FreshDirect: A Matter of Breathing or Profit ?

 

Green Beginnings for the South Bronx Waterfront

 

http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/news/205715/south-bronx-residents-march--rally-against-freshdirect-s-proposed-move



 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SIuQ2i68_w&feature=youtu.be&t=1s

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sbxcc/

 

          For a long time organizers has fought to make life in the Bronx easier to live and for some of these organizers some outcomes have been better then others. Organizers young and old worked to end a tale of half Bronx's North vs South, pollution versus profit. It is no secret the Bronx is extremely dumped on and polluted and the lead cause is industry and has been for a very long time. Because the Bronx had always been dumped on different groups came together all over different parts of the Bronx but the main part would be what we know today as the South and South East Bronx.
 

       Waterfront access for more time than any other time has been the biggest sticking point in different parts of the South Bronx, the thought behind it being if people began to see the beauty of their communities maybe people would cherish it more and physical activity would pick up helping to find organic relief from illnesses such as Asthma which for anyone who has it can be a complete nightmare. With this thought in mind many new waterfront parks began to pop up all over the Bronx/ East River Watershed, parks such as Concrete Plant Park , Starlight Park  and Barretto Point Park  which can speak for themselves in terms of their benefits, but something still remained missing.
 

        The South Bronx Waterfront today lacks open waterfront access, anywhere you go around the waterfront you find waste water treatment plants, huge factories for things like FEDEX and the biggest one yet which sadly deals with both Bronx and Manhattan trash, Allied Waste Transfer Station .  Being that all these locations exist their was a plan to get around these issues and create a water front access point along the waterfront, it sounded like things were looking up but then came the plan for Fresh Direct.

      The plan called for moving a trucking food business into a community burdened by air pollution caused by the high volume of truck traffic which already exists, to a location known as the Harlem River Yards. Everyone who is against Fresh Direct understands that a company that doesn't pay living wage, pollutes communities bringing in more industry and does so knowing the impacts is in fact a thorn in the back and lungs, therefor being unaccepted. With this in mind there was a rally where people asked the new Mayor De Blasio to stop this plan and move it somewhere else. The rally was peaceful and interfaith, people were arrested by will because it was not permitted for the community to plant sunflowers which help to relive polluted soil in the area where Fresh Direct would be placed.

     The question remains, Breathing or Profit ? It is our task as a community to decided what we want in our communities and what we don't want in our communities. While I understand the needs for jobs and better food choices I believe that outing another factory in a community burdened by factories is bad and its not good for business. I also ask why put it here in the South Bronx and not anywhere else ? I support not having more traffic coming into my community via trucks so it is also up to us to find effective and sustainable solutions to the needs of our communities and in doing so we need to recognize that politicians who allow these choices against community input is poor and lacks representation. If you are an elected official or the leader of a community you job is to give the community what it wants and remove what it does not.  I hop in future times we can all agree to having effective and healthy waterfront access because at the end of the day that solves a lot of the oppression that currently exists.



 For further information check out/click these links below
South Bronx Unite
Occupy The Bronx
Fresh Direct
The official event page (March 22nd, 2014)
Youtube.com
News 12 The Bronx (2013 Story on Fresh Direct/South Bronx Unite)



Acrostic Poem by Andre C. Rivera

Accountable is how you would describe a 

Neat person with a 

Decisive attitude and 

Reliant is what you can expect when being 

Energetic is mixed in with being 

Chearmatic during the most hard and 

Humbling times even 

Resiliency 

Is needed when 

Suppressing 

The

Oppressed emotions of a 

Professional whose 

Heartful 

Experienced to

Respectable and

Restless human beings, can be an 

Individual who 

Varies in

Emotions stemming from 

Resiliency and

Attitude

Why Do Men And Women Cheat ?

“When making promises to be faithful, most people are serious and have every intention of keeping their word.” Why do people cheat is a great question that has many complex reasons behind, some say pain some say because they can just do it and think their getting away with it. What are the reasons, the causes and effects, the similarities and differences between each of the groups and parties. The three main questions I seek to answer are How people make the decision to cheat ? Who is likely to cheat ? and How to prevent infidelity ?

People make the decision to cheat after a situation that is tempting arises, this usually occurs with people who become attracted to one another in some shape of form. It is said that there are three reasons people cheat; the first emotion meaning that there is a sense of tension. The second being location; there is a saying “once the cat is away the mice will play” meaning that in a relationship for whatever reason you can be far from your spoce or other half and you come across someone and what occurs is more or a temptation to act out so your far and no one will catch you. The third and last reason is emotional connection. When you connect to someone who is having a tough time and it is simmular to you, you find it easier to find releaf rather than fight it away meaning emotions have a strange way of over shadowing your cognitive part of your brain.

The biggest question here is who is more likely to cheat, although not clear on which sex is likely to cheat, there are multiple factors. The multiple factors include Attractiveness which basically is character and personlity in this case it is usually the men who take the fall for this one. Opportunity, this is the main cause of infidelity because it is motivated by the option to do something when a time is presented to you. the next is risk taking, when you take risks it is illegal and some would say illegal love is the best love because it is diffident by multiple things that include desire to have fun. When you have relational problems that makes it worse because it becomes and eye for eye type of thing and no one wins regardless and the last one would be sense of entitlement as if you own someone. This cause usually is one of those break the chain type of situations.

Although there are many factors that cause infidelity there are little steps that can be taken to prevent infidelity. One of the limited options is openness, being able to sit down and discuss and talk out a problem. In some cases you might be able to detect it but cant do anything about it and that means you left with no options.

In closing the best thing you can do is be honest to yourself, if you know that something is not for you than you have the responsibility to be the one to say no and that is it.

Up From Slavery- How America Came To Be

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” - Frederick Douglass, I agree in this day and age struggle is what we are dealing with to make it through the perfect storm. In the United States, middle to working class poor folks are struggling to make ends meet because the wealthiest folks refuse to do their part. We however are making progress with how our communities interact today. The question remains what does struggle and progress have to do with how America came to be ?

Struggle in america during colonial and revolutionary and now modern times meant slavery, it was the time when people had to fight for what they believed in. The time in history had everything from abolitionists to rebellions to wars to even people being sold for profit. Slaves were used as mules, they did all the hard work and everyone else profited from it, the slaves used the cotton gin to pick cotton so it could be sold elsewhere in turn slaves from Africa would be sold to the US as slaves. The country then used slave labor to do the work regular southern farmers would do while they went to war. It was not until people like Frederick Douglass started to comprehend the seriousness of the slave situation that things would begin to change. 

        When Frederick Douglass began to write and read he then started to push the abolitionist idea that slaves should be equal, it came to a point where politicians began to agree. Overtime President Lincoln had thought to create an equal nation because at one point in time he owned two slaves. The question then arose, how would slaves be able to live among their captors and owners. Slaves had never knew a free world where they could look for jobs or an simple basic education. The debate of freedom of slaves then stretched into what would then be known as the American Civil War because Southern States refused to work alongside abolitionists in the North. A bigger issue had arisen in United States Supreme Court and that issue was whether or not a Negro would be free once her or she reached a free northern state, that debate was easily shut down when the courts ruled against the Negro. The ruling by the court then instilled more fear in already fearful fugitive slaves at the time but that did not stop people like Sojourner Truth who had freed herself before the ruling and went back countless times for others including her own family. A very notable person had mirrored what Sojourner Truth did but in a more modern way, Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus and was beaten countless times in the process. 

Although Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth are two very different but equally important people they both cemented a lot of equality but sadly our nation has not as of yet gotten over it. People should not have to have a law signed for equality, wages, jobs, weather and wars, we need to be a lot more conscious of what decisions our government makes in terms of human and equal rights because it would be a lot easier to turn back the clock then work forward, at least for our government.

Greaser to West Side Story-"Latinos in Film"

Latinos in Film (The Bronze Screen)

Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and George Lopez are some of the more notable Latinos in Latin American Hollywood history, but what exactly is the history of some of the roles they played ? If I told you back in 1914 Latinos were considered greasers or lazy white women rappers how would you feel ? If I said today Latinos are portrayed in some of the worst matters what would you say ?

It all dates back to as far as 1914 when Mexicans would appear as Indians, they would be called Greasers. In these films women would be raped by Latinos because Latinos were supposed to be the bad guys meanwhile the white guys would be the good actors. The Mexicans who “raped” women in the films would be considered snakes. In order for Latinos to keep their culture and keep their positive name they would have to change their image, can you imagine that ? You have to change your name just to please an audience or an acting agency, just to bring in a few millions so that at the end of the day the guy who casts you gets to take home a majority of it?

It got worse over the years, prior to 1930 films were either black or white (Latino guy wore black and white guy wore white hats) films that did not have sound. What did that mean after the 1930’s ? It meant actors were in trouble because at this point in history you could hear what the actors voice sounded like. Latinos would then be portrayed to be emotional, reckless and disrespectful humans, but it got worse Dracula was first done as a Latino film but then was adapted for a larger english audience. During the great depression roles for Latinos became more exposed and the films had more politics in them more than any other time in history. Actors roles got even more worse for Latinos, they were shown to be violent then we went to being dumb and illiterate, it seems like all they want to show is dumb Latinos but hey if a actor Latino is dumb what does that mean for the audience because I would not be caught watching a dumb film. Going back to the political elements shown in film, did you know that Latino actors were paid to re-enact the Mexican wars but as barbaric loose headed animals but not for the heroics ?

Fast forward to 1933 where another great and well known film like Dracula was changed for the greater audience, King Kong was one of the first biggest thrillers and it was acted by a Latino named Francisco Bay Chico. Surprisingly after this film the situation over in Hollywood began to change and the reception became more positive in a sense but not entirely. The first live show was filmed by a Cuban. Jose Senger who was Puerto Rican won an Academy Award being the first Latino to do so was astonishing, the first Academy Award given to a Latina also was Puerto Rican and she stared in West Side Story, I guess you can say she loved to live in America.

Finally, while you sit down to watch a great film like TED , or Dark Knight Rises and even Fast and Furious 6 also known as Fast 6 which have Latino or Latina actors keep in mind that at one time or another all of those actors could have been enslaved by the movie industry simply because they were darker than the average white person. The actors even today are still portrayed as animals and car stealing thieves , notice how in every fast and furious movie they are in international countries that are majority minority and the people who run the streets are minorities who are in gangs or in the drug industry ? Interesting isn't it ? I guess you can say for now the hollywood industry has gone from Greasers to West Side Story.

Temple for Tomorrow, Mountains for Freedom

           

                Temple for Tomorrow, Mountains for Freedom

           “We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how and we stand on top of the mountain free within ourselves.” Langston Hughes had a great point when he wrote this quote, I agree with his thought. I agree with his quote because life is full of miss-comings but one of the best ways to be successful is to avoid it all together. My life “temple” is to do political work so that I can not only improve my community but what my community stands for.

            When I was younger I remembered my family struggling to make ends meet and its still is the same today. One thing I always wondered was why me and w\my family it bothered me because I felt like I was fighting a solo fight  to be free from pain and struggle, with this goal in my future I figured that I could use my passion to help others while helping myself. I did not like to see people suffer even if it is the path of life but more importantly I do not like to suffer so I help the community so I can help myself. My community is my mountain and my success is the river that flows through it.

            Talk is cheap that is why I get involved in the community. I go out on the Bronx river so that I can educated myself about what is going on because a temple is a very sacred place so if I really want to create a better community using my struggles I must understand the struggles that people go through and those that I have gone through myself.  I created a not for profit with my friend to get others involved and to bridge the cultural gaps because we are all in the struggle together. I was the first to graducate high school and continue onto college in my family. I value education it is a characteristic we need to be happy with what we want. To say that I want to be a leader but sit on my behind would be a tradition so I have to be about what I say

            In closing Langston Huges used his gift of words to inspire and move people, just as I do with my actions. You have to know yourself to make a difference, knowing what you want to do helps you free yourself. Langston hughes often would write about following your dreams and following what you believe which was honorable. For those who did not have a path his work moved people to do something, his work will always inspire people.

           

The Tale Of A King

                   Once upon a time there was a king and all of the village sort of knew who he was or his name or him as a person because they had saw him as a person. He was a Puerto Rican/American and was short with what people would call a beer belly/gut. He was just as human as everyone else but he was special in the sense of what he believed in, but he was an angry man. He could be described as a person who would fight and argue a lot but at one point he realized how wrong and how much trouble that would cause.  

                    

                       He was born in the large town known of New York at a Hospital called Metropolitan. He lived with his mother and his step father which in all honesty he could not stand and did not get along with. He had a sister and a few nephews and a niece. He went to the historic Lorraine Hansberry Academy, which was named after a very affluent African poet. At that time he did not get along with many people so he would always get into some altercation over something stupid and dumb until one day it became to much and he kicked a kid in the face causing him to almost be kicked out of school. The problems he had in the school were only adding to the problems at home and they weren't really problems or issues just things that messed with everything else... emotions....etc... So when time came to a pass and people started noticing there was an issue the high queen of the school named Mrs. Joy Elaine Daily and her subjects stopped everything they were doing so that the prince at the time could get his frustrations out. That part of the story never occurred, they high queen and her subjects spoke with the family of the prince and the mother or the high queen of the prince Andre family found the prince a arena for him to channel some of his emotions. He soon realized that this wasn't what he liked but that he would try it out, no challenge was to difficult for him. So he did, he started to work on little village health issues such as Asthma, which at the time we knew nothing more than it was a death sentence and that his village had the highest of it, can you imagine that the village of the king being a death sentence to others ? The prince at the time couldn't so he decided he was going to work to fix it.    

                    The young prince started working on fish studies on the Aquahung, which was the local river. He then began to work on campaigns of a new creation, usually a campaign meant to rage war against another village but for him this meant raging war again his oppressors otherwise known as the people who dirty the Aquahung. He then went onto working on a campaign known as the hip hop campaign which was to change the type of way people would drum and vocalize their voices. Hip hop wouldn't become what it is at the present day until later on after the native and fairytale life ended. He then would go onto working back on the Aquahung where he did fishing, canoeing and water quality testing, he even worked on trying to get rid of the nasty breathing giant called Jenna. Then he began a vast road to removing a pathway for cars. 

                  He believed in the community, had many jobs to. He appeared in the towns paper and in the towns TV. He loved working for the community and saw all of what was wrong with it, which motivated him to putting his anger towards something positive. He went to Herbert Lehman High School where he persevered as only being the first to graduate in his family, the family had so many issues and difficulties at the time so they were being heroes to the rest of the prince family. He then tried to get into Hofstra University where things cost too much money. 

                 Presently Prince Andre is now King Andre, he will have his own family and is going to live happily ever after as the high King of BRONXVILLE..... 

                                                           THE END..... 

               

Fools Rush In..... (Love Poem)

Fools Rush In.....

Like high winds on a stormy day, emotions soak in like a sponge over a wet dish

Like electricity that electrifies your home, connections come close and attract.

Like clouds on a cloudy day, your vision becomes impaired, visibility becomes less and less like a heart beat that never existed.

Fools Rush In......

Like a storm that stalls out over a location, love can go either way, good or bad.
Sunshine once the storm clears with vibrant rainbows or floods like those that Sandy created. 

Like plants that blossom on a spring day, Amore could happen without a say, but hey you will only know how good it is, was, or will be after today.......

Fools Rush In.....

A letter from me to the families of the Newtown Tragedy

P.O. Box 3700
Newtown, CT 06470

To the families of the tragedy,

        The most important things in are the hardest to say, no parent should have to bury the children they gave life to. I am a firm believer of that no matter what the situation or circumstance is. My name is Andre Christopher Rivera, I am twenty years old and I live and have been raised in the South Bronx for most of my life and basically what I do for a living when im not in school full time is organized against the injustices in my community. Sadly it has appeared that over the last few months violence around the world has been on the rise. One of the  biggest issues I fight in my community is violence, when I heard about what had occurred I was and still am at loss for words. Nothing shocks me anymore but the incident that occurred shocked me, to that point it has been hard to watch on TV and online. I can not imagine the pain and sorrow you all must be experiencing. As an uncle who has a niece that is not so far from the ages of these young beautiful souls, I  had to think how could as a human, person, organizer and movement builder support you all, the families of this tragedy. The best way I could think of was to write this letter.

      I would like to first express my deepest sorrows to the families. I would also  like to express my support of the movement to completely ban guns and any form of assault weapons in our communities I  would also like to express that you are all in my thoughts and prayers each and every single day. Listening to some of the stories of these young angels i had to only think that they all would have all in their own right changed our world and to that point I hope this situation and tragedy can inspire the youth and all people for that matter to understand that violence is not the solution but we must also address the fact that the person responsible had an out of control mental state and as a society we have to find ways to tackling this issue and making sure that they get treated.

       Finally  I would like to conclude by saying that you all have my full support in any movements that come out of this tragedy. I hope that god can continue to support and help you all in this time of need. stay strong !

Respectfully,

Andre Christopher Rivera 

Comite Noviembre at Hostos Community College

Heritage, Culture, Folklore are three things in common. What happens when you have a freshman student show up to a field visit not knowing anything about his background and learns something new ? I will tell you , it is easy to learn but hard to follow. The site visits I have been to so far have to do with my culture and people which shows me that someone is committed to teaching my about something I should have learned before. I guess the main point I am trying to make is that as humans we should know about who we are and where we come from. We should also know about our heritage so that we could pass it down to the future students and children of the world. Some of the best world leaders are in tune with their culture because they say the past repeats itself or or does it ? I also think building a foundation is the start to something good and effective.

Comite Noviembre is an organization that is geared to making sure that puerto Rican students are aware and educated about their culture so they could push other students to understand who they are. Comite Noviembre preserves rich culture through politicians, educators and the alike.  Comite Noviembre educated its youth through development of programs, grants for school leadership development in order for them to continue on to some form of higher education so that they can give back to the community. The Comite Noviembre has given over $201,000 in scholarships since it was created fourteen years ago, through the scholarships at least 90% of recipients go on to graduate from college. the recipients all are clear about their characters as educated intellectual students. The Comite Noviembre scholarship awards its students during the puerto rican heritage celebrations.

The Comite Noviembre event I went to was about culture and community. It was about educating people of the public about the history of Bomba and Plena. It was about showcasing famous art piece and art symbols. It was about showcasing poets of the culture or those who write about the culture.

Bomba is a traditional form of music which is usually performed in many puerto rican families by groups of people. It is  a mix of three main cultures, which are Spanish, African, and Taino. Bomba music is made mostly of drum’s called Barriles which drives from big barrels that are played with lamb skin to make a loud but rhythm filled flow. Other instruments include the Cua which is an open barrel which is hit with drum sticks and a maraca which can be different depending on size and sound. Although those are the main instruments there are various others that can be used. Bomba is more compared to salsa music, which in itself. Salsa is more Cuban and urban. Plena is made up of these little hand drums caled Pleneras. Plena also includes cuatro , maracas and accordions but what truly separates the two are the dances. Plena is like salsa music you play to a rhythm while people dance. Bomba is different because in Bomba the dancer controls the drummer and the rhythm reflects various movies and dancer technique. But if you don't listen to Bomba or Plena on your free time you would not know what they are because for a long time Bomba and Plena have been suppressed and oppressed from mainstream production.

Plena and Bomba when they first were created were used to show a resistance to the government. The people puerto Rico at the time called it the community newspaper because it when played had hidden messages. When protests and demonstrations broke out Plena would be played and the crowd would get behind the group as a form of support and to show a resistance to injustice. Bomba itself is a creation of sugar cane slaves. The sugar cane slaves created Bomba so that they could communicate with each other. A Lot of them came from place like Africa where they were enslaved for money and such purposes. Just like hip hop in our modern society Bomba was an escape , a cure and a voice of the oppressed not a way to dwell on sad times.

