LINEA ABIERTA | THIS WEEK | PREVIOUS PROGRAMS

Linea Abierta Programs for May 2003

Thursday, May 1st

PROGRAM # 3900 - 12:00 PDT
PESTICIDE EXPOSURE. Last summer, a toxic gas that drifted away from the soil in neighboring agricultural fields, poisoned hundreds in a residential area in Arvin, CA. In this program, two survivors of pesticide drift exposure talk about their efforts to get agencies to act on the Arvin case and to protect rural communities from pesticide drift accidents. This is a program repeat.

Guests: Teresa de Anda, President, Comite para el Bienestar de Earlimart, CA; Edelmira Alcazar, member, Comite para el Bienestar de Earlimart.

PROGRAM # 3901 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. WRTU, Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico brings live coverage from Viequez on the US Navy withdrawal from the island.

Host: Wanda Colón Cortés.

Friday, May 2nd

PROGRAM # 3902 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Carlos Spector Calderón, in El Paso, TX, comment on a Supreme Court decision to allow indefinite detention of some legal immigrants and a legal case to grant US nationality to a legal immigrant who served in the U.S. armed forces.

PROGRAM # 3903 - 13:00 PDT
BUSH DECLARES END OF MAJOR COMBAT. Addressing the nation from an aircraft carrier with troops returning home, President Bush declares an end to major combat in Iraq. He also travels to California's Silicon Valley, where he is questioned on jobs and a broken economy. Mercedes Viana, spokesperson for the White House, comments on these developments. Listeners also call in to comment on the end of combat, the state of the economy and the White House's cancellation of Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Monday, May 5th

PROGRAM # 3904 - 12:00 PDT
HOLIDAY EDITION – CINCO DE MAYO. This Mexican-American holiday celebrates a Mexican victory against the French occupation at the battle of Puebla. President Benito Juárez led the Mexican war of resistance. After the French had left, Juarez addressed the nation with these words: “Among individuals as among nations, respect to the rights of others means peace.” How has Juarez doctrine shaped Mexico’s foreign policy and how is it relevant today?

Guests: Dr. Josefina Zoraida Vázquez, professor and historian, El Colegio de México, Mexico City; Dr. Mónica González, professor, Facultad de Ciencias Políticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

PROGRAM # 3905 - 13:00 PDT
IBRAHIM FERRER. A conversation with 77-year-old Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer, of Buena Vista Social Club fame. He comments on his new album Buenos Hermanos, featuring guest musicians such as Chucho Valdés, Flaco Jiménez, Cachaíto López and others. This is a pre-taped, holiday program.

Tuesday, May 6th

PROGRAM # 3906 - 12:00 PDT
FARM AGREEMENT. Mexican President Vicente Fox and farmer organizations signed a national farm pact to address the farm crisis. Fox pledges farm-support policies and job opportunities for rural communities, while some farm leaders urge further reforms, including to renegotiate the North America Free Trade Agreement and amend the Mexican Constitution.

Guests: Congressman Jose Narro (Partido del Trabajo), representative, Coordinadora Nacional Plan de Ayala, Mexico City; Alberto Gomez, representative, Union Nacional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesinas - UNORCA, Mexico City.

PROGRAM # 3907 - 13:00 PDT
PEACE COMMUNITY IN COLOMBIA. After being ravaged by war, a rural village in the conflict-thorn zones of Northern Colombia struggles to be recognized as a neutral, autonomous and non-violent community. A representative of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó tours the U.S. talking about the risks and hopes of this community.

Guest: Elkin de Jesús Ramírez Jaramillo, member of Corporación Jurídica Libertad and representative of Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Medellin, Colombia; Jutta Meier-Wiendenbach, Fellowship of Reconciliation, San Francisco, CA.

