TODO Austin July 2012

Immigration: SB 1070/DREAM Act p. 5Chop Suey Dishes Asian Radio p. 6Saving Green by Being Green p. 13Alexandra M. Landeros is UMG p. 15

inside

Volume IV, 3 | July 2012

Preya Patel’s eKATVA Tale p. 7

Will Austin Reforms Addressdisadvantaged Communities?

Healthcare Without

WallsBy Katie Walsh

5-4

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Roman Rosas grew up with his family in Brownsville. After heading to San Antonio for college and then moving to Austin, he still goes home to see them often. “As I get older, I appreciate my family more and

want to spend more time with them,” shared Roman. Family gatherings tend to center around w e d d i n g s , n e w b o r n s and ma jo r birthdays such as that of his grandmother’s 90th and 100th (she’s 102 now). Roman works in

litigation and trial support, consulting with law practices on database management, documents, graphics and more. He spends his free time traveling, going to concerts, hanging out and cooking at home. Roman, who’s on his first case with CASA, remarked, “I really like the experience of CASA. It’s rewarding. It’s not the fault of these kids; what they’re dealt. If I can help them to have a better chance in life, and their families as well, then to me that makes a difference.” Roman said he has learned a lot about how different each family can be. “I know now that everyone parents differently and I can’t jump to conclusions or take anything at face value.” On his case, he strives to be unbiased and look at all sides to get to determine what is ultimately best for the kids.

C A s A(Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Travis County

VolunTeeR sPoTligHT

www.TodoAustin.comj u l y TODO Arts---------------------------------------------------Bridge2Bridge

From Montopolis Bridge to 360 Bridge, everything AustinPan-American Hillside Theater Concerts // 2100 e. 3rd

A favorite Eastside rite of summer, the Tuesday night A.B. Cantu Pan-American Rec Center hillside concerts, hosted by Wild Bill Perkins, kick-off July 3 with Tejano Idol and Nash Hernandez; July 10 – Cinco Doce and Trampia; July 17 – Clay Campania and Chris Castaneda Project; July 24 – Calle Seis and Roger Velasquez & Raulito Navaira; July 31 – AT Boyz featuring Cacy Savala and Joe Bravo & Ruben Ramos. 7 p.m. Free.

Austin Chamber Music Center summer Fest // various venues

ACMC’s 16th annual summer festival runs through July 15 as Artistic Director Michelle Schumann continues to expand the definition of chamber music by bringing first-rate ensembles to Central Texas audiences. This year’s line-up features an array of diverse performers, from the classic elegance of the world-renowned Fine Arts String Quartet to the steamy Brasil Guitar Duo. See austinchambermusic.org for schedule.

The sound of Music // Zilker Hillside Theater

In 1959, two musical theatre landmarks were born, one on Broadway and the other in Austin’s Zilker Park. Marking its 54th anniversary, Zilker Theatre Productions presents the Rodgers & Hammerstein favorite each Thursday-Sunday, July 6-August 11. The free performances ($3 parking) begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater located across from Barton Springs Pool.

Mexic-Arte Museum invites families to a free day on Sunday, July 8, noon-3 p.m. With printmaking exhibitions by Arturo garcia Bustos and Miguel Aragón on display, visitors will be treated to interactive creative projects for all ages and live screen printing. Also look for the 17th edition of the young latino Artists exhibition, “grafficanos & serie Print Project XiX,” opening July 20. mexic-artemuseum.org

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •The george Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center’s newest exhibit brings echoes of past triumphs and achievements of the original l. C. Anderson High school to the fore with a permanent exhibit dedicated to faculty and alumnae of the old Eastside school. The legacy of the Yellow Jackets is singular as its roots date back to 1889 as the city’s first school for African-American children. austintexas.gov

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •emma s. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center spotlights the work of Rigoberto A. gonzalez and Matthew Bonifacio through August. Gonzalez presents a striking juxtaposition of Baroque artistic traditions and Mexican corridos, narrative songs about oppression and other salient societal issues. Bonifacio has studied and practiced painting, animation, and film earning wide acclaim. Free. austintexas.gov

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Alliance Francaise d’Austin presents the city’s 17th annual Bastille day Fête on Saturday, July 14, at the French legation Museum, Austin’s first home. Featuring the music of local treasure Christine Albert, there’s food, dancing, pétanque and other games for the whole family. $8 advance/$10 door, children 12 and under free. Lawn chairs and beach blankets are allowed and recommended. afaaustin.org

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •The Millennium youth entertainment Complex presents free summer matinee movies for children (ages 12 and under) every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. through September 1. Adults can get in on the summer fun with “grown Folks step’n’Roll” on Saturday, July 21, 9p.m.-midnight, an adult skate and dance party scheduled every third Saturday of the month. 21 and up, ByoB. myec.net

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •diverse Arts at The Victory grill presents the Blue Monday Blues jam, an open pro blues, jazz, and soul jam designed to bring together some of Austin’s most accomplished players. Each Monday, the east side Blues syndicate – featuring longtime Austin bassist Harold McMillan – one of the best blues jam bands in Austin, leads the beat. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the jam runs ’til midnight. $3 cover. diversearts.org

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Bands representing the international cooperative spirit of dart Music international and The House of songs are holding court on the beautiful rooftop deck of 219 West throughout the summer. The free “Music With a View” series begins at 8:30 p.m. with erin ivey and saturday’s Radar performing Thursday, July 5, oh look out/Bali yaaah performing July 12 and gina Chavez/Kalu james on July 19. dartmusicinternational.org

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1412 S. Congress Avenue • Austin, Texas 78704Open Weekdays 11am-11pm; Weekends 8am-11pm www.GuerosTacoBar.com

TACO BAr

Good Times at Güero’s For great tunes and great rita’s! Please join us for live music on our outside jardin stage, every Thursday through Sunday. ThankS To The fanS & bandS who SuPPorT uS!!! all ouTdoor ShowS are “weaTher PermiTTing”

July line-up- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Sun 7/1 The TeXaS TyCoonS (3:00)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Thu 7/5 The bob fuenTeS Show (6:30)fri 7/6 loS flameS (6:30)SaT 7/7 loS SuPer VaToS (6:30)Sun 7/8 TrenT Turner & The moonTowerS (3:00)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -wed 7/11 The larry monroe radio Show (6:30)Thu 7/12 The fabS (6:30)fri 7/13 loS flameS (6:30)SaT 7/14 The TeXaS Swing band (6:30)Sun 7/15 miTCh webb & The SwindleS (3:00)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -wed 7/18 The larry monroe radio Show (6:30)Thu 7/19 maTT SmiTh’S world (6:30)fri 7/20 loS flameS (6:30)SaT 7/21 The leroi broTherS (6:30)Sun 7/22 larry lange & hiS lonely knighTS (3:00)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -wed 7/25 The larry monroe radio Show (6:30)Thu 7/26 eVe monSeeS (6:30)fri 7/27 Paul orTa & The kingPinS (6:30)SaT 7/28 loS flameS (6:30)Sun 7/29 ChiCken STruT (6:30)

04 TODO Austin // July 2012 // TodoAustin.com

HABlA AustinCurrent affairs and issues impacting our community from Hispanic Advocates and Business Leaders of Austin.

dReAM Act Work Permits // With the announcement of work permits on June 15, folks should not jump the gun and go to a notary or lawyer trying to fill out paperwork or get proof you are here in the U.S. Your high school diploma, bank account, college transcripts, etc., are all the proof you need. Don’t be fooled into paying for something you won’t need! Have patience. The details of the application process won’t be out for at least 60 days. – Cynthia Valadez-Mata, jr.

Healthy ATX // The Latino community is the largest and youngest minority group in the U.S., yet it is one of the minority groups that faces the biggest challenges in the healthcare area: highest rates of preventable diseases; a high percentage of Latinos are uninsured. And most recently a new study released by research affiliates with the American Diabetes Association found that the number of Latino children and youth under 20 years of age diagnosed with diabetes is growing at an alarming rate – the fastest of any ethnic group in the U.S. The best thing we can do for ourselves, our family, our economy, and our Central Texas community is to invest in our health. State Sen. Kirk Watson’s plan to achieve “10 Goals in 10 Years” lays out a road map for transformative change in the health of our region. – Paul saldaña

Hispanics lagging in Voter Participation // The key is to change focus from the perspective of a single vote to that of being part of a large turnout and being part of a force. If someone asks me to stand alone, I might not. But if asked to stand with a large like-minded group, it might help to motivate me beyond the sense of futility that is a driving psychological force that keeps so many from getting involved. – leonard Martinez

Texas democrats elect Their First Hispanic Chairman // Texas Democrats elected their first Hispanic chairman June 9. In a reflection of the state’s burgeoning Hispanic growth and the party’s longtime success with Latinos, delegates overwhelmingly elected Gilberto Hinojosa as the next party chairman … Hinojosa lambasted Republicans for proclaiming Democrats as un-American for their efforts to expand health care, uphold voting rights in Texas and fund public education. “This is a war, folks. This is a war that the Republicans have waged on our families in Texas and all across America,” he shouted from the stage. “We are a compassionate people. We don’t believe in pulling up the ladder after we reach the top.” – Ross Ramsey and julián Aguilar, The Texas Tribune

Volume iV, number 03

PuBlisHeR/ediToR - Gavin Lance [email protected] ART diReCToR - Dave McClintonwww.dmdesigninc.com

ConTRiBuTing ediToRs - Katie Walsh, Erica Stall Wiggins

senioR ediToRs – Güner Arslan, Cindy Casares, Sonia Kotecha, Esther Reyes, Lesley Varghese, Yvonne Lim Wilson

AssoCiATe ediToRs –Layla Fry, Yadira Izquierdo, Harish Kotecha, Alexandra M. Landeros, Callie Langford, Blake Shanley

Contributing Writers/Photographers/Artists – –Ainee Athar, Mohammad Al-Bedaiwi, Heather Banks, Stefanie Behe, Padmini Bhat, Adriana Cadena, Jason Cato, Sirsha Chatterjee, Jennie Chen, Priscilla Cortez, Ruben Cubillos, Harmony Eichsteadt, Lori L. Garcia, Mark Guerra, Shailee Gupta, Mita Haldar, Jillian Hall, Mari Hernandez, Ryan Hutchison, Nandini Jairam, Chaille Jolink, Ryan Jordan, Kelle Kampa, Ramey Ko, Savannah Kumar, Heather Lee, Julia Lee, Liz Lopez, Otis Lopez, Nathalie Lumang, David Marks, Darya Marchenkova, JoJo Marion, Mamata Misra, Carmen Nenadal, Cristina Parker, Preya Patel, Monica Peña, Aleah Penn, Kathy Pham, Revathi Ravi, Jorge Reyes, Paul Saldaña, Marion Sanchez, Hani Saleh, Jaya Shukla, Azim Siddiqui, Kristina Vallejo, Kuetzpalin Vasquez, Vanessa Valdovinos, Rocio Villalobos, Joseph P.A. Villescas, Bowen Wilder, Sait Yavuz

CoVeR: Photo courtesy of SaludToday, Institute for

Health Promotion Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

TODO Austin: Multicultural Media for All of Austin. TODO Austin is a free print and online journal for all of Austin highlighting our multicultural heritage and promoting the concept of community in an ethnically diverse city. Circulation throughout Austin, from the Westside’s Pennybacker Bridge to the Eastside’s Montopolis Bridge.

TODO Austin is published by Spark Awakened Publishing. © 2012 Spark Awakened Publishing. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are the authors and should not be taken to represent those of Spark Awakened Publishing or of any of its associates or partners. ADVERTISING/SUBMISSIONS/EDITORIAL: [email protected], 512.538.4115TODO Austin - P.O. Box 4142 - Austin, TX 78765-4142

An easter seals success story: Matthew Villegas By Monica Peña

Matthew Villegas received occupational, speech and physical therapy services at Easter Seals Central Texas (ESCT) from 11 months to age three. Now a graduate and four year varsity track athlete, he has enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps this fall.

“When he was about eleven months old, a neurologist informed us he would never walk or talk,” said Matthew’s mother, Rosalinda Reazola. Now, Matthew would like to help other families and children – continuing the cycle of services he received as a young child – by requesting individuals to donate to ESCT to help them provide services to children and adults with disabilities and their families to allow them to fully participate in their communities.

“They helped me with my speech therapy and a few of my learning disabilities,” said Villegas. “They also helped me get my walking down right and a lot of the other physical issues I had.” Since 1937, Easter Seals Central Texas has provided vital support services for children and adults with disabilities by ensuring that all people enjoy equal access, opportunities and independence.

ESCT provides a multitude of services in the community that fall into four program areas: Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation, Community and Housing Services and Workforce Development. For more information about ESCT and its services, visit www.centraltx.easterseals.com.

2012 yWCA Women of the year AwardsBy Monica Peña

This year’s YWCA’s Women of the Year Awards Soiree was held at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on June 15. Mistress of ceremonies, reporter/producer Thanh Tan, helped honor five women who have made an impact in the Austin community. The winners included:

young Woman of Achievement award was presented to Victoria Volker for being a role model to young people by participating as secretary of the National Honor Society, editor and chief of Flashpoint Literary Magazine (a student publication), and secretary of the student council. She created SmartJanes, a school-based discussion group that explored topics such as sexual harassment, body image, and gender equality that encouraged peers to embrace and honor their own self-worth.

leader of Promise honoree was Rebecca snearly, director of Health Education with Planned

Parenthood. Snearly developed and launched Talk First! Program that helped lead the organization with partnerships with LifeWorks and Austin Independence School District to establish and secure a pregnancy prevention initiative

in middle and high schools which is especially important in Texas as the third highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation and the highest repeat teen birth rate.

lifetime Achievement recognition was awarded to sandra A. Martin of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Identifying that systemic change was necessary to fight abuse effectively; Martin helped establish a collaborative

partnership between the community and all agencies in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse which resulted in the creation of Center for Child Protection. Today the center brings together law enforcement agencies from all jurisdictions in Travis County, the District Attorney’s office, Child Protective Services, Dell Children’s Medical Center and the Austin Independent School District to share case information and review evidence in order to provide safety net for marginalized population.

economic empowerment awardee was Krista del gallo for being an advocate for women’s economic empowerment in Austin, Particularly survivors of domestic violence. She is admired for pushing legislation that results in the economic empowerment of survivors of domestic violence of all backgrounds, including immigrant women. She trains hundreds of survivors, advocates, law enforcement, allied professionals and interested community members on economic options and immigration relief available to survivors of domestic violence.

Racial justice’s award winner, artist, and educator Florinda Bryant captures the legacy of social protest theater. As a teacher of the arts in the justice system, Bryant works with the detained men convicted of domestic violence to break the cycle of their

destructive behavior and its devastating effect on the women in their lives. As manager of the Theatre Action Project Company, her work with at-risk youth addresses conflict resolution, self-esteem, bullying, as well as teaching professional art making methodologies to very young people.

“Since 1986, the YWCA has honored women in our community for their outstanding service as professionals or volunteers,” said Diana Gorham, Executive Director of YWCA Greater Austin. To find out more about more of the counseling, referral center, and generation programing visit www.ywcaaustin.org

iMMigRATion

illegal is illegal, Right? sorry, But it’s just not That simple By Cristina Parker

TODO Austin // JULy 2012 // TodoAustin.com 05

UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

dReAM Act a Policy Victory Borne of Passion and CommitmentBy Ainee Athar

For years now, every time I have thought about life after graduation I have envisioned nothing but a huge and blurry gray wall. A piece of paper from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says my family must leave the country by summer 2013 — that we must leave the land into which we have poured our hearts and souls and head to the certain violence of religious discrimination in Pakistan. But on June 15, the wall started to crack and beams of hope flooded through.

Make no mistake: the recent announcement that the Obama administration will cease the deportation of Dream Act-eligible students and provide them with work permits is fruit borne out of the passion and commitment of undocumented youth across the country. As one of those youth, we mobilized, demonstrated, lobbied and shut down regional campaign offices to reach our first national policy victory. This temporary relief is certainly not the end of our struggle nor does it bring any one of us closer to citizenship. But by removing the looming fears of deportation and providing access to employment, the undocumented youth community can be better, stronger, and faster at uplifting the spirits and lives of the immigrants that this nation depends on.

I am not the only one who can now think beyond my college graduation. Every day, I think about all the members of the University Leadership Initiative, an undocumented youth activist group at the University of Texas at Austin that I am honored to be a part of, and how the members rest easy knowing they can finally put their degrees to work. Daniel Olvera and Loren Campos, two past presidents of ULI, no longer have to defer their dreams of being a teacher or a civil engineer. I rejoice for the day that Juana Guzman, our current president, will graduate and put to use her journalistic talents. The thousands of undocumented youth

who have not been fortunate enough to go to college or only wonder about their day-to-day survival also benefit because simple employment will change their lives. And while many of our families are still stuck in immigration limbo, the fact that I can work and provide for my parents is a feeling of relief I cannot begin to describe.

What may be most important is the potential this has unlocked for generations of Latinos and immigrants across the nation. Without the worry of deportation and with options for economic survival, we are certain that many more undocumented youth will join our fight for dignity and freedom. On June 26, ULI hosted 400 people at the first of several forums to educate the Austin community about the policy change. Among these were undocumented children and young people who saw a world of opportunity and change unfold before them. They witnessed how the dedication of a small group of people can turn into something groundbreaking for an entire generation. We are now certain that more immigrant youth will be inspired to take up the cause and become leaders of their communities.

Rest assured, we will never stop struggling until we have secured safety and liberation for all immigrants. I have always thought this movement to be powerful and awe-inspiring, but now I know we can reach limits we have always thought impossible.

On June 25, the Supreme Court issued its decision on Arizona’s noxious anti-immigrant law, SB1070.

The Court was clear. In striking down three of the four provisions of the law, the Court sent a strong message that states cannot create their own immigration laws. The last provision, commonly called the “papers, please” provision was left standing ... for now.

The problems with a “papers, please” law are obvious. The provision will undoubtedly lead to racial profiling and discrimination against all Latinos — immigrant or not — for the simple fact that you cannot tell someone’s immigration status just by looking at them.

But there’s a deeper problem with “papers, please.” The fact is police officers probably can’t tell what someone’s immigration status is even after they start to ask questions.

“Illegal is illegal” is the simple-minded refrain of those who support laws like SB1070 and other “self-deportation” measures. But it just isn’t that simple no matter how many times they repeat it.

Immigrants are not just either undocumented or naturalized citizens. There are several ways that

one can be an immigrant lawfully present in the U.S.

For example, there are hundreds of types of VISAs, each with their own set of codes, time-limits and status. Then there are those seeking asylum in the U.S. These are people fleeing from religious or political oppression in their home countries, and can also include immigrants living in the U.S. who cannot return to their homes because of threats against them. These individuals usually live lawfully in the U.S. while waiting years for a hearing with a judge.

