Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad.
I continue to be an optimist even though the reality of impoverished and homeless residents continues to be a challenge for our community, its moral and ethical standards and its economy.
Darryll Cortez, a SJPD retiree, continues to invest his time and talent in arranging for impoverished youth to obtain new clothing from cooperating stores and their management. Cortez and wife Alicia have somehow managed to do this for the past several years. Their mindset is truly altruistic.
The Sacred Heart Community Services Center again distributed some 5,000 bags of groceries to needy low-income families.
On a different thrust: Fernando Zazueta, esq., President, La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley and Ramon J. Martinez, Ph.D., plus Consuelo Rodriguez, Ph.D., plus Belinda Quesada conducted a fundraiser event where Duarte Construction made a major contribution ($10,000) which was more than matched by Latino attendees present.
It takes money to pay for supportive services which permits La Raza Historical Society to process, properly categorize, and create those archives which will be digitalized and posted in the cloud where that information is very accessible to any and all.
The optimistic expectation is that Latino youth will access that family treasure trove of information when they want to learn about the many supportive and creative contributions made by Chicanos (Mexican Americans) and Native Americans.
Grandson Bert Garcia made a brief historical summary of the work his grandfather and father did in recording what individuals and organizations did in El Excentrico Magazine. The entire archives will be digitalized and placed in the cloud’s memory bank. El Observador today is the successor.
Hispanic-Latino family members must now remember to not throw away artifacts and historical documents which may now be given to La Raza Historical society.
My personal perception is that many Latinos must become aware that artifacts and historical documents can now be given to La Raza Historical Society. WHY? We need to educate those many Anglo-Saxon recent immigrants who simply do not know about the many prior developments which, over time, resulted in the creation of Silicon Valley.
Our Latino youth need to know and understand that not everything intellectual has an Anglo-Saxon origin. In fact, the Conquistadors did not succeed in destroying the Aztec, Mayan and Inca cultures. They’re legacy and ancestry is still present and lives within our communities.
Also, Santa Clara Valley along with Salinas Valley continue to be the source of many vegetables shipped throughout this nation. Every time you consume a salad, some of those brussels sprouts and lettuce were probably grown in these two valleys where farmworkers continue to do the cultivation work needed which cannot be mechanized. Someday, farmworkers must be paid a living wage.
It is difficult to accept the reality that the CA Primary Election is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2020! PLAN TO VOTE! And plan to learn about the issues and candidates so that you know who will best represent your personal values.
If you are an American citizen, take time to check on your voter registration status by going to https://eservices.sccgov.org/rov/ which is the site for the Registrar of Voters, County of Santa Clara. That smart phone in your hand has the capability for you to do that and it is your personal responsibility to do just that. The consequences are that you will be able to vote come Tuesday March 3, 2020.
The Hispanic vote can be the determinant of many public policies which are being written now and will be on the ballot. Plan to give this Latino community a unique Christmas Gift by planning to vote and actually voting.
Keep in mind that despite all that corporate special interest money, the one thing each registered voter has is their vote to push back many undesirable corporate proposals which will be on the ballot.
If you are concerned about employment, you need to understand that Google, Facebook, and Apple will be employing an additional 39,000 new employees. Many of these jobs are well paid, but they require the employee to be a competent knowledge worker.
So, take time to prepare your mind with the know-how they need along with the management skills every organization uses to communicate and coordinate logistics, production, distribution, and sales.
We need to accept the fact that as Latinos and Native Americans we have contributed to the many developments which resulted in Silicon Valley becoming an envied intellectually creative and innovative center wherein intangible intellectual property is more valuable that all else combined.
And, Latinos accepted the presence of other ethnic groups which resulted in Silicon Valley becoming very diverse. Each culture and its knowledge base have different insights about natural phenomenon.
Global Climate Change is one such phenomenon which is being addressed by people of color who are composting organic stuff; planning replacement forests; and still doing much of the ordinary grunt work needed to sustain this unique Silicon Valley economy.
And most of us know and understand at a gut level that this universe was not created by humankind. Rather it was created by God whose Son, Jesus will be born of the Virgin Mary on Christmas Day. That is the religious legend accepted by those many individuals whose faith is Christian.
It was Christ whose parables changed outlooks and postures of those in positions of authority, power and dominion.
We, The People of faith will get things done in the future, just as we do now, and have done so in the past. So, develop and keep your faith and enjoy your Christmas 2019! Feliz Navidad; Merry Christmas!
