Theresa Huerta and Tom Ligare join board of directors. Clyde Freeman named board president CARPINTERIA — Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, a nonprofit organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold announced the appointment of Theresa Huerta and Tom Ligare to its board of directors and named is Clyde Freeman as board president, the organization reported this week in a media release. “We’re delighted to have these incredible leaders joining our board and leading the effort to empower young women in our community,” said Victoria Juarez, executive director of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria. “We look forward to working with Clyde,...
Read More »

Editor’s note: David Magallanes is on vacation this week. This is a reprint from last year about an important topic: protecting ourselves from sunshine. Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By David Magallanes / Guest contributor As a teenager, one of my aspirations was to spend as much time as possible in the sun. I was influenced by popular songs of the ’60s that extolled the beauty, warmth and fun associated with sunshine. The...
Read More »

OXNARD — A few months ago Dr. Richard Durán, president of Oxnard College, invited us to make Teatro de las Américas a part of the “Oxnard College Institute for the Latino Performing Arts (OCILPA).” This invitation came like manna from heaven. As you know, our days were numbered at the Wagon Wheel venue. The Memorandum of Understanding was completed a few days ago and we are mostly moved in. Contact is the same: 805-9TEATRO (805-983-2876). That number is for messages, whether voice mail or text; Via internet at info@teatrodelasamericas.com; Facebook at Teatro de las Américas (are you a friend?). And...
Read More »

¡Qué catedrático ni qué demonios! no eres más que un maestro!  Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By Rodolfo F. Acuña / Guest contributor I guess it is because I have never mastered the English language — or any language for that matter — that I am intrigued by the meaning of words. The word scholar is one example of the vagaries of English meanings. In Spanish I am called a catedrático —...
Read More »

SANTA BARBARA — Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara to be held in downtown Santa Barbara from July 30 through Aug. 3. The event includes Courthouse tours, Santa Barbara Mission docent tours, El Mercado de la Guerra, El Mercado Del Norte, Casa Cantina and La Fiesta Pequeña (July 30), La Misa Presidente (July 31), Celebración de los Dignatarios (July 31), Las Noches de Ronda (July 31), Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo (July 31 through Aug. 3). Visit http://www.oldspanishdays-fiesta.org/new/index.php/calendar/calendar_all/ for more information.
Read More »

Confirmation would add only Latino serving on the California Supreme Court in a state with the largest ethnic group being Latino CAMARILLO – The California State Council of the League of United Latin American Citizens – LULAC, applauds the Governor of California, Jerry Brown for nominating Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar to serve on the California Supreme Court, the organization reported in a media release. “California LULAC applauds Governor Brown for nominating Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar to serve on the California Supreme Court. A distinguished legal scholar, Immigration policy expert, Presidential Appointee, and having served for two Presidential Administrations, demonstrates his extensive experience and...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By Frank P. Barajas / Guest contributor On Saturday, July 12, starting at 2 p.m., people from within and outside of Ventura County assembled at a parking lot adjacent to the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard. I was among them. It was a peaceful expression of frustration in response to the Office of the Ventura County District Attorney deciding that the killing of Alfonso Limon, Jr....
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By David Magallanes / Guest contributor This summer I enrolled my two grandsons in private swim lessons at the pool of a local high school. At first they were reluctant, but that’s because they don’t realize how dorky they’ll look in front of girls in a few years when they have to say, “I can’t…I don’t know how to swim.” Actually, of course, there are better...
Read More »

By the United Way of Ventura County VENTURA COUNTY — Beep! Beep! We’re nearing the finish line and United Way of Ventura County is counting on your support for the fifth annual Stuff the Bus campaign! Please donate NEW school supplies between now and Wednesday, July 23. Look for the big, yellow, pop-up school bus bins at the collection sites to drop off your donated school supplies. See below for a list of the donated school supplies needed that will go to benefit children from low income families and those living in shelters and/or foster care. In addition to the donation of school supplies, individuals can also...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By Rodolfo F. Acuña / Guest contributor We must recognize that government is not the problem — we are. Government only works when people are involved and frankly we are not. We believe what the media tells us, ignoring that it is controlled by the one percent. Through the media and the outright bribes, the Kochs and their tribe control a majority of our elected officials —...
Read More »

PORT HUENEME — The Oxnard Union High School District’s Mariachi Program will present the free “Mariachi Extravaganza” performance from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, July 23 at the Oceanview Pavilion, 575 E. Surfside Drive, Port Hueneme. The event features performances by Mariachi De Mi Tierra, Mariachi Inlakech, Mariachi Juvenil Alma de Santa Barbara, Mariachi Aguilas de Mexico, Mariachi Cielo Azul, Mariach Costa de Oro, Mariachi Camarillo, Mariachi Orgullos de Mexico, Mariachi Toreros, Folklorico Inlakech and Los Generales del Norte. Call 805-795-6021 for more information.    
Read More »

OXNARD — The Oxnard Salsa Festival Friday Night Kick-Off Concert will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, July 25 with entertainment provided by the Oxnard Salsa Orchestra, led by Oxnard born and raised veteran percussionist Raul Rico Jr. The orchestra will provide a mix of classic and ‘Old School’ salsa music from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Rico joins with his orchestra that features many of the area’s most prominent Latin musicians and bandleaders. Tickets are $10 per person for the general concert or lawn seating, with tables for six available for $85. Visit http://www.oxnardsalsafestival.com/KickOffConcert2014.aspx for more information. The Oxnard Salsa Festival will be...
Read More »

OXNARD — Café on A will present “Minerva — John Del Rosario and Ruben Renteria Art Exhibit” from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at 438 S. A St., Oxnard. Click here for more information.
Read More »

By Sonia Fernandez / UCSB Alma Cortez-Lara immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was very young, and lived the life of the child of migrant workers. She lived in poor neighborhoods and learned English, serving as the translator for her Spanish-speaking parents, who spent their days in the fields. As she got older, she never fell into the trap of drugs or early pregnancy, as many of her contemporaries did. In fact, she eventually graduated from college and is now a teacher in her old community in Napa. Amílcar Ramírez is a moreno — dark-skinned —...
Read More »

Hello friends, With your support, we will outfit 500 indigenous Mixtec youth with backpacks to kick off the 2014 school year. This is an ambitious goal for us, but together we can achieve it! Help the campaign by collecting school supplies, buying backpacks, or donating funds to MICOP to purchase in bulk.  The drive begins today and ends with 500 stuffed backpacks on August 16. Please make donations at our website, http://www.mixteco.org/Backpacks.php or by check to MICOP at P.O. Box 20543, Oxnard, CA 93034. Please bring supplies and backpacks to our office, 520 West 5th St., Suite F, Oxnard, CA 93030. Call...
Read More »

CAMARILLO — Students from Hueneme High School celebrated their completion of four challenging weeks of college-level engineering courses at CSU Channel Islands (CI) by breaking bridges they’ve worked hard to build during the “CI Spaghetti Bridge Competition and Celebration.” The 40 seniors participated in the Engineering Design Career Pathways Summer Academy (EDCP) held July 11 at the university, the university reported in a media release. The students learned which team’s bridge built from dry spaghetti held up longest in test of strength and engineering.  The bridge competition is part of a Culminating Celebration for students, parents, school and community partners held at...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By David Magallanes / Guest contributor As a child, I heard a wide variety of music in the family home: classical, jazz, traditional and contemporary Mexican singers, movie songs and film scores, folk music, romantic ballads, swing music, and even Negro spiritual songs. As we four children became teens, rock ‘n’ roll became more prevalent, despite our traditional parents’ obvious consternation. My mother would often speak...
Read More »

OXNARD — The Consulate of Mexico and Mil Mujeres will present a “Forum on Domestic Violence & the Signing Ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding” from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 16 at El Alfarero Assembly of God, 375 So. K St., Oxnard. All agencies, community centers, social workers, churches, public in general that may be potential detectors of persons who are being subject of domestic violence and sexual assault are invited to attend. *** OXNARD – El Consulado de México y Mil Mujeres presentará un “Foro sobre la Violencia Doméstica y la ceremonia de firma de un...
Read More »

CAMARILLO — The Ventura County Community Foundation awarded nearly $1.3 million in scholarships at the recent Scholarship Awards Reception at the Ventura County Office of Education, attended by more than 400 students, their families and the donors who made the awards possible, the organization reported in a media release. Almost 270 local students received 323 scholarships from the community foundation for college and career training. This included the Sean Stephen Harris Memorial Scholarship for a graduating Adolfo Camarillo High School student. Harris, who died suddenly at the end of his junior year, would have graduated with his ACHS classmates...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By Rodolfo F. Acuña / Guest contributor I just got back from Denver. So this week I am posting a copy of an interview that was taken last week. It will be published in a book by a New Mexico State university professor in yet another form. The answers are candid and not acceptable in what we normally call intellectual discourse. My feeling is, however, when you...
Read More »

SANTA INEZ — Little Joe & La Familia, one of the most popular Tex-Mex bands, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, July 11 at the Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 E. Highway 246, Santa Ynez. Known as “King of the Brown Sound,” Little Joe helped to pioneer “Tejano” music, a mix of traditional “norteno” music and country, blues and rock styles. He has won Latin Grammy awards for his albums entitled “Chicanisimo,” “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” and “Recuerdos.” Tickets are $25. Visit https://tickets.chumashcasino.com/Events/2014/7/11/little-joe for more information.
Read More »

OXNARD — Teatro de las Américas to present “Pedro Infante y la suegra triunfante – Pedro Infante and the Triumphant Mother-in-law” through July 12 at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Building’s Black Box Theater, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard. The play is in Spanish with English supertitles, and is appropriate for the entire family (especially Grandma). Performances are Fridays and Saturdays through July 12 at 8 p.m. The play will close with a gala performance on Saturday, July 12 with guest Lupita Infante, granddaughter of Pedro Infante, in attendance. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 seniors and students, $25...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By David Magallanes / Guest contributor Assuming that a parent had some part in the formation of a child, or forms some aspect of the child’s presence in the world, nothing compares to the internally seismic event of the death of that parent, no matter how much the death was expected, or how old the parent was upon his or her demise. When the second parent...
Read More »

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805.   The devil never sleeps, so I’ll sleep when I die When I lay down I feel him watchin’, I’ll sleep when I die The devil never sleeps, so I’ll sleep when I die When I lay down I feel him watchin’, I’ll sleep when I die   By Rodolfo F. Acuña / Guest contributor The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City left an indelible impression on me....
Read More »

By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805 One key to success in higher education is early exposure to college and university life. If young people also happen really enjoy what they are doing during that exposure — all the better. College and university exposure is the goal of the annual Young Writers Camp program presented by the South Coast Writing Project through the Gevirtz School — Graduate School of Education at UCSB. For more than 35 years the program has used writing to create those opportunities for young people, grades three through nine, and their families. This year the two-week,...
Read More »