When actor Michael Peña landed the role of Cesar Chavez, he had knew his name but little about the legendary farm labor organizing leader.

“But my father almost broke down in tears when I told him I got the role,” says Peña of what could be a breakout role in the upcoming feature film “Chavez.” “Now I understand why he got so emotional.”

Peña, the son of Mexican farmers who immigrated, is said to have a remarkable resemblance to the Cesar Chavez of the 1960s, according to sources who have seen scenes from the low-budget film. The film’s anticipated release has apparently been pushed back to early next year — and could be faced with walking a marketing tightrope to succeed.

Peña’s uncanny look-alike appearance was just typical of the attention to historical accuracy that Diego Luna, the Mexican actor directing his second film, demanded in the making of a film that meant recreating California in the 1960s.

Cesar Chavez film has its struggles

To recreate 1960s California — and do it within a $10 million budget — meant most of the filming was done in northern Mexico, often in scorching heat and harsh conditions.

But that may not have been the hardest part of getting the film made. Chavez died in 1993, and it has taken more than two decades for any production company to finally convince Chavez’s heirs to grant them the rights.

Chavez’s heirs wanted to protect his legacy, which has been tarnished in recent years as the union he formed, the United Farm Workers of America, has struggled and lost most of its power, losing members and seeing many of its historic labor contracts expire.

It is why the Chavez heirs demanded to see every script and to consult with Luna on changes they wanted.

“This is the first time Chavez is portrayed on film,” says Luna, best known for his role in the 2001 movie “Y Tu Mama Tambien.” “We are not making an exposé.”

Diego Luna: Cesar Chavez’s story is an American story

Luna also says Chavez transcends having been just a labor activist – that his is an American story about overcoming adversity and inspiring those who looked to him then and now.

“It’s about Cesar Chavez,” he says, “but it is also the story of an event that changed the life of a community and the perception the country had of this community, the seed he planted in the community and how it spread and gave confidence to a community that had been invisible.

“They found strength in their numbers and realized they could use their voice para una misma consigna, and they could be powerful and collapse an adversary.”

But the Cesar Chavez film has not been without its own difficulties, beginning with Hollywood’s slowness to warm to the Latino market. Thus, most of that money has come from Mexican investors.

Still, Luna and his Mexican production company Canana that includes his childhood friend and fellow actor Gael Garcia Bernal were able to get the commitment of major acting names, most of them doing the film for scale fees.In addition to Peña, other principal actors in the film include John Malkovich, who was originally just one of the producers but then took on the role of an industrial grape farm owner who opposes Chavez; America Ferrera as Chavez’s wife Helen; Rosario Dawson as union co-founder Dolores Huerta; and Garcia Bernal who makes a cameo appearance.

The screenplay was written by Keir Pearson, Oscar nominated for the script of the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda.”

While the Cesar Chavez film is now expected to open close to Chavez’s birthday, March 31, which is observed as holiday in several states, some of the film’s Hollywood investment partners have relieved that the film will likely come out after the immigration reform legislation is passed – and avoid a potentially volatile political issue that could polarize and turn away some film-goers.

“It’s an American story,” one of those American producers Paul Presburger told The New York Times, “and that’s the way we’re treating it.”

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Tony Castro is the author of the newly-released “The Prince of South Waco: American Dreams and Great Expectations,” as well as of the critically-acclaimed “Chicano Power: The Emergence of Mexican America” and the best-selling “Mickey Mantle: America’s Prodigal Son.”

[Photo by US Department of Labor, Facebook]

There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about the importance of STEM education. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics play a critical role in our country’s ability to compete in the global market.  But there is an essential part of this acronym that is missing: Art. It is the spark that breathes life into STEM, and without it, innovation is dead. There would be no inventions, no discoveries, no advances in technology. Without creativity and analyzation, Benjamin Franklin would not have considered flying a kite in a storm, Steve Jobs would have just been another computer sales guy, and Ellen Ochoa would have been some girl who likes stars.

More and more people are advocating for STEAM instruction instead of just STEM because they understand that creativity leads to inspiration and spurs innovation. Art helps students learn how to analyze and interpret, describe and communicate. It requires a person to work steadily and value the results. All these skills must be nurtured and developed through exposure to the arts.

