Category: Cultural

VCCDC’s 5th annual Homeownership Fair on June 24 offers families opportunities to own a home even as home prices rise

VENTURA COUNTY — “I sat on the bench, waiting for the bus to arrive, eating my cold lunch. ‘What am I doing?’ I asked myself. I didn’t know if this was going to work. ‘Am I wasting my time?’” This was…

Henry L. ‘Hank’ Lacayo Celebration of Life, scholarship fund kickoff, to be held June 24 at CSU Channel Islands

SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2017 4-7 P.M. JOHN SPOOR BROOME LIBRARY PLAZA RSVP The Lacayo family invites you to support the establishment of the Henry L.“Hank” Lacayo Scholarship Fund at CSU Channel Islands. GIVE NOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT CELINA.ZACARIAS@CSUCI.EDU OR…

June 24 — VCCDC to present 5th annual Homeownership Fair in Oxnard

OXNARD — The Ventura County Community Development Corp. will present its 5th annual Homeownership Fair from 11 a.m. to3 p.m. Saturday, June 24at the Centerpoint Mall, 2655 Saviers Road, Oxnard. You are cordially invited   25+ booths with homeownership information & resources:…

Through June 18 — Clinicas to hold Week-long Celebration of National Men’s Health Week 2017

VENTURA COUNTY — National Men’s Health Week (NMHW) is part of a national campaign which begins June 12th and ends on Father’s day, June 18th, 2017, with the goal of raising awareness of preventable health problems and encouraging early detection and treatment of disease…

Guest column: Ruth Jones — The Warrior Dream Angel

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 Armando Vazquez / Guest contributor Ruth…

UCSB Spanish professor earns international award for her expertise in Mexican literature and culture

By Jim Medina • UCSB Author of more than 200 publications, books, essays, articles, reviews and short stories, UC Santa Barbara professor Sara Poot-Herrera is known for “always working” — organizing conferences or speaking events on Mexican and Spanish American…

June 17 — Carnegie Art Museum Arcade Poetry Series

OXNARD — CAM Cornerstones board member Jackson Wheeler, revered poet, patron of the arts and loyal friend passed away last Friday, June 9th after heroically battling brain cancer. Jackson organized the Arcade Poetry Series for decades in Ventura County with its…

Santa Barbara City College Student Isabel Agundis Selected to Visit NASA

SANTA BARBARA — Isabel Agundis, a Santa Barbara City College student, has been selected to travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center this spring to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars project (NCAS). Agundis, a mechanical engineering major, is one…

Bilingual commentary: Is College Still Relevant?*

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. David Magallanes By David Magallanes…

Oxnard’s own Road Brothers Band selected as the winner of the 5th Annual ‘Berry Battle of the Bands Contest.’ To headline 34th Annual California Strawberry Festival

OXNARD — Oxnard’s own Road Brothers Band was selected as the winner of the 5th Annual “Berry Battle of the Bands Contest” and will headline at the 34th Annual California Strawberry Festival on Sunday, May 21st at 11:00am, it is revealed today. Co-hosted by Cumulus Media and…

Through June 30 — ‘Recuerdos de Rosario (Memories of Rosario)’ at UCSB Library

SANTA BARBARA — The exhibit “Recuerdos de Rosario (Memories of Rosario)” will be presented through 5 p.m. Friday, June 30  at UCSB Library. Stop by the UCSB Library’s Ocean Gallery to see our exhibition of Christopher Cardinale’s illustrations of Rosario, Mexico, the…

CSUCI to award honorary doctorate to local champion of migrant education

CAMARILLO — A 60-year veteran of education who has championed the often-neglected population of migrant, homeless, at-risk or foster children will receive an honorary doctorate from CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) during the May 20 commencement ceremony. President Erika D. Beck will award…

Veteran Traffic Professional Joins Hasan Consultants

VENTURA — Richard L. Herrera, a well-known traffic expert in the greater Los Angeles and tri-counties area, has joined Hasan Consultants. He will be in charge of the Traffic and Transportation group at Hasan. Herrera just left the County of Ventura…

Fatima Ponce from Hathaway Elementary School in Oxnard wins 2017 Youth Art Contest for the 34th annual California Strawberry Festival

OXNARD — From 951 entries Kindergarten to 6th grade, the whimsical roller skating strawberry design of five-year-old Fatima Ponce from Hathaway Elementary School in Oxnard was selected as the grand prize winner of the 34th Annual California Strawberry Festival Youth Art Design…

May 20 — Santa Barbara Children’s Music Festival

SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Children’s Music Festival (a KINDIE music festival)  The San Marcos Parent-Child Workshop, KIDaPALooza, Children’s Music Festival is proud to present, for the first time in Santa Barbara and for one day only,  the Emmy- and Grammy-award-winning…

May 20-21 — Entertainment lineup revealed fro 34th annual California Strawberry Festival

OXNARD — Two Festival stages will be “jamming” at the 34th Annual California Strawberry Festival May 20 and 21 in Oxnard where non-stop entertainment adds to the sweet celebration that pays tribute to the beloved seasonal fruit. Musical styles range from Country,…

A Chicana Warrior: Alicia Escalante, who led the fight for justice and dignity in the turbulent 1960s, has donated her papers to UCSB

By Jim Logan • UCSB Alicia Escalante was an unlikely hero. A poor single mother of five, she became one of the leading activists of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s. She founded the East Los Angeles Welfare Rights Organization…

UCSB’s Early Academic Outreach Program to host annual UC Success Night events honoring regional high school seniors

By Andrea Estrada • UCSB The Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) at UC Santa Barbara will hold a series of UC Success Night events April 19-28 to celebrate the academic success of seniors from UCSB’s EAOP partnership schools who have been admitted to the…

Bilingual commentary: The Other Side of the Wall

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. David Magallanes By David Magallanes…

UCSB: ‘Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures’

By the Gevirtz School — Graduate School of Education at UCSB Richard Durán of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School was a member of the committee that conducted the study and wrote the report titled Promoting the Educational Success of Children…

Register now for the May 26 ‘2017 Indigenous Knowledge Conference’ in Oxnard

OXNARD — Register now for the the “2017 Indigenous Knowledge Conference” at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Building, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard. Join us in learning more about Ventura County’s 20,000 indigenous Mexican immigrants, their lives, and how to build partnerships with…

May 13 — Allan Hancock College Concert Band will perform Spring Pops Concert

SANTA MARIA — The Allan Hancock College Concert Band will perform a Spring Pops Concert on Saturday evening, May 13th, 2017 at 7:30 PM. The concert will feature an eclectic mix of musical selections including: The Star Spangled Banner, Flourish for Wind…

Hasta el 27 de mayo — Los encantos del relajo

Qué LOS ENCANTOS DEL RELAJO Quién Teatro de las Américas y Oxnard College presentan la comedia de Norma Román Calvo, Los encantos del relajo, dirigida por Robert Sánchez Cuándo Del 12 de mayo al 28 de mayo • viernes y…

El Concilio Family Services presents 28th Annual Latino Leadership Awards on May 5

OXNARD — A college registrar, a high school senior, a superintendent, a bank executive, an educational counselor, an associate programs director, a surgeon, and a chief probation officer will be recognized when El Concilio Family Services presents its 28th annual…

May 5 — Celebrate International Day of the Midwife

Supporting good health & well-being for women and children SANTA BARBARA — The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3, Good Health and Well-Being, highlights midwives as crucial to reducing childhood mortality and improving maternal health, especially in developing regions and remote…

May 26 — ‘2017 Indigenous Knowledge Conference’ to be held at Oxnard College

OXNARD — The Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) and Centro Binacional para el Desarollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO) will host their fifth annual “Indigenous Knowledge Conference” on Friday, May 26th at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center from 9 am -4 pm. Our…

Through May 3 — Oxnard College Literature, Arts & Lecture Series presents 2017 Spring Series

