Fall 2008 Programming
2008 Fair Trade Holiday Festival (Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Monona Terrace.)
NOTE: Due to remodeling at Centro Hispano, la Peña does not have its usual space and
will not be happening this Friday. We are looking for an alternate venue and
will hopefully schedule another one soon.
Friday, November 14thpresented by Centro Hispano de Dane County and Community Action on Latin America (CALA)
La Peña :Celebrating Latin American Culture!
5-8 pm at Centro Hispano 810 W. Badger Rd.
Free! For the whole family.
Come join us for a community gathering with Latin America music
Community/University events
Talks
Tuesday, November 11
University of Wisconsin Department of Latin American Caribbean and Iberian Studies (LACIS)
LACIS Lunchtime series: "American Integration: Regionalism, Integration or Hegemonic Capitalism?"
12pm – 1pm at 206 Ingraham Hall
Lecture by Professor Wilson Almeida, International Relations, Universidade Catolica de Brasilia, Brazil .Part of the Department of Latin American, Caribbean & Iberian Studies weekly lunchtime lecture series. Please join us for a light lunch/snacks and beverages as we enjoy lectures given by LACIS-affiliated faculty, students, and visiting scholars.
FUNDRAISERS
Wednesday, November 12
Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association, together with the Wisconsin Medical Project
Wine tasting and silent auction for the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association
5 pm – 8 pm at the Cardinal Bar, 418 E. Wilson St
As you know, our sister city of Camaguey, Cuba suffered great devastation from Hurricane Ike last September, with much of the damage affecting buildings in the Historic Center of the city which had only recently been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. We look forward to this fundraiser as a means to assist our friends in Camaguey with the restoration efforts in such buildings at the venerable Teatro Principal and the home of the Ballet de Camaguey, both cultural icons of the City of Tinajones.
SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS WATCH 2008
Thursday, November 13
SOAWATCH
A Novenario, nine days of prayer for victims of oppression – statewide.
Persons can participate in the Novenario beginning November 13 by spending a few minutes each day remembering or offering prayers for Latin Americans who have been killed, tortured or abused in some other way. There will be a special intention each of the nine days. Copies of the nine days of prayer are available by contacting Dennis Collier at (608) 221-8025
Friday, November 21st
SOAWATCH
SOA Prayer Vigil!
6:15 pm at the State St. at the Capitol Square
Join us as we move in procession (bring a flashlight!) around the square to First United Methodist Church (203 Wisconsin Ave.) for a 7:00 pm service that will include prayer, singing and reflection on the suffering of those affected by repression in Latin America. This event is in solidarity with the Annual Vigil at Fort Benning, GA, home of the infamous School of America (SOA) torture training facility run by the Pentagon. Info? #516-1656
Thursday November 20 - Monday, November 24
SOAWATCH
Immersion in Nonviolence School of the Americas Protest Ft. Benning, GA
www.soaw.org Buses will be leaving from Fond du Lac & Milwaukee - coordinated by Patrick Kennelly at 312-206-6023....$205 for bus fare and 2 nights in a hotel in Georgia. Some plane seats available - contact Diane at 262-695-9000. Buses leaving from Madison, contact JoLynn at 262-424-6272.
FUTURE EVENTS
FILM
Thursday, November 20
presented by Community Action on Latin America, Immigrant Workers Union and Peregrine Forum
7 - 9 pm at 29 E. Wilson St #202
Film and discussion: The Guerrilla and the Hope (2005)
Mexico 111 min. Dir: Guillermo Tort
During the 1970’s in Mexico, social unrest led to the origin of armed groups, most notably the Partido de los Pobres (Part of the Poor) founded by rural school teacher Lucio Cabañas. This documentary tells this story of this almost legendary figure in Mexico’s recent history, through testimony of those who knew him
-----You're Invited!-----
Fair Trade University Report Back
What: Seven students visited three Guatemalan communities this summer who are resisting the negative effects of the Free Trade Agreements. We will share their stories, our experiences, show photos and a short film over delicious Fair Trade coffee and yummy treats.
