Melissa Mark Viverito: NYC's Next City Council President

Melissa Mark Viverito is on the verge of becoming New York City's next Council President. She has the backing of mayor-elect Bill DeBlasio, SEIU and 30 or so of her peers on the City Council. If victorious in the January 8th election, Mark Viverito -- who's Puerto Rican -- becomes the first person of Latino heritage to hold the powerful post.

As City Council President, Mark Viverito would be on a trajectory to higher office. NYC's 1st woman mayor? 

Latino Films @ Tribeca Film Fest '09

Entre Nos
Shortly after she totes her two children from Colombia to reunite with her husband in Queens, New York, Mariana's (Paola Mendoza) life is devastatingly turned around when he abandons her to fend for herself in a hard-knock new country.

Mariana desperately searches for work against the unwieldy city landscape, but she and her kids can't help their treacherous slide into homelessness. Struggling to build a network of allies, like Preet (Sarita Choudury) a single working mother, to help provide for her family, Mariana resourcefully navigates a surprising avenue for making some money—the city's recycling.

With the help of her 10-year-old son, who must come of age early to keep his family together, and her young daughter's charm, the family joins forces to face the odds together.

Primary Cast: Paola Mendoza, Sebastian Villada Lopez, Laura Montana Cortez, Andres Munar, Sarita Choudhury, Anthony Chisholm
Director: Paola Mendoza, Gloria La Morte
Screenwriters: Gloria La Morte, Paola Mendoza
Producers: Joseph La Morte, Michael Skolnik
Executive Producers: Bob Alexander, Ryan Harrington
Director of Photography: Bradford Young
Editor: Gloria La Morte
Original Score: Gil Talmi

Garapa
Director José Padilha (Bus 174) follows up his Golden Bear-winning Elite Squad (TFF '08) with this austere, unflinching examination of the realities of chronic hunger for three Brazilian families.

Rosa, Robertina, and Lucia live in variously urbanized areas of Brazil, but all share the daily struggle with acute undernourishment, which forces them to feed their children garapa, a cheap mixture of sugar and water effective at staving off hunger pangs but devoid of nutritional value.

This is a degree of poverty relegated to statistics, too often stripped of its human face and of the lived experience of such profound deprivation.

Director: José Padilha
Producers: José Padilha, Marcos Prado
Executive Producers: James D'Arcy, Mariana Bentes
Director of Photography: Marcela Bourseau
Editor: Felipe Lacerda
Sound: Yan Saldanha
Sound Mixer: Rodrigo Noronha

The Lost Son of Havana
Filmmaker Jonathan Hock (Through the Fire, TFF '05) accompanies Tiant on his long-awaited return to his homeland after a 46-year exile. Hock shows a conflicted man. By most accounts Tiant has led a great life, but he now finds himself filled with thoughts of guilt for those left behind who toiled in poverty and watched his heroics from afar.

Hock's film is not simply the story of a baseball star, but a representation of how 50 years of Cuban-American relations (or lack thereof) have affected so many living on opposite sides of that 90-mile divide.

Primary Cast: Luis Tiant, Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski, Peter Gammons, The Tiant Family of Havana
Director: Jonathan Hock
Screenwriter: Jonathan Hock
Producer: Kris Meyer
Co-Producers: Philip Aromando, Victor J. Melfa, Jr.
Executive Producers: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Director of Photography: Alastair Christopher
Editors: Steven Pilgrim, John Walter
Narrated by: Chris Cooper

Nueva York
Multiple stories of Latino life in the Big Apple interweave to show us what it takes to make it and how Latinos live together and support each other in the big city. From the well-established to the newly arrived, Latinos are connected to each other in so many ways.

