GANGS

HERE IS A LIST OF WEBSITES THAT DEAL WITH GANG’S AND THEIR ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

I am putting this list here so that Hispanic families that are thinking of moving to a particular region in the U.S. might have a source of information regarding the Gang make-up of that area and have some idea as to what they may expose themselves and their children to. Too many times I have read of families that moved to another city looking for a better way of life only to be confronted by the violence and tragedy of Gang’s.

This is only a starting point as there are volumes of material out there on the Net and obviously it can’t all be put on one page.

Spanish Translation:

Estoy poniendo esta lista  aquí a fin de que las familias hispanas que están pensando en mudarse a una región en particular en los EE.UU. podría tener una fuente de información sobre las pandillas de esa zona y tenen una idea básica de lo que puede exponer a sí mismos y a sus  niños. Demasiadas veces he leído de las familias que se trasladaron a otra ciudad en busca de una mejor forma de vida sólo para ser confrontados por la violencia y la tragedia de pandillas.

Esto es sólo un punto de partida, ya que hay volúmenes de material  en la Red y, obviamente, no puede  poner todos en una sola página.

1. Know Gangs.com
2. Street Gangs.com
3. National Criminal Justice Reference Service
4. Institute for Intergovernmental Research/ National Youth Gang Center
5. Michigan State University Library
6. Gangs Or Us List of Gangs in U.S.
7. Policeone.com

Does Anyone Know Enrique Emmanuelli?

A relative of mine asked if I could help her make contact with her brother with whom she has lost contact. They lost contact due to the various moves they had both undergone. Enrique would be 67 years old now. He worked as a Diesel Mechanic in Long Island City, New York and built motorcycles. He has two daughters and a son.

Should you know Enrique Emmanuelli or know of him please leave a comment below ( do not include your email in the comment body, only where it ask you when posting the comment ) or pass on the information so that he may initiate contact. Let him know that his sister, Yolanda is trying to re-establish contact with him.

El Bohemio
Tags Lost Family Member, Lost Relative

FOR SPAMMERS AND PEOPLE SEARCH AGENCIES:
DON’T BOTHER LEAVING ANYTHING HERE AS IT WILL BE
DELETED IMMEDIATELY.

Vida Afro Latina

I recently published a post about the Poet/Writer Piri Thomas regarding a stoke he suffered after which I began to get a bit of traffic coming in from a site I had never heard of. Obviously the site had been around for some time and deals with Afro Latin life.

I visited the site and many others that are linked there and found them to be highly informative and touched on issues dealing with the Afro Latino experiences.

I was able to find numerous links there that lead to other interesting and vibrant sites. Here is a list of them:

Vida Afro Latina
AfroCubaWeb
Caoba
Journal-isms
Afro-Netizen
CandidatoUSA
Roberto Lovato
Afro Presencia
Ivy Farguheson
Quilombo
Blacktino
Irohin
Raça Brasil

Enjoy

El Bohemio

Puerto Rican Poet/Writer Piri Thomas Suffers Stroke

Update: April 20,2008

Got an important email from Capicu Poetry today regarding Piri Thomas which I am going to publish here so as to pass on the information. here it is:

As many of you may already know, Author Piri Thomas recently suffered a stroke and is currently doing well in recovery. We had an opportunity just before this happened to have him as a guest of the Capicu Poetry show so that we could pay tribute to him via performances by many people he inspired. At the end of the night, he blessed us with his words and made the night unforgettable.

Now we have an opportunity to inspire him and lift his spirits with our words. Over the past few weeks we have received many emails and phone calls to our Capicu Community Hot line of people wishing Piri well. We are going to make this available to Piri in CD format.

We are going to host a tribute to Piri Thomas on Radio Capicu this Wednesday April 23rd. We will be sharing some of Piri’s work, reflecting on his legacy and taking your calls so that your words can help him in the healing process.

The show will run 2 hours and all calls taken will be live.

This will be the last opportunity to be included in this “audio” get well card. We want to make sure he gets it before his 80th Birthday.

To Tune in to the show…

Log in to Radio Capicu by visiting www.BlogTalkRadio.com/RadioCapicu

Again the details for calling in to the show are….
Date: Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
Time:  9:00 PM - 11:00pm (eastern standard time)
Call-in Number: (646) 716-7745
Show description: Hosted by The Urban Jibaro & The Guy, this show will be dedicated to Nuyorican legend Piri Thomas, author of “Down These Mean Streets”. We will revisit his legacy, listen to his words and share stories of inspiration in the hope that our listeners and his fans can lift his spirits as he recovers from a stroke.
If his words ever touched you…spend this time sharing your voice with him.
Special guest hosts: Papo Swiggity & Latyn Jazz
Contact Info
Email:CapicuPoetry@gmail.com
Website:www.CapicuPoetry.com ; myspace.com/capicupoetry
Phone:(20 723-5966 (Community Hotline)
City/Town: Brooklyn, NY

Poems Y Poemas A Night of Latin Verse

Piri Thomas

Puerto Rican poet and writer, Piri Thomas, best known for his depiction of barrio survival in Down These Mean Streets, suffered a stroke.

The 79 year old author is recovering in his now home of California.
Capicu Poetry is compiling email and audio messages to send to the poet, to serve as a source of strength for Piri, since he has been a source of strength to countless Latinos (and others).
If you want to send Piri Thomas a get well message please email CapicuPoetry@gmail.com or call their community hotline (20 723-5966.
Down These Mean Streets is the autobiography of Piri Thomas, a Latino of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent who grew up in El Barrio (aka Spanish Harlem), a section of Harlem that has a large Puerto Rican population. In the book, we watch Piri as he goes through the first few decades of his life, lives in poverty, joins and fights with street gangs, faces racism (in both New York and the South), suffers through heroin addiction, gets involved in crime, and ends up in prison.
Down These Mean Streets reads similarly to The Autobiography of Malcolm X in that both books are vivid, brutally honest memoirs of experiences of racial prejudice and discrimination, identity formation, and youthful involvement with crime that leads to life-altering prison experiences. One of the major themes of Down These Mean Streets centers on Piri Thomas’s identity as a dark-complected Afro-Latino. Although he is of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage, the larger American society takes him for African-American and fails to recognize him as Latino. His own family rejects the African aspect of their Latin-Caribbean ancestry, causing Piri to spend much of his adolescent and early adult life contemplating his racial and ethnic identity.
Down These Mean Streets has either been banned or has risked banning attempts in Salinas, CA; Teaneck, NJ; Darien, CT; District 25 in Queens, NYC, NY; and in Long Island, NY.
The book was originally published in 1967, and later republished in a special Thirtieth Anniversary Edition in 1997, with a new afterword from the author. A sequel was made, called 7 Long Times, which gives more depth to his prison years.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_These_Mean_Streets

Free Essays http://www.freeessays.cc/db/10/bah266.shtml

Post on Comment’s

Global Voices Online

Hernandez contemplates the large question of Puerto Rico’s future: “Obviously the solution is not to be found in any of the ones offered by the current agendas.“ Georgia

Today I decided to make a post of some of the many comments I have received in the past.

They relate to the various posts I have put here throughout the year on various subjects. Here on The Last Caribbean, Bohemian Artist.

El Bohemio
Armando
Gracias a Dios que existen personas que en las proximas elecciones del 2008 uno pueda votar por ellas como alternativa. El PPR defiende de corazon a todos por igual, no como los partidos tradicionales. PPR - Adelante Siempre con su agenda.
From Solidario Rogelio Figueroa con reclamo de transporte marítimo, 2008/04/01 at 1:20 PM

yaya
I’m glad that someone is recognizing all the Hispanic soldiers who have passed away in the line of duty!!!
GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS!!!
From Hispanics that have died in the war in 2007, 2008/03/17 at 4:20 PM

Juan
I live in Puerto Rico, and can’t believe all the cases of police brutality that we have. I am doing a research paper on Police brutality in Puerto Rico, and if anyone knows any extra information about other cases of police brutality, please e-mail them to the following address:
juanitoelito@hotmail.com
Regards,

Juan
From Police officer shoots and kills man in Puerto Rico, 2008/03/07 at 3:43 PM
Ozzie
what a coward. police brutality is very common on the island of PR. most police officers take their positions as a way of bullying residents around. i am appalled that the initial investigation was backed by this officers supervisor. VERY APPALLED!
From Policeman Charged with Homicide is in Prison, Video Reveals the Crime, 2008/02/29 at 12:02 PM