Kids are born with great imaginations. That’s because they don’t understand the concepts of what is possible and what is impossible. The line between reality and fantasy is blurred, and it is hard for them to understand this. Over time, they begin to learn rules and boundaries, which limits their imagination. So to nurture creativity and help our kids think “outside of the box,” it’s important for us to expose them to the arts, so they can understand and be open to inspiration.

By exploring the arts, students learn there is more than one way to achieve the same -or similar – results. Let’s imagine that little Miguel wants to make a picture. He’s out of crayons, but while digging in the art cabinet at home he finds paint, colored pencils, markers and even chalk. He decides to use watercolor paints to color in his picture, then he remembers a picture he saw during his last class field trip to the art museum and decides, just for kicks, to use his markers to emphasize certain lines and shapes. In the end, he gets his picture drawn and although it is not the way he imagined it, he is thrilled with the result and likes it even better.

Or take 7-year-old Maura, who is quietly playing in her room, making a bridge out of LEGOs. When she finishes, she looks at it with approval… but then she remembers one of the modern statues in the city park that used everyday items to create a castle. Maura grabs a paper towel tube she was using as a telescope earlier that day, an old cone-shaped party hat, a blue bath towel, an alarm clock off her dresser, and her brother’s jack-in-the-box. Now her bridge has water under it, and there are some buildings on one side of the river and a bank that tells the time on the other.

If these kids continue to be exposed to the arts throughout their childhood, then perhaps by the time they graduate from college, they will be finding solutions to world problems, or inventing new technologies, or contributing innovative ideas to city planning.

How to supplement your child’s art education

Many schools have cut back on art education because of budget cuts or curriculum “improvements.” Some students don’t get any instruction in the arts at all. So how can parents help their kids experience the arts?  Here are five tips for making art a part of your child’s life.

Go on field trips. Visit art museums, cultural centers, the theater, poetry readings, and the symphony. Expose your kids to new experiences and types of art.

Sign up! Most museums offer homeschool, after-school, or summer classes. This is a great opportunity to provide your child with the chance to learn from a professional art educator who is trained in the terminology and techniques. But be sure to look to craft stores, theaters, and culture centers for educational events, too.

Watch the tube. Keep an eye out for educational programming on your local PBS station, or invest in DVDs and series that highlight the arts.

Buy books. There are tons of great books available that explore art, or that offer ideas for art projects. Quilting teaches measurement and design. Drawing develops fine-motor skills and sense of proportion. Learning a musical instrument helps children identify patterns and sequence. The benefits are endless.

Give them supplies. Become a regular at your local craft store and buy art supplies. You can have specific projects in mind, but it’s important to just let them use their imagination and create their own art work. Encourage them to create new things each week to help develop their problem-solving skills.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Monica Olivera Hazelton is an NBC Latino contributor and the founder and publisher of MommyMaestra.com, a site for Latino families that homeschool, as well as families with children in a traditional school setting who want to take a more active role in their children’s education. She is the 2011 winner of the “Best Latina Education Blogger” award by LATISM.

[Photo by Bill Townsend Photography]

Latinos are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for approximately 21 percent of all new HIV infection cases in the United States. That’s nearly three times the rate of infection for whites, reports the Centers for Disease Control, and a statistic that is being addressed by Juanes, a Colombian rocker and global music sensation.

“Did you know that in America, there are more than one million people living with HIV?” Juanes asks in a new public service announcement. “There are more than a thousand new HIV cases a month among youth 13 to 24 years of age. Be sure to get tested. In just 20 minutes, you can find out the results,” Juanes says in the video.

The PSA, sponsored by the non-profit HIV/AIDS organization Lifebeat in partnership with the CDC and MTV, places Juanes squarely at what is quickly becoming a not-so-silent issue among a growing number of Latino families.

“It’s shocking to think that an estimated 1,000 people get infected with HIV every single month in the United States,” says Guillermo Chacon, president of The Latino Commission on AIDS.

Chacon – whose organization aims to raise awareness surrounding AIDS among Hispanics – explains that celebrities like Juanes are key to breaking down stigmas surrounding HIV testing among Latinos.

“Celebrities like Juanes are crucial to raising awareness, which is one of the most important ways for people to understand that HIV infection can be prevented,” says Chacon. “HIV is something that’s not talked about in schools and health campaigns, so Juanes is making a really important statement by lending his voice to this cause.”

While Juanes – who filmed the thirty-second YouTube video in conjunction with National HIV Testing Day on June 27 – is well known for his philanthropy and charity work, LGBT activist Monica Trasandes says she welcomes Latino celebrities weighing in on issues across HIV/AIDS and LGBT awareness.