Primary Cast: Javier Kato, Israel Hernandez, Julissa Roman, Laura Gomez, Carolina Ravassa, Arturo Del Puerto, Gary Cruz
Director: Manolo Celi
Screenwriter: Manolo Celi
Producers: Heather Murphy, Manolo Celi
Director of Photography: Sherman Johnson
Assistant Director: Fergal O'Gorman
Production Manager: Yiya Garcia
Art Directors: Ivette Mederos, Cory Allen

Oda a La Piña
This musical parody, an homage to the poem that forged Cuban cultural identity, centers on a cabaret dancer who suddenly loses her rhythm.

Primary Cast: Limara Menezes, Mario Guerra Ferrera, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Veronica Diaz, Jose Antonip de la Nuez
Director: Laimir Fano
Screenwriter: Laimir Fano
Producer: Andre Leao
Director of Photography: Alvaro Rodriguez
Editor: Aldo Alvarez
Sound: Marco Toledo

Only When I Dance
Tears stream down young Isabela's innocent face as the slender, gazelle-like girl is told she needs to slim down even more if she wants to turn her passion into her career. Like Isabela, Irlan's strictly regimented days leave him no time to be an average teenager.

Isabela and Irlan are ballet dancers. And though they have the talent, they don't look like all the others.

Ballet has long been the rarified and elitist domain of the white upper class, but these two black high schoolers from Rio de Janeiro's working-class favelas are determined to succeed in this physically and emotionally demanding discipline.

Director Beadie Finzi's inspiring documentary trails the dancers and their tough-love mentor from Brazil to New York on one critical, competition-fueled year in their lives.

> P-Star Rising
In the early '80s, Jesse Diaz was a rising star in the hip-hop world. Now he's a broke single father living in a Harlem shelter with two children to support. But Jesse finally finds a shot at redemption in his nine-year-old daughter Priscilla, a precocious and immensely talented rapper.
With older daughter Solsky the family's quiet cheerleader, Jesse and Priscilla look to parlay "P-Star's" talent into victory for the whole family. And that means long rehearsals, late nights, and home schooling for the growing girl. But as Priscilla's star really begins to rise, it'll tax all the relationships in her life and test Jesse in ways he never expected.

Primary Cast: Priscilla Star Diaz, Jesse Diaz, Solsky Diaz
Director: Gabriel Noble
Producer: Marjan Tehrani
Editor: David Abelson
Executive Producers: Ryan Harrington, Bob Alexander
Director of Photography: Gabriel Noble
Composers: Ion Furjanic & B.Satz All-Stars

Rudo y Cursi
Gael García Bernal (Tato, aka Cursi) and Diego Luna (Beto, aka Rudo) reunite on-screen as a pair of thick headed stepbrothers who work all day on their family's banana ranch and get their kicks playing on a local soccer team. But when a slickly dressed, smooth-tongued recruiter, played hilariously by Guillermo Francella, eyes them for the big leagues, their small-town brotherly rivalry explodes onto the professional playing field.

Colorful and full of energy, the film lightheartedly explores the brothers' sky-rocket ride to fame and all its dirty emissions. But in good times and bad, blood proves thicker than water—endorsement deals, supermodels, and penalty shots aside.

Primary Cast: Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Guillermo Francella, Dolores Heredia, Adriana Paz, Jessica Mas
Director: Carlos Cuarón
Screenwriter: Carlos Cuarón
Producer: Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro, Frida Torresblanco

Which Way Home
Of the thousands of Latin American migrants traveling through Mexico with the hope of reaching the United States, approximately five percent are unaccompanied children. Director Rebecca Cammisa (Sister Helen) follows several such children on their grueling but ever-hopeful journey north.

Kevin and Fito have fled their small town in search of greater opportunities in America. José set out for the States but was quickly apprehended and now languishes in the bureaucratic process of deportation back to Honduras.

These are just a few of the true stories of young children undertaking the brutal odyssey from Latin America to the United States, never letting their dire circumstances overtake their youthful exuberance.

Director: Rebecca Cammisa
Executive Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, Bristol Baughan, Jack Turner, Bette Cerf Hill, Sheila Nevins
Editors: Pax Wassermann, Madeleine Gavin
Directors of Photography: Lorenzo Hagerman, Eric Goethals, Rebecca Cammisa
Composers: James Lavino, Alberto Iglesias
Supervising Producer: Sara Bernstein

Sofia Vergara's Broadway Debut - 4.27.09

Colombiana Sofía Vergara makes her Broadway stage debut as Matron "Mama" Morton, the reigning cellblock diva of the hit musical CHICAGO for a five-week limited engagement. The 36 year old actriz' stint in the popular production is from April 27th through May 24th.

Links:
Sofía Vergara debutará en Broadway en el musical "Chicago"
CHICAGO Becomes 7th Longest Running Play In Broadway History

Latin music impresario Ralph Mercado has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67

Latin music impresario Ralph Mercado has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

Mercado, who managed Latin singers including Tito Puente and Celia Cruz, died on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, in Hackensack, New Jersey.

He was widely acknowledged as the most prominent promoter of salsa music, known for organizing salsa concerts in large arenas including New York's famed Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall.

Mercado's RMM label, founded in 1987, represented more than 130 Latin artists. He sold it to the Universal and Music and Video Distribution Corporation in 2001 after losing a copyright infringement suit.

Mercado is survived by his wife, Cynthia; daughters Debbie, Damaris, Melissa and Chanel; a son, Ralph III; and six grandchildren.

Related:
Ralph Mercado, Impresario, Dies at 67 NYTimes Obit
Ralph Mercado Presents' Photo Gallery
Ralph Mercado Presents website
Ralph Mercado 's Biography

The History, Music and Culture of the Indigenous Taíno People - 3.20.09 @ The New York Open Center

This evening, indigenous activist, historian, artist, musician and storyteller Roberto Borrero, one of only a handful of actual Taino descendants who are considered authorities on the ancient Taino culture, will introduce us to the history, creation stories, spirituality, music and song of the first indigenous people encountered by Columbus in 1492.

The program will include stunning slides and a performance of Taino music by Roberto and other members of the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Taino culture.

AN EVENING EVENT

Friday, March 20, 7:30pm
The New York Open Center
83 Spring Street (Btw B'way and Lafayette Sts.)
212-219-2527 Ext.2
www.opencenter.org
Program #09WSN14P
Members: $18/Nonmembers: $20
Location: The New York Open Center, 83 Spring Street
(Btw B'way and Lafayette Sts.)
Contact: www.opencenter. org

Source: UCTP - email: la_voz_taino@yahoo.com

Adolfo Carrión Jr: America's Czar for Cities

President Barack Obama named Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. as his Director of Urban Affairs to oversee federal investments in America's cities. The appointment is a key part of Obama's strategy to lift the American economy through targeted investments in education and infrastructure.

Carrión's appointment "will bring long overdue attention to the urban areas where 80 percent of the American people live and work," Obama said in announcing the selection.

"Vibrant cities spawn innovation, economic growth and cultural enrichment. The urban affairs office will focus on wise investments and development in our urban areas that will create employment and housing opportunities and make our country more competitive, prosperous and strong," the president said.

Carrión earned a master's degree in urban planning from Hunter College in 1990. He also served on New York's City Council, as an urban planner for the city, and as a public school teacher. He currently is president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Carrión will report directly to Obama and coordinate all federal urban programs.

Related:
Adolfo Carrión Jr.: The Most Powerful?
Carrión Jr. - Bronx Borough President's website
Adolfo Carrión Jr. - Wikipedia
Joel Rivera v. Ruben Diaz, Jr. for Bronx Boro Prez?

Gilberto Miguel Calderón (aka Joe Cuba) has Passed: R.I.P.

The "Father of Boogaloo," Joe Cuba, passed away on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. He was 77 years old.

Joe Cuba was the most popular exponent of the boogaloo, a fused Latino and R&B rhythm that exploded onto the American top 40s charts during the turbulent 1960s & ‘70s. Hits such as “Bang Bang,” “Push Push,” “El Pito,” “Ariñañara,” and “Sock It To Me Baby,” rocked the hit parades establishing Joe Cuba and his Sextet as the definitive sound of Latin New York during the ‘60s & ‘70s

His music was at the forefront of the Nuyroican movement of New York.

