 Edición Semanaria de Noticiero Latino |
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March 2001
March 2nd | Listen to the program- In his first State of the Union speech before Congress, President George W. Bush laid out his priorities for his proposed tax plan. Although this plan includes more funds for education, community clinics and defense, its main focus is the billion dollar tax cut Bush promised during his campaign. As expected, reactions to this plan were swift and varied. Guadalupe Carrasco has the details.
- The Zapatista caravan, which left Chiapas last week, has crossed eight states en route to Mexico City, where they will ask the Congress to approve a law recognizing indigenous rights and culture. So far, the Zapatistas have been met by thousands of supporters on their march through cities such as Oaxaca and Orizaba, far exceeding expectations. And this weekend, members of the caravan will participate in the third National Indigenous Congress, held in Nurio, Michoacan. Noticiero Latino correspondent Citlali Saenz was in Chiapas before the caravan's departure and has this report.
- Salvadorans in Los Angeles are asking their country's government to expedite the distribution of the aid they've sent for victims of El Salvador's recent earthquakes. They recently held a demonstration outside the General Consulate of El Salvador and, as correspondent Carlos Quintanilla reports, say these protests and vigils will continue until the aid reaches those most in need.
March 9th | Listen to the program
- Residents of South Gate, California, a city south of Los Angeles, voted against a proposal this week to build a power plant in their community. Despite the energy crisis facing the state and the promises made by plant promoters of employment opportunities and an economic bonanza, voters rejected the proposed plant as a potential hazard to their health and the environment. Another factor that affected the surprising outcome of this referendum, as correspondent Ruben Tapia explains, was the intense activism by the youth of South Gate.
- The twenty-four commanding delegates of Chiapas' rebel Zapatista army will reach Mexico City this weekend, after a journey that has taken them across various Mexican states. Their goal is to meet with lawmakers, although many doubt the Congress will give them a hearing. Citlali Saenz has this report from Mexico, beginning with some words delivered by rebel leader Comandante Tacho to residents of Cuernavaca, Morelos.
- In her latest book, Las siete cabritas, Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska profiles the life and work of seven Mexican women who paved the way for the active participation by women in the field of art and culture. In celebration of International Women's Day, Poniatowska spoke with Noticiero Latino director Samuel Orozco about the Alfaguara literary prize she was recently awarded. She also spoke about her book and about her optimism in light of the advances made by Mexican women in recent years.
March 16th | Listen to the program
- The Zapatista caravan has been in Mexico City for several days now, waiting for the chance to ask Congress to approve a law recognizing indigenous rights and culture. However, until now, members of the National Action and Institutional Revolutionary Parties who oppose allowing the Zapatista rebel leaders to address the entire Congress have prevailed. This opposition is in stark contrast to the warm public reception given the Zapatistas on their march through various states on their way Mexico City. Noticiero Latino correspondent Raul Silva reports on the Zapatistas' arrival in the capital and on the growing debate about their presence there.
- The Rio Nuevo, a river that runs from Mexicali, Baja California, to California's Imperial Valley, is one of the most polluted waterways in the U.S. However, authorities until now have done little to deal with this problem. This has led to efforts in the border city of Calexico to have the river closed off with tubing along the length of the city to protect the health of its residents. Ana Lilia Barraza has the details.
March 23rd | Listen to the program
- Mexican President Vicente Fox began his first official state visit to the U.S. on Wednesday by addressing a joint session of the California legislature. Among the things he advocated was giving undocumented students access to public universities at state resident tuition rates. On Thursday, President Fox met with members of Mexican communities of the San Joaquin Valley, the country's most important agricultural region. Later, in his speech at Fresno's Convention Center, as Maria Eraña reports, Fox emphasized the importance of Mexican workers in the United States.
- The Colorado Supreme Court is deliberating a case that goes back twenty years and which involves the rights of Mexican-Americans to use lands that once were part of the Sangre de Cristo land grants. The heirs of these land grants, residents of the small town of San Luis, are appealing the decision of a lower court that refused to recognize their right to hunt and fish in nearly 78 thousand acres, as well as to use the water, pastures and the forests in these lands. For the first time in the history of this case, the state Supreme Court will decide whether the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guarantees residents of San Luis access to lands traditionally considered communal property. Noticiero Latino contributor Adam Saytanides has the details.
- Two big names in Mexico's ranchera music, Aida Cuevas and Mariachi Mexico de Pepe Villa, will bring their talents to California's San Joaquin Valley this weekend as part of Radio Bilingüe's 19th annual Viva el Mariachi festival. Correspondent Raul Silva spoke with Cuevas and with some of the veteran members of Mariachi Mexico about the future of this traditional music and its growing following in the United States.
March 30th | Listen to the program
- After an intense debate between Mexico's main political parties, Zapatista rebel leaders were finally able to address Mexico's Congress this week. During this historic event, four Zapatista commanders took to the podium to call for approval of a law that would recognize Indigenous rights and culture. Almost at the same time, President Vicente Fox was ordering troops to withdraw from three Zapatista-controlled zones. Now, as correspondent Raul Silva reports, the battle continues in Mexico's congressional chambers.
- Nearly 700 thousand farmworkers, most of them Mexican immigrants, work in California's agricultural fields every day. While these workers pick and process the food that is eaten by millions of people throughout the United States, a recent study shows that many of them suffer from health problems due mainly to poor nutrition. Noticiero Latino contributor Alberto Hauffen has the details.
- Among the musicians breaking ground in today's contemporary music is Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Danilo Perez. During a recent tour through the Western U.S., Perez showcased the works of his new CD, Motherland. In an interview with Noticiero Latino, Danilo Perez speaks about the search for his own distinctive style through a creative mix of rhythms from the Americas, ranging from the traditional music of his native Panama to jazz.