 Edición Semanaria de Noticiero Latino |
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May 2006
May 5th | Listen to the program
MAY 1st - This past May 1st will go down in history as the national day without immigrants. Shopping malls in dozens of U.S. cities were vacant ghost towns, and demonstrators flooded the streets of the country’s largest cities. More than two million people spilled over streets in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Denver, San Jose, Seattle and numerous other cities and towns in demand of fair immigration reform. Some analysts say this is the beginning of a broad civil rights movement. In this edition, we hear how the Day without Immigrants was experienced in various towns and cities around the country.
COVER THE UNINSURED WEEK - The number of U.S. residents lacking medical insurance coverage has grown at record levels and keeps on growing, more so among Latinos. Increasing numbers of employers are canceling medical benefits for their employees, and premiums costs are on the rise, which make it all the more difficult to gain medical coverage for the most vulnerable. Seeking to make the issue a top priority in the national agenda, hundreds of groups and clinics joined forces for the crusade called “ The Uninsured Week.” Samuel Orozco, Radio Bilingue’s News Director, spoke to the campaign’s national spokesperson, Dr. Jane Delgado, President of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.
May 12th | Listen to the program
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LOBBY. U.S. - Senate agreed to resume immigration debate this week, after the discussion was suspended due to the recent Easter recess. In response, a broad coalition of pro immigrant groups launch a national lobbying day campaign this week in order to make their voices heard at the U.S. Congress. Patricia Guadalupe reports from Washington, DC.
MEDICINES FOR THE ELDERLY - Nearly one million Latinos could be left out of the federal low-cost prescription drug program if they fail to register before this Monday, May 15th, the set enrollment deadline. Consumer advocate groups are denouncing that the program’s enrollment process has been difficult and confusing and are asking the Bush administration to extend the enrollment deadline and eliminate the penalties for those who sign up late. Marco Vinicio Gonzalez reports.
LILA DOWN’S “LA CANTINA.” - Just before launching a tour to the U.S. and Europe, the Mexican American singer Lila Downs presented her most recent album, titled “La Cantina,” in which she offers a heartfelt homage to the Mexican mole, the ranchero song and of course, to the tequila. Our correspondent Raul Silva spoke with the popular artist and files the report from Mexico City.
May 19th | Listen to the program
BORDER PROTECTION AND LEGALIZATION - This week in a speech from the White House Oval Office, President Bush used the national media to address the nation and set the tone for the immigration debate resuming this Monday at the U.S Senate. In his message, the President proposed the deployment of six thousand National Guard troops to the southern border and a legalization plan for a large number of undocumented residents. The Senate concluded this week’s discussions with the approval of a massive border fence, among other measures. Patricia Guadalupe reports from Washington, DC.
FIRST THEY MARCH, NOW THEY WILL VOTE - After headlining one of the most sounded mega marches in the nation, organizers of the May 1st movement concentrate their efforts in promoting naturalization and voter registration. These organizers aim to change the balance of power in Washington in favor of a just immigration reform. Irma Lopez reports on the response to the call for voting and naturalization in Chicago.
NAZARIO VIZCAINO - Nazaria Vizcaino sings to relate history. This Oakland’s folksinger music captures her pains and aspirations as an immigrant that has spent the last 25 years in the United States. In her own way, Nazaria Vizcaino is a chronicler of these turbulent times in the lives of newly arrived. Raul Silva shares the report.
May 26th | Listen to the program
IMMIGRATION REFORM APPROVED - The U.S. Senate was finally able to reach an agreement and approved an immigration reform bill. This reform is the first approved in two decades. The initiative will go now to a Senate -House committee, where it will be reconciled with the U.S. House of Representatives’ version and where its future is uncertain. Patricia Guadalupe followed the Senate vote and files the report.
HELP SOUGHT IN U.S. COURTS - The cases of hundreds of murdered women in Ciudad Juarez and in the border state of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, remain unsolved. After years of government assigned special prosecutors and official reports, victims’ families are appealing to international institutions seeking justice. Our correspondent Kent Paterson files the following report narrated by Maria Eraña.
HMONG MUSICAL OFFERING - The melancholic tunes originating from the kheng, a melodic bamboo organ, usually accompany Hmong families, more so during funeral rituals, some of the most important traditions for the Laos natives. The kheng players dance while they interpret the instrument, while the mourning families offer incense, prayers and food in the name of the loved one that has departed. Alma Martinez spoke with a respected kheng player during a funeral celebrated in a populous California Hmong district in the city of Fresno. We share the following report on Memorial Day’s eve, a U.S. day in remembrance of those fallen in wars.