“It’s important for Latinos to hear a compelling message about issues that can be difficult, especially someone that’s as respected and admired as Juanes,” notes Trasandes, GLAAD’s Director of Spanish-Language Media. “And this is an important issue to relay not only to Latinos, but to Anglos, African-Americans, men and women – when you get tested, you are taking care of yourself and the people around you.”

That’s a message Chacon says can’t be underestimated.

“National HIV Testing Day helps bring awareness to this issue,” says Chacon. “But the only way we can begin to think of a world without AIDS if we increase awareness, promote testing and connect people to care 365 days a year.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Nina Terrero, Web Producer: Passionate about social issues, health, education, discovering untold stories among U.S. Latinos and exploring Latino culture through food, literature, theatre and the arts, she holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University. She is also a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts & Science, where she received an M.A. in Political Science. Of Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage, Nina worked at ABC News as a digital reporter before joining the team at NBC Latino. Feel free to ask her about the latest films, urban political policy or her most recent forays in cooking and eating around New York City.

[Photo by Focka]

For the first time in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner (R-Ohio) will meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

During the meeting with the all-Democratic caucus, immigration reform will be a hot topic. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said on MSNBC that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will not pressure  Boehner to force a vote, but instead work on collaborating with the Republican Speaker to get legislation passed.

On Tuesday, Speaker Boehner made headlines when she said he would not advance any immigration reform bill that did not have the support of House Republican majority.

“I don’t see any way of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that doesn’t have a majority support of Republicans,” Boehner said during a press briefing with reporters Tuesday. “I frankly think the Senate bill is weak on border security, I think the internal enforcement mechanisms are weak and the triggers are almost laughable.”

But Gutierrez said the key was seeing how legislation could get passed.

“When we meet with the Speaker, number one we are going to extend to him our cooperation, and ask him how is it that we collaborate so that we can get it done,” he said.

Gutierrez also talked about the meeting’s significance.

“It’s unprecedented at least for me to watch 25 Democrats walk in to meet with a Republican speaker of the House.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Jacquellena Carrero, Freelance web producer: Jacquellena is a multimedia journalist with a passion for writing and working behind the camera. Jacquellena is proud of her Puerto Rican roots and hopes to get more stories on Latinos into the mainstream news media. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science in Spring 2013.

[Photo by Gage Skidmore]

WASHINGTON — Congressional budget analysts, providing a positive economic assessment of proposed immigration law changes, said Tuesday that legislation to overhaul the nation’s immigration system would cut close to $1 trillion from the federal deficit over the next two decades and lead to more than 10 million new legal residents in the country.

A long-awaited analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that the benefits of an increase in legal residents from immigration legislation currently being debated in the Senate — which includes a pathway to citizenship — would outweigh the costs.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo by AstridWestvang]

I have disliked the Medicaid program, but not enough to deter my support for the Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The majority of studies on access, quality and costs, associated with the Medicaid program, show that the program has been a success since it began in 1965.  The Medicaid Expansion is a series of pluses. It will save lives and reduce poverty; have little to no cost and save money; boost local economies and save jobs; and help build a stronger healthcare system for all Texans. An estimated 1.3 to 1.8 million uninsured Texans will finally gain health insurance coverage with the Medicaid Expansion.

Governor Perry’s comment that Medicaid is a failed federal program is wrong, and the legislature’s failure to pass House Bill 3791 as the purported “Texas Solution” to the state’s high uninsured problem is distressing.  Both demonstrate ‘political’ opposition to the Medicaid Expansion which is harmful to the health and bienestar (well-being) of Texans.  The majority (68 percent) are working Texans who are unable to afford the existing high costs of health insurance coverage.

For uninsured Latinos, the ACA and Medicaid Expansion is an opportunity to gain health insurance coverage, and, thereby help address endemic disparities existing for nearly three decades.  In 2011, Latinos represented 61 percent of the state’s 6.1 million uninsured. Excluding all non-citizens, Latinos currently comprise 52 percent (2.3 million) of the state’s (4.4 million) uninsured citizens.  Uninsured rates among Latino children and adults are 19 percent and 39 percent respectively; which is two and three times that of non-Latinos.  This inequality is worsened by the fact that only 40 percent of Latinos have employer-based insurance coverage versus 63 percent for non-Latinos.