Wednesday, May 7th

PROGRAM # 3908 - 12:00 PDT
LAS GOLONDRINAS. Music and songs like Las Golondrinas serenade the final farewell for loved ones in Mexico. And death is often a theme in Mexican ballads (corridos). This edition of the series Ultimos Cuidados, on death and dying, looks at the role of Mexican music in death and grieving. It also discusses how some professionals begin using music as an alternative therapy to relieve depression, pain and anxiety.

Guests: Dr. Juan García, anthropologist, California State University Fresno; Héctor Aristizábal, Multicultural services coordinator, Hospice of Pasadena, Pasadena, CA; Cecilia Rodarte, social worker, The Elizabeth Hospice, Escondido, CA.

PROGRAM # 3909 - 13:00 PDT
LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners comment on the use and abuse of pesticides in the fields. Live and voice-mailed calls air a range of proposals, from enforcing current laws and demanding more individual responsibility from farmworkers, to cracking down on big agribusiness greed and developing safe and responsible production methods in agriculture.

Thursday, May 8th

PROGRAM # 3910 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Francisco “Paco” Huerta, a veteran radio journalist and civic journalism’s foremost advocate, is the program host. He offers a weekly, tape-delayed edition of the series “Voz Pública,” a call-in program airing from Mexico City.

Host: Francisco Huerta, www.vozpublica.com

PROGRAM # 3911 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. WRTU, Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico brings interviews and commentary on news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Host: Wanda Colón Cortés.

Friday, May 9th

PROGRAM # 3912 - 12:00 PDT
BUSH’S ECONOMIC PLAN. Héctor V. Barreto, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration says that President Bush’s tax plan reduces the tax burden on working families and small businesses. He says that Bush’s initiative provides relief for small business owners and the economy as a whole and allocates more money for federal programs to support minority entrepreneurs. On the other hand, Congresswoman Nidia Velázquez (D-NY), condemns Bush’s tax cut plan as a gift to the wealthy and bad news for micro-businesses. Velazquez says Bush' plan increases loan fees for small businesses, "a tax in disguise."

PROGRAM # 3913 - 13:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Carlos Spector Calderón, in El Paso, TX, provides news and commentary on major developments regarding U.S. immigration law. Listeners are encouraged to call in with comments and questions on immigration and citizenship issues. Spector discusses proposals to facilitate citizenship procedures for Iraq war veterans.

Monday, May 12th

PROGRAM # 3914 - 12:00 PDT
HEALTH EDITION - DIABETES. Latinos in California are developing diabetes in fast growing numbers, becoming an alarming public health problem. An expert with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health discusses the issue and provides practical advice for listeners in anticipation of the summer season. This program is in colaboration with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Valdez, founder and executive director, El Concilio Latino de Salud, Phoenix, AZ.

PROGRAM # 3915 - 13:00 PDT
MARIMBA DE CONCIERTO. The Guatemalan musical ensemble Marimba de Concierto tours the U.S. promoting the marimba, the national instrument and native symbol of Guatemala. The group is promoting marimba as a UN-recognized instrument of humanity’s cultural heritage. This is a conversation with the director and members of the orchestra.

Guest: Alfonso Bautista Vazquez, director, and Helber Amauri Angel Figueroa, deputy director, Marimba de Concierto, Guatemala City; Lucrecia Marcicovetere, representative, National Ministry of Culture, Guatemala City; Byron Quezada, tour coordinator, Palmdale, CA.

Tuesday, May 13th

PROGRAM # 3916 - 12:00 PDT
SECONDHAND PESTICIDES. A new report entitled “Secondhand Pesticides,” by pesticide-reform groups concludes that besides being an immediate health hazard for farmworkers, pesticides can poison people far from the fields through the air they breathe. According to the report, state and federal regulations ignore the movement of these drift-prone pesticides and put the health of hundreds of thousands at risk.

Guests: Rey León, Senior policy analyst, Latino Issues Forum, Fresno, CA.

