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By Veronica Villafañe, Media Moves

Javier Manzano has won the 2013 Pulitzer prize for feature photography.  He is the first freelance photographer to win a Pulitzer in 17 years.

Described by the jury as an “extraordinary picture,” Javier’s winning photo, distributed by Agence France-Presse, shows two Syrian rebel soldiers tensely guarding their position as beams of light stream through bullet holes in a nearby metal wall.

Javier, who worked for The Rocky Mountain News until it shut down its doors in February of 2009, is currently a freelance photojournalist and documentary filmmaker based in Istanbul, Turkey.  He has been covering the wars in Mexico, Afghanistan and Syria.

His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post and TIME magazine, among others.

Born in Mexico, Javier immigrated to the U.S. when he was 18. A great portion of his work has focused on cross-border issues.

Javier began his career in the newspaper industry as a photo and videojournalist, later expanding into television and electronic media.

2013 Pulitzer prize-winner for feature photography. Two rebel soldiers stand guard in the Karmel Jabl neighborhood of Aleppo as over a dozen holes made by bullets and shrapnel peppered the tin wall behind them. © Javier Manzano/AFP

You can see more of Javier’s amazing photos on his website: www.javiermanzano.com.

This article was first published in Media Moves.

[Photos courtesy Media Moves]

By Rocio Gonzalez, Voxxi

TIME Magazine’s issue on the 100 most influential people in the world is one of the TIME editions I most look forward to every year.

There’s no doubt this list is carefully and meticulously compiled every year. And what a very difficult decision that must be—to choose only the 100 most influential individuals from such a vast pool of candidates.

It is quite interesting to see how trends shift from year to year. Last year, for example, it was the year of Jessica Chastain. This year, it’s cover girl Jennifer Lawrence, who took the Oscar away from Chastain earlier this year. When it comes to leaders, Sen. Marco Rubio is out and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is in.

In 2012, Latin America had four entries in the 100 most influential people list: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Brazilians Eike Batista and Maria das Graças Silva Foster, and Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi. When it came to Hispanics making a difference in the U.S., there were three entries: Dreamer Dulce Matuz, Rubio and Spanish chef Jose Andrés.

Only three included in TIME’s 100 most influential: Is it them or is it us?

This year, the most influential Hispanics in the U.S. are, again, three: Martinez, singer Miguel and Pastor Wilfredo de Jesús. Entries from Latin America are Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Brazilian Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes.

Does it say something about TIME, or does that say something about us that only three Hispanics in the U.S. made it to the list this year and last?

It’s fair to say things aren’t quite the same as they were last year. For example, there were two Latinos in the Obama cabinet, now there’s only Thomas Perez waiting to see if the Senate will confirm him as secretary of labor. And that came only after many organizations requested that President Barack Obama named Latinos to his cabinet when things began to look a little bland. But there is slightly more Latino power in Congress: take for instance Sen. Ted Cruz, who has certainly been a controversial figure, being called the new Sen. McCarthy.

Not to mention, it is looking very likely that this year will see the biggest immigration policy overhaul since the Reagan Administration, and that is being pushed by some very influential legislators, which include Rubio, Sen. Robert Menendez, Rep. Luis Gutierrez and others.

So why is it that the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. is so poorly represented in a list that highlights the 100 most influential people? 

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Rocio Gonzalez is a writer in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she is an avid reader, amateur baker & journalism graduate from American University in Washington.

[Photo by Albuquerque Public Schools]

By John Newland, NBCLatino

It’s an iconic image that captures a moment when one Boston Marathon bystander became much more.

With blood-soaked hands and wearing a cowboy hat, Carlos Arredondo helps rush a young man in a wheelchair to safety after explosions turned Monday’s race into a disaster scene.

He appears to be pinching closed a severed artery protruding from the victim’s thigh, stanching the flow of blood from a torn and shattered leg.

“I kept talking to him. I kept saying, ‘Stay with me, stay with me,’” Arredondo told the Portland, Maine, Press Herald.

By Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan, Washington Post

Conventional wisdom dictates that the Hispanic community in the United States is far more supportive of overhauling the immigration system and allowing those who are in the country illegally to be given a path to citizenship than the population as a whole.

