Welcome!

Below is an archive of CALA's event announcements for the 2005-06 program year.
 

Events for Winter/Spring 2006

CALA had a very busy semester! See below for all that has been happening since January. We focused our programming on Venezuela, including a delegation over Spring Break. We'll start our programs up again in the fall, or if something special comes along.

Tuesday, April 11th, Pres House, 7pm
Gregory Wilpert, Venezuela expert, spoke in Madison. Wilpert lives in Caracas and writes on politics and the Bolivarian Revolution. Read his work at www.venezuelanalysis.com. He was hosted by the Haven's Center and the UW LACIS program for several days on Campus.

Tuesday, March, 28th, 7pm, Pres House
Report Back from Venezuela.
CALA delegates to Venezuela for spring break reported back on a week's worth of activities, including meetings with opposition parties, opposition unions, government projects, missions, NGOs, neighborhood orgs, etc, etc,. Slides and presentation by delegates. Read more about the delegation here.

Tuesday, March 7
To honor International Women's Day, CALA welcomesd Dr. Irma Alicia Velasquez Nimatuj, speaking on discrimination against the Mayan people of Guatemala. Included a special presentacion by a Guatemalan & Latin American singer. Co-sponsored by the Madison-Guatemala Network and Just Coffee, in collaboration with Casa Guatemala in Chicago.

Latin Dance Party at Catacombs Coffeehouse

Friday, March 3 from 9 to midnite

Students mix for students! A laptop-powered dance party! All ages. It's a celebration of Latin America.
 
Bring your favorite latin dance CDs or bring your iPod foryour 10 minutes of DJ fame.
 
Lounge grooves for relaxing from 9-10, then pumping up the volume from 10 to Midnight.
 
$2 donation goes to the Community Action on Latin America student scholarship fund. We helped 2 students go to the World Social Forum and are helping 4 students go to Venezuela for spring break. If we're going to help more students, we need to replenish the scholarship fund!
 
Catacombs Coffeehouse is a smoke free and alcohol free space in the lower level of Pres House, 731 State Street, right on Library Mall on the UW Campus.

Tuesday, February 28
DVD film: Venezuela: Talking of Power.
Produced by the Global Women's Strike, this film is about grassroots involvement and leadership, and women's role in the heart of it in Venezuela. More at Global Women Strike

Tuesday, February 21st
"The Contradictions of the Bolivarian Process"
Presentation and discussion with Matías Scaglione, PhD student in Sociology whose research is on workers’ control of production.

Monday, Feb 20, 7pm, 1111 Humanities Building
New World Border, a film about the militarization of the US-Mexico border and a special presentation by members of the historic March for Migrants who travelled from California to D.C. this month to protest the 4000+ deaths of migrants since U.S. Operation Gatekeeper began on the border in 1994. This is part of the Social Justice Film Series supported by Madison Fair Trade Action Alliance and other campus groups.
 

Tuesday, February 14th
"Chavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America",
a video documentary and extended interview with Hugo Chavez by Aleida Guevara, Che Guevara’s daughter.
Discussion: The various portrayals of Chavez in left- and right-wing media and the elements of truth from both sides.

Tuesday, February 7th
"The 2006 World Social Forum in Venezuela"
A report back and discussion with attendees of the Forum in January.
Read Marc Becker's written report online here. (260k PDF) and his blog on his experience here.

Tuesday, January 31st
"The Role of Bolivarian Missions in Rural Venezuela."
A discussion and slide show with Kate McCoy who lived in rural Venezuela for 4 months in 2004.

Tuesday, January 24th
Discussion with Alex Gillis, organizer of a local chapter of "Hands Off Venezuela", an international solidarity organization supporting the revolution and workers in Venezuela.

Tuesday, January 17th
"With the Poor of the Earth"
A 57-minute film by the Center for Research into Latin American Popular Memory.
A pro-Chavez film about the revolution and coup.
Discussion: Analyzing "propaganda" in a polarized climate... a comparison of the film with some opposition messages.

Hands Off Venezuela

There is a group forming in Madison to start a local chapter of the international Hands Off Venezuela organization. To join that email list and receive meeting announcements, send email to Alex Gillis. For more information on the international body, visit the international web site or the US web site.
BUY-COTT! Support Venezuela's CITGO oil company... they were the only oil company to respond to requests to help the poor after Hurrican Katrina provided record oil profits. CITGO is working with low-income energy assistance programs in the Northeastern US to provide discounted heating oil, the prices of which have gone up dramatically. Use the CITGO Locator to find a station near you.

Previous Events from Fall 2005

Fair Trade Holiday Festival

Saturday, December 3,
10am to 4pm

NEW LOCATION: MATC Downtown Education Center, 211 N Carroll Street (Behind the Orpheum) in Madison.