ALSO, ERNESTO CARMONA. A conversation with Chilean journalist Ernesto Carmona on his latest book Los Dueños de Chile (The Owners of Chile), an in-depth report on the concentration of power in the richest families in Chile. Under the late president Salvador Allende, Carmona headed Radio Nacional and later went into exile, fleeing political persecution from Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

PROGRAM # 3917 - 13:00 PDT
LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners comment on pesticide poisoning regulations (and ideas such as granting health insurance for those working with pesticides, declaring Orange Code alert in communities exposed to pesticide drift, memories about DDT, and common errors in pesticide use), a call in Congress to swap U.S. green cards for Mexico's oil, driver's licenses for the undocumented.

Wednesday, May 14th

PROGRAM # 3918 - 12:00 PDT
MISSING DISSIDENTS. Human rights activist Rosario Ibarra de Piedra began a new international campaign named Free a Prisoner. The effort seeks to find missing activists arrested during Mexican government’s dirty war of the 1970s. A special federal prosecutor recently requested apprehension orders against top police officials linked to political disappearances in the past.

Guest: Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, president, Comité Eureka, Mexico City.

ALSO, DEMOCRATIC TAX PLAN. Democratic leaders in Congress have unveiled an economic plan that pledges to create tax cuts for working families, tax credits for small businesses and expand unemployment insurance. The plan is announced as fiscally-responsible and pro-jobs, and as an alternative to a plan proposed by President Bush and House Republicans.

Guest: Congressman Xavier Becerra, D-LA, member of the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee, Washington, DC.

ALSO, 18 IMMIGRANTS DIE IN TEXAS. Eighteen bodies of suspected immigrants were found in or around a truck stop in Victoria, Texas. According to news media, officials call it "the greatest loss of life in recent history in what appears to be an alien smuggling case." This is a brief news report and analysis on the story.

Guests: Marco Nunez, media attache, Mexican Consulate, Houston, TX; Nathan Selzer, Proyecto Libertad, Harlingen, TX.

PROGRAM # 3919 - 13:00 PDT
DENTAL HEALTH. Latino families often lack dental insurance and therefore proper dental hygiene care. This and other barriers have contributed to an epidemic of tooth decay and chronic oral diseases among Latinos in California. What’s being done to stop this epidemic? What’s being done to improve access of Latino families to affordable and quality dental care? This program is in conjunction with KQED, San Francisco's public radio.

Guests: Dr. Guillermo Vicuna, dentist, cofounder of Su Salud Community Disease Prevention and Education Center, San Joaquin General Hospital, Stockton, CA; Celia Valdez, Maternal Child Health Access, County of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

Thursday, May 15th

PROGRAM # 3920 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Francisco “Paco” Huerta, a veteran radio journalist and civic journalism’s foremost advocate, is the program host. He offers a weekly, tape-delayed edition of the series “Voz Pública,” a call-in program airing from Mexico City.

Host: Francisco Huerta, www.vozpublica.com

PROGRAM # 3921 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. WRTU, Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico brings interviews and commentary on news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Host: Wanda Colón Cortés.

Friday, May 16th

PROGRAM # 3922 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Carlos Spector Calderón, from El Paso, TX, goes on the air from Línea Abierta’s studios in San Francisco to provide news and commentary on major developments regarding U.S. immigration law. Listeners are encouraged to call in with comments and questions on immigration and citizenship issues.

PROGRAM # 3923 - 13:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION – SPECIAL EDITION. Broadcasting live from San Francisco, attorney Carlos Spector Calderón continues a conversation with listeners in this special edition.

Monday, May 19th

PROGRAM # 3924 - 12:00 PDT
HEALTH EDITION – NUTRITION. Obesity is linked to cancer risk, colon cancer protection is also linked to high-fibers diet. These and other studies highlight the importance of diet and nutrition to prevent life-threatening diseases. Dr. Elmer Huerta, a regular commentator, shares practical advice on healthy eating habits.

PROGRAM # 3925 - 13:00 PDT
FOCUS ON WASHINGTON. In these interviews, White House’s spokesperson Mercedes Viana and Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-LA) comment on the tax-cut plans debated in Washington, and suspended Mexico-U.S. talks on Social Security benefits.