That’s right — sort of. The reality of how Latinos feel about an immigration reform and, specifically, the requirements of a path to citizenship is more complex and worth exploring more deeply as we are just days away from the so-called “Gang of 8″ introducing a bipartisan immigration proposal.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo by Grand Canyon NPS]

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By Ignacio Torres, NBCLatino

Dr. Yadira Perez, Oral Historian from New York City’s Tenement Museum, and Dr. Jose C. Moya, historian at Barnard College, go through our country’s history of immigration and explain something many forget; Latinos were among the first immigrants in the United States.  Before the English came to American in 1609, there was a Hispanic presence in the southwest, in places like Texas and New Mexico.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Ignacio Torres, Video/Web Producer: Graduated from University of California, Davis and The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism where he specialized in immigration reporting. Ignacio is a California native but born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico, where his parents currently reside. A foodie at heart, Ignacio is always in search of the next best taco truck. He has worked for the TODAY Show, Rock Center and has covered politics for La Opinion newspaper based in Los Angeles.

[Photo by aherrero]

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By Hispanically Speaking News

As April 15th approaches, everyone who has earned money this year is making sure they’ve given Uncle Sam his due. As a result, it’s that time of year for reflecting on matters of money — a particular concern for young adults, who have come-of-age during a recession and have been disproportionately affected by it. At an age when previous generations were establishing careers, starting families, and buying houses, today’s young adult is still await the expansive opportunities that were promised to them. For many – Hispanics in particular – those prospects have yet to appear.

When it comes to employment, Hispanic young adults have it rough. Hispanics 18 to 34 overall have an unemployment rate that’s 25% above that of non-Hispanic whites, according to a recent analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the think tank Demos. Research indicates, 1 out of 7 Hispanics ages 18 to 24 are looking for a job but can’t find one. The lack of job growth in the market is hitting the youngest adults especially hard: in 2012, labor force participation for total 18 to 24-year-olds fell to its lowest point in over four decades.

Combining findings from its 2012 research study “Hispanic 18-34s Living the ‘Next Normal’” with information from other sources, Tr3s has prepared some research on young Hispanic adults and their changing attitudes toward money.

Ostentatious wealth is “out.” For Boomers and Xers, brand names and high-priced products were status symbols. Tr3s found that young adults today don’t have that luxury. Money is tight, so overspending is not really an option. In addition, it’s a source of resentment — they connote frivolous spending, which they blame for our current economic problems, with poor judgment. This is true not just for young Hispanics, but young adults in general.

Money as a protective talisman is “in.” Because anything can happen, money in the bank is an insurance policy against tough times that might lie ahead, according to Tr3s research. For many, that savings account will also make it possible to move out of their parents’ house someday.

Hispanic young adults want to do better than their parents. Being financially better off than their parents is very important for 7 out of 10 Hispanic young adults, according to the 2012 Maximo Report. They’re almost twice as likely as white non-Hispanics to have this desire.

In spite of their difficulties, they’re optimistic about the future. The Maximo Report found that 6 in 10 Hispanic young adults feel the recession is getting better (a 116 index vs. white non-Hispanics). Tr3s also found that 61% of Hispanics 18 to 29 considers themselves to be very happy.

Source: Tr3s 2012 “Hispanic 18-34s Living The ‘Next Normal’”; Maximo Report 2012, NGLC, Motivo Insights, and Tr3s; Demos, “Stuck: Young America’s Persistent Jobs Crisis,” 4/4/13; The New York Times, “ Do Millennials Stand a Chance in the Real World?,” 3/26/13

This article was first published in Hispanically Speaking News.

[Photo by moodboardphotography]

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By Hope Gillette, Saludify

Almost 10 months have passed since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) made it through the Supreme Court’s scrutiny, paving the way for millions of United States residents to access health care and preventative services.

But while the ACA was ultimately upheld, changes and revisions to the law have occurred over the past year; changes like the approval of a birth control benefit under the no-cost preventative services provision.

ACA has also been important for minority demographics such as Hispanics. More than 50 million reside in the U.S., making up 17 percent of the population. Despite being one of the fastest growing minorities, however, Hispanics continue to suffer from a number of health care disparities. Because of this, the ACA and its impact on future health have been a primary focus for many people of Hispanic descent.

Some parts of the law, such as the preventative services provision, will impact the Hispanic population the most, as almost half of the entire U.S. Hispanic population is under the age of 26.

Only 6 percent of Hispanics are elderly adults compared to 17 percent of non-Hispanic whites, making disease prevention a focus for this young community.

