garcia
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GOP shoves Latinos further away
While working on a column about struggling businesses in Little Village last year, I met a Latina restaurant owner who had little faith that the economy could improve under President Obama. This was before the November election, and the restaurant owner quickly steered the topic …Read More
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Take in a DePaul soccer game from the L
Once in a while something breaks up the dreariness of an elevated train ride. Almost everyone aboard the L sure looks like they need it. Some wear tired expressions from putting in a long workday, or maybe they are dreading one. Those lost in the …Read More
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Trusty landline phones will be missed
About 20 years ago, I had a cellular phone that probably weighed close to five pounds. It was a clunky thing in a large case, and I paid $9.99 for a service plan. It traveled in my clunky car for emergency purposes. Whenever the car …Read More
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Latinos creating jobs at rapid pace
BY MARLEN GARCIA. There are about 3 million Latino-owned small businesses in the U.S., according to the chamber, up from 2.3 million in 2007. They make up the fastest-growing group of business owners. Their economic output is worth hundreds of billions.
Controversial Payton book worth reading
Some members of the Chicago news media and Mike Ditka verbally trashed the book without reading it. A New York Times best-seller, the book has been largely shunned in Chicago. That’s a shame because it is without a doubt worth reading.
Kids spread the joy through music
Sometime in grade school my classmates and I were introduced to musical instruments. For many of us playing the clarinet or flute was just a daydream. We could never ask our parents for lessons, even free instruction, because buying or renting an instrument went beyond …
Giving the hazards of football a closer look
August is a time to enjoy the dog days of summer when Chicago has them, back-to-school sales and the start of football. That assumes you can still stomach football. Every year it gets harder for me to do so. On many fronts, the sports is …
Latinos can save a compadre’s life
Encarnacion Roldan, a sergeant for the Cook County sheriff, has a reputation among police officers for being a strict supervisor. That’s what officer Pamela Walker told me last week when we talked about Roldan, 51. “He’s militant,” she said. “He wants you in proper uniform …
Biggest Asian-based festival in Midwest highlights Korean culture
Long before South Korean sensation Psy went viral with his hit song and dance “Gangnam Style,” Korean pop music had a following in the U.S. It’s known as K-pop, and it will have a heavy presence Aug. 10 and 11 at the 18th annual Chicago …
Saying goodbye to Nelson Mandela
The celebration last week of Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday came with beautiful tributes, including moving praise for South Africa’s first black president from children throughout his country. On the same day, President Jacob Zuma said in an optimistic statement that doctors had confirmed Mandela’s health …
Customs raid was an overreaction
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is more commonly known for its abbreviated term, ICE, and it is a fitting, chilling acronym. ICE sends shivers down the spines of immigrants who have entered or stayed in the country illegally and fear being deported to their home …
TEENS INVESTIGATE IMMIGRATION STORIES
Jerica Tan is 15 and fully aware of her father’s successful career as an expert in infectious diseases. Her dad finished high school early in Singapore and at 16 enrolled at Duke University to launch his studies in the field. But until last week, Tan …
A Pilsen hub falls by the wayside
The colorful multistory building at 1831 S. Racine, once a Hull House settlement home, has housed dance troupes, artists, community activists, citizenship classes and, more recently, a computer lab. Its exterior walls and parts of the interior are covered by murals and portraits of historical …
Trying to kill immigration bill
The Senate debate on immigration last week quickly turned chilling. Toxic doses of gamesmanship and ego filtered in through proposed amendments to the bill. The amendments range from silly to absurd. They would further distance undocumented immigrants from the legalization process, but that seems to …
A lifetime of helping others
My recent visit to the small, nondescript office of the Little Village Community Council on 26th Street was briefly interrupted by a local businessman looking for August Sallas, the council president. The man told Sallas he knew of two area residents down on their luck …
Commemorating Latin America’s role as Holocaust refuge
Years ago, while working for the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Christina Chavarria gave a radio interview about the history and relevance of the mass murder of Jews under the Nazis. Later she received a startling message from an angry listener. “He asked why I was …
Kirk says little on immigration
The U.S. Senate, controlled by Democrats, probably can pass comprehensive immigration reform this summer without support from Republican Sen. Mark Kirk. But he should give it. He is, after all, senator of a state with the sixth-largest immigrant population in the country. So far, he …
Marlen Garcia: Why Latinos look so white on TV
If you watch a Spanish-language telenovela or buy a Latino celebrity magazine, you will see beautiful actors and models. Almost all of them will be Latin Americans with light skin color. I was reminded of this last month by reader Ted Manuel of Hyde Park. …
Students stiffed on college aid
Back in January I wrote about the Illinois Dream Fund nonprofit and its initiative to raise money through private donations and award college scholarships to undocumented Illinois students in need of financial aid. This was significant because by law undocumented students cannot receive taxpayer-based assistance. …
Who’s a hero? That depends
Charles Ramsey did a heroic thing when he helped pull down a door and cleared a path to freedom for Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry, her daughter and two other victims: Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Ramsey didn’t know who else was behind that door. …