Take the case of DREAMers, young undocumented immigrants, who because of a policy change earlier this month are protected from deportation and may apply to work, but would have no way to prove that to a police officer on demand.

There are also thousands of immigrants who are waiting for their hearings with a judge on open immigration cases. The backlog for these cases is between three and five years. Like the DREAMers, these individuals would have no way prove to a police officer that they are awaiting a hearing on their case in say, 2015. This is especially true if the officer has decided to take immigration law into his or her own hands for

their own personal or political reasons.

Police are charged with enforcing criminal, not civil laws. In each of these examples, and there are many more, these are immigrants who are lawfully present in the U.S. but cannot prove it to an police officer who does not know, and should not be enforcing, civil immigration laws.

The conclusion here is that “illegal is illegal” is a nonsensical claim made by those who know the least about the complexities of the law. Immigration is less like a clear-cut criminal matter (either you stole the car or you didn’t) and more

like civil tax law (what you owe the IRS can be found reading 70,000 pages of tax code).

This is why the Supreme Court left the door open for future challenges to “papers, please.” In their opinion, the Justices acknowledged that legitimate concerns may bring it back before the Court. “Detaining individuals solely to verify their immigration status would raise constitutional concerns,” the Justices wrote, and “(t)he nature and timing of this case counsel caution in evaluating the validity of (‘papers, please’).” The Justices concluded: “This opinion does not foreclose other preemption and constitutional challenges to the law as interpreted and applied after it goes into effect.”

So “papers, please” can go into effect. But expect a mountain of civil rights complaints and lawsuits to be filed soon after. These may come from the types of individual cases explained here or from one of the thousands of U.S.-born Latinos in Arizona who are now open to this type of questioning from police officers who are untrained in civil matters, like tax law or immigration law.

And when those challenges come, “papers, please” will be struck down like the rest of SB1070.

Esther Reyes has successfully led the efforts of Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Potential has been unlocked for generations of Latinos and immigrants across the nation.

06 TODO Austin // JULy 2012 // TodoAustin.com

By yvonne Lim Wilson

Celebrate Me! China!George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center’s series, Celebrate Me!, has as its next destination the country of China. Celebrate Me! is an event the museum created to showcase the city’s different cultures and heritage. By exploring the Chinese culture through its language, food and history, program directors know there will be much to explore. The free event will be held at the Carver Museum on Saturday, July 14, from noon-4 p.m. and is open to the public. Call 512-974-4926 for more information or visit www.carvermuseum.org.

Hiroshima at one World TheatreEver since the music group Hiroshima formed 38 years ago, they have been known as pioneers in fusing the musical styles of East and West. Their style incorporates the blend of jazz, pop-rock, along with Japanese folk music. Having sold more than three million albums throughout the years, Hiroshima have introduced many to a new contemporary style of music. The band will perform at One World Theatre on Friday, August 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For more information go to www.oneworldtheatre.org

Magic dragon Hiring Bilingual TeachersThe Magic Dragon at the Asian American Cultural Center is seeking nurturing individuals who are bi-lingual (Mandarin and English) to be Magic Dragon teachers. Experience is desired but not required. The Magic Dragon is looking specifically for people who share the school’s core values and are committed to early care and education. The school is open to sending qualified candidates to obtain early care/education professional trainings. For details, visit www.asianamericancc.com

Austin Asian occasionFestivities and events celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May closed with the fifth annual Austin Asian Occasion on Saturday, May 26, at the Long Center. The event, hosted by the Asian American Cultural Center, presented Asian dance and music as well as showcased the talents of Young Musician Festival winners. Proceeds from this annual event benefit a local charity and this year the money will go to the People’s Community Clinic, which provides provide primary care to the working poor who cannot afford health insurance.

Asian Austin at www.AsianAustin.com is an online news source featuring news about Asian American people, organizations and events in Austin. Visit Asian Austin for full calendar and event details! Contact publisher Yvonne Lim Wilson at [email protected].

It has been a little over three years since “Chop Suey” hit the airwaves and became the first radio show in Austin that focuses on Asian and Asian American music and culture.

Chop Suey is a Chinese-American dish created from a mixture of American and Chinese elements. When deciding the name for the radio show, co-founders Brandon Webb and Lei Guo thought the symbolism was fitting.

“Back in the day there were some negative connotations behind the term ‘chop suey’,” Guo said. “We’re trying to bring about something positive though, with this radio station.”

When the show first aired in early 2009, Webb and Guo intended to feature only Chinese culture and music. But as the show picked up, they collaborated with others interested in Asian culture.

Larissa Chu, Lorin Lee and Ginny Williams joined “Chop Suey” with their own segment, “All Systems Normal,” which focuses on Japanese and Korean music and culture.

“We started off as only a monthly segment in Chop Suey at the end of every month,” Lee said. “But things changed when the whole show became one hour show, so now we each have 30 minutes.”

Lee said they came up with the name “All Systems Normal” by looking through a book of slang Japanese words and came across “ijo nashi” – which meant all systems normal – and thought that was a perfect fit.

Typically, “Chop Suey” plays various Chinese, Korean and Japanese music in addition to up and coming Asian American artists, including local talent. Music genres can range from a variety of styles such as

pop, country or indie, depending on the

theme of the show that day. Sometimes,

the show runs its course with a theme and

will include a culture corner or a segment in

which they teach various words in Chinese,

Japanese and Korean.

“We try to keep the show focused on

music and culture,” Guo said. “We’re a

non-political, non-religious and non-

commercial show.”

In the past, “Chop Suey” has featured

guests including Esther Chung from the

Austin History Center and Judge Ramey

Ko. They have also featured interviews from

international artists such as well-known

pianists Lang Lang and the composer,

Nobuo Uematsu, from official symphony

Distant Worlds, which played music from

Final Fantasy.

“As the years go by, I actually got

progressively more and more excited

with our guests on the show, because I

appreciated them coming,” Lee said.

“Chop Suey” also works alongside two

other radio shows produced by University

of Texas students. Asian Radio is a nonprofit

organization that produces not only “Chop

Suey” but also “iPanda,” which is broadcast

all in Chinese, as well as the show “Tokyo

Seoul,” which features a combination of

Japanese and Korean culture.

“There aren’t a lot of Asian Americans in

mainstream media, except the stereotype,”

Guo said. “Our goal is to give Asian

Americans that creative platform.”

Listen to Chop Suey and All Systems

Normal every Saturday at 4 p.m. on Austin’s

91.7 FM or online at www.koop.org.

Chop suey: A Modern Blend of CulturesFiRsT AsiAn AMeRiCAn RAdio sHoW in AusTin

By Nathalie Lumang

Yvonne Lim Wilson | photo


india’s eKATVA Children leave lasting impression on AustinBy Preya Patel

CoMunidAd sPoTligHT

Arjun Adapalli and sharmila gurumurthy Win TnF idol Contest By Revathi Ravi

Austin once again has new musical talents worth boasting about. In a statewide Tamil music competition conducted by the Tamil Nadu Foundation in Houston on May 12, Arjun Adapalli, the lead singer of the Austin band Om-kara, and Sharmila Gurumurthy, a new addition to Austin and to Om-kara, walked away with the TNF Idol titles in the male and female categories. Adithya Sankaran and Harveen Kaur of Austin competed for the Junior Idol where each were named runner-up.

Auditions and semi-final rounds were held in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio leading to the finals. The proud winners were awarded their titles in the 37th Annual Tamil Nadu Foundation Convention held at the Houston Hilton Ballroom during the Memorial Day weekend.

The convention in Houston virtually turned Hilton Houston North into a mini Tamil Nadu with talks, music, dance and drama.

Attendees included celebrities from film, music and the cultural scene of Tamil Nadu. The TNF-Idol winners had the opportunity to sing in a light music show which boasted names like Haricharan, Saindhavi, Rahul Nambiar, to name a few. For details about the convention and the TNF foundation, please visit www.tnfconvention.org.

Ratha yatra, “The Chariot Festival,” CelebratedBy Mamata Misra

On June 24, the Austin Hindu Temple & Community Center celebrated its sixth annual “Ratha Yatra” symbolizing universal brotherhood, equality and inclusiveness of the highest order. The colors of the Deities (black for Lord Jagannath, white for his brother Balabhadra and yellow for his sister, Subhadra) represent the colors of the human races indicating universal brotherhood. The moving chariot symbolizes the life journey of humans.

In the chariot (body) sits the passenger (soul) who wants to reach its destination (unity with Divinity). Yet he has no knowledge or control over the decisions the charioteer (intellect) is making. When the charioteer is in full control of the reins and bridles (mind), the horses (senses) stay on the path; the chariot moves forward and the ride is smooth; but only when the charioteer knows where the passenger wants to go, the destination is reached. For a successful journey, a healthy body and an intellect in control of the mind and the senses must be aligned with the desire of the soul.

Honorable Dr. Madhu Godsay, a well-known Vedanta scholar and teacher in Austin, graced the occasion as the chief guest. He spoke about the uniqueness of the Jagannath tradition and performed the ceremonial sweeping of the path of the chariot, traditionally done by the King as a gesture of equality of the classes before the Lord. Distinguished artists Aparupa Chatterjee (Odissi) and Pavithra Ramadoss (Bharatanatyam) performed devotional dances. In spite of the heat, a crowd participated in the ceremonial pulling of the chariot, walking barefoot on the hot pavement. Community volunteers cooked and served delicious food to all the guests.

Bahuda Yatra, the return journey of the Ratha, will take place on July 1t at 10:30 am at the Austin Hindu Temple. All are welcome.

Once in a lifetime we get a chance to be a part of something bigger than the space around us. When director Nimesh Patel of the EKATVA Oneness Tour contacted me to help with the planning of a tour stop in Austin at the Long Center on June 10, I did not blink an eye. The non-profit organization known as Manav Sadhna arranged the tour of 16 children (eight boys and eight girls) from some of the largest slums in Gujurat, India, with the aid of volunteers from around the globe. The purpose of the event was to spread the message of unity and oneness using the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. At each stop, the group spends time in community outreach including volunteering at homeless shelters, packing cans of food to feed underprivileged families and visiting educational institutions.

David Lobel, Mich Haskell and I desperately wanted Austin to experience the beauty and effect of the show and Austin came through like a champion. The EKATVA gang arrived the night before the show where we met at Radha Madhav Dham, as temple staff and patrons offered tours around the beautiful grounds and a delicious dinner. As one mentor said, “that is just what the kids needed, a loving and relaxed outing.”

Thirty members stayed at my home, where upon

entering I noticed one boy making sure all the shoes were lined up and orderly. Incredible. As I laid down the floor beddings, each exhausted child – ranging from 11 to 15 years old – helped out. Before they turned in, they gathered in a prayer circle. Jagatbhai, an artist, musician and mentor, brought out his Dhol (Indian drum) and the group sang a few devotional songs. Afterwards, they gave thanks to everyone for helping in the effort and allowed me to say some words. We concluded with a discussion led by Virenbhai (founder of Manav Sadhna), which seemed to keep the kids grounded and humble along this incredible journey. They discussed the similarities between America and India with one question raised, “here in America you have stayed in all of these nice homes and driven in big fancy cars. What do you think about it?”

The next morning before making our way to the venue, a few of the mentors noticed me running around a bit anxious. Virenbhai said, “Preya, at this point you have done all you can. If you can’t enjoy these moments then the experience isn’t worth it. Relax. What will happen, will happen. We know it will come together.” I finally let out the breath I had been holding all morning.

The show itself consisted of 22 different scenes, each portraying messages of coming together

or oneness. The children, dressed in a beautiful array of costumes, danced and sang with pure, honest expressions. After the show, several patrons shared their gratitude for being able to witness something so powerful. One woman told me, “I am so thankful. This show opened up a dialogue with my children that I don’t think we would have otherwise had.”

That evening after we returned to my house, the performers became kids again, playing “Red Rover” out back, coloring and dancing. Virenbhai and Nimesh, upon receiving the funds raised had humbled reactions, referring to a Gandhi sentiment that with the right intentions, good things come.

The next morning, the kids visited Abercorn International School. Departing for Houston afterwards, we all held hands to say a final prayer and I could not take it anymore: the floodgates opened. As I looked up to say my goodbyes, the girls spoke, “Didi (sister), if you cry, we cry. No cry Didi, please.”

The blessing of being with this group, even for a short amount of time, was life changing. My husband, my four year old daughter and I will never be the same. There are so many ways to help others in this world and so many causes

allowing you to do so. It’s finding the one that resonates within your soul with that you will find yourself doing things you never thought you would. Step by step, big or small, I hope to be the change.

With the Supreme Court’s decision last month to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also dubbed “Obamacare”), healthcare is all the buzz among politicians and pundits, and competing opinions on its implications abound.

Simultaneously, Austin marches forward with its own localized healthcare reform, spearheaded by Senator Kirk Watson and his “10 Goals in 10 Years” plan, including a new medical school and teaching hospital backed by the Seton Healthcare Family, local taxing authority Central Health and the University of Texas.

What do these sweeping legislative changes really mean for everyday Austinites, and especially our rapidly growing Latino community, who face a number of disparities in access to good health and healthcare?

Austin Health disparities a Harsh realityHealth isn’t just something we talk about and pay for — it is the number one determining factor to our quality of life and overall well-being. When you’re sick (be it a stomach bug, migraines or a chronic condition), every other aspect of your life suffers. Forget being a productive member of society—health issues make it hard to think straight, move about our daily lives and sometimes to even get out of bed or get dinner on the table.

With that in mind, consider that one of the largest (and fastest growing) segments of Austin’s population – the half-a-million strong Hispanic community – is significantly less likely than the rest to maintain good health, prevent illness before it starts and seek care when many among its population does fall sick. While Austin as a whole is often ranked one of America’s

“healthiest” cities, it still falls prey to nationwide health disparities affecting disadvantaged and underserved communities.

It’s been shown in numerous studies and reports, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Health, United States, 2011 and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program: Final Evaluation that poverty, income inequality and health are intrinsically linked.

Not only are lower-income populations more vulnerable to disease via available food sources and substandard living environments; the pattern can also work in reverse, as individuals battling serious illness are faced with massive healthcare costs and plummeted into poverty.

The Latino community, which currently represents 42% of the Austin population (and which the Pew Research Center estimates will comprise 30% of our national population by 2050), faces added difficulties when it comes to maintaining and accessing good health.

The National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (LCAT) cites prohibitive and discriminatory policies, the intersectionality of several forms of discrimination (based on socioeconomic status, race, gender, etc.), and inadequate language services as major causes for Latino health disparities. Latino immigrants not only face these obstacles themselves; their families also do not receive adequate care.

Frank Rodriguez, Central Health Vice-Chairperson, simplifies the equation into “3 ovals of disparity”—access (i.e., difficulty even getting an appointment), cultural confidence (difficulty navigating the complex, bureaucratic system and understanding how care is delivered), and communication (difficulty speaking with providers, asking the appropriate questions, staying in contact after discharge, etc.).

HeAlTHCAReWiTHouT

WAllsdisPARiTies AFFeCTing disAdVAnTAged And undeRseRVed CoMMuniTies

By Katie Walsh

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) notes that Latina women (who are twice as likely as white women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and have higher rates of unintended pregnancy) are more likely than other groups, even their Latino male counterparts, to face structural barriers that prevent them from accessing health care and preventive services.

Most Latinos speak English, and immigrants are learning English more quickly than other immigrant groups historically. Regardless, “many Latino immigrants either do not speak English or are not yet sufficiently fluent to navigate the complex public health system in English,” the LCAT says, in large part due to funding cuts and lack of programming for English and a Second Language (ESL).

Latinos are also disproportionally uninsured, especially here in Texas—which has one of the highest rates of uninsured Americans in the country. White House special assistant Alejandra Campoverdi reported that “32% of Latinos were uninsured in 2009 — higher than any other racial or ethnic group — and half of Latinos did not have a regular doctor, compared to only one-fifth of white Americans.”

While the rapidly growing Latino population is a young one (nationally, the median age is 28, while more than 30% of Latinos in Austin are under 18), they are also one of the most vulnerable to illness, with the highest rates of preventable disease and least amount of insurance coverage. An American Diabetes Association study found that the rate of diabetes diagnoses amongst Latinos 20 years of age and younger is growing more quickly than any other ethnic group in the U.S.

“There’s an irony in that,” Rodriguez said, “because for whatever reason, we have a really strong health profile. It’s deteriorating quickly as we assimilate into American culture, eat our Big Macs and all that, but overall, we’re bringing a younger, healthier profile to the system. What I call the

‘Latino tsunami’ can be a shock absorber for the ‘silver tsunami’.” In some ways, Rodriguez says, we need Latinos to be brought under the insurance umbrella to help pay for the baby boomers.

Affordable Care Act a Win for HispanicsSome feel that the ACA mandating the purchase of private insurance is a burden on business and low-income citizens, and a slippery slope of a precedent (claiming that it might eventually lead to unlimited federal control of our paychecks and how we spend them). Close examination of its immediate effects, however, are mostly positive, making healthcare more accessible to us by lowering costs, expanding coverage and protecting us from unfair insurance company practices.

Latino advocacy groups around the country applaud the ACA, and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold it, as a big win for Latino health. NLIRH executive director Jessica González-Rojas said in response to the decision, “Latinas have historically faced a disproportionate number of barriers to basic health care, and we can now envision a future where those barriers begin to crumble.”

The White House reports that the ACA will extend insurance eligibility to as many as nine million Latinos, and that the act is pointed to “move toward elimination of disparities that Latinos currently face both in their health and in their health care.”

NBC Latino reports 10 major areas in which the continued implementation of the ACA will benefit American Latinos. Some are broad in their reach to many other citizens as well, including the mandatory insurance coverage of pre-existing conditions in children (and eventually adults), removal of a lifetime cap on overall coverage


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(11.8 million Latinos have already benefitted from this measure), and free women’s services (like preventative screenings, access to birth control, breast pump rentals and domestic violence counseling).

Others are more targeted in their approach to Latino health, including $11 billion for new and improved community health centers (of which 35% of patients are currently Latino), diversification of the medical workforce (including funding for Latino student scholarships, nursing diversity grants and reimbursements for primary care providers working in underserved areas), and cultural competency training to properly equip tomorrow’s healthcare providers with the knowledge they need to communicate with and serve Latino patients.

The act also elevates the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities from a “Center” to a full “Institute” and creates the Office of Minority Health within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “to monitor health, health care trends, and quality of care among minority patients and evaluate the success of minority health programs and initiatives.”

Watson’s ‘10 in 10 Plan’ inclusive?Against the background of national healthcare reform, community leaders and healthcare advocates in Austin are pushing for big changes locally as well. Along with a medical school and modern teaching hospital, Senator Watson’s “10 in 10 plan” includes comprehensive cancer care, improved infrastructure, behavioral health services, and modern health clinics—all measures he, and the plan’s supporters, feels will best address the health needs of Central Texas.

The plan received a big boost when Seton pledged

their support of up to $250 million to fund the hospital, and when Central Health stated their intent to collaborate with Seton and the University of Texas on its implementation.

As recently reported by the Austin American-Statesman’s Mary Ann Roser, Central Health is working to secure a massive increase in state and federal funding via Medicare reform measures, specifically the “1115 waiver.” The City stands to gain “as much as $390 million in new federal funds to the community over five years, based on health care improvements alone,” Roser reported.

Rodriguez calls it a “regional healthcare partnership,” with Central Health as the “anchoring” governmental entity. Perhaps the most integral part of the plan, Central Health will also be involved in an effort to help synchronize the disjointed components of our current healthcare landscape into an “integrated delivery system” with a community-fueled component.

“Healthcare is a very complex area. It’s called a system but it’s really just these disparate pieces,” Rodriguez said. “Primary care, hospitals, specialists, doctors—they relate to each other, but don’t. We’re trying to insert ourselves into that whole equation.”

Another increase in federal funding is expected to boost the number of underserved individuals cared for by area hospitals. The proposed teaching hospital, for one, would provide expanded services to low-income residents.

It isn’t immediately apparent, however, how else the “10 in 10” plan itself will be inclusive of the needs of the Latino community. That’s where collaboration with Austin’s Latino HealthCare Forum (LHCF) comes into play.

Rodriguez, himself dubbed a “Healthcare Hero” by the Austin Business Journal, and Michael Candelas, former Director of the Austin-Travis

County Department of Public Health (responsible for the Medical Assistance Program (MAP) and the nation’s first Clean Indoor Air ordinance), came together in 2010 when Candelas joined the board of Mexic-Arte Museum, for which Rodriguez was serving as Director of Administration.

The two founded the LHCF almost “by accident,” Candelas recounts. “We looked and found no advocates for Latino healthcare in the country. No one. We are the only one in Texas. There are a few that are episodic, but we wanted to be the first dedicated organization to truly address healthcare disparities, it’s just too important,” Candelas said.

Rodriguez and Candelas bring their expertise to the LHCF along with several other Latino community workers, academics, experts and advocates. The organization’s policy advisory board works with community members and policymakers to set priorities and create strategies for improving care and filling the gap. Its broad representation brings many different Austin Latino voices and perspectives to the legislative table.

The LHCF is currently examining Senator Watson’s plan and analyzing whether its various provisions will address the issues faced by the Latino community. They’ve authored policy papers and prompted conversations around taking the lead from the ACA and using this unique opportunity to diversify our local medical workforce and ensuring our curriculum includes the cultural and linguistic training necessary to serve the Latino community.

“We want to create the opportunity for students at the teaching hospital to practice in a clinical setting that focuses on underserved populations,” Rodriguez said. “Otherwise, the focus will be on academic medicine, research, and no doubt we need that—but we also need a community-based medical curriculum.”

The organization is also pursuing ACA funding for minority medical students, and recently submitted

a policy paper recommending that the “10 in 10” plan include the creation of a medical magnet high school in Austin. Last week’s Supreme Court decision is seen as a big green light to put all of these ideas into motion.

“It’s a perfect storm of opportunity, because all of these elements are coming into place,” Rodriguez said. “The rules are unfolding as we speak—it’s like building a rocket ship in space.” They hope to make Austin’s healthcare reform a ballot initiative in November.

Public Health and Wellness equationAll of these provisions, within the ACA and on the local level, are important ones and seem to indicate a commitment to the improvement of Latino and minority health across the country.

It’s important to note, though, that to some extent they are all still limited by our current infrastructure, in which healthcare costs are higher than in any other country, pharmaceuticals and surgery are all too often the go-to remedies, and access to high-quality, wholesome, chemical-free foods is reserved for those who can afford them. Indeed, it will take reform of more than just the healthcare system to truly improve the country’s health.

What seems to be missing from the equation is a true commitment to stopping illness before it ever comes about, thereby decreasing the rates at which we need healthcare to begin with. The components of general wellness (including nutrition, exercise, sleep, and emotional health) are in fact considered entirely separate from healthcare—categorized (and funded) independently, as “public health.”

Public health is a bit of a catch-22. While living a healthy lifestyle is ultimately a personal choice


Cont. from pg. 9

and responsibility, it isn’t made easier by a society that encourages over-eating, processed junk food products, sedentary occupations and 64-ounce sodas; nor one that views psychological health as independent from physical ailments. The better our health as a whole, the less we need healthcare at all—not good news for those who see it as a profit-generating business.

There was a time in which we recognized, at a national and local level, that the two go hand-in-hand, and that only by focusing on “public health” would we ever be able to improve the healthcare system. But as it stands, healthcare providers are reimbursed only for clinical services, not for wellness advice. They get paid to write prescriptions, make diagnoses and perform procedures; not to help you learn how to be a healthier person.

The ACA is at least partly addressing this issue by elevating the importance of public health, albeit still independently of the healthcare system. The bill stipulates for the creation of a National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, as well as a Prevention and Public Health Fund. It also dedicates millions of dollars to obesity prevention and fitness (1 in 3 American Latinos is obese), primary and behavioral health integration, and tobacco cessation.

The plan also requires that preventative health services (such as screenings and vaccines) be available at zero cost to the patient. Campoverdi reports that the ACA has already extended coverage of preventative services like the new Annual Wellness Exam to 6.1 million Latinos.

Locally, organizations like the LHCF are fighting to remedy the disconnect. Rodriguez said that during community forums held in Dove Springs, Central Health and the Latino HealthCare Forum learned that “holistic health” was what the community wanted most—and not just whole-body health, but even things like parks programs and police protection.

Candelas explains that the City of Austin has always been very forward-thinking in regard to public health, and that during his tenure access to

it was funded and available to every citizen.

In 2004, though, local care providers came to an agreement about the delivery of services that Candelas think caused a schism. When Seton accepted a contract to run Brackenridge hospital on behalf of the City, public health fell out of the equation.

“It appears to me that there was a disconnect when that agreement was struck,” Candelas said. “Public health was left within a department of the City, while everything else was transferred to Seton.” Funding for public health fell through the cracks as Seton took the reins, and understandably so.

Candelas elaborates, “It’s a business, and there’s not much money to be made on public health services.” He’s pushing for public health measures to become a part of the “menu of services” offered within primary care. “You can’t just base the system on acute things that happen,” he said. “If you do, you’re going in circles. We need to make sure that public health and its tenants are in fact brought into primary care.”

The integrated delivery system introduced through the “10 in 10 plan” truly takes a step toward reintegrating these two health silos by including a public health component within the system.

Promotores to the rescueOne of the ways in which this is being accomplished is through the LHCF’s PromoSalud program. The organization is the first in Austin to be sanctioned as a community health work school, offering a 140+ hour-curriculum and accredited certification through the State.

The PromoSalud program trains community health workers, or Promotores, to act as mediators between their neighbors and the often daunting healthcare system. So far, enrollees have mostly been low-income Latina women who have first-hand, patient-side experience with the healthcare system for years.

“Let’s say a patient is admitted to the hospital for diabetes,” Candelas postulates. “The community health worker would be a part of that patient’s discharge—providing transportation, making sure they take their meds and get to their follow up appointments—and would communicate problems back to the provider.”

Rather than providing direct care themselves, Promotores coordinate and facilitate both care itself and the prevention and management of disease through community-based relationships and communication. “Promotores talk to their neighbors all the time, it’s the life they live,” Candelas said. “They are and will continue to be a critical component of the delivery system.”

He describes the program as a “double-edged opportunity”: Not only are Promotores relieving many of the obstacles their neighbors face when seeking care, they’re also securing career opportunities for themselves and uplifting their own quality of life.

The LHCF is also exploring ways to leverage mobile technology in healthcare, both as a part of the PromoSalud program and as a general way to increase accessibility.

“One of the things we’ve noticed is that 80% of Latinos use cell phones; we’re the highest user of mobile phones over any other group,” Rodriguez said. A lot of that is cultural, as immigrants from Mexico come from a system where nearly every public service is mobile-based.

“We’re working hard to develop mobile phone apps geared to Latinos, in Spanish, including everything from prevention screening, diagnostic treatment, access to patient files and insurance, texting messages to find the nearest provider, things like that,” Rodriguez said.

Ideally, the Promotor would be trained in these mobile apps as a part of their schooling, and would then guide individuals through the interface and teach them how to use them. Rodriguez acknowledges, though, that it “will take a while to get there,” both in terms of development and in general pushback from the medical community—such technology would constitute an entire paradigm change in how patients engage with their health.

A class of 30 men and women, many Spanish-speaking, many English-speaking, made up the first LHCF Promotores class, which started at the end of June in Dove Springs, one of the largest Latino communities in Austin. Rodriguez and Candelas have high hopes as the program, and Austin’s healthcare reform in general, continues to unfold.

“Our motto is ‘healthcare without walls’—the walls are the disparities of the bureaucracy that Latinos have to deal with every day,” Candelas said. “We’ve adopted a cause, and that is to eliminate those disparities within health and medical care. They exist for ridiculous reasons. It can all be fixed.”

The ‘10 in 10’ PlanIn September 2011, State Senator Kirk Watson called on Travis County to address Central Texas’ health needs and opportunities by achieving 10 important goals over the next 10 years. The 10 goals are:

1. Build a medical school.2. Build a modern teaching hospital.3. Foster modern, uniquely Austin

health clinics.4. Develop a research institute and

laboratories for public and private research.

5. Launch a new commercialization incubator.

6. Make Austin a center for comprehensive cancer care.

7. Provide needed behavioral health services and facilities.

8. Improve basic infrastructure, and create a sense of place.

9. Bolster the medical examiner’s office.

10. Solve the funding puzzle.

The 10 steps are not in order of importance, but the first two – to build both a medical school and a new, modern teaching hospital – will help to achieve all of the other goals.

Frank Rodriguez, Senator Kirk Watson, Rosie Mendoza

Michael Candelas


“I am a leader for peace”; the youth at the Amala Foundation’s annual Global Youth Peace Summit, including myself, declare this phrase at the end of our eight days together, uniting us under a common feeling of empowerment. From the first breath of Summit air, drumbeats mimic and then align with our heartbeats, uniting us without words. Rhythms patiently explain to us that we are all connected, regardless of the experiences of our pasts. With youth from over 25 different countries, languages with their translations spin through the grounds of the Summit, weaving themselves together and creating a calmness within the chaos of various sounds and syntaxes colliding. The language of our common humanity is again exposed.

The youth attending the Summit – taking place August 12-19 in Marble Falls at Camp Champions – are typically between the ages of 13 and 18 and have survived the atrocities of war, served as child soldiers or child slaves, understand the effects of addiction, have experienced domestic violence, or have felt physically or emotionally manipulated or isolated in some way. Other youth are at the summit to witness the experiences of others to better understand the root causes of systemic rights violations and to eventually connect their own experiences to the experiences they have witnessed. While the stories of the youth vary, the pain behind these stories is the same and we all require the same medicine — a space for healing through authentic expression and connection. The structure of the Summit offers an avenue for this very healing. Swimming, singing, and soccer are beaded together by Talking Circles in which the youth can share stories from their lives. This sharing leads to an exploration of emotions and ideas for using these emotions in ways that will help to heal. The sharing of the youth is met with a celebration of their survival and existence, rather than with pity. We are all alive now and within the world. Connected.

At the end of the eight days of the Summit, we have truly grown into a village. We have shared

cabins, kitchen duties, and the deepest parts of ourselves with each other. The Summit is over, but the energy that it fostered is released into the world. At Amala, we like to think of the youth as seeds that are scattered around the world and will form roots and grow in places and ways that could never have been predicted. The youth of the Summit are able to design and partake in service projects throughout the year through the One Village Project, which unites the youth once a month to serve their community through initiatives such as peace marches, park cleanups and art workshops.

The opportunities to serve extend beyond the communities that the youth have been a part of. Recently, I had the privilege of visiting San Quentin Prison in California with three other peace leaders from the Summit for a Peace Walk with the inmates. After just a few hours with the inmates, the men became my brothers. I learned from Luis and George the importance of staying in school and knowing that at this point in my life, I can do anything. I learned from Sam (who hasn’t seen his daughters in over a decade) that remedying relationