Trinidad-Tobago Earthquake

I woke up this morning to discover that my quake meter had registered an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude in the Trinidad-Tobago region. Below, are the details from the USGS. You can go here for more info.
Earthquake Details

Earthquake Details
Magnitude: 5.7
Date-Time: Thursday, July 03, 2008 at 06:34:53 UTC
Thursday, July 03, 2008 at 02:34:53 AM at epicenter
Location: 10.277°N, 60.477°W
Depth: 32.4 km (20.1 miles) set by location program

Region: TRINIDAD REGION TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Distances: 105 km (65 miles) SSE of Scarborough, Tobago
120 km (75 miles) ESE of PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad
210 km (130 miles) E of Guiria, Venezuela
240 km (150 miles) SE of SAINT GEORGE’S, Grenada
Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 4.9 km (3.0 miles);  depth fixed by location
program
Parameters: NST=264, Nph=264, Dmin=241.9 km, Rmss=1.02 sec, Gp= 54°,
M-type=body magnitude (Mb), Version=8
Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

“Los Juanes del Pueblo” CENSORED in New York!

Update: June 17, 2008

Los Juanes del Pueblo

will be at Café-teatro Punto Fijo, Bellas Artes de Santurce Saturdays at 10m p.m. UNCENSURED!

Let’s do the right thing! Back up Juanes del Pueblo.

14, 21, 28 de junio | 5 de julio de 2008, Location/Lugar: Cafe Teatro PUNTO FIJO, Hour/Hora: 8:30 PM, Price per Ticket/Precio por Boleto: General $21.60, Service Charge per Ticket /Cargo por Servicio por boleto: $3.00, Internet Fee/Cargo de Servicio de Internet por transacción: $1.50

Ticket Center  787.792.5000

Los Juanes del Pueblo en Vieques

The Puerto Rican actors Ángel Vázquez and Ernesto Concepción were is a state of indignation after their show “Los Juanes del Pueblo” was supposedly censored this past Friday night ( June 6, 2008 ) at the official banquet which took place in New York just prior to the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Angel Vázquez narrated in a telephone interview with Primera Hora that Friday night was with its fellow worker, Ernesto actor Conception, also realizing his show of political satire of Los Juanes del Pueblo in a special event which they were contracted by Gallic Corporation.

The actors satirized the Partido Puerto Rican Independentista (PIP), the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and when Ernesto Conception was being prepared to satirize the governor of Puerto Rico, the production extinguished the sound and an entertainer finished the show, according to Vázquez Angel.
“When I am demanded to know what had happened from the soundman the cornered man said : `The mayors were annoyed and I was told to cut the show from here”, the actor said.

Vázquez added that the activity was predominated by the mayors of Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), but that there were also members of the PNP, as well as other civil servants of the Government and artists of the patio.
“We publicly complained to Walter Towers, as well as the president of the Association of Mayors, and to the governor of Puerto Rico, because this is a censorship that goes against the freedom of expression, the artists and the democracy”, the actor declared, who is still astonished by this act of censorship.

It is the first time that Angel Vázquez and Ernesto Conception has been “affected” by a supposed act of censorship.
Primera Hora was criticized for having buried the incident in their paper as an article of lesser importance which did not merit the attention or respect it deserved.

It would seem that our local politicians are a bit touchy about satire or could it be that the satire hits closer to the truth making it somewhat uncomfortable for them. Whatever the case Los Juanes Del Pueblo was pulled off the air. I wonder what the Official explanation was?

Sources:

Repudio a censura de políticos contra los Juanes del Pueblo

El Tapaboca de Primera Hora a Los Juanes del Pueblo

En Justa Perspectiva

Primera Hora

Obama and Hillary in Puerto Rico

A good natured man and with a sense of humor was the image projected yesterday by the democratic aspiring to the presidency of the United States, Barack Obama. In a conversation with El Nuevo Dia the senator faced his opponent to promise the right of the Puerto Ricans to vote for the president and affirmed the need to solve the status of the Island.

Barack Obama Dancing in Puerto Rico

Hillary Clinton said in an interview that she will work so that the Puerto Ricans have the right to vote for the president of the United States.
That is something that must be resolved as part of the general problem of the status. If we are sending Puerto Ricans to the war, they must have more representation in Washington. Sure, I cannot make promises, if the status has not been solved. Senator Clinton has to explain how she is going to obtain this avoiding the Congressional process of the United States.

Obama and Hillary in Puerto Rico

( Translated from El Nuevo Dia May 25.2008 )

Those were the words of Obama and Hillary on their lightning visit to Puerto Rico yesterday to get votes prior to the primaries in June. My take on this, more political rhetoric. Both telling the people what they want to hear. Both hitting on the well worn status issue which never seems to be solved. Both looking to garner votes from the delegates and the people as well as money with political rhetoric of promises that will never be fulfilled. I am willing to bet that those promises were already forgotten the minute both boarded their respective jets on the return trip to the states!
Do the islanders actually think that they give a heck ( so as not to use another four letter word ) what happens to Puerto Rico? I was at a birthday party last night where an elderly country gentleman expressed it best. They come, they get our votes and money then they are gone and we are forgotten! That’s it, pure and simple.
I have come to the conclusion that what is taught in the political sciences classes in universities is true regarding the ignorant masses! I think this view is best expressed by Steve over at Reveries Rambling when he wrote:

The original meaning of the word Democrat is: One who panders to the ignorant masses. That is so true of the Democrat party. They truly pander to the ignorant masses. They struggle to keep the masses ignorant of the truth. The Democrats then tailor their message so that anyone that is ignorant will believe their message. Anyone who has an education will understand their message and reject it because it is based on lies.

This by no way implies support of the Republicans. It only points out a well known truth in political science. It very easily applies to both parties when it comes to the general public better known as the masses.

What’s really ridiculous is that we go through this game ( so as not to use another four letter word, pick your choice ) every 4 years like clockwork and do the people learn? NO…

There should be a law that stipulates that a politician is bound by law to make good on his ( or her ) promises under penalty of the law and have a good stiff sentence like 5+ years.
I hope the people are happy with what they are not going to get!

El Bohemio

From The New York Times:

Puerto Rico’s Moment in the Sun

PUERTO RICO, an afterthought trophy for the United States 110 years ago at the end of the Spanish-American War and an island in limbo since, has become an improbable player in the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Its primary on June 1 could bolster Mrs. Clinton’s claim to a majority of the popular vote — the combined tally for all the Democratic primaries and caucuses held across the country over the past six months.
More…

Wright or Wrong? You Tell Me

Again I return to the topic of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. While going through my stats on my other blogs I noticed that a Marine had visited one of them. I did not find anything unusual in this as that particular blog is anti-war and I get many military types showing up to check out the various materials I have posted there.

Well, out of curiosity I decided to back-track this particular referral and see what his (or her ) blog was about. It turned out to be a Marines blog on Blogger. As with most military blogs they are pro-war and this one was no different. As is usually my practice I strip away the last part of a url after the .com so as to get to the homepage which I did in this case. I started going through the blog articles and was struck by the article Once a Marine By Gary Anderson May 9, 2008. It started off:
Jeremiah Wright Jr. had quite a month for himself in April.

JEREMIAH WRIGHT JR.! Is this who I think it is. I had to read on and see what this was all about. Sure enough it was about Jeremiah Wright better know as Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Now he had my full attention. He goes on to speak of Wright and his having been in the Marines and then I read this:
Mr. Wright also alienated the United States Marine Corps. He hides behind the fact that he once wore the uniform of the Corps when people impugn his very questionable patriotism, while he compares the Marines who have served, and are serving, in Iraq to the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus. This has caused many among even his former supporters to wonder what he was thinking.
It continued with the usual military hype found on most of these blogs which you can read for yourself here.

He then goes on to the political point, obviously Republican, where he attempts to defend Barack Obama, sort of, and the Marine Corp. Then he hit’s the nail on the head:

“One has to ask how Mr. Wright would have felt in Vietnam to be compared to a servant of Roman tyranny“.

Well, it gets Hotter yet in this kitchen! He goes on to make comparisons of Mr. Wright with Jim Baker and other faux men of the cloth!
That did it!
Many have been criticizing the Rev. Wright for a number of his sermons even calling him anti-American and unpatriotic yet I ask myself who are the ones saying these things? Are they speaking from the viewpoint of Black America? Here I speak from experience even though I am not Black but Hispanic and thereby have shared many of the injustices and experiences that Rev. Wright spoke of.

I have heard a number of the videos (of which I have several here ) looking for some fallacy
in what he said, regarding the black experience in America ( and elsewhere ) which, if looked at correctly, is in fact the Ethnic experience in America. On the one hand we are constantly being nurtured to be “ Politically Correct” while on the other hand, we as ethnic Americans KNOW the reality of our existence. We know that the so called American Dream is just that, a Dream! Sure some have made it but ask them what it cost ? Ask them the cost in sacrifice and lost dignity. As them the cost in swallowed pride and insults. As them the cost in human lives lost. Something that Bill Moyer said in one of the videos literally leaps out at me right now and is very fitting:

“A Nation capable of Greatness is also capable of Cruelty”

So for all of those who would criticize Rev. Wright you might want to ask what side of the fence are you speaking from? Is it from the side of White America that finds itself offended by truth or from the side of Black and Ethnic America that does not like to question or insult the status quo for fear of appearing un-American.
Well I will leave you with the Reverend Wright’s own words which can be heard on the video:

Governments Fail
Governments Change
Governments Lie
Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Bill Moyer’s interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright Parts 1&2

(Full Interview )

Jeremiah Wright Explains His “God Damn America” Sermon

“When something is taken like a sound bite for a political purpose and put constantly over and over again, looped in the face of the public, that’s not a failure to communicate. Those who are doing that are communicating exactly what they wanna do, which is to paint me as some sort of fanatic or as the learned journalist from the New York Times called me, a “wackadoodle”…

Don’t forget to see the Martin Luther King Jr. April 4 1967 Riverside Church speech which the Rev. Wright referred to at the bottom.

Martin Luther King Jr. April 4 1967 Riverside Church speech

Postales de Leningrado trailer/ Postcards from Leningrad trailer

Came across this video on the Latin Americanist where they talked about a film fest at New York University that highlighted Venezuelan movies. this particular film was one of three movies which received special mention. I found it to be quite interesting.

Postales de Leningrado trailer, Venezuelan feature film, director Mariana Rondón, producer Marite Ugas. Sudaca films. release Venezuela September 2007
pelicula venezolana trailer.

Postales de Leningrado trailer

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