Pvt. Kevin Josue Layer
Mi nombre is Pvt. Kevin Josue Layer…soy un soldado en el army. Mi Abuelo estaba en el army, papi estaba en el army, una tia, un tio, y hasta mi hermano estan en el army. Mi hermano tiene 18 anos y esta en Irak. yo trabajo en Fort. Bragg NORTH Carolina…..no me puedo imajinar como se siente la mama del soldado. Se tienen que acordar que la decision para entrar al army or qualqier branch de servicio es de uno mismo…yo sabia lo que estaba haciendo..yo entre hace 6 meses atras…mi hermano 1 ano atra..so nosotros dos sabiamos que es lo que eva pasar. Puerto Rico es donde yo naci y es mi tierra pero me crei en Los estados unidos. creo que lo que hacen en Irak is necessario…no se preocupen un dia todo se terminara…..que dios los bendiga a todos los soldados puerto riqueno y sus familias.
From Another Puerto Rican Soldier is Killed in Iraq, Mother expresses indignation, 2008/02/27 at 8:28 PM

myriam
What a great article. I would like to add some of my experiences in the island…get in touch!..
From A Small Post on Art and Puerto Rico, 2007/12/09 at 12:16 AM

SPC Placencia
Hey I am also a proud Hispanic serving our country and I am honoring all those fallen soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the cause. I am reading the names of all the Hispanics soldiers who have lost their lives in this war on the 22 of September 2007 for the Hispanic heritage month and i would greatly appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I need to find all of these names, but I’m having trouble finding only Hispanic soldiers name. i see that above you have 10 names and as an matter a fact i was part of the honor guard in Allentown for Spc Rodriguez, if you have a way of getting me all of their names i would greatly appreciate that.
Spc Placencia
From Hispanics that have died in the war in 2007, 2007/09/09 at 6:01 AM

Kevin McNamee
Edgar was more of an American than most Americans I know. He spent the majority of his life in West Chicago and in the mid nineties moved away. When I enlisted in ‘94 we pretty much lost contact with each other, but I believe he moved to Mexico, then to Florida, and finally settled in Georgia. He was intelligent, funny, and about the nicest person I’ve ever known. His loss is a real shock to all of his friends in Chicagoland and we are very saddened for his mother, wife, son, and brother. His legacy will always be one of happiness with those of us who were at one time close with him.
From Army Pfc. Edgar E. Cardenas, 2007/09/04 at 7:13 AM

Rody
After seeing this video and listening to the former Police Super. of PR, I wonder why this officer was still on the force
after being accused of domestic violence with his gun in the past. As a NY Law Enforcement Officer I know that if accused of any crime involving my firearm I would lose the ability to possess a firearm, be sent to physic services for evaluation and would have to sit before the fire arms review board before I could possess a gun again. In the meantime I would be on what we call the “rubber gun squad,”
(NO GUN). I know we have are own problems in NYC but I
have never seen anything like this video in my life. My heart
goes out to the victim and his family. May he rest in peace,
and may that sorry excuse for a Police Officer (Perp. in Blue)
get everything he has coming to him.
From Police officer shoots and kills man in Puerto Rico, 2007/08/26 at 3:12 AM

Billy A. Duran
Thank you for following the case and all your help in keeping it open. I never met Alex but we have more in common than you could imagine. I stress out and worry about his safety and about what is going on in these difficult times. Thanks again for your vigilance and keep hope alive.
Peace.
From ARMY SPC. ALEX R. JIMENEZ, 2007/08/13 at 2:04 AM

Armando
I met with both men and they are great candidates, very humble and noble men. I invite all of you to keep interested in this new political conjunction in 2008. The change is coming and it will prevail.
Armando
From Puertorriqueños por Puerto Rico PRESENTA CANDIDATO COMISIONADO RESIDENTE, 2007/08/01 at 5:04 PM

Virginia Gates
My nephew who is also a nurse was badly injured in that blast. He was very close to Capt. Maria Ortiz. We are all praying for the families, and the people serving in Iraq. Our hearts go out to the Ortiz family, She will be greatly missed.
From Puerto Rican soldier first Army nurse killed in Iraq war since 2003 U.S. Invasion, 2007/07/28 at 2:01 AM

Daisy
Hola Querido, Thanks for the link…I will happily return the gesture on BoriquaBlog. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the tutorial, and that you are involved in spreading the good word. As for plantains and yautia in middle America, let me assure you that it has arrived, lol! I had the luxury of doing some “detective” work while on my book tour (and when i travel for demos) and I have found “vianda” in most ethnic markets, and by ethnic, I don’t mean restricted to bodegas and Latin markets. I have found yautia and plantains in Asian markets…along with culantro and achiote. Barring all of those options, I like to say this: If you can find a husband/wife on the internet these days, achiote seeds are cake.
And trust me…this recipe for pasteles are the BOMB!! I urge you to try it at your earliest convenience!
Saludos!
Daisy
From How we miss those “Pasteles”, 2007/03/29 at 2:21 PM