We will discuss:
The Free Trade Agreements
The Fair Trade Movement
Resistance to Gold and Silver Mining in Rural Guatemala
Women's Organizing
Immigration: Causes and Effects
Environmental Destruction
The Santa Anita de la Union Cooperative
Eco-Tourism
...and much more.
When:
Thursday, Nov. 6th
7-9pm
Where:
New Wine Cooperative, 123 W. Gorham
Take Action:
There will be an opportunity to sign letters to stop the repression of activists resisting gold mining. You will also have a chance to donate money to support activists from the community we visited who are facing legal repression.
Any questions? Call Ali Brooks @ 608-345-0545
Simon Sedillo - film maker and activist
Simón Sedillo is a community based human rights film-maker whose work has centered on placing skills, cameras and editing equipment in the hands of communities in resistance so that they may be able to document their own histories and human rights situation. Sedillo has spent the last 6 years documenting and teaching community based video documentation in indigenous communities in Oaxaca, in immigrant communities in the US, and with youth of color across the US.
Today Sedillo shares some experiences and perspective for international audiences in the US and Europe, on the local and global implications of the Oaxacan people’s struggle. Through lectures, workshops, and screenings Sedillo helps open a powerful space for dialogue on the effects of neoliberalism on indigenous communities in Oaxaca, immigrant communities around the world, and communities of color in the US. Through collaborative media projects, Sedillo’s work has contributed to a growing network of community based media activism whose primary objective is to share, teach, and learn from one another, about popular community based resistance and the collective construction of horizontal networks of popular power.
heres a sound bite of his work:
http://elenemigocomun.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/neoliberalismo.mp3
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naiu3IIOojc
Details for the event:
(Self Determination and Community Defense in Oaxaca and Beyond)
November 5 th
7-10pm talk, discussion, and video
Humanities 1101
“Voice of a Mountain,” an excellent and very poignant documentary on today’s legacy of the 36-year war in Guatemala, will be shown at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Church, 2146 E. Johnson St., Madison, near Madison East High School.
The film documents the lives of rural Guatemalan coffee farmers who took up arms against their government in a civil war that began with a CIA coup instigated by the United Fruit Company, which opposed land reforms that returned lands stolen from the Mayan people. The documentary explores Guatemala’s dark history from the perspective of those who saw armed revolution as their only hope for change in a nation suppressed by years of poverty, dictatorship and the massive genocide of indigenous people by the Guatemalan government, following the CIA coup of a democratically elected government, which led to massive immigration to Mexico and the U.S. in the 1980s.
A discussion will follow the showing of the film. Admission is free, but a small donation will be requested to help support children’s education in Santa Anita, Guatemala, where “Voice of a Mountain” was filmed.
Saturday, November 1st - Wednesday, November 5th
co-sponsored by Unidos sin Fronteras, The Art of Democracy, WORT Radio, Community Action on Latin America, Unidos Against Domestic Violence
Day of the Dead exhibit brings together: art, remembrance and politics
Escape Java Joint gallery, 916 Williamson St
Reception and opening, music and food, Saturday November 1st, 5 pm – 2 am Sunday
Book tour presentation on Oaxaca – Tuesday November 4th 7-9 pm
Dia de los Muertos – literally ‘Day of the Dead’ - is a national Mexican holiday when families honor and remember their loved ones who have passed away. Madison’s celebration of Dia de los Muertos is a collaborative exhibit instigated by local artist Lester Dorè and supported by community groups including WORT Radio, Community Action on Latin America and UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence.
This exhibit will honor victims of domestic violence, our animal ancestors and people who have died in the struggle for social justice in Mexico. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the student massacre of Mexico in 1968 as well as the 2nd anniversary of the murder of Wisconsin native Brad Will, an independent journalist who was killed along with several others during the teacher´s strike in the Mexican state of Oaxaca of 2006.
The exhibit will kick-off with a gallery opening party featuring the performance of traditional Mexican music by Son Mudanza on November 1st as well as Mexican food in a party lasting from 5 pm to 2 am.