Hispanics and the new ACA

So how will the modified version of the ACA affect Hispanics?

A report from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) indicates the primary benefit for Hispanics resides in the ability to gain health care coverage, a process which will be facilitated through health insurance marketplaces and tax credits to make such coverage affordable.

Approximately 32 percent of the non-elderly uninsured population is Hispanic, including more than 12 million adults and 3 million children. Out of all the racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates, and those who are insured are done so primarily through Medicaid.

“Medicaid is a key source of coverage for 13.7 million Hispanics, many of whom would otherwise go uninsured due to their limited access to private coverage and low incomes,” wrote KFF in the report. “However, many Hispanics, especially adults, who have limited eligibility for Medicaid, remain uninsured. Moreover, reflecting historic enrollment barriers, eligible Hispanics are less likely to enroll in Medicaid and CHIP compared to non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks.”

The ACA’s coverage expansion will allow almost all uninsured Hispanics to qualify for Medicare coverage or tax credits under the new expansions. Under the health reform law, KFF notes 57 percent of Hispanics will be below the Medicaid cutoff limit and 38 percent will be eligible for tax credits to help purchase insurance through state marketplaces.

Restrictions are still in place, however, for non-citizen Hispanics, though lawfully present children and pregnant women who are not yet citizens may forego a 5-year waiting period if the state they live in waives the restriction; almost half of states have done so. Documented immigrants will have the ability to purchase health coverage through state marketplaces without any waiting period.These benefits will not likely eliminate all health coverage disparities for Hispanics under the ACA, however.

“If a state does not expand Medicaid, many low-income uninsured Hispanic adults will not gain a new coverage option and will likely remain uninsured,” said KFF. “Even with the coverage expansions, some non-citizen Hispanics will continue to face eligibility restrictions that limit Medicaid eligibility for many lawfully-present immigrants and exclude undocumented immigrants from health coverage. As such, they will likely continue to experience higher uninsured rates and face challenges obtaining care.”

KFF believes targeted outreach programs, one-on-one applications assistance, language services, and other proven methods for reducing barriers in the Hispanic community are key to ensuring Hispanics get the most benefit from the ACA. But even with expanded coverage, medical professionals will still need to overcome language issues, cultural barriers and a general fear Hispanics have of navigating the health care system if disparities are expected to be reduced further.

Current and continuing ACA benefits for Hispanics

While small portions of the health care law have been redefined, much of it remains as it was originally, and Hispanics can still expect to see the following benefits:

• Public health programs like Medicare and the National Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have expanded. This will eventually allow the 39 percent uninsured Latino children to receive coverage. Children are also now allowed to remain on their parent’s health policies until the age of 26.

• As of 2011, children were no longer denied coverage due to a chronic illness. By 2014, insurance companies will not be allowed to consider pre-existing conditions as a reason for denying any American coverage. This is a huge benefit for the 1 in 6 senior Latinos suffering from a previously diagnosed medical condition.
• Spanish-speaking and low-income communities have an allocated 11 million dollars from the Care Act to create community health centers with bilingual caregivers. Over a third of Latinos have issues understanding their current doctors, a communication barrier that prevents the highest standard of care.
• Employers are now given tax credits which allow low-income families to purchase affordable health care. Brand-name prescription drugs for low- to moderate-income families are reduced by 50 percent on the plan, and the high cost of prescription drugs should be completely remedied by 2020.
• The island of Puerto Rico has seen an increase in Medicaid funding with the intent to promote health care coverage for the currently uninsured. Increased Medicare funding allows Latinos to choose between low-cost programs in what is called the health care marketplace.

• A new division of public health, the Office of Minority Health, was created to monitor issues regarding health care trends, quality of health, and health issues within the nation’s minority populations.

• New funds have been allocated for research and data collection on health disparities.

This story was first published in Saludify.

Hope Gillette is an award winning author and novelist. She has been active in the veterinary industry for over 10 years, and her experience extends from exotic animal care to equine sports massage.

[Photo by The White House]

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By jseattle, Capitol Hill Seattle

With news coverage across the city dotted with descriptions including “embattled,” “quiet,” and “Latino,” John Diaz, Seattle’s first minority police chief, stepped down Monday ending a four-year run in a job where his leadership and style were increasingly under scrutiny and his department struggled with how best to implement Justice Department-mandated changes.

