Category: Cultural

Community celebrates Easter

A number of churches and organizations celebrated the Easter holiday this past weekend in the 805 region. Besides activities at the churches, community members also took to the street to highlight the religious holiday. A small group of individuals demonstrated…

CSU Channel Islands celebrates ‘Noche de Fiesta’

Brazilian music, regional Latino food and dancers created a colorful atmosphere in Malibu Hall at California State University, Channel Islands, when students presented the seventh annual “Noche de Fiesta” on Wednesday, April 4. The diversity of the Latin American cultures…

Latino Issues Forum set for 6 p.m. April 5 in Oxnard

Join us in a historic event which will help decide who is elected to represent Ventura County in the U.S. Congress, the League of United Latin American Citizens reported in a media release. Clinicas Del Camino Real, LULAC, Latino Town…

Community turns out to pay respect to Raymond ‘Porky’ Duran

Hundreds of friends, La Gente car club members and members of the community gathered on Wednesday, April 4 to pay their respects to Raymond “Porky” Duran, who died unexpectedly. The funeral mass was held at Santa Clara Church near downtown…

Commentary: What do daughters want?

By David Magallanes / Guest contributor My daughter is my emotional salvation. I don’t know where my perspective in life would be centered without her existence. She is the center of my emotional mass, very much the heart of my…

UCSB sociologist to give ‘Plous’ lecture on crime and desistance among marginalized youth

SANTA BARBARA — Victor Rios, associate professor of sociology at UC Santa Barbara and a specialist in the interplay between institutions of social control, juvenile crime, and gang-associated youths, will give the Harold J. Plous Award Lecture on Wednesday, April 18, the university…

Gutierrez captures spirit of César Chávez Celebration

  Friend of Amigos805 Jess Gutierrez (photographer, writer, publisher and all things local Latino media) was busy Sunday,  April 1 capturing images at the 16th annual César Chávez Celebration, which began with a mass for field workers at Cristo Rey Church, 531 Cooper Road in…

Community comes out in force for 50 awards at Chávez celebration

Community members crowded around a makeshift stage at the playground of César Chávez School in La Colonia as the United Farm Workers Union honored 50 community members and organizations during the celebration. Below are a few images from the celebration.…

KFI AM640 adds ‘The David Cruz Show’

LOS ANGELES – America’s top-rated talk radio station has added The David Cruz Show to its line-up and will start airing the program Sundays 6 to 8 p.m.  The multiple Emmy-Award winning network television journalist and former NBC4 TV News Anchor…

Capps celebrates César E. Chávez’s birthday

“César Chávez’s campaigns for farm worker justice changed the face of agriculture in this country, by improving living standards for migrant workers, reducing the use of harmful chemicals on farms, and awakening Americans to the process by which agricultural products…

Commentary: In honor of César Chávez Day

By Mona AlvaradoFrazier/Guest contributor On Monday, March 26, 2012, Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, hosted the Induction of the Pioneers of the Farm Worker Movement into the Labor Hall of Fame and the naming of the César E. Chávez…

MICOP to hold meeting on March 31 in Oxnard

The Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project will present its next monthly community meeting on Saturday, March 31 at Harrington Elementary School, 2501 Gisler St. in Oxnard. “If the weather is nice we plan on having the children outside, so if you…

César Chávez Celebration set for April 1 in Oxnard

The 16th annual César Chávez Celebration, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the United Farm Workers union, will begin with a mass at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 1 at Cristo Rey  Church, 531 Cooper Road in La Colonia neighborhood of Oxnard. The march…

Commentary: My Role Models — Teenage Entrepreneurs

By David Magallanes /  Guest contributor Last month I wrote about my visit to Solvang and how I watched what books my hand went for in the book section of a store that sold mystical items (candles, crystals, amulets, etc.).…

Tequila tasting on tap for ‘Pacifica High School PTSA Fundraiser’ on March 23 in Oxnard

The second annual “Pacifica High School PTSA Fundraiser” will be held Friday, March 23 at Sugar Beets Restaurant, 455 So. A St., Oxnard. Dinner, tequila tasting, dessert, dancing and a silent auction are scheduled for this event ($40 per ticket),…

Commentary: Time to celebrate the life of César Chávez

By Denis O’Leary / Guest contributor This year marks the 50th anniversary of the United Farm Workers. Oxnard has benefited greatly, as has the nation from the advocacy and laws that have come about from the UFW. César Chávez was the catalyst…