Tuesday, May 20th

PROGRAM # 3926 - 12:00 PDT
FIESTA. Educator José Luis Orozco, a children songwriter whose books and music are used by teachers around the nation, releases a new edition of a CD and book. Entitled Fiesta, the material is a bilingual collection of traditional Latin American songs, poems and games.

Guest: José Luis Orozco, singer/composer, Arco Iris Records, Berkeley, CA, www.joseluisorozco.com.

ALSO, EL PASAJERO. Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center, an organization that teaches traditional arts to young students in San Pablo, CA, has recently released El Pasajero, an album with traditional mariachi music from Western Mexico. This program features songs and insights on an ongoing tour through Jalisco and California researching and presenting sones from the campesino mariachi tradition.

Guest: Hugo Arroyo, LCMAC, San Pablo, CA; Julián González, traditional mariachi maestro, LCMAC, San Pablo, CA; www.loscenzontles.com.

PROGRAM # 3927 - 13:00 PDT
EDWARD JAMES OLMOS. Actor and film-maker, Edward James Olmos is also co-founder of The Latino Book and Family Festival, a multi-city event seeking to reduce illiteracy and reading among Latinos. Olmos comments on favorite readings, books that impacted his life and his vision for a literate Latino family.

ALSO, LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners comment on favorite authors and books. Voice-mailed comments also address the "oil-for-visas" controversy.

Wednesday, May 21st

PROGRAM # 3928 - 12:00 PDT
PENSION FUNDS. Few Latinos have money invested in 401 (k) plans and other private or public pension funds. Most rely on Social Security savings for retirement. In this program, experts discuss employee retirement plans, mutual funds and socially-responsible investments.

Guest: Jaime Gómez, financial analyst, Max International Broker Dealer Corp., New York, NY; Ariana Van Buren, Ph.D., Senior Project Manager, Sustainable Governance Project, Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), New York.

PROGRAM # 3929 - 13:00 PDT
LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners comment on headline news stories, including civil rights for immigrants and civil liberties for dissidents, the war on terrorism, education help for immigrant brains, and others.

Thursday, May 22nd

PROGRAM # 3930 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Francisco “Paco” Huerta, a veteran radio journalist and civic journalism’s foremost advocate, is the program host. He offers a weekly, tape-delayed edition of the series “Voz Pública,” a call-in program airing from Mexico City.

Host: Francisco Huerta, www.vozpublica.com

PROGRAM # 3931 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. WRTU, Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico brings interviews and commentary on news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Host: Wanda Colón Cortés.

Friday, May 23rd

PROGRAM # 3932 - 12:00 PDT
FOOD AND DRUGS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health join efforts to reach out to Spanish-speaking communities with bilingual information on health needs. The leaders of both institutions give details about this alliance to improve access to information on food and drugs safety, diet suplements fraud and bioterrorism for Latino consumers.

Guests: Mark B. Clellan, M.D., Ph.D, Commissioner of Foods and Drugs, Washington, DC; Dr. Jane Delgado, president and CEO, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Washington, DC, www.hispanichealth.org.

PROGRAM # 3933 - 13:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Carlos Spector Calderón, from El Paso, TX, provides news and commentary on major developments regarding U.S. immigration law, including consequences of the law on "illegal reentry" and right-wing efforts to curtail Mexican consular ID cards. Listeners call in with questions.

Monday, May 26th

PROGRAM # 3934 - 12:00 PDT
HOLIDAY EDITION – ATAQUES DE NERVIOS. A nationally- renowned medical anthropologist talks about his studies on ataques de nervios, post-traumatic stress disorders among Latino veterans and other chronic mental illnesses that require intervention from professionals who understand Latino culture.

Guest: Dr. Peter Guarnaccia, professor, Department of Human Ecology at Cook College, investigator at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Mental Health Research, Rutgers University.

ALSO, LETTER TO A FALLEN SON. Fernando Suárez del Solar, father of the late marine Lance Cpl. Jesús Suárez, killed in Iraq, reads a posthumous letter in memory of his son. He also talks about his efforts to set up a fund to help families pay funeral costs for service members and a foundation to give out scholarships for high school students as an alternative to military enlistment. This is a special, Memorial Day program.

PROGRAM # 3935 - 13:00 PDT
THE LAST ZAPATISTAS. A conversation with Francesco Taboada Tabone, director of the award-winning documentary Los Ultimos Zapatistas: Héroes Olvidados. The film is a historic testimony featuring interviews with centenarian veterans of the Mexican Revolution who fought in the legendary army of agrarian leader Emiliano Zapata. This holiday edition also includes fragments of the film’s soundtrack.

Tuesday, May 27th

PROGRAM # 3936 - 12:00 PDT
MASTER’S DEGREES FOR LATINOS. A private, non-profit San Diego-based university ranks first in California and third among the nation’s colleges and universities in granting master’s degrees to Latinos in California. A conversation with Dr. Juan España, professor, Department of Business, National University, in La Jolla, CA.

ALSO, LATINO GRADUATES: GAINS AND LOSSES. Dr. Antonio Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in San Antonio, TX, comments on how Latino students are increasingly enrolling in college and yet too few earn a four-year degree. He also comments on financial aid prospects for public colleges and job opportunities for newly-graduates.

ALSO, MIGUEL ESTRADA'S BLOCKED NOMINATION. Two years after submitting to the Senate Miguel Estrada's nomination to an influential appeals court, the White House launches a new effort to pressure Democrats to allow a vote on the controversial attorney. White House's spokesperson Mercedes Viana defends nominee Miguel Estrada.

PROGRAM # 3937 - 13:00 PDT
LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners comment on Latino graduates, on helping open doors for newly-arrived immigrants and on a controversy in the city of Los Baños, to accent the official name with the Spanish-language tilde of its original name.

Wednesday, May 28th

PROGRAM # 3938 - 12:00 PDT
WASTEWATER TREATMENT. Small, rural communities often find problems to improve the quality of their water and protect public health. A federal agency is offering help for these communities to build water treatment systems or better manage wastewater facilities. Officials discuss dangers in untreated residual waters, provisions of the Clean Water Act and how to access federal aid.

Guest: Alfonso Blanco, director, Waste Water Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC; Carl Soderberg, regional manager, Caribbean Division, US EPA, San Juan- Puerto Rico.

PROGRAM # 3939 - 13:00 PDT
BORDER STORIES. This program showcases two mini-documentaries that report life, conflict and cooperation along the U.S.-Mexico border. One report features a symbolic visit to the shared ecosystem of Laguna Madre, the only U.S. lagoon saltier than the ocean, a rich sanctuary besieged by human-made dangers. The other report features binational efforts to build straw bale homes in the Mexican border state of Sonora. This series was produced by Homelands Productions, in collaboration with Radio Bilingüe.

Thursday, May 29th

PROGRAM # 3940 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Francisco “Paco” Huerta, a veteran radio journalist and civic journalism’s foremost advocate, is the program host. He offers a weekly, tape-delayed edition of the series “Voz Pública,” a call-in program airing from Mexico City.

Host: Francisco Huerta, www.vozpublica.com

PROGRAM # 3941 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. WRTU, Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico brings interviews and commentary on news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Host: Wanda Colón Cortés.

Friday, May 30th

PROGRAM # 3942 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Carlos Spector Calderón, from El Paso, TX, provides news and commentary on major developments regarding U.S. immigration law. He comments on President Fox's appeal for urgent action on immigration accords with the U.S.

PROGRAM # 3943 - 13:00 PDT
LISTENER COMMENTS. Listeners interact in a dialogue on headline news stories of the week, including the econmy of war and the record money remittances to Mexico.

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