Unfortunately, the opposition to Medicaid Expansion in the Texas legislature results in an inequity and social injustice issue that, like education reform and perpetual inadequate funding, continue to be barriers to life improvements for Texas families. There is abundant research that demonstrates the direct relationships among a good education, a decent-paying job, and access to a regular source of health care.  I underscore access to a regular source of care regardless of income, not determined by some ‘most vulnerable’ criteria.   We have forgotten that health insurance coverage is necessary to avoid unnecessary risk for poor health and financial insecurity.  To not have coverage undermines the health and income stability of most families.

The negative impacts on uninsured families are visible everywhere in many county hospitals, county indigent care programs, charity clinics and emergency rooms throughout Texas. The lack of adequate health care perpetuates cheap labor, lower education, and high poverty rates, which are the primary contributors to preventable and pre-mature deaths, chronic diseases and high health care cost. Uncompensated healthcare exceeds $5 billion annually.  These costs are being paid by tax payers and individuals with private insurance through higher premiums.  Expanding Medicaid would cost far less   — $3.1 billion over four years.

The legislature ignored the health and costs benefits and the majority support for the Medicaid Expansion coming from the state’s citizenry and most of the health, business, and other sector leadership of the state.  While not unlike previous reluctance and barriers to implementing the Medicaid (1967) and Children’s Health Insurance Program (1988), the obstructionism is worse today.

The political obstacles were so terrible that not even the anti-ACA Texas HB 3791 could pass the current legislative session. HB 3791 ignored the ACA and proposed that 1) the Texas Health & Human Service Commission (THHSC) negotiate Medicaid Reform through a federal block grant approach, and 2) that the state accept ACA Medicaid funding only if it can provide vouchers to “certain” low-income groups, promote health saving accounts, and control in implementing its “unique” Texas solution to the uninsured problem.  Both would help continue Texas’ traditional path of selective, incremental, and limiting impact in reducing the uninsured rate.

The bill’s framework and approach were weak and not supported by numerous studies, particularly for low income populations and Latinos. For good measure, the legislature passed an Amendment to a Senate health bill (SB7) that the THHSC could not proceed with any ACA/Medicaid Expansion negotiations with federal agency representative without legislative approval.

Some Latino and progressive advocate organizations were left with no bargaining power to influence change in an intransigent and ideologue-based policy opponent leadership.  They were left with accepting the truism, “people who are poor rarely question the quality of their bread” – illustrated by their support for HB 3791.  My personal and professional experience supports universal access to a single-payer health insurance program similar to Medicare.  While Medicaid has often separated and negatively labeled population groups, after 50 years of unsuccessful attempts to reform our inequitable and ineffective healthcare system, the ACA was signed into law in April 2010, and determined to be constitutionally appropriate by the Supreme Court in June 2012.

The ACA is far from perfect but it’s a good start. On-going implementation will be challenging, and will take years to fully realize its intent for equalized cost-effective healthcare.  If our values truly reflect equality of opportunity, it will be achieved – in spite of an opposition determined to undermine its implementation through means that range from outright lies, fear-mongering, and political and legislative barriers such as limiting funding for major components of the law.

The legislature’s inaction on approving the Medicaid Expansion reduces opportunities to learn, work, earn a living wage, stay healthy, and be a productive citizen.

Metaphorically speaking, in Texas, it may take bulldozers and dynamite to implement the Medicaid Expansion.  An increase in the statewide organizing and civic engagement infrastructure, voter turnout, and political influence of Latinos are critical to realizing this metaphor. Only then, will their majority support for the ACA be realized in legislative decisions.

Juan H. Flores  is the Executive Director La Fe Policy Research and Education Center. For Over 30 years he’s been engaged as Chicano health advocate, Administrator, Health Care Policy, Community Health Care, and Health Professions Development. He founded the Chicano Health Policy Development, Inc. (1978-1992) that served as a major catalyst for raising Latino/Chicano health concerns at the national and state level.

ATHENS, Ga. — Local students working to qualify for the Dream Act say their efforts may have been derailed.

They say the former director of an Athens nonprofit, The Athens Latino Center of Education and Services, took their money, messed up their federal applications, and ran.

Daniel Lopez, 29, of Winder, is among those students. Lopez told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh he now faces an uncertain future.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Screenshot courtesy wsbtv]

Many who oppose high levels of Latino immigration argue that these new immigrants don’t learn English as quickly as prior waves of European immigrants did.