On Tuesday November 4th from 7 to 9 pm independent journalist Gustavo Vilchis will present his book “Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca.” Mr. Vilchis covered the struggle in Oaxaca and was alongside Brad Will at the time of his death.
Dia de los Muertos is a cultural tradition spanning thousands of years that incorporates Catholic and Meso-American beliefs. Food, drink, candles and artwork are carefully assembled around portraits of the deceased. In Mexican lore the spirits of the dead visit the altars and take the essence of the food to sustain them in the afterlife.
PDF of flyer
Tuesday, November 4th
sponsored by Community Action on Latin America
7 - 9 pm Escape Java Joint - 916 Williamson St.
Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca
All evening - Election returns at the Escape Art Gallery
* Come for the book presentation!
* Stay to watch election results on the big screen!
Photojournalist Gustavo Vilchis will be in town to talk about the experience of direct democracy and resistance in Oaxaca presenting the book Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca.
Teaching Rebellion is a compilation of testimonies from longtime organizers, teachers, students, housewives, religious leaders, union members, schoolchildren, indigenous community activists, artists and journalists—and many others who participated in what became the Popular Assembly of the People’s of Oaxaca. This is a chance to listen directly to those invested in and affected by what quickly became one of the most important social uprisings of the 21st century.
for more information about the tour:
More about Oaxaca
“In 2006, Oaxaca, Mexico came alive with a broad and diverse movement that captivated the nation and earned the admiration of communities organizing for social justice around the world. The show of international solidarity for the people of Oaxaca was the most extensive since the Zapatista uprising in 1994. Fueled by long ignored social contradictions, what began as a teachers’ strike demanding more resources for education quickly turned into a massive movement that demanded direct, participatory democracy.
Hundreds of thousands of Oaxacans raised their voices against the abuses of the state government. They participated in marches of up to 800,000 people, occupied government buildings, took over radio stations, called for statewide labor and hunger strikes, held sit-ins, reclaimed spaces for public art and created altars for assassinated activists in public spaces. In the now legendary March of Pots and Pans, two thousand women peacefully took over and operated the state television channel for three weeks. Barricades that were built all over the city to prevent the passage of paramilitaries and defend occupied public spaces, quickly became a place where neighbors got to know each other, shared ideas and developed new strategies for organizing.
Despite the fierce repression that the movement faced—with hundreds arbitrarily detained, tortured, forced into hiding, or murdered by the state and federal forces and paramilitary death squads—people are determined to make their voices heard.”
George Shrub comes to Madison!
Benefit event co-sponsored by the Dane-Andres Eloy Blanco Sistering Alliance,
Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project and the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project
Sunday, October 26, 2008
6:30 p.m.
Harmony Bar, 2201 Atwood Ave.
On Sunday, October 26 satirical songster Dave Lippman and his alter-ego George Shrub, world's only KNOWN singing CIA Agent, will be in Madison for a Bush (and Shrub) Retirement Party.
This will be at the Harmony Bar, 2201 Atwood Avenue, with doors opening at 6:30 pm. The show is a benefit for three Madison area sister cities: Dane-Andres Eloy Blanco (Venezuela); Madison-Arcatao (El Salvador); and Madison-Rafah (Palestine). A donation will be requested. Sorry, 21 and over unless accompanied by parent or guardian.
Shrub and Lippman will each perform a set, and there will also be a short multi-media presentation featuring highlights from Dave's visits to Arcatao, Rafah and Venezuela.
Come and help us bid a heartfelt farewell to the Bush era with an evening of side-splitting political comedy and much-needed relief from the electoral circus, all while supporting a good cause. More information, including a web link to recordings of Dave's performances, is below.
Hope to see you there!
Who the Heck is Dave Lippman?
Dave Lippman is widely known on many coasts (and in some interiors) for his sharp send-ups of topics ranging from weapons of mass distraction to SUVs and the wars to defend them.