Over 25 vendors of fair-trade-only gifts from around the world.

The Holiday Festival is in its NINTH YEAR! Hard to believe. We're happy to say we have grown along with the fair trade movement. Many people are now aware of fair trade coffee through their churches and local coffeeshops. Fair trade food as expanded to cocoa, chocolate bars, tea, and many other foods. Plus, importers of a variety of goods have become fair trade certified businesses, so fair trade isn't a little piece of what they sell, it's how their run their business.

Vendors for 2005 include: Bachajon-Batsil Maya Fair Trade Coffee from Chiapas, Equal Exchange, Family Farm Defenders, Global Express, Just Coffee, Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition, Madison Arcatao Sister City Project, Potters for Peace from Nicaragua, SERRV/A Greater Gift store, UNICEF, Sctoch Hill Farm, Doers, Hmong Pandua textiles, Terrra Experience Guatemalan handcrafts, Rainbow Bookstore, Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Madison, The Madison Infoshop, The Madison Fair Trade Action Alliance, Cloudforest Initiative coffee and metalwork from Mexico, Two Degrees Fair Trade Coffeeshop, Madison Rafah Sister City Project, Dawa Phuntsok Tibetan rugs, Bali and Soul textiles, Prayas Foundation gift bags from India, Global Reflections art, Marketplate of India textiles, East Timor Action Network weavings, Earth Delights from Nepal, and Chipira, copperwork from Mexico.

For 2005, Community Action on Latin America has partnered with MATC's Global Horizons program to promote the educational aspects of the event in its new location at MATC's Downtown Education Center at 211 North Carroll Street, between Dayton and Johnson streets. The Festival will fill the second floor conference area in the center of the building. There is plenty of parking available in the State Street/Capital Ramp opposite the building (number 8 on this city of Madison parking map.

This year we also plan to have an all-day fair trade educational forum adjacent to the Festival vendors. There will be 45-minute presentations on the hour all day:

10am - Buying Local as Fair Trade, by John Peck, Family Farm Defenders.

11am - Fair Trade 101, an introduction, by Cheryl Musch, Producer Relations Manager for SERRV International

12noon - Fair Trade Coffee, by Mike Moon, co-owner of Just Coffee

1pm - Fair Trade Chocolate, by Sam Tokheim, Manager of Fair Trade Foods for SERRV International, importer of Divine Chocolate

2pm - Panel of local Fair Trade coffee roasters:
Lindsey Lee from Ground Zero, Rob Jeffries from Ancora Coffee, Michael Johnson from Johnson Brothers, and Matt Earley from Just Coffee, and Ron Arm from Equal Exchange are confirmed guests. Facilitated by Dan Jaffee, UW Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

View photos of the 2004 event.

We hope you'll join us! Questions? email "INFO (at) CALAMADISON (dot) ORG"

The Real Thing: Coca, Democracy, and Rebellion in Bolivia, a film by Jim Sanders

Monday, December 5th, 7pm, 2650 Humanities Bldg. (TITU)
This guerilla-style documentary, shot on a shoe-string budget by a amateur Canadian protestor exposes the disturbing truth about the American "Drug War" and "War on Terrorism" and their impact on the indigenous people of Bolivia. (Part of the new MadFTAA Social Justice Film Series co-sponsored by CALA and others.)
 

Previous Events

Screening of the film "Hidden in Plain Sight"

Thursday, November 10, 7pm, Anderson Aud, Predolin Hall, Edgewood College, off Monroe Street.
This is a documentary about the efforts of the School of Americas Watch organization to organize annual protests to shut down the school, even after it's renaming as WHINSEC. Demonstrators denounce the SOA as a ûSchool of Assassins,É but Army officials argue that the school has played a crucial role in bringing democracy and stability to Latin America. On this issue, the U.S. Congress is sharply divided. Enter noted scholars Noam Chomsky, Eduardo Galeano, Christopher Hitchens, and Michael Parenti, who broaden the debate to include such subjects as militarism, globalization, national security, and international terrorism. Personal accounts from victims of the violence and repression in Latin America raise questions and concerns about the true aims of U.S. foreign policy.

Zapatista Video Fest

Monday, November 14, 7:30pm, Probably 2650 or 1111 Humantiies (TITU-check exact room day of event)
On January 1st, 1994, the Zapatistas denounced to the world the impact of neoliberal economic policies and demanded democracy, freedom, justice and the recognition of the rights of indigenous people. The beginning of the Zapatista Rebellion marked an important moment in Chiapas, Mexico, and the world, and since then, the Zapatistas have continued to be a model of autonomy and resistance. The Zapatista Video Fest will highlight short documentaries made by the Zapatista communities. These documentaries include Zapatista voices on land, resistance, education, women’s organizing, injustice and autonomy. Join us for a night of video, resistance and rebellion, with a brief update on current events in Mexico by Eva Schulte who has lived in Chiapas, Mexico, for many years. Eva recently attended "listening sessions" hosted by the Zapatistas as they plan their "Other Campaign" to reach out to the rest of Mexico.

