Latino Heritage

The importance of Latinos in next week's mayoral election was highlighted again Wednesday as a new round of dueling attacks ads emerged seeking to undermine both candidates' appeal to Spanish-speaking voters. In one spot appearing on Spanish-language television channels, longtime Democrat Wendy Greuel is criticized for having been registered as a Republican in the early 1990s during the era of former Gov. Pete Wilson - a figure reviled by many Latinos for his sponsorship of a ballot measure to deny immigrants in the country illegally certain government benefits.

The importance of Latinos in next week's mayoral election was highlighted again Wednesday as a new round of dueling attacks ads emerged seeking to undermine both candidates' appeal to Spanish-speaking voters. In one spot appearing on Spanish-language television channels, longtime Democrat Wendy Greuel is criticized for having been registered as a Republican in the early 1990s during the era of former Gov. Pete Wilson - a figure reviled by many Latinos for his sponsorship of a ballot measure to deny immigrants in the country illegally certain government benefits.

The 16 artists who have been brought together in the show "Presente!" at the Acevedo Gallery (4010 Goldfinch) are linked by their common Latino heritage, but little else. The themes they embrace range from the physical to the social and political landscapes, and their approaches vary from the saccharine and blandly decorative to the poignant and penetrating. There are highs and lows in this spotty survey, but the highs are worth searching out.

Governing requires vision, competence and administrative know-how. But none of that matters if a candidate never gets the chance to govern. Do the four leading contenders in the race for Los Angeles mayor have plausible strategies for getting themselves elected? Here, in alphabetical order, is how each might pull it off - or fail. Eric Garcetti How he wins: Most of the early polling suggests that Garcetti and Wendy Greuel are in a statistical dead-heat for the lead, with each drawing just north of 30% of the electorate in the first round.

L.A.'s Byzantine-Latino quarter showed off its exotic profile last weekend at the second annual St. Sophia's Greek Cathedral festival. The church plaza at the corner of Pico and Normandie, west of downtown, swayed with Greek folk dancers in the afternoon and a Cuban band at night. For two days, the scent of stuffed grape leaves and leg of lamb crossed with whiffs of green corn tamales.

Cora Oviedo is a cultural activist--one of the hundreds of newly emerging volunteer leaders in Orange County who have made the arts their personal cause. But she is not a leader with one of the county's high-status mainstream organizations--not, for example, the Philharmonic Society, the Pacific Symphony Assn., or, most prestigious of all, the Performing Arts Center.

Here's a question for you: Who was the first Latino to win an Oscar as best actor? And the winner was the multitalented Puerto Rican actor, director and writer Jose Ferrer, honored for his bravura performance in 1952's "Cyrano de Bergerac." A photo of Ferrer, in full musketeer drag and sporting the gigantic roller coaster of a nose that keeps him from pursuing his beloved Roxanne, is part of a modest but thought-provoking exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center.

They came, thousands of them, to taste and celebrate a bit of 19th century Mexican history that reverberates today. On Olvera Street in downtown L.A., people jammed the narrow passageways between the shops, eyeing gifts, sampling delicacies and moving to the rhythm of mariachi music. Sunday marked the finale of weekend celebrations for Cinco de Mayo--a day that represents the 1862 victory of the Mexican army against the better armed French.

Arnold Glasman said it was the letter that topped it off. Glasman, recently reelected as city councilman, told residents who attended the installation ceremony of the new council this week that he heard too many snide remarks during the campaign about his ethnic heritage. Glasman, who is half Latino and half Jewish, said he recently received an anonymous letter accusing him of "being Hispanic only every four years."

Bracketed by last Saturday's local celebrations of Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican rememberance of the departed, and this Saturday's history celebration, "Rediscovering Our History--Mexican Los Angeles 1781-1906," November has begun with lots of events to remind children of our Latino heritage. This branch of history is nothing new to local fourth-graders. California history is a required subject for 9- and 10-year-olds in California schools.