“I have a lot of thank yous but I’m going to keep this press conference short because you know how much I love doing those,” Diaz joked Monday morning.

Diaz, an East Precinct commander from 1995 to 2000…

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo courtesy Capitol Hill Seattle]

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By Brenda Álvarez, NEA Today

When it comes to innovations in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, the United States has had, over the past two centuries, the good fortune to be able to tap the brain power of its citizens—both native born and those who have immigrated here. Their invaluable contributions have sharpened America’s innovative edge to a fine point.

And although the United States is recognized as a global technological leader, there is heavy competition from other countries.

Every generation needs an infusion of fresh talent to take on those jobs that contribute to pushing the envelope of progress and innovation. The challenge for the United States is that there are more STEM jobs than there are qualified applicants.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates there will be 2.7 million new jobs expected in STEM sectors by 2018.  But the number of students graduating from related fields is nowhere near what it should be.

What will it take to meet America’s requirements for preparing students and professionals to enter the STEM pipeline?

The STEM potential of Latinos

The publishers of LATINO magazine, along with the National Education Association, believe the answer is two-fold: Encouraging Latino students to enter STEM fields and preparing more educators to teach STEM subjects.

Latinos in America represent one in four students in the public school system.  According to the latest statistics, meeting the country’s science and math needs for the next 10 years will require 100,000 more engineers per year. Some simple math reveals that America should see 25,000 more Latino engineers represented in that figure.

To explore the possibilities for inviting greater Latino participation in STEM fields, LATINO magazine convened a conference in Washington, D.C.

The “Nuestro Futuro, the 2012 Latino Education Conference on STEM,” spotlighted a panel called “It Starts in the Classroom.” The panel centered on ensuring great public schools for every student through social justice advocacy, and NEA was front and center of this conversation.

So what does social justice advocacy have in common with the largest labor union in the country? It has been at the Association’s core since it was founded.

Nearly 100 years before the Civil Rights movement, Robert Campbell, an African American teacher from Philadelphia, was one of 43 educators who established what is now the NEA. The Association also elected its first woman president, Ella Flagg Young, decades before American women were give the right to vote.

NEA’s position is that ill-devised policies that prevent students from learning and educators from teaching drive the Association to advocate for the rights of students and educators alike, whatever the challenges.

Today, Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the American population, standing at 50 million people. That number is expected to double by 2050. With this kind of growth come challenges that directly affect the Latino student population, such as immigration.

“As we talk about the broader picture and the need for 100,000 more engineers a year, none of that is possible if our children are being pulled out of school because parents are afraid of being deported,” said Alfredo Estrada, editor of LATINO magazine.

To help keep all students in school, NEA has come out fervently against anti-immigration policies and laws, such as Alabama’s House Bill 56, the harshest anti-immigration measure in recent U.S history. Part of the original law required public school officials—from elementary to high school—to determine a student’s immigration status. The law also mandated school districts to submit to state education officials yearly tallies on suspected undocumented immigrants.

Many parents who feared deportation pulled their children out of school.

“Education is the human and civil rights issue of our time, and it’s not the human and civil rights issue for some students. It’s the human and civil rights issue for all students,” said Rocío Inclán, director of NEA’s Human and Civil Rights department. “When an uncle or a sister is being deported and families have to move—that has an impact on teaching and learning; it has an impact on achievement; and it has an impact on you and the United States.”

NEA has also partnered with outside organizations that promote solutions to immigration reform, such as the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals.

NEA is working with United We Dream, a youth-run advocacy group, to hold application clinics at schools and community colleges to help undocumented students fill out the required paperwork. NEA is also training its members on how to work with DREAMers, young immigrant students who were brought to the United States as children.

Said NEA President Lily Eskelsen recently in an interview, “We’re telling [teachers] to use words like ‘might’ and ‘you want to look into,’” she says. “The worst thing in the world for us to do is to somehow have a family believe that they have been promised something like a path to citizenship.”

America’s prosperity is tied to innovation. By protecting the social justice rights of Latino students, educators have the ability to encourage more students to take STEM courses.

However, as the Latino population continues to grow so will the need to train educators in specific professional development programs.

Changing American landscape

During the conference, Rita Haecker, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said that preparing educators for the demographic shifts across the United States requires training that direct relates to Latino students.

“The majority of students entering [Texas] classrooms today are Hispanic,” said Haecker. “Two-thirds of the 1 million students that were added in the last 10 years were Hispanic students, and they will become the majority of people in the classrooms.”