Zaptistas and Grassroots Organizing

Tuesday, November 15, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
In June 2005, the Zapatistas announced a surprising new stage in the Zapatista rebellion. In the 6th Declaration of the Lancondon Jungle, the Zapatistas analyzed over 10 years of struggle, the current situation of politics and neoliberal economics, and called for the creation of a broad-based, grass roots political movement and a new way of doing politics from the bottom-up. Individuals, collectives, and organizations, both in Mexico and internationally, who are struggling against the effects of globalization, free trade, and marginalization of their communities have been invited to participate. Join Eva Schulte for an update on the Zapatista initiative and a discussion on how it applies to grass roots organizing in our own community.

Send-Off the Protestors to the SOA in Georgia

Thursday, November 17, 4:15pm, Edgewood College.
Join the community as we give our well-wishes and buen viajes to the courageous people who will represent us at the annual protest of the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning Georgia. Every year this protest grows and these folks are making the commitment to a long bus ride and the risk of arrest in order to voice the concerns we all have about the training of Latin American military personnel in the United States.

Vigil in Solidarity with SOA Protests in Georgia

Friday, November 18, 6pm, Corner of Martin Luther King Junior Blvd and Main Streets on the Capitol Square, Madison
The primary purpose of the vigil is to remember those killed by the military and paramilitary groups in Latin America, many of them trained at the U.S. military’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Madison Bishop Robert Morlino recently was appointed to the Board of Visitors to WHINSEC. This board is charged with evaluating the policies and practices of WHINSEC and reporting those findings to Congress. He will attend his first meeting in December and vigil participants are asked to urge the Bishop to probe the school on its history of human rights abuses.

Guatemela Fundraiser Dinner for Hurricane Relief

Saturday, November 19, 5:30pm to 8pm, Trinity United Methodist Church, 1123 Vilas Ave, Madison.
While Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquark dominated the US headlines, another disaster unfolded that went practicaly unnoticed and that was Hurricane Stan. This Hurrican hit Central America with inches of rain, causing mudslides that killed many people and caused whole villages to be declared cemetaries, as many bodies are under feet of mud and will never be recovered. The rains affected Guatemala and Mexico and

Over 1000 are dead and over 55,000 families are without homes in Guatemala alone. In Madison, local folks with connections to Guatemala, together with Guatemalans living here, are coordinating a fundraiser to send relief funds to indigenous Mayan communities. Come for dinner and good company, and please donate generously to this relief fund.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. To help with the dinner or to purchase tickets in advance (much appreciated) - contact Mario at 575-9811 or Andrea at 236-2201 or Lynn at 849-8720 or purchase at Stony Hill Antiques (2140 Regent St, Madison). Tickets will also be available at the door. Donations welcome!! To mail a donation check, write the check to Community Action on Latin America, put "Guate" on the memo line, and mail it to CALA, 731 State Street, Madison, WI 53703.

For more information check out Terra Experience or join the Madison-Guatemala Network listserve on Yahoo.com.

The Take, a film By Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, about factory workers in Argentina

Monday, Novmeber 7th, 7pm, 2650 Humanities Bldg. (TITU-check exact room day of the event)
After the collapse of the Argentine economy, middle-class factory workers were angry that their factories were closed. Some workers mobilized to re-enter the closed buildings, occupy them, restart the industry, and appeal to the courts for employee ownership of the bankrupt industries abandoned by their owners. A dramatic story of worker empowerment. (Part of the new MadFTAA Social Justice Film Series co-sponsored by CALA and others.)

Economic Justice/Abundant Life

Tuesday, November 8, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
Peruvian organizer and educator Isabel Diaz-Ubillus has campaigned against water privatization in Peru and worked to empower rural women and youth. Isabel will also be accompanied by as a representative of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) from Florida which successfully boycotted Taco Bell for better pay for workers. Tour organized by Agricultural Missions, Inc, The Beehive Collective, and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Campus appearance also sponsored by our local Family Farm Defenders.

Campesino Organizer from El Salvador

Tuesday, October 25th, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
Jose "Chabelo" Membreno is an organizer with CCR, a grassroots campesino movement in Chalatenango, El Salvador. Chabelo will talk about Salvadoran immigration to the United States, caused by neoliberal economic policies that have ruined the Salvadoran economy. Immigration has broken up families and challenged the ability of local groups to organize with so many people gone to the US to work. His own two sons left El Salvador for jobs in the United States. Co-hosted by the Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project.

WCCN hosts Juana Delia Rojas from Nicaraguan Women’s Center

Thursday, October 6th, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
Hear the The Successful Story of the Xochilt-Acalt Women’s Center in Malpaisillo, Nicaragua. The Center is considered the most successful experience on women’s empowerment in Nicaragua. Juana Delia Rojas is a founding Member of the Xochilt-Acalt Women's Center in Malpaisillo. Hosted by the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua.

WORT Sister-Radio Delegation Report Back

Tuesday, October 11th, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
Our local community radio WORT Radio staff and volunteers report back from their recent visit to their Sister-Radio station "Radio Victoria" in El Salvador.

Diana Murcia, Human Rights Lawyer from Colombia

Monday, October 17th, 7pm, Pres House, 731 State, Madison
Diana has spent considerable time in the Putamayo region of Colombia gathering testimony from farmers about the anti-coca fumigations when have led to general crop destructions, as well as human rights violations caused by Plan Colombia.

Zapatista, a "Big Noise" Film

Monday, Sept 26th, 7pm, 2650 Humanities Bldg. (TITU)
This film in English is about the 1994 Zaptista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, scheduled to coincide with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. After the violence ended with a peace agreement, negotiations broke down and the Zapatistas went on to create their own alternative society and institutions. This film is an inside look at the revolution in the Lacandon Jungle. (Part of the new MadFTAA Social Justice Film Series co-sponsored by CALA and others.)

Wisconsin film premiere: Granito de Arena

Tuesday, Sept 20th, 7pm, 3650 Humanities Bldg.
This film in Spanish with English Subtitles is the story of hundreds of thousands of public schoolteachers in Mexico who have had enough of the dismantling of Mexican public education. This is a story of years of grassroots, nonviolent resistance to defend public education and how education as been effected by economic globalization. The filmaker, Jill Freidberg (This is What Democracy Looks Like) will be present for a discussion. (Part of the new MadFTAA Social Justice Film Series co-sponsored by CALA and others.)

Guatemalan Organizer to speak on CAFTA organizing

Saturday, Sept 17th, 3pm, TITU, probably in Humanities Bldg.
Mario Raul Garcia Morales will talk about the expected impacts of CAFTA on rural communities in Guatemala. He is a lawyer who has worked with many campesino and non-profit organizations in Guatemala.

LA Roundtable September 13 on Venezuela

As a followup to the screening of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" on September 6th, CALA will host a continuing discussion about Venezuela since the 2002 coup and restoration of President Chavez. 7pm, Pres House, 731 State (Library Mall). All are welcome.

August 26th Speaker from Chiapas

From Chiapas, Mexico, the organization CIEPAC informs the world about economic issues affecting Latin America. Miquel Pickard of CIEPAC (Center for Economic and Political Research for Community Action) will be in LaCrosse, Milwaukee, and Madison in August. He will speak on globalized economics at a place to be determined soon. Mark your calendar for August 26th for a community potluck and presentation at 6:15pm at the Wil-Mar Center, 963 Jenifer Street.

Bikes to Cuba #1 a Success!

CALA and the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association co-sponsored an effort to collect new or like-new bike parts and tools to send on the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba. We collected donated bike parts from Planet Bike, from Budget Bicycles, and FreeWheel in Madison, as well as from individual donations. We had enough boxes to fill a station wagon and a hatchback, and we loaded them on the Pastors for Peace yellow school bus on July 8th.

Read more about the Pastors for Peace 16th Cuba Caravan.
Read about the last CALA delegation to Cuba and our donation to the Caravan.

CALA sponsors RadFest panel June 5, 2005

The Latin American Left: From the Jungles to the Presidential Palace
While electoral politics in the United States seems to swing ever more to the right, the pendulum in Latin America has taken a decided turn to the left. In recent years, leftist governments have been elected in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and elsewhere. How have these new political struggles in Latin America gained so much force in recent years? What do they look like from the point of view of the most marginalized and disposed sectors of society? And what do they have to teach us in the United States about how to organize our struggles?
Carlos Arenas, WCCN
Marc Becker, Community Action on Latin America
Gabriel Johnson-Ortiz, Cloudforest Initiatives

April 12: Women Constructing a Fair Global Economy

Speaker's Tour by Mexico Solidarity Network 7:30PM, Pres House, 731 State St
 
Meet Rosy Barrios Ventura is an 18-year-old indigenous woman from the municipality of Motozintla in the Sierra region of Chiapas, Mexico. She has been working with the Community Defenders Network for one year, serving as the Human Rights promoter for her community. Rosy also gives trainings to women in her community about women’s rights and works with her community’s pig-breeding collective.