PHOENIX - If I'm traveling with other Latinos in a carpool will I be stopped? Will you accept my Mexican-issued ID? If I witness a crime, should I call the police? One by one, Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia tried to reassure the questioners gathered at a Phoenix high school, saying repeatedly that people would not be detained without reason under Arizona's landmark immigration law. Across the state, the law's "show me your papers" provision upheld by the Supreme Court has created confusion and anxiety, and moved Latinos - both legal and illegal residents - to ask an overriding question: How can you promise we won't be singled out because of how we look?

Civil War buffs may remember that it was David Farragut who uttered, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” as he rallied Union sailors in the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864 in Alabama. What may have been lost in the mists of time, however, is Farragut's heritage: His father was Spanish, and his mother was American. The man who was made a full admiral in 1866 was one of 20,000 warriors in the conflict who claim Hispanic or Latino heritage. That's the emphasis of a 40-page National Parks Service book, “Hispanics and the Civil War: From Battlefield to Homefront,” which outlines the contributions to the war effort, whether North or South.

Two women who sued the city of Compton, alleging that the city's election system violates the rights of Latino voters, have not presented enough evidence to decide the case without a trial, a judge has ruled. The plaintiffs, both Latinas, asked the court for a summary judgment, arguing that the facts show without dispute that the city's at-large voting system impairs the ability of Latino voters to elect the candidates of their choice. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Allen White ruled Friday that the women had not presented strong enough evidence to decide the case on the spot, meaning it will go to trial as scheduled in February.

Not long into Marc Anthony's show Wednesday night at Gibson Amphitheatre, the swivel-hipped singer-actor was checking off a list of job titles that demonstrated his pronouncement that 2009 "is a great time to be a Latino." Normally he doesn't get into politics, he admitted, but he'd been inspired by George Lopez, who drew huge cheers in a surprise appearance before Anthony's set with a shout-out to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Anthony couldn't help adding one occupation -- NFL owner -- that he recently entered into when he bought a stake in the Miami Dolphins.

Situated just east of downtown, across the Los Angeles River, is the century-old community of Lincoln Heights. Latino pride clearly resonates -- from the symbolic liberty bell of Mexico on display to the bustling businesses serving residents. Beginnings As residents moved in and started building homes about 100 years ago, the area evolved as one of the first suburbs east of downtown Los Angeles.

EXCUSE me if I don't get the premise of Eddie Olmos' film "Walkout" ["Reborn in East L.A.," Dec. 25]. The Chicano protests are over, as of 37 years ago, and now Olmos wants to restart them in hopes "that the kids will walk out again." For what purpose, Eddie? Hang on a second! Please! Give us the records of 50 to 100 kids who have been denied applications to universities as of this fall. Please let the facts be known! Just because a student is of Latino heritage (Mexican, Salvadoran, Honduran, Peruvian, you name it)

First, the moral of the story: Never take a mask at face value. A procession of masks used to drive Isabel Camacho Diamond to hide from the annual Lent festivals in the Costa Rican village where she grew up. But now another crowd of masks has delivered Diamond and several of her recent works to the galleries of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "To me," Diamond said, "a mask is a way of transforming one's self. We use them every day. . . .

I'm heartened to know that Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti's ethnic makeup has become headline news ("Garcetti Stresses His Latino Heritage," July 3), because it is precisely his background and past performance that make him such a desirable candidate. When Gil speaks about preventing crime by keeping kids in school, the only playbook he is reading from is his own. When he speaks about gangs, he isn't lifting material from a new study; he's drawing from the experiences of his own father, a former gang member turned assembly plant worker.

WE'RE IN THE middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. Since the celebration's inception during the Lyndon Johnson administration, it has been, along with other ethnic celebrations, a staple of the cultural diversity movement. As the appreciation for diversity has become stronger, so has the length of the celebration -- from a week in 1968, it was extended to a month in 1988. But do we need it at all? What exactly does Hispanic Heritage Month celebrate?

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will launch Latino Heritage Month at City Hall at 10 a.m. today by presenting awards to union activist Dolores Huerta, comedian George Lopez and artist Robert Graham. Guadalupe Rivera Marin, the daughter of artist Diego Rivera, will be present, and the Latino Heritage Month Calendar, with art by Magda Audifried, will be unveiled.