‘Latin Lit Lovers’ celebration set for March 24 in Ojai

‘Latin Lit Lovers Mexican Dinner Buffet,’ a celebration of the great works of Latin writers de romance, folkloricos, ficcione, prosa & poesia from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24 at Los Caporales Resturant & Bar, 307 E. Ojai Ave.,…

‘Dance Across the Divide’ performance set for March 24 at Oxnard College

“Tapestry,” Education & Awareness Woven Together By Innovative Choreography — the 2012 debut performance ($30) will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24 at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center, 4000 So. Rose Ave., Oxnard. Contact Amy Edwards at 805-986-5800, or…

CEDC receives certificates of occupancy for 18 farmworker apartments in Oxnard

VENTURA —The Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. in Ventura announced on Thursday that it has received “certificates of occupancy” from the City of Oxnard for its newest affordable, apartment community for farmworkers, Camino Gonzalez. The $9.5 million project, located on a…

Bilingual report: Free citizenship fair set for March 17 in Santa Barbara

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in partnership with Santa Barbara City College, will provide a free “Naturalization Information Session” for legal permanent residents and interested naturalization applicants from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17 at the Selmer O.…

Commentary: Martyrdom

By David Magallanes / Guest contributor We all know members of our family who are “martyrs.” My American Heritage Dictionary defines a martyr, in the most literal sense, as “one who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.”…

Santa Barbara Symphony to present ‘Latin Passion’ on March 17, 18

The Santa Barbara Symphony will present “Latin Passion,” with an evening performance from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 17 and a matinee from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 18 at the Granada Theater, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Featuring, Carlos Miguel Prieto,…

Commentary: Your Ventura County Museum

By Mona AlvaradoFrazier /Guest contributor On Sunday’s I take a little longer reading the Arts and Culture section of the newspaper because of the variety of museums, theaters, and cultural events in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura Counties. I’m…

Donations being accepted for ‘Prom Dress Project’

The Young Leaders Society has officially launched the annual Prom Dress Project, a prom dress recycling program for underprivileged students. The deadline to drop off prom dresses is March 30, reported Nancy Rodriguez of the Young Leaders Society, a program…

Commentary: The Sunbelt strategy

By Frank P. Barajas / Guest contributor What do California State University Professor Rodolfo F. Acuña, Henry David Thoreau, and Abraham Lincoln have in common? Before I tell you, you need to know that the narratives of Acuña (a founder of Chicano…

Commentary: The Dementia scare

By David Magallanes /Guest contributor My morning earlier this week, like most mornings, was peaceful. I had read my newspaper and once again felt that I was aware of local, state, national and world news. I had settled into some…

History of Cinco de Mayo subject of UCSB lecture on March 8

UCLA’S David Hayes-Bautista discusses significance of American holiday As the 150th anniversary of the first Cinco de Mayo approaches, David Hayes-Bautista, professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the School…

Commentary: National Women’s History Month

By Mona AlvaradoFrazier /Guest contributor Since 1911 in Europe, March 8 is the day to celebrate International Women’s Day. In 1978 in California, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women began a “Women’s…

Bilingual report: Teatro still seeking art entries for ‘The Prodigious Shoemaker’s Wife’

Teatro de las Américas is providing a new e-mail address for those who have submitted art entries for “The Prodigious Shoemaker’s Wife / La zapatera prodigiosa,” the organization reported this week in a media release. We did not receive any entries…

CLU students rally against Cal Grant cuts in Sacramento

Students from throughout state to descend on Capitol THOUSAND OAKS — Five California Lutheran University students will travel to Sacramento on March 7 to protest a proposed cut to Cal Grant awards for students at independent nonprofit colleges, the university…

Mexican Consul Flores appears on program in support of Children’s Resource Network

Brad Pomerance, of Headline News — Charter Local Edition, interviews Lisa Ray, president and chief executive officer with the Children’s Resource Network of the Central Coast in Pismo Beach and Mexican Consulate General of Central California Rogelio Flores. Children’s Resource Network…

Zaragoza holds breakfast fundraiser in Oxnard

A group of more than 500 enthusiastic and dedicated supporters crowded into the Casa Lopez Restaurant in downtown Oxnard to celebrate and raise funds to re-elect John Zaragoza to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, the Zaragoza campaign announced in…

Two Oxnard teens honored as BGCOP’s Youths of the Year

OXNARD — Singled out among several outstanding local youth, Genesis Mena and Taylor Penny, both from Oxnard, were recently named “2012 Youth of the Year” by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, the organization reported Friday…