(March 19th, marks the 2nd anniversary of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. A recent survey of Latinos by the Pew Hispanic Center shows a slight majority (51%) are opposed to the war and want US troops withdrawn. Statistics are hard to come by and always fluctuating, but Latinos seem to be around 11% of the US combat deaths in Iraq)

On the second anniversary of the “Shock And Awe”, attacks upon Iraq, there will be massive demonstrations around the world against the war and occupation. From coast to coast in the US, people will gather to demand: US troops home now! Healthcare-Education-and Jobs for All! Defend Civil Liberties & Social Security! People in LA are encouraged to attend the demonstration for peace scheduled for Saturday, March 19th at Noon. The protest gathers at the famous intersection of Hollywood & Vine. To find a protest march in your city, visit: www.internationalanswer.org

(Xispas received the following e-mail from a community activist. The letter concerns naming a park after the great Chicano labor leader, Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers. Chavez electrified the Mexican American community in the 1960’s by organizing agricultural workers into the UFW in order to win better working conditions. In doing so Chavez also brought pride, dignity, and a feeling of self-worth to a people long downtrodden. ¡Viva la Causa!)

Our community in Van Nuys has been working for over a year in an effort to name our new recreation center in honor of Cesar Chavez (the center is currently named “Delano Recreation Center”). We have collected over 1,000 signatures from the community in support of this effort, but there is a small constituent of well-connected individuals within the city of Los Angeles who are in strong opposition to this effort; but who, instead, are directing their efforts in naming the center in honor of Cindy Miscikowsky, a previous Los Angeles City Council Person for the area. I’m sending this e-mail to beg for your help by sending a strong message to the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Commissioners to support the name CESAR CHAVEZ DELANO RECREATION CENTER. The Los Angeles Park and Recreation Commissioners are meeting to address the naming of the center on Wednesday, March 16, at 9:30 a.m. If you cannot make this meeting, Please email the Commissioners at commissions@rap.lacity.org

(Xispas columnist Gina “Mar y Sol” Ruiz is also an Aztec Dancer. Here’s her message for raza in LA)

Tomorrow for most people is just Saturday, March 12, 2005. For us danzantes, tomorrow is Xochipilli the ceremony of new life, spring and the Aztec New Year. Join Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc and other grupos at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles on the corner of Whittier and Downey from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, as we celebrate la nueva vida and dance with our ancestors.

(It’s Mayoral election time in Los Angeles, Calfornia, and the stakes are high. City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa could become the city’s first Latino mayor since 1872. Xispas staffers have diverse political opinions, here’s one from editor & proofreader, Rachel Retana-Shelton)

Hahn and Villaraigosa are once again in the run-off for mayor. This time the Latino voters of LA need to help Villaraigosa win. We live in an area that was first inhabited by Latinos, a city with a Spanish name. Why haven’t we had a Latino mayor for over a century? Hahn has proved himself inept and out of touch with the minorities of this city. When the run-off comes around we owe it to this city and ourselves to help give Latinos a voice in this city again. Latinos are the largest minority group in Los Angeles, it is about time we had a Latino mayor again. I am happy that Villaraigosa made it into the run-off. Now we need to help him bring a Latino mayor back to Los Angeles.

Octavio Ignacio Romano, Ph.D., passed away this month from a heart attack. He was an anthropologist and emeritus professor at the University of California Berkeley and the chief editor for TQS Books, a small publishing house that offers works on Chicano literature and history. In 1967 Romano wrote El Espejo (The Mirror), the first anthology of modern Chicano literature. From 1968 to 1974, Romano published the influential El Grito (”The Shout” or “Cry”), a journal dedicated to Chicano history and culture from an academic position. In honoring his passing, Sylvia Lemus Sharma, Ph.D., said of Romano: “I subscribed to every issue of El Grito because they fed my spirit and intellectual being and I carried them with me as textbooks when I taught future bilingual/ed American teachers in Mexico City in the early 1970’s. I went on to graduate from Stanford University, Class of 1969, and created a Chicano Studies academic unit at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington in 1970.” Sharma, like so many others, acknowledges that her academic aspirations were inspired by maestro Romano.

Since those early years the maestro continued to be an advocate for, and a champion of the Chicano masses. Romano contributed to many online forums and discussion groups, were he argued his positions. One such article “It ain’t the morals, stupid!”, was a critical review of the politics surrounding the 2004 “re-election” of George W. Bush. Romano’s son, Branko, will be posting a full online tribute to his father at the tqsbooks.com website. The staff of Xispas mourns the passing of this great educator… Octavio Ignacio Romano -¡Presente!

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome! Xispas publishes from Los Angeles, Califas, but we also cover issues of interest to people living throughout Aztlan ( The Southwestern US -mythical homeland of the Aztec). We are internationalists wishing to share our knowledge, culture, and unique history with the people of the world, as we firmly believe that culture is the one thing that can unite and heal humanity. You can look forward to this web log presenting poetry, book-music-and art exhibit reviews, as well as the latest news concerning forums, community events, and protests. ¡Adelante!