Finish reading The cat and mouse game takes to sea: Narco's new routes to California

Filed 8 de Marzo, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Mariana Martínez
La Prensa San Diego

He has a narco-corrido song telling everyone of his feats, a movie he promoted, armored cars and gold covered guns with his nick-name engraved in diamonds, an army of over 200 men wearing uniforms bearing the name, his ultimate self-centered-ness: "Crotches" Special Forces.

He was in charge of disposing of those killed by "Teo," he was the one who took them to the "stew maker" or Pozolero, who in turn would dissolve the bodies of enemies and kidnap victims in acid, erasing every trace of their crimes.

As rumor has it, he didn't eat anything that wasn't prepared by his own private cook, for fear of being poisoned, and he managed to escape arrest at the hands of federal police in a number of shootings and confrontations across the city.

He loved MTV's Jackass so much he even used their logo in the uniform he designed for his "special forces" (FEM for short); his "army" consisted of six assault teams of 30 to 40 men, in charge of murdering, torturing and kidnapping hundreds of people throughout Baja California.

A DVD glorifying the narco life of Raydel Rosalío López Uriarte

His arrest had been rumored at least a dozen times before, and sources mention his daring escape from federal agents in the so called "Narco-Christening" in the 3 hour shooting at "La Cupula," a sting operation put together at Calimax stadium during a boxing match and even in the middle of a shootout against Federal Agents, at a busy seafood restaurant called Mariscos Godoy, where his brother was taken into custody.

Raydel Rosalío López Uriarte, a.k.a "El Muletas" (Crutches) is just 30 years old, and he was finally arrested in a secret operation lead by federal police in La Paz, South Baja California. With him, was José Manuel García Simental, aka "El Chiquilín" (Tiny) and two of their guards.

"Chiquilín" is Teodoro García Simental, "Teo's" younger brother. He was recently arrested in a similar manner in the same quiet city of La Paz, all the way at the tip of the Peninsula.

Federal authorities claim after Teo's arrest, came the turn of 27-year-old "Chiquilin" to claim the throne and become the leader of the drug operation in Baja California, with the support of "Crutches" who was in charge of thug recruiting, police protection and the management of the criminal structure.

The investigation, developed in part with the DEA, found "Muletas" had at least three armored vehicles for his private use, as he conducted his business of two or three monthly shipments of at least 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of marihuana.

The drug was taken from Sinaloa or Durango aboard Cesna planes, into Tijuana to be smuggled across the border.

His intricate network also moved an average of 250 kilos of methamphetamine known as "ice" brought up to Tijuana from Guadalajara and Michoacán, to be smuggled across the border to San Diego, Calexico and El Centro.

The cartel used stolen cars to commit their crimes, including kidnapping for ransom and drug robberies from rivals. To do it, they even had Barrette 50 caliber arms that can penetrate armored cars and even take down small planes.

The domino effect
The quiet operation surrounding "Muletas" arrest was the key to its success; there is such a level of corruption in Mexican forces, some sources in the Federal Police have said the agents who participated in this arrest (as well as Teo's) were put on a plane without knowing their destination or who they would be arresting...

Finish reading "El Muletas" the stew maker arrested!

Filed 14 de Febrero, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)

By Mariana Martinez
La Prensa San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- "Somebody should tell the U.S. public Mexico does not have yellow cheese in its kitchens" says Chef Marcela Valladolid right before breaking into contagious laughter. This is the motivation behind her upcoming cooking shows "Mexican Made Easy," premiering in Food Network on Saturday January 23rd at 9:30 in the morning.

"My intention is to have the rest of the US public learn what we know so well here in the border: Mexican food is far more than burritos and nachos that are simply fast food snacks" she adds, "we have an array of dishes deeply rooted in our history and tradition and I want to show that. I mean, what can be healthier and tastier than ceviche?"

The new show will hope to catch the networks viewers, already passionate about good food, and it comes at a time where Mexican flavors have hit main stream US public, to whom Marcela hopes to teach fast and easy recipes of truly Mexican Cuisine.

Barely on her early 30s, Marcela is a true border child; born in San Diego raised in Tijuana, she attended the Culinary Institute in LA and Ritz Escoffier in Paris, yet she has a deep love for the taste of the Peninsula and is proud to belong to a culinary movement in the region.

"El Baja-Mediterráneo movement is something I'm very proud of... there is no sauce, salsa or recipe that can beat the taste of a Puerto Nuevo Lobster, served with butter, beans and freshly made flour tortillas. That is the best taste there is."

Besides being an editor for Bon Appétit magazine Marcela is currently the...

Finish reading Local Chef, Marcela Valladolid, goes big time with "Mexican Made Easy" on the Food Network

Filed 26 de Enero, 2010 | Permalink | View Blog Reactions | Comments (0)