Haecker explained that while Hispanic students are the majority, the teaching force is mostly non-Hispanic.

“The need for teacher preparation programs, mentor programs, and cultural diversity programs for all teachers is essential,” said Haecker.

Such teacher preparation programs include the NEA’s C.A.R.E. (Cultural, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort) Guide, which trains educators to connect to culturally and linguistically diverse students by connecting to students’ everyday experiences and integrating classroom learning with out-of-school experiences.

The guide also showcases ways to improve a teacher’s practice, such as designing lessons that require students to identify and describe another point of view, different factors, consequences, objectives, or priorities; and providing instruction that helps to increase the consciousness and valuing of differences and diversity through the study of historical, current, community, family, personal events, and literature.

NEA’s $500,000 commitment to STEM

President Obama has called for 100,000 STEM teachers to prepare students for the jobs of the future. NEA has responded with a $500,000 challenge grant that calls on leading business and technology companies and philanthropists to join the Association in working to expand a successful New Jersey Education Association program that helps increase the number of certified science and math teachers.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, a math teacher with more than 20 years of classroom experience, recently made the call to action on a webcast with education leaders across the country.

“We’re committed to preparing students to succeed in the worldwide economy, that’s why we’re working together to get additional qualified, caring, and committed math and science teachers into classrooms. Right now, there’s a severe shortage, especially in low-income communities, and that needs to change. But we cannot do it alone,” said Van Roekel.

America’s success is directly related to the quality of the U.S. education system. As a union of educators, NEA is putting its professional and financial support to work to help advance programs and initiatives that are proven effective. If America wants to retain its innovative edge, it will need to invest wisely and look forward to reaping the rich potential of its Latino students.

This article was first published in NEA Today.

[Photo by Houston Museum of Natural Science ]

By Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News Latino

For the first time since attitudes began to be tracked, a majority of people in the United States say they now support making the use of marijuana legal, according to a new study.

Support for legalizing marijuana jumped higher for Latinos – 16 percent – since 2010 than it did in the general population, which saw a rise of 11 percent, according to the study, published by Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research group.

More than half of Latinos – 51 percent – say that the use of marijuana should be made legal, slightly less than the 52 percent in the general population who said the same.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by cagrimmett]

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

According to a Hispanic Business article, Latino home buyers are being caught between a dream and a real estate bubble – and that’s making it hard for the economy overall.

Here’s how it plays out: Latinos are poised to lead the country out of its real estate mire, and Latinos have a higher than average regard for home ownership. But, home prices are rising and housing inventory is shrinking. And the houses that are available for purchase are being picked up by investors who pay lower prices, cash, then turn those homes into rental properties.

The banks make quick money, clear bad assets from their books and go on their merry way.

It’s an uphill struggle for Latino home buyers who could very well lead the country through the recovery. The article has plenty of useful statistics and goes into detail about a  potential second housing bubble.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

By Latino USA

Is Jorge Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, Latino? Does it matter? Why did Bruno Mars drop his Puerto Rican father’s surname? And who is the new Obama staffer Miguel Rodriguez? Latino USA guest host Felix Contreras gets the answers in conversation with Victor Landa, editor of the site News Taco.

This article was first published in Latino USA.

[Photo by Christus Vincit]

By Josh Dulaney, Hispanic Business

An advertising executive says Spanish speakers with Venezuelan accents are best when selling to Latinos in the U.S. because their accents are the most neutral.

A political analyst says Latinos are not single-issue voters and those who court them should keep that in mind on the campaign trail.

Those insights come amid a new analysis of census data released today by the US2010 Project at Brown University which shows a growing diversity among Latino groups in the U.S. that is marked by class and regional differences.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by Kevin Coles]

Armando García

Todos los pueblos han tenido un lider  que ha luchado por que la justicia llegue a los más necesitados, a los parias, a los desamparados, a los que con su sudor y su trabajo edifican la riqueza de las sociedades en las que le tocó vivir.

Algunos de esos caudillos, pocos lograron su objetivo, otros fueron cegados al principio o a la mitad del camino y muchos con ahínco levantaron la bandera de su lucha y han seguido adelante.

El dramaturgo alemán Bertolt Brecht dijo que “Hay hombres que luchan un día y son buenos. Hay otros que luchan un año y son mejores. Hay quienes luchan muchos años y son muy buenos. Pero hay los que luchan toda la vida, esos son imprescindibles”.

Una de esas personas, los que lucharon toda su vida y su legado sigue vivo, gracias a quienes tomaron el liderazgo de su lucha y de otros que gracias a su ejemplo caminan por el sendero de la lucha social, está muy cerca de nosotros, del pueblo inmigrante, del campesino, del obrero, del estudiante, me refiero al extinto líder campesino César Chávez.

A 20 años de su muerte, la vida que llevó César Chávez sigue siendo escuchada en muchos rincones del país, y en otros ha querido ser borrada de los libros de la historia. Manifestaciones se realizan por todo el país honrando su nombre y levantando la bandera de lucha por conseguir una reforma migratoria.

César, es nuestro líder  en Estados Unidos, principalmente del campesinado. Consiguió lo que muchos fallaron por mucho tiempo, formar un sindicato, una unión, un movimiento que sentó el ejemplo del estilo de lucha necesario en este país para conseguir conquistas laborales, dignas de un ser humano.

Para los que tuvimos la fortuna de trabajar cercanamente con él, César nos mostró el camino sin violencia de la lucha por la justicia social. Algo difícil de concebir por muchos llamados revolucionarios que su meta es derrocar por la vía armada a los gobiernos, la oligarquía, la burguesía en el poder.

César logró que las grandes empresas agrícolas se doblegaran ante la presión del boicoteo a los productos agrícolas, un arma económica, infalible, que afectó directamente a la riqueza de los poderosos, los intocables, de los influyentes en todos los aspectos de nuestra sociedad.

César logró abrir los ojos a una sociedad que el alimento que uno se lleva todos los días a la boca, fue cosechado por alguien que no tiene suficiente para comer y menos para sostener a su familia. La sociedad estadounidense supo de la miseria, la desesperación, la angustia del campesinado a través del boicoteo, al ver como miles de campesinos llegaron a las grandes ciudades a pedirles a los consumidores que no compraran uvas o lechuga, porque estaban manchadas de explotación, marginación y humillación.

César dijo que el sufrimiento del campesino no tiene precio, pero logró que los agricultores cedieran en compensar ese sufrimiento al mejorar las condiciones de trabajo.

El movimiento campesino que él empezó, sembró la semilla de los logros actuales de los hispanos en todos los ámbitos de la sociedad estadounidense.

Sin sus enseñanzas y su ejemplo, hubiera sido casi imposible que la población inmigrante, los estadounidenses de origen hispano, tomaran conciencia del momento que les tocó vivir y supieran cuál camino tomar para ser reconocidos en una sociedad hostil y discriminatoria hacia la raza de bronce.

Cesar dijo en 1984 que muchos en puestos prominentes de una alguna manera u otra estaban conectados a la lucha campesina. Ya sea por no comer uvas o lechugas boicoteadas, o hubieran participado en una marcha o línea de protestas en tiendas o supermercados.

César ya no está físicamente con nosotros. La consigna de ¡Sí se Puede! que se escuchó desde los surcos del campo hasta las ciudades, ahora se escucha en todo el mundo y hasta el Presidente Obama la utilizó ampliamente en su primera campaña electoral. Y la sigue usando cuando se encuentra ante los hispanos de este país.

Su lucha no debe olvidarse, debe ser conocida en todos los rincones del país y además la lucha debe seguir, ya que campesino que César organizó, la mayoría ya no está con nosotros. Nuevas generaciones de mano de obra joven llega a los campos, a las fábricas, a las ciudades, provenientes de América Latina y de otras partes del mundo. Algunos recogerán las conquistas de César, otros son y serán explotados y humillados por sus patrones y discriminados por la sociedad que siempre lo ha mirado con malos ojos. Pero las enseñanzas de qué se debe hacer, y cómo se puede ganar, ya están escritas, simplemente hay que ponerlas a la práctica. Ya no hay que reinventar la rueda, simplemente hay que tomar el timón y seguir adelante sin dar marcha atrás.

Las luchas por la reforma migratoria, por reformas laborales, se pueden ganar sin violencia. Sigamos el ejemplo de César Chávez y de todos aquellos que siguen su legado.

 Armando García es un periodista independiente que trabajó con César Chávez  y el United Farm Workers Union por años, incluso como director del movimiento  de boicot .

[Photo de Armando García y César Chávez  cortesia de Armando García]