Joe Cuba will be viewed at the R&G Ortiz Funeral Home (204 E. 116th Street, Manhattan between 3rd & 2nd Avenues; 212.722.3512) Wednesday & Thursday, February 18/19, 2:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Link

Bocafloja's Soul Rebel

Mexicans are the fastest growing Latino community in New York City -- and they'll likely surpass their Puerto Rican and Dominican counterparts within the next decade.

Musician, rapper, urban poet and Mexicano, Bocafloja presents Soul Rebel from el Bronx, Nueva York.

Tato Torres y Yerbabuena perform "Campo" w/Flaco Navaja

Tato Torres y Yerbabuena perform "Campo" for Japanese TV show "NY Music Love". Poet, singer, actor Flaco Navaja is the featured lead. As per Cumbia Media, the song "Campo" is a traditional bomba from Puerto Rico.

Related: Bomba

David González: Legacy of Ramon Vélez

Acknowledging Ramon Vélez' place in the history of Bronx community and political life, Falcón believes that it would be dishonest to obscure the less savory aspects of the man. He has called for a critical assessment of the man many Bronx Latinos knew as Padrino.

In A Second Look at a Bronx Baron’s Methods, NYTimes columnist David González, who hails from the Bronx and later covered Vélez at the pinnacle of power, begins that process.

González -- as does Falcón -- takes a classic progressive lens to Vélez. As such, he sees a bare knuckles politico who used the social welfare system to enrich himself and monopolize local politics. He likens Velez to Tammany Hall's George Washington Plunkitt, a City politico from a century ago who became wealthy by means of what he called "honest graft."

There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin': "I seen my opportunities and I took'em."

But I'm not sure that self-enrichment through "honest graft" is the only issue here. Certainly, it's still a key part of the art of politics as practiced across the City and beyond. For example, Hillary Clinton commodities futures bonanza, Al Sharpton's suits, Charlie Rangel's four rent-controlled apartments, school superintendents with half a million a year pensions, etc.

What bothers González and many others is that Vélez not only enriched himself with funds intended for the poor, but that he flaunted it. Additionally, he succeeded in institutionalizing a corrupt political culture that continues to do great harm to the people of the Bronx.

“These guys wrap themselves in the flag, and then you see even progressive people making excuses for them,” said Angelo Falcón. “But what do they leave behind for the future? I don’t think anybody can say Puerto Rican politics in the Bronx is any kind of model of anything. It’s a mess.”

Velez was a significant player/actor in the Latino history of the Bronx, but to Gonzalez and Falcón, he leaves a troubling legacy. Instead, González points to Evelina Antonetty and Antonia Pantoja as truly worthy examples of Bronx community leaders who made great contributions and built enduring institutions and legacies, but did it without enriching themselves or using tainted politics.

The death of Vélez, the infighting among Bronx Latino pols, combined with the defeat of José Rivera as Bronx Democratic Party Boss, may signal the beginning of the end to Latino 'Patrino' politics.

Photo: Ramon Vélez in his prime

Padrino, El Jefe, El Gordo, Emperor of the South Bronx, Activist or Power Broker - Ramon S. Vélez; R.I.P.

Beloved by the poor and maligned by his political enemies when he dominated South Bronx politics, Ramon Santiago Vélez Ramirez, the former South Bronx anti-poverty baron and political godfather died Sunday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease at age 75. He is survived by his wife, Caroline Fitzpatrick; six children; six grandchildren; two sisters; and a brother.

Vélez' burial took place in his hometown of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised.

A pioneer in the rise of the Latino community and political leader, Vélez built the Hunts Point Multi-Services Center into a major medical and social service provider network serving New York City's impoverished and heavily Latino South Bronx. The write-up on Vélez in organization's website lists an amazing number of achievements, including:

• Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
• Advocating for bilingual education in the New York City School System
• Registering more than 500,000 Spanish-speaking voters following the abolition of discriminatory language requirements
• Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College
• Developing more than 25,000 new or renovated apartment units
• Building 3 senior citizens' complexes
• Hunts Point Multi-Service Center, Inc. and its network of health clinics, mental health programs, drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services and innovative Day Care and Head Start Centers
• National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc., which sponsors the nation's largest ethnic parade held annually in New York City

A graduate of Puerto Rico's Interamerican University with a degree in History and Political Science, he studied law at the University of Salamanca in Spain and he served a stint in the U.S. Army. Vélez has received honorary doctorates from The World University of Puerto Rico, Peoples University of the Americas, and Mercy College of Dobbs Ferry, New York. And is work has been recognized by the City of New York, the Assembly and Senate of the State of New York, and several Presidents of the United States.

Vélez started his career as a school teacher in Puerto Rico, but switched to social work when he arrived in New York City at age 28 in the early '60s. With a $50,000 grant from the Johnson administration’s war on poverty, Vélez began his accent as the undisputed master of government fundraising.

No wilting flower, Vélez fought to secure a "fair share" of federal anti-poverty funds for the people of the South Bronx -- a long neglected community that was literally left to burn. In the process he established himself as a political force in New York. National and local political candidates of both major parties trekked up to the Bronx for Vélez' blessing. His formidable political network is credited with producing leaders such as former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, Congressman Jose Serrano, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., and former Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez.

Here's a clip from a NYTimes write-up:

Although [Vélez] served just a single term in the Council and ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice, Vélez was the political godfather to a number of Bronx politicians — from United States Representative José E. Serrano to members of the City Council and State Senate. And, in many ways, in a city with a storied legacy of political bosses, he became the first Puerto Rican political boss. His most celebrated political triumph a hugely successful voter registration drive that produced nearly a half million new voters, most of them Puerto Rican.

Q: Remember in the '80s when it was fashionable to bash poor people of color -- e.g., Ronald Reagan's Welfare Queen? NYC's Ed Koch at the time pandered to the outer borough 'Archie Bunker' voters by blasting Velez as a "Poverty Pimp". It was a so thinly veiled racism, IMHO. But at the funeral service Koch had this to say about the smear: [It] "was based on rumor. But when we investigated him, we could find no corruption. From that point on, we were friendly with each other."

Really! So Vélez' reputation was stained for 25 years based on a lie? We learn at the man's funeral that the attacks on him were just politics?

Nonetheless, Vélez was a bigger than life character -- everyone agrees. But as with others operating between the gaps of unrelenting poverty and a tide of government money, it's easy to see where personal ambition can at times trump the public good. Some argue that that's the case with Vélez. So instead of rushing to canonize El Difunto, Angelo Falcon calls calls for a more sober assessment of the life and times of the very mortal Ramon S. Vélez. May he rest in peace.

Links:
The Legacy of Ramon Velez and the Social Amnesia of a Community
Ramon Velez, Community Organizer and Power Broker, Inspired His New York Community Velez larger than life, for good and for ill
Ramon S. Velez, the South Bronx Padrino, Dies at 75
Rinden tributo póstumo a Ramón Vélez
Anti-poverty baron Ramon Velez, 75
Mourners Remember a Bronx Political Force
In The Bronx, An Antipoverty Empire Tries To Shed A Power-Broker Past

S.O.B.’s Presents: Spanish Guitar Virtuoso Javier Ruibal - Nov. 12th

A highly regarded singer-songwriter from Cádiz, Spain, Javier Ruibal has created a new type of modern music that blends North African sounds with flamenco and other diverse influences. His music gathers in its compositions echoes and sonorous formulas of today and the cultures of past times.

With the richest rhythms and harmony of Flamenco forming the basis of his sound, Ruibal draws his inspiration from his love of life and beautiful women, resulting in lyrics dripping with fantastic tales and evocative Spanish poems of love.

Javier Ruibal is much loved and revered by musicians and fans alike in his native Spain. The singer and guitarist from Cadiz is best known for his vocal talents and songwriting, whilst his arrangements mix flamenco music with the rhythms and harmonies of world and contemporary sounds.

Although firmly rooted in flamenco, the arrangements encompass a wider musical world, from classical to jazz, bittersweet Portuguese to upbeat calypso. African and Arabic percussion give most of the numbers a North African tinge.

Where: S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

When: Wednesday, November 12th at 8pm

Ticket info: $12 in advance, $15 Day of show; Available on Ticketmaster and the S.O.B.’s Box Office 212-243-4940.

Launch of www.librerialectorum.com with Mirta Ojita, Esmeralda Santiago & Victor Villaseñor Nov 19 in NYC

New York City's oldest Spanish bookstore, Librería Lectorum, closed last year. Many were saddened by the shuttering of the specialty bookstore -- a long time fixture on 14th Street and symbol of New York City's century plus Latino influence.

However, the good news though is that Librería Lectorum has been reincarnated as the nation's premier Spanish-language online bookstore. Continuing its decades-long commitment to the Latino community, this Fall Lectorum will launch a new Spanish-language website for consumers, offering tens of thousands of adult and children’s Spanish-language titles.

Bravo!

The founders and distinguished Latino authors are celebrating the launch of http://www.liberialectorum.com/ November 19th.

While the launch is an invitation-only, private event, members of the public are encouraged to log on to http://www.librerialectorum.com/ starting November 17th to see all that the site has to offer, including a recording of the Café Literario event.

Related: New York City's Oldest Spanish Bookstore to Close

"Hispanic Hoosiers" who will visit New York are also representing Chicago Latinos

"Hispanic Hoosiers" who will visit New York are also representing Chicago Latinos When Puerto Rican officials in New York City honor Indiana this summer, they are going to expose what has always been the state’s paradox.

Gregory Tejeda, Chicago Argus - 2.17.08

More

Hillary's NY Vote Juiced?

Update: The NYPost weighs in with Obama Robbed in NY.

So, notching victories with the aid of performance enhancers has not been the exclusive domain of certain marquee NY ballplayers. It now seems that Hillary’s NY vote against Obama may have been juiced, too.

Sam Roberts of the NYTimes has uncovered some very peculiar electoral anomalies in favor of Hillary:

Black voters are heavily represented in the 94th Election District in Harlem's 70th Assembly District. Yet according to the unofficial results from the New York Democratic primary last week, not a single vote in the district was cast for Senator Barack Obama.

That anomaly was not unique. As a matter of fact, a review by The New York Times of the unofficial results reported on primary night found about 80 election districts among the city's 6,106 where Mr. Obama supposedly did not receive even one vote, including cases where he ran a respectable race in a nearby district.

Is this why the Clintons so much love the more "democratic" primary to the caucus?

Think about it, caucuses require real people to show up, speak up, participate, deliberate and decide. All primaries require is the allegiance of a few hacks.

Q: Are the Clintons pretty good at getting hacks to do their dirty work, or not?

Now, I'd like to see congressional pols get as exorcized about artificial electoral enhancers as they so publicly displayed this past week with regards to the use of steroids in sports.

Come to think about it, perhaps all pols should be subjected to citizens conducted caucuses.

NYTimes photo

Obama and Bloomberg: Eggs and Toast?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had breakfast with Democratic Presidential hopeful U.S. Senator Barack Obama today.

Nothing unusual except that the private meeting was very public, the media was alerted, Hillary's camp was kept in the dark, and it took place just a few blocks from Hillary's campaign HQ.

Wow! The Clintonistas have got to be concerned.

It's one thing worrying about a possible 3rd party presidential bid by the liberal NYC mayor, but it's quite another to have Bloomberg working in cahoots with your main primary opponent.

Of course, it could have just been two pols having breakfast. NOT!!! Or Bloomberg just being friendly to a competitor he's about crush as he powers up the Independent Bloomberg for President battle fleet. May be. Or Bloomberg and Obama feeling each other out for the VP slots in their respective campaigns. Who knows.