The Oxnard College Literature, Arts & Lecture Series will begin its 2017 Spring Series on February 22nd featuring filmmaker and entertainer Byron Motley presenting, “The Negro Baseball Leagues, in celebration of African American History Month. Other events include: “Moctezuma’s Mexico:…

May 17 — Channel Islands Maritime Museum to present ‘The Most Mad Seas: Tales of Sail from Cape Horn and the Southern Ocean’

OXNARD — The Channel Islands Maritime Museum is pleased to present, “The Most Mad Seas: Tales of Sail from Cape Horn and the Southern Ocean”, a lecture to be held on May 17 with local historian and author, Glenn Hening. The…

Through April 30 — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! to present Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán from Guadalajara in free concerts, workshops

SANTA BARBARA — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! proudly presents Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán from Guadalajara, Mexico. The group of eleven women offer three free family concerts showcasing their traditional sound at Isla Vista School, Friday, April 28, at 7 pm;…

April 30 — Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitán to perform at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art

SANTA BARBARA — Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitán will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30 the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara. In just ten years, Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitán from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico have established their…

April 28 — Los Angeles consuls general from Canada and Mexico to speak about NAFTA at CSUCI

CAMARILLO — Consuls General to Canada and Mexico will give their perspectives on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during an upcoming presentation at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI). The public is invited to “NAFTA’s Economic Progress 2017” from 10 a.m. to 3…

Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos to present ‘Intersection of Language, Class, Ethnicity, and Policy: Towards Disrupting Inequality for English Language Learners’ on May 15

SANTA BARBARA — The Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, the Department of Education, and the Chicano Studies Institute present Dr. Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, Associate Professor of Education Policy and Evaluation at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, giving the talk…

May 25 — From 9/11 to Now: Immigrant Rights Matter to Us All (Ahilan Arulanantham)

SANTA BARBARA — Ahilan Arulanantham will present the Diversity Lecture “From 9/11 to Now: Immigrant Rights Matter to Us All” from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25 at the UCSB Multicultural Center. Reflecting on his own family history, rulanantham, director…

State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson — On César Chávez Day, Let Us Remember His Call for Social Justice and Equality

SACRAMENTO – Today, on what would have been his 90th birthday, we celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader and labor organizer César Chávez. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) released the following statement: “Today we recognize and honor César Chávez’s remarkable…

LULAC Disappointed with Trump Administration’s Failure to Ban Toxic Pesticides on Eve of César Chavez Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to ban chlorpyrifos – a dangerous pesticide widely used in agriculture and linked to many health hazards, particularly neurological damage in children. Last year, LULAC joined other health, environmental, and civil rights…

Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission Hires Chief Diversity Officer

Industry Veteran and Diversity Expert Joins Gold Coast Health Plan CAMARILLO — The Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission (VCMMCC) today announced that Douglas C. Freeman has accepted the position of chief diversity officer (CDO), at Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP). Mr. Freeman…

California’s Attorney General Is Asked to Take Action Against Enrollment Practices Denying Latino and Immigrant Students Their Right to Enroll in School

Some California school districts deter certain students from enrolling in school by inquiring about their citizenship status and/or requesting their Social Security Numbers. OAKLAND —  Today, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR) and California…

SBCC Study Abroad plans Summer Trips to Cuba, London, Rome

SANTA BARBARA — SBCC Study Abroad will be holding several informational meetings about its summer 2017 programs suited for community members and eligible high school students who are interested in personal development or earning college units. The programs do not have a major…

Teresa Segovia announced as new executive director of El Centrito Family Learning Centers

OXNARD — The Board of Directors for El Centrito Family Learning Centers is pleased to announce the appointment of Teresa Segovia as its Executive Director. Teresa officially joined the organization’s leadership on March 1, 2017. “El Centrito provides extraordinary, high quality…

April 21-22 — Oxnard College to present 36th anniversary of Ballet Folklórico Mestizo

OXNARD — Oxnard College will present its 36th anniversary of Ballet Folklórico Mestizo at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard. Tickets are available at…