In closing I think that committee Noviembre mission fits the work they are doing and the events they are doing. committee Noviembre is accomplishing what they set out to do. I thought the event was great until I realized that  I had my bike stolen from outside the school. No one at Hostos or the police dept would help me until I started to pursue it and pressure them.

Bronx Heritage Musical Center

There are many communities affected by injustice and lack of resources, this is to be blamed on knowledge and opportunity. A Lot of times this has to do with politics, community commitment and community engagement. When organizing for a community you have to know what the community and what the community needs. Organizations have established programs that help tutor students in their needs. Everything from homework's, physical education to activities such as history of their own cultures. Places like Casita Maria have helped educate students on culture and folklore, groups like Bombayo have taught youth through performances. Community organizing lead the majority of these programs and at times help others in opening and creating programs that help to foster success through education and cultural awareness.

One of these locations is called the Bronx Musical Heritage Center which is located in the Freeman section of the Bronx. The center was created to reconnect today youth with their heritage and culture. The center focuses and emphasizes on its hip hop roots because of the location but regardless of the fact it is geared toward teaching about the roots of hip hop it also focuses on others such as modern and pre-modern Latin culture. One of its events is the Bronx Rising Music, Film and Spoken word of the boro. The event this year ran from November 8TH to November 10TH. The location of the event was  1303 Louis Nine BLVD, which in itself has its own historical roots. The event celebrates El Condado De La Salsa, meaning its creation and birth from its roots of mambo and the boogie down Bronx which gets its nickname from its roots in mambo and salsa. Hip Hop and salsa became an played a pivotal role in the Bronx back in the 1960’s and 1970’s when drugs and gangs ran rampant. One major factor was the great depression and another bring the building of Robert Moses famous Cross Bronx Expressway. When salsa and hip hop hit their peaks in the community it focused on being  the “voice of the oppressed”. Landlords were burning communities, police were brutalizing communities so why not find a constructive way to deal with the struggle? Unfortunately today in the 21st century we have lost that so events like Bronx Rising remind us of our history. Everyone from Johnny Pacheco to Afrika Bambaataa influenced the resilience of the boro. With that idea in mind Bronx Music Heritage Center was created and is committed to preserving and promoting music and families through education and practice. Some future developments that will come out of this plan and idea will be the creation of an expanded institution and the Bronx Commons Apartments, which will house community residents and artists. The development will include affordable apartments, an artist-school partnership with Bard College which when completed will include a green roof and recreational space.

With the mission and idea of education for the community in mind the Bronx Music Heritage Center created Bronx Rising to celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage month. Some of the notable performers were Sandra Maria Esteves, Vanessa Martir and Nancy Mercado. The three women all are poets and written expression performers in their own right. All three performers have all had their influence on the public and larger society as a whole. Sandra Maria Esteves is known to be La Madrina or in English the godmother of Nuyorican Poetry. Nuyorican as a word in its own right has its famous roots as it originated and was fostered by the creation of a similarly named establishment known as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a location where many written expression performers go to express what they believe in without being chastised or oppressed. The next performer was Vanessa Martir , could be known as a leader and movement maker. Martir quit her full time job to pursue her hobby and dream as a poet and a written expression performer. She has written a few books but a lot of what she has written has been about her and her upbringing as a Latina who had strict parents who also had very closed minded views. She co-wrote a book that guides youth to social and emotional independence. She has taught at a few educational institutions and speaks regularly at schools and events that usually include panels on reforming the persona of youth. One example of her motivation towards youth is when she writes about not being accepted as a lesbian by her parents. Although the parents had perfect symbols according to her poems she writes about her not being the average girly, girl we are used to. At the end of the day she found love and care through those she helps and or helped.

Nancy Mercado however uses her experience in the community to guide her to what she writes about. In her poems she writes about her many experiences through activism and education. In one of her poems she asks the question is the party over meaning and or possibly implying that our dirty practices could be killing us and or our country. In another poem she speaks about her community experiences and the influence her family has had on her. Mercado has many awards and accomplishments and one which she has shared with us is her many publications. Everything from books to magazines, she has also been profiled as a Latino teacher of her work in the community and at home.

In closing the Bronx Musical Heritage Center has been a staple in the community because of its dedication to preserving historical icons from hip hop to poetry. I was there for the poetry event and learning that a lot of what I do others are doing helps me to connect to the community of others. The event as powerful in the fact that the students including myself were inspired and moved by the many stories told.

Origins of Humans Science VS. Religion and Faith

The debate of life is one that continues to interest us, science, and religious. The debate has alot of people wondering which is more accurate science or faith. The debate also has to do with how do we establish a better government because we live in a live in a capitalist  government so which model of human rule worked is the question people are trying to figure and answer. One man found the answer but that one man has always been questioned, his name was Charles Darwin. The other person who is involved in this debate of human species an the theory of evolution is Thomas Malthus. through his time Darwinism began to develop , basically it was following the writings, teachings and theories that some tried to interpret. Darwin had many theories from many of his studies on humans but just like today Thomas Malthus and religion counter his theories and thoughts on Darwinism. Some would say Darwinian is crazy. Charles Darwin was an English naturalist. He came up with his theory of evolution after he studied and looked at artifacts that had stated that humans had descendants from a common ancestor known as monkeys. He also came up with his idea of natural selection which also involved selective breeding. After the long research he published it in a book called On The Origins Of Species. In and around the 1870s the world and society as a whole had adopted and agreed with his idea and began to back it up with research. After a long and intensive search he finally found his theory to be backed up by fossils and artifacts. At the time many people were thinking and questioning Darwin theory but one person named Alfred Wallace sent him a written piece with a proof that backed up what he Darwin had thought, so they both jointly published it. Darwin because of his work he was established as one of the most influential figures in human history. He was born into a mixed societal family.
Human evolution means the process leading up to the appearance of modern humans. The thought behind evolution is that we evolved from primates, specifically the homo-sapiens. They considered us the great apes, the study comes from studies on how we discipline people from work to writing to type of gestures. During Darwin research he found that the homo-sapiens were the first to grasp the side of weapons and tools. The brains supposedly were the size of primates. With all the work he did on humans it lead him to natural selection. Natural selection is basically how humans reproduce using their genes. The theory involves the idea that the environment you live in changes who you are and how you live. The theory also said that people with one or more of the gene He discovered can produce more than those of their counter parts. The theory of sexual selection was what really  send the theory of Darwinism off and running. He basically states that “depends not on a struggle for existence , but on a struggle between males for possessing the females, the result is not death to the the unsuccessful competitor but few or no offspring,” meaning survival of the fittest.
In closing Darwin theory has had people fighting for what they say is how humans exists.

Central America and Pre-colonial Times (Mexico and Native Americans)

President Roosevelt was once known to be a president that cared about preserving  the history and story of people. One thing that has always been present in our society and history fearlessness of the person in off has been the connections other societies and cultures have had on ours. It is evident when you walk around our city, you can go from USA to Europe to Asia in minutes. Some say it is because of how close things are but one can extrapolate that is due to the affect our societies have had on each other. If you speak to people on the street you will hear lots of tales and stories about what they remember from other societies. President Roosevelt once said “in any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing,” teaching that culture is an important thing that you should know about.

I went to the natural history museum in Manhattan, New York to learn more about Mexico and Central America. Mexico and Central America make up the vast majority of the Latin countries with customs but what we don't know are the artifacts. Mexico is a country that covers about two millennia. It started out at 13,000 people but has grown dramatically. Mexico is known for its large population of Spanish and Native American speakers. The country refuses to give credit to Europe because of the conquest. Alot of what is spoke about is the westernized culture of Mexico. During the Spanish rule of Mexico most or more than half of the indigenous population were wiped out or killed. Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. Mexico for centuries has fought  against wars, drugs, government and all the politics, it was freedom to the most possible peace filled country but one thing that continues to plague them is the drug cartels.

Precolonial period had alot to do with the Native American population. Alot of what I saw at the museum had to do with art and how the natives communicated. There was alot of Aztec artifacts, one being the emblem they are known for. In the exhibit you also saw the way they cooked and dressed and honestly it was not so far from what we use today. You saw half clothed women with scrubs as the clothing, you also saw the weapons they used such as spears. In their ways of life the people of the Andean region mirror the diversity of landscapes from desert coasts to snow capped mountains. The ancient Andean civilization began and created a system of combining and coordinating their varied resources and cultures to create a civilization of great wealth. The Native Americans created systems of curing illnesses and sicknesses from herbal sources to what some would today consider voodoo. The Natives used raddled so they could perform rituals on the sick. The Natives would take the raddled and place it below the forearms so that if it raddled it would show and indicate the connections to spirits. Alot of what displayed has to do with pottery, figurines, jewelry and monuments.

In closing I learned alot about pre-modernization and colonial peoples. It is extremely interesting how out of everything there are those small successes and failures. In the museum I thought it was interesting to see how things worked out with interaction and learning how these people were able to work with each other and they had no form of technology to help them out so it begs to ask why cant we as a society do the same with everything we have but then again the question has to do with common sense which is not so common anymore.

3rd Annual South Bronx Folk Festival

South Bronx Folk Festival   

Folklore is an concept that has been around for sometime, actually ages. Every culture has some folklore and tradition to it. On Friday December Seventh Two Thousand and Twelve I attended a beautiful event, it included folklore from four ethnic groups. The puerto Rican's, Dominicans, Hondurans, and Japanese. All of these cultures are very similar in the sense of celebration. Though culture is an important thing folklore is the most important of it all because it teaches us what the origins are. Folklore has tradition, customs,clothing and even music.

The event I attended occurred at the Casita Maria Center for Art and Education and it was called the Danza Fiesta ! Baile Y Teatro Puertorriqueno Third Annual South Bronx Folk Dance Festival. The event was presented by Diversity in the Arts and Nations for Cultural Education and was directed by Hilda Rivera Pantojas, who is a facilitator at Boricua College. The South Bronx Folk Festival is a week long festival meant to highlight the cultural diversity. The event had many featured performers and performances by Danza Fiesta, Irka Mateo and the women of fire, kaoru Watanabe and Hamalali Wayunagu.