Bottom line? It ain't good news for Madam Hillary.

Obama Stars at the Apollo

Barack Obama was in Harlem--turf which the pundits ridiculously tag as Hillary's.

But politics 101 dictates that you invade a competitor's turf only when there's a very high chance of winning there. Polls showing lots of Black love for Hillary, and Charlie Rangel's preferences aside, my money is on Barack to win in Harlem. And believe you me, it's not a racial thing.

Here's a short video by VideoDog/Salon of Obama's sold-out visit to Harlem's famed Apollo Theater.

The Obama Army Takes NYC's Washington Square Park

All of the pundits, including Newt Gingrich--and even George W. Bush, have Hillary as the nominee of the Democrats in next years national elections--and today's polls do support their views.

However, while Hillary may very well be winning the votes of the establishment, Obama continues to inspire a new generation of voters.

Check it out! The Obama Army has now grown to an unheard of 345,973. These are not just people that say they support Obama, but folks that have demonstrated it by making a record 492,033 donations.

Incredibly, Obama has received more individual donations totaling more money than any of his Democratic or Republican competitors. (Hillary is 2nd and Rudy 3rd.) What does that say about America's desire for change from the status quo?

What's awesome is that the Obama folks are running what has to be the most sophisticated and interesting online and grassroots campaign ever. For example, Obama yesterday spoke to 25,000 voters packed into Manhattan's Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. But check out the pre- and post-event videos. They're informative, inspiring, even humorous, and stunningly effective.

Love it!

Related: NYC Rally Trailer
Obama08 Video of NYC Rally
Obama Distances Himself From Clinton, on Her Turf (includes video of Obama's speech)

A Coalition in Defense of the Khalil Gibran International Academy Calls for An Investigation

The Khalil Gibran International Academy controversy in New York City will not go away--and no should it! The dismissal of the small themed high school's founding principal, Debbie Almontaser, largely because a group of hysterical bigots wanted her head, was shameful.

A pro-KGIA coalition of individuals and organizations has formed. It's Communities in Support of KGIA and today it issued these two statements:

1) an expression of support for the KGIA and Ms Almontaser; and 2) a demand that the New York City Council investigate the sequence of events leading up to Ms Almontaser’s forced resignation and to make public the results by October 15, 2007.

The Coalition is broad, and it includes many prominent New Yorkers. Here's what a few of the group's members have to say:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz called the attacks and insinuations against her "disgraceful, xenophobic, and racist."

Rabbi Michael Paley said, "If Debbie Almontaser is painted in that way, then no one is safe."

NYC Councilman Robert Jackson was emphatic: "What happened to her is wrong. What's happening to the school is wrong. And we're standing up and saying that we must correct that injustice.

The outrage is best expressed by the words of Dr. Michelle Fine, a professor at City University of New York, and her mother, Rose:

"Given her long history as a peace educator in New York City, and her vital role in coalition building post 9/11, the loss of Almontaser as Principal of KGIA throws a shadow of shame on us all: what my mother, Rose Fine, a Jewish immigrant from Poland would call a "shande"—a deep, penetrating shame that
saturates the soul of our civic community."

Shande, indeed!

New York City's Oldest Spanish Bookstore to Close

Librería Lectorum, New York City's oldest and largest Spanish-language bookstore, will close its W. 14th St. storefront on September 30, 2007.

They say it's due to gentrification. Too bad.

How many times did I walk by Librería when I lived in the neighborhood at 15th and 6th? No doubt it was hundreds of times as I walked to the A Train, or to Hudson and my job in the West Village, or to countless other destinations.

I never tired of checking out the latest titles in the store's window displays--even if my book purchases were in English and at Barnes & Nobles on Fifth Avenue.

While certainly not the same experience, the good news is that fans can still visit Librería Lectorum online.

Related Last page for Hispanic bookstore on 14th St.