Lippman's notoriety began in 1969 when he was named an unindicted co-conspirator for singing about the "Guatemala sweepstakes" at a rally against the United Fruit Company. Lippman co-founded the 'Reagan for Shah Campaign,' in which he first introduced the character George Shrub, Singing CIA Agent. Shrub went on to tour as security for the "Ladies Against Women."
Lippman has brought Agent Shrub to the School of the Americas, CIA Headquarters, the White House, and countless events for peace, global justice, living wages, fair trade, environmental sanity, and apple pie. Recently, Shrub has been following the presidential candidates closely (don’t tell them), as he prepares to join his White House Dubya-ganger in retirement. Still, he’s managed to find time to help McCain count his houses and to stop Iran from training al Qaeda, which, as he says, "is OUR job."
In 2004 Lippman toured Palestine and Israel, including a visit to Madison’s "unofficial" sister city, Rafah. He has also visited our El Salvador sister city, Arcatao, and in 2006 traveled to Venezuela, home of our area’s newest sister city, the Dane County – Andres Eloy Blanco Sistering Alliance. The Sunday performance will feature a song/sound/picture piece drawn from all three visits.
Lippman has ten releases to his credit, not counting jail. These include I Hate Walmart, Shoot from the Lipp, and Shrub and Lippman Live in Manhattan (Kansas).
Mr. Lippman is the founder of the International Federation of Investigative Songwriters, which no one has joined. He remains one of America's foremost non-corporate comedians.
What "They" Say:
"With his astute observations about the American political system and his sly, often underplayed humor, Lippman is a national treasure." -- L.A. Herald-Examiner
"Viciously funny." -- The Guardian, England
"A latter day Tom Lehrer...a voice that sounds like Woody Guthrie one minute, Lenny Bruce the next." -- Florida Flambeau
"Politically loaded...deadpan and deadpan." -- L.A. Weekly
"The Dean felt more harm than good would come from
your visit." - student, Skidmore College, NY
co-sponsored locally by Community Action on Latin America and Immigrant
Workers Union
2 - 4 pm at Rainbow Bookstore - 436 W. Gilman
Cuba/US Labor Exchange
"Labor Leaders Tour: Colombia and Nicaragua"
Talk and discussion about:
Pro-worker alternatives in the South like ALBA * The Debt and Credit crisis * Neoliberal globalization * “free-trade” * Effects on U.S. & Latin American workers * immigration and forced migration.
with:
OSCAR GUSTAVO PENAGOS ORTIZ
Secretary General SINTRATELEFONOS, Colombia
Colombian Telephone Workers Union
FREDY FRANCO
Secretary General, FEPDES, Nicaragua
Nicaraguan Higher Education Workers Union
Tuesday, October 14
co-sponsored by Community Action on Latin America, Immigrant Workers Union and Peregrine Forum present:
7 pm 29 E. Wilson St #202
Film and discussion: El Inmigrante (2005)
USA 89 min. Dir: Dave Eckenrode, John Eckenrode“El Inmigrante” is a documentary film that examines the Mexican and American border crisis through the story of Eusebio de Haro a young Mexican migrant who was shot and killed during one of his journeys north. “El Inmigrante” examines the perspectives of a diverse cast of players in this border narrative. A cast which includes the de Haro family, the community of Brackettville, Texas-where Eusebio was shot, members of vigilante border militias in Arizona, the horseback border patrol in El Paso, and migrants en route to an uncertain future in the United States.
Tuesday, September 23rd
Co-sponsored by the Peregrine Forum, the Open University Film Seminar and Community Action on Latin America
7pm at Escape Java Joint 916 Williamson St.
Screening of "Missing" and discussion of the September 1973 Coup in Chile.
Missing is a 1982 film (122 min.)directed by Costa Gavras based on the true story of American journalist Charles Horman who disappeared in the bloody aftermath of the US-backed Chilean coup of 1973 which deposed President Salvador Allende. Set largely during the days and weeks following Horman's disappearance, the film depicts his father and wife trying to determine his fate in the face of U.S. State Dept. inaction or obstruction. It's based on a book first published under the title The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice (1978) by Thomas Hauser (later republished under the title Missing in 1982). Missing won the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Sissy Spacek) and Best Picture. The film won also the 1982 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival and Lemmon was awarded Best Actor for his performance.
Adam Schesch will introduce the film and discuss why the 1973 military coup happened and its contemporary significance. Adam lived in Chile 1970-73 and is a survivor of the National Soccer Stadium executions where Charles Horman was murdered along with hundreds of other victims of the coup. Adam Schesch, Ph.d., is retired and is an historian of Third World revolutionary movements and of cinema.
For more information call 608-442-8399
This event is part of the 2008 Madison Anti-Fascist Film Series
Educational Seminar at Escape Java Joint 916 Williamson St.
Co-sponsored by the Peregrine Forum & the Open University Film Seminar
`Friday, September 19
cosponsored by Community Action on Latin America and Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
7 pm at Electric Earth Coffeehouse - 546 W. Washington Ave
Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas:
(2008 / 104 min)
screening and Q and A session with Director Michael Fox
About the film
What is democracy? Freedom, equality, participation? Everyone has his or her own definition. Across the world, 120 countries now have at least the minimum trappings of democracy---the freedom to vote for all citizens. But for many, this is just the beginning not the end. Following decades of US-backed dictatorships, civil wars and devastating structural adjustment policies in the South, and corporate control, electoral corruption, and fraud in the North, representative politics in the Americas is in crisis. Citizens are now choosing to redefine democracy under their own terms: local, direct, and participatory.
In 1989, the Brazilian Worker's Party altered the concept of local government when they installed participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, allowing residents to participate directly in the allocation of city funds. Ten years later, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was swept into power with the promise of granting direct participation to the Venezuelan people; who have now formed tens of thousands of self-organized communal councils. In the Southern Cone, cooperative and recuperated factory numbers have grown, and across the Americas social movements and constitutional assemblies are taking authority away from the ruling elites and putting power into the hands of their members and citizens.
Featuring interviews with: Eduardo Galeano, Amy Goodman, Emir Sader, Martha Harnecker, Ward Churchill, and Leonardo Avritzer as well as cooperative and community members, elected representatives, academics, and activists from Brazil, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, United States, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, and more.
Beyond Elections is a journey that takes us across the Americas to attempt to answer one of the most important questions of our time: What is Democracy?
Extras include video, audio, and resource materials on participatory democracy.
About Sílvia Leindecker:
Sílvia Leindecker is a Brazilian documentary film maker who has shot for the Spanish news agency EFE, Germany's Politik magazine, and numerous independent projects, advertisement and film productions.
About Michael Fox:
Michael Fox is a freelance journalist, translator, reporter and documentary filmmaker based in South America. He is a former staff reporter for Venezuelanlaysis, a radio correspondant for Free Speech Radio News, and his articles have been published with Yes Magazine, Earth Island Journal, NACLA and The Nation online.
PDF of flyer (for printing and posting)
Saturday, September 6
presented by Centro Hispano, Community Action on Latin America
and Con Safos
5:00pm - 8:00pm at Con Safos
5100 Erling Ave in McFarland - Just south of the Beltline off Stoughton Road
free and open to the public
La Peña:
featuring Jazz Violinist Quetzal Guerrero (from LA)
and Son Mudanza and Sonidos Suaves (from Madison)
Quetzal's music is a convergence of Salsa, Yoruba, Brazilian , Jazz, Soul and a host of other styles
www.qviolin.com
Sharing the stage with Quetzal will be performers of Latin American nueva trova, nueva cancion and bolero songs. The stage is open to all who would like to share their art.
Last month’s Peña featured Nueva Canción, Son Mudanza, Grace Epicopal’s Latin Music Group, Sonidos Suaves and poetry by Rosalilia Mendoza. Over 70 people attened!
Con Safos will be open for dinner for those wishing to purchase food or drinks, however all are welcome and it isn’t necessary to buy anything.
at Con Safos 5100 Erling Ave in McFarland
Con Safos is located just South of the Beltine off Stoughton Road