Danza Fiesta is a group that was created in 1998 by Hilda Rivera Pantojas. It was created to show and exemplify Puerto Rican culture and folkloric traditions with everyone. Danza Fiesta is made up of a band and a group of performers. They play lots of musical instruments from timbales to cow bells. Danza Fiesta  performs international folklore while explaining taino culture. The performances both included entertainment and performance. The show had casoglos, the women had dresses that were very cultural and elegant, they told a story of a couple that had gotten married and had a jealous family member who was portrayed as a skank and whore. The performance included dancing, singing , spoken word and crowd involvement. There were a part where the married guy started dancing in public with other people and the wife created a spectacle when she saw she was not getting attention. This performance gave us historical context just like many other types of folklore performances.

Although very different from the first performance the Honduran folklore performance brought similar music but with a different vibe and historical background. It was back in 1797 that the country of St.Vincent and the grenadines began what would to be be known as the British Exile of St.Vincent. It was only fitting that during a very energetic performance would these great performers come together with the thought of having a conflict, fighting performance. The performance reflected the fight for St. Vincent in which the Caribbeans were exiled to Honduras where today in the Sandy Bay some of their descendants can be found. The performance was put on by a group called the Hamalali Wayunagu which has the mission to “expose, share and teach audiences about Garifuna culture, heritage and history,” this company was established in the Bronx in 1992 about twenty years ago.

Japanese folklore is similar to most traditional cultures. The Japanese believe in a lot of mother earths energy. Most of the folklore is celebrated using drums and these drums can be anything from traditional drums to Bangos. Th celebrations occur for festivals, religious, and cultural events. They all come from a sense of connections from the gods drawing from earth energy. the performers used high pitch performances to relate how energy is drawn from earth.

One of the last performance s of the day was Irka Mateo and the Women of Fire. The women of Fire and Irka Mateo set out to perform and teach people about Dominican folklore using music and drums called palos. Palos are used to perform Inonu dance or Baile De Atabales. The performances are barrier breakers because there are not many female percussionists out there today.

In closing I had a good time experiencing the folklore and seeing the different cultures. I think being true to who you are and understanding your culture is a pivotal thing that makes you human.

Videos:

Photos:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4539047728735.267094.1667422128&type=3

My Strengths and Resilience.......

None of this comes easy, writing this never is easy, understanding this is never easy, even in the most emotional and successful times this is difficult but we all have a story to tell and if its not told no one is listening.....Here we go ! 

                      Alot of people have told me growing up you are going to be something, I was nicked named the "Abogado" aka Lawyer in Spanish  nicked named the giant, and even 3000 for the infamous Andre 3,000. Truth be told growing up was never easy and it still to this day isn't easy living with some of the things I live with, do I experience depression ? No not at all, do I experience stress ? Sometimes but one thing I do not experience is Pressure or failure none of those two are in my vocabulary or dictionary  I remember growing up always being the outcast, the kid no one liked, the one everyone wanted to jump, I said a word and it would be taken out of context. But one day that all ended, I opened my eyes, saw where I was going and saw where I wanted to be so here we go....

                     My strength and resilience come from the many experiences I have had with people and the work in the community I live in. I have had a lot of resilience because I have seen people struggle and I understand struggle because of my family. Things growing up were not easy, I had to learn that the ward way early on. Everything from drama and illnesses in my family to physical reactions and interactions (Fights and arguments nothing sexual or crazy like that). I think some of my strengths come from working with people who have been through some of the struggles I have been through. I see people who have everything but are not happy and people who have nothing and who are happy. When you see other people struggle it reminds you of what you are thankful for. 

                      My resilience comes from getting used to what I already have been through. Some examples of struggles that built my resilience have been experiencing homelessness, foster care, the affect of my mothers many illnesses, being told in middle school that if I did not seek something positive I would not be successful and one of the biggest struggles that has made me who I am was finding a way to fit in at times when I could not. I think to have resilience in my time means success. Many people fall to drugs and crimes and gangs but I found my solution in helping others in their problems and issues. I try to support everyone who wants to make a change because those are the ones who have will and power and use it because we all have it but you have to want to see something new in yourself to be happy and loved with in yourself. 

                Finally we all go through struggle but do not let that stop you from being happy always remember there are options but they only work if you choose to use them. I have chosen to help the community and will continue to do so in the future, I want to lead my community, city, state and country in whatever ways that I can. 

A Memorable Thanksgiving........

                   A Memorable Thanksgiving........

     Thanksgiving a holiday full of thankfulness, a time of the year to stop and reflect of what has been, what is and what will be in the future. Thanksgiving a time to sit and communicate with family, although sometimes it is not with family. Everyone has something to be thankful for, but for what exactly is a great question to be asked. Thanksgiving also has its historical background and if you look into it, doesn't always look good, so what are we celebrating ? If its supposed to be a good holiday what does it look like and how should it look like ?

       The question of what does it look like and what should it look like has always been a question I have had to ask myself and everyone in my immediate circle. Year after year my family gathers and sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad. Good because we only get to see each other once in a blue. Bad because unfortunately not everyone can be in the same room without wanting to kill each other. But what should a traditional Thanksgiving look like for us, a simple question that at times can be hard to answer......

       My most memorable Thanksgiving of all my 19 years of life had to be this year. A week before Thanksgiving 2012 there was a death in my family, my brother in law had lost his grandmother and it was an emotional time for most of us physically and mentally. Although I normally do not have feelings for death I understood how deep in pain he must have been. My sister, my brother in law and niece all went to Florida to bury her and remember her for the person she was, and that had left questions in my mind. Not out of selfishness or self contentedness but out of question because at the end of the day that is all I do, question.

       Thanksgiving day 2012 came and it was a day after my brother in law had buried his mother so it was like how are we going to be doing this, I was not really expecting anything but family maybe at that. I was surprised to say the least when I entered my sisters house. The dining table was set in decoration for Thanksgiving with all the different clothes and napkins and plates with all the different platters, some being pie, cake and even nuts with a nutcracker standing not far. My sister was still cooking so we started to take pictures with my mother and nephews. We were expecting my brother in law family and my family and it went off without a hitch. The food was cooked and place in their rightful spots, rice at the rice holder, the Turkey and pork in their rightful spot, happy with pineapple and cherries and stuffing and the scraps.

       It was memorable not for the food or decorations but rather for the community, family likeness of it. It was the first time everyone was in the same room without arguments and drama. It was the first time we had been together holding hands praying over the food and telling stories of previous Thanksgivings. We then took more photos some with my sister and mother then the nephews with their grandmother and such. When it came time to dig in as we call it in my family, the food was hot and still steaming and was gone instantly. The bird had been picked to shreds leaving only the wings still tied and the wishbone still in tacked.

       Finally it came time to go home and I was in a great mood because all I have ever wanted was to have a not so drama filled Thanksgiving. I would pray to god that everyone had the same, I also hope those in need had gotten some sort of help in this time of need. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have and one of the biggest things I am thankful for is everything I have, share with others and everything that has not been taken or stolen from me.

What Am I Thankful For ?

........Dedicated to all my family members who have passed away and to those who struggle daily with all types of issues. 

What Am I Thankful For ? 

It is 2012 and I am 19 years old so what am I thankful for ?

I am thankful for my family

the good, the bad, the crazy and even the dumb asses.

I am thankful for my wisdom

when to do right, when to do wrong and even the painful ones in the back of my mouth.

I am thankful for my experiences

Bronx River, Bronx River Community, Soundview Community, Edenwald Houses, Ohio, Detroit, Washington DC, and even New York State, Middle School, High School, College.

I am thankful for the lessons

Family drama, life and personal.

I am thankful for my mother the most

She represents struggle and through her I have learned to be who I am today.

I am also thankful for my sister

Who practically raised me when times were rough.

I am thankful for all that is mine, all that I share, and all that has not been taken or stolen from me !

I am thankful for life ! 

The Presidential Election 2012

Every four years we make some sort of history and that history can come from anywhere, a majority comes from elections but what happens when history is repeated ? 2012 was one of the election years where history needed to be repeated but by who would it be ? Another question was this vote popular or electoral that would remake history and if not what would become of the United States ? Two candidates Barack Obama or Mitt Romney both had some good and some bad but which one was the less of the two evils or was there an evil ?

           Mitt Romney is a candidate who has more history with government in the sense of running a state not so much a country of which Obama had a sense when he first stated and looked to running for office. Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts where he basically created a debacle of the State from his education plans to his state economic plans. He is a politician focused on factory and production jobs and money. He also is a mormon which for those who do not know means that he is part Jewish and Part christian in a sense. To catholics like myself he would be considered a sinner (not trying to judge). Mitt Romney is a person who basically wanted to turn the rich into the richest (as if they already were not) and the poor to the poorest. He said he would cut programs if he say they were unnecessary. Mitt Romney was bent on building up factories and companies that continue to pollute our environment, companies that manufacture products using fossil fuels which are some of the worst on the planet. He also mentioned things about how he had power on his side with binders full of women and how he would do all these great things but we all knew he was only going to cut big bird and let the poor people suffer. 

     It was a close call Obama coming out the winner as to be expected honestly, he always helped out the people regardless of how he has done it. He said he would save the auto industry and he did, he said he would get a health care bill and he did, Obama also said that he would get immigration reform and he got that ball rolling to. Allowing our people to prosper is the start of something new because for decades our people have been oppressed and suppressed and a state that has needed the government spoke. Ohio was the deciding factor in the election, a state that relies on farming subsidies just like New York City residents rely on housing subsidies at times. President Obama had one thing going for him that Romney did not and it was Bill Clinton, had Clinton not been so honest and charismatic Obama would have had a tougher call because if you look at the popular vote Obama really lost to Romney but the electoral college was swayed by the honesty of this administration.

     In Closing I thought it was a very close election, everything from the trash Romney spewed to the honesty Obama spoke about. I remember staying up until almost 2 in the morning watching the results. I also remember Romney taking forever to admit his loss.