A series of new studies, however, reveals a different picture. Latinos are doing pretty well at learning English, especially when compared to many German immigrants of the 19th century, who were considerably slower to acquire the language.

The research, conducted by Joseph Salmons of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Miranda E. Wilkerson of Columbia College, indicates that a significant portion of second and third-generation descendants of immigrants in Wisconsin did not learn English, and spoke only German.

Click HERE to read the full story.

[Photo by NIAID_Flickr]

Un michoacano de 11 años de edad y quien es considerado como uno de los tres niños prodigio del país, viajará a Estados Unidos para estudiar en la Universidad de Harvard.

De acuerdo con un reporte del Sistema Michoacano de Radio y Televisión (SMRyTV), Luis Roberto Ramírez Álvarez, originario del municipio de Zamora, cursará la carrera de Ingeniería Física Cuántica.

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[Foto cortesía de Facebook Hits FM 90.1]

This week, with Justice Scalia writing the majority opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), rejected the Arizona state law, Prop 200, that required voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering for federal elections under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.  This decision was praised and applauded by the voting rights community because it made a very important statement concerning the political place and relationship between the federal and state governments when it comes to federal voting laws.  It said that the state government cannot modify or change a federal voting law only the feds can do this.

This decision Arizona v Inter Tribal Council Ariz, Inc is interesting for a number of reasons including that Justice Scalia wrote the majority opinion and reflected a clear majority – it was 7-2.  The seven justices included Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kennedy.  Justices Thomas and Alito wrote dissenting and separate opinions.

Although this is an important decision most voting rights watchers and activists are waiting with baited breath for the Shelby County v Holder decision that is a direct challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Section 5 is the “preclearance provision” that requires certain states and other jurisdictions, that are named in the law, to submit any changes to their election systems to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia to insure that certain racial groups are protected from discriminatory effects.

Many were hoping that the court would release Shelby County yesterday but SCOTUS decided to release the less controversial Arizona decision first.  Why SCOTUS decided this particular order of release may never be known until some of the junior justices retire and reveal the story in their memoirs.  So, I won’t know in my lifetime for sure.

Some constitutional scholars and lawyers (sometimes they are the same) speculate that SCOTUS may still be wrestling with what to say about Section 5 and so they went with the easiest and least messy decision.  Some think that the court is still searching for a majority among themselves.  It is just too difficult to tell why the Supreme Court releases some cases before others.

Those who were hoping to get a hint of how the court is going to rule in Shelby County were left somewhat “holding the bag.”  Nevertheless, we do have some hints as to how SCOTUS will think about Section 5 because of certain aspects of the Arizona decision.

First, SCOTUS tries to keep the biggest decisions for the end of their term which will be at the end of June.  They will either release the decision today or Monday or Thursday of next week.  Justice Roberts will write the majority opinion, if he is in the majority.  If Justice Roberts writes the opinion two things may be central to his, yes it will bear his imprimatur, conclusion.  One will be that the decision will be “narrowly tailored.”  In other words, it won’t be a broad decision but one focusing very strictly on a point of law in the Shelby case.  The decision will also feature the primacy of the federal government over the state.  These two aspects of the law appear to be guiding Chief Justice Robert’s thinking.

Does this mean that SCOTUS will reject Shelby County’s petition.  No, not necessarily,  SCOTUS may say that the underlying findings upon which Congress reapproved Section 5 in 2006 need updating.  This might or might not place Section 5 in limbo, only in Shelby County’s situation.  See, what I mean by narrowly tailoring a decision?

Underlying the Shelby decision, however, is a bigger question that of a state’s supremacy over federal law.  To-date (at least I have not been able to uncover any evidence so if someone out there knows something please speak up) the court has never looked well at a state’s supremacy argument.  To do so would be to question the very basis of several parts of the United States Constitution as well as several of its most important amendments.  This thought alone will keep the decision narrowly tailored.

I don’t think Justice Roberts wishes his legacy to be considered conservative, liberal or one that opens the door to dismantling the constitution.  I think after speaking to several “Roberts scholars” and reading a number of his decisions, that this term is one that will be important to the Chief Justice’s legacy.  I think, I may be wrong, that Justice Roberts wants his legacy to be one that is thought of as strengthening the legal framework of our country in a deliberate and reasonable manner.  What this means for Section 5?  I’m not sure but we will know soon.

[Photo by SEIU International]