San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Mimi Pollack

Immigrant Families, Food, and Stalking a Border Town Greyhound Bus Station

by

Helping others is not political. It’s good for the soul. When you help others, you forget about your own problems for awhile. In addition, nobody should make you feel bad about who you decide to help. In my case, as a writer, I have interviewed many good folks assisting others — be they two-legged or four-legged — and ended up also giving to many charitable human and animal organizations.

I had wanted to find a way to help the mothers and especially the children in detention centers. My first thought was to bring stuffed animals to comfort the children at one of the centers, but that didn’t work out.

Then a successful business woman I know, who came here from Central America more than 30 years ago, told me about going to the local bus station to bring things to the mothers and children ICE was dropping off there. I decided that was a concrete way I could help.   [Read more…]

Estela de los Rios- An Advocate for Others

by

As the executive director of Center for Social Advocates (CSA), Estela de los Rios cares about the well-being of the community. She also has a strong sense of justice, which she developed at an early age. As a human rights activist, she strives to make the world a better place and doesn’t want others to feel the pain of discrimination, something she herself has faced.

Growing up in rural Brawley, Calif., she went to a mostly white elementary school where she was taunted for being Mexican. Recalling her past still brings tears to her eyes as she explained how the taunting made her feel like she didn’t belong and that she was nothing as a Mexican.

Then in the 10th Grade, she had an epiphany while studying about Rosa Parks. She realized that like Parks, she had to do something to make change happen.  Both these incidents shaped her into the person she is today: Someone who fights passionately for the rights of others and can make a difference in other people’s lives through her work.   [Read more…]

John Moore / Juan Moro: One Man, Two Lives

by

Do people change in personality depending on what language they are speaking, especially when they are bilingual? I think many times they do, as the culture of the language spoken can also be an influence. A good example is UCSD’s dean, John Moore — or, as he’s known to others, Juan Moro, flamenco guitarist. He’s one man who leads two very different lives.

By day, Moore, 63, is Dean of Undergraduate Education. By night and on weekends, Moro is a talented Spanish flamenco guitarist who plays at different venues. On Saturday mornings, he plays for a dance class. On Saturday evenings, he plays at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town where he accompanies flamenco dancer Lakshmi Basile and singer/dancer Bruno Serrano. The three present an evening of authentic flamenco entertainment. Finally, on Sundays, he plays at Costa Brava in Pacific Beach.

The night that I met him at the Cosmopolitan, he was in full Spanish mode, introducing himself as Juan Moro and speaking fluent Spanish. He explained to me how in classic flamenco, the guitarist follows the singer and dancers, so he needed to know the structure and forms of flamenco.

Later when we communicated in English via email, I learned he had a doctorate in linguistics.   [Read more…]

‘Coco’ – A Movie for Both Children and Adults to Enjoy

by

The Disney/Pixar companies have redeemed themselves after the 2013 debacle of requesting to trademark “Dia de los Muertos.” By hiring a mostly Latino cast and working extensively with Latino consultants, the result is an absolute win with their new film, “Coco.”

“Coco” works on many levels. First, it’s a delightful children’s movie with beautiful and colorful animation, lively music, and sight gags to please little tykes. It’s also an educational film, introducing to audiences who don’t know, the meaning and traditions of Dia de Los Muertos — a cultural, sometimes religious, spiritual, and familial holiday in Mexico and Latin America.

November 1 and 2 are days that many families visit cemeteries and/or build altars in their homes, decorating them with pictures of the deceased, flowers, candles, food, etc. The movie can bring about a discussion between Anglos and Latinos, who tend to have very different views of death and the afterlife.   [Read more…]

Finding Jewish Stories on Interstate 8

by

If you go to the website of the publication San Diego Jewish World you will see the motto: “There Is a Jewish Story Everywhere!” Owner and publisher, Don Harrison, delights in traveling, meeting people, and sniffing out that Jewish story.

You can read about his latest adventures in his third book, “77 Miles of Jewish Stories.”  These stories take place on 77 miles of Interstate 8 in San Diego County, from Ocean Beach to the far ends of East County finishing at the boundary line with Imperial County. Harrison decided to see if he could find a Jewish story in the vicinity of every exit off the freeway/highway.

You would be surprised at the wide array of stories he found!   [Read more…]

Isaac Artenstein: Telling Frontier Jewish Stories

by

Filmmaker Isaac Artenstein likes to tell good stories, especially unknown ones, and if those stories inform and entertain others, even better.

He feels that the Jews of the Southwest have an untold story as the narrative has been mostly about the Anglo westward expansion; whereas, other immigrants are also part of the history. He wants to show one of the missing pieces of the puzzle.

To that end, he’s working on a four-part series of documentaries, “Frontier Jews,” which covers Jews of the Southwest, including New Mexico, San Diego, Arizona (specificially, Tucson), and El Paso, Texas. The documentary on New Mexico, “Challah Rising in the Desert” has just been completed and the one on San Diego, “To the Ends of the Earth,” is near completion.

Artenstein was born in San Diego and grew up as a child of the border. He went to school in Tijuana and high school in Chula Vista. Fluent in both English and Spanish, he moves comfortably between both worlds. In addition, with an Ashkenazi father and Sephardic mother, he was also exposed to the different aspects of Judaism, which has served him well while making the documentaries.   [Read more…]

A Journey of Self Discovery and Giving Back

by

When Juan Martin Sajche left his small village in Guatemala in 1997 at the age of 15, he never dreamed he would one day be a respected Spanish teacher at Morse High School in San Diego. The past twenty years have been quite a journey!   [Read more…]

Herbert Siguenza: Melding Cultures

by

A state rich in Latino and Anglo cultures, California has always been a perfect stomping ground for Herbert Siguenza, the current Playwright in Residence at the San Diego Repertory Theater.

Siguenza has a gift of melding both cultures together and reaching a diverse audience. This is seen in his plays, “A Weekend with Pablo Picasso,” “El Henry,” “Manifest Destinitis,” and “Steal Heaven.” But Siguenza is more than just a playwright; he’s a performer and painter as well.   [Read more…]

Dreams for Change: Chipping Away at the Homeless Problem

by

“Being homeless is exhausting!” said Ann Marie Christian, a retired caregiver who is disabled.

Both she and Randy Leighton, who said he was an out-of-work civil engineer and also disabled, sat at the outdoor table in the parking lot of Jewish Family Service. They are clients of Dreams for Change, a non-profit organization that works with homeless individuals and families who live in their cars.

San Diego has become a magnet for homeless people while shelters and government agencies struggle to provide help. Not only that, these are not “one size fits all” folks.

There are generational homeless, those who want to be on the streets for one reason or another, those with drug or alcohol related problems, or those who live in their cars with some but limited resources. For the latter, Dreams for Change strives to be an agency that can assist them.   [Read more…]

Into the Beautiful North: A Play at the San Diego Repertory Theater

by

I really wanted to love “Into the Beautiful North,” a new play at the SD Repertory Theater, especially because of its pedigree. It is based on the book by Luis Alberto Urea — it was the KPBS One Book San Diego for 2012 and one of Amazon’s Best Books 2015 — and was adapted by noted playwright, Karen Zacarias. It is directed by Sam Woodhouse and has a stellar cast, including one of my favorite performers, Herbert Siguenza. However, as I was watching the play, I felt like it had great potential, but hadn’t quite gotten there yet.

The play starts out in a small coastal village in the northern state of Sinaloa, Mexico, that is being threatened by “narcotraficantes.” All the men of the village have left for the United States to find work and send money back home.   [Read more…]

Helping Children and Animals Together: Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine

by

Giving back to others is always good, but when you can give back to both animals and children, that is even better! Local humanitarian, Agnes Barrelet, is doing just that by heading up two non-profits, Hands United for Children and Children’s Nature Retreat.

The Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine is a haven for all kinds of animals, including two zebras, four Friesian horses, African cows, mules, donkeys, rabbits, mini horses, goats and pigs, ostriches, and desert tortoises, etc. There are over 95 domesticated livestock with 17 species and 38 breeds from around the world. They all live comfortably on this beautiful 20 acre property. There are several animal enclosures, including Barnyard Alley, Tortoise Landing, African Grasslands, and Mini and Big Farms. For example, in African Grasslands, you will see the two zebras with several ostriches.   [Read more…]

Jewish Family Service and Dreams for Change: Doing Good Deeds Together

by

Here in “America’s Finest City”, the weather is nice year round while rentals are very high, and many families live paycheck to paycheck. This situation is also the reason why there are so many homeless people in San Diego and worse yet- homeless families.

However, two very mensch organizations have paired up to help: Dreams for Change and Jewish Family Service. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of JFS, so this non-profit has been serving the community for a long time with its various programs that strive to help others by empowering individuals and families, sponsoring and supporting refugees, and fostering community connection and engagement. JFS’s mission is to build a stronger, healthier, and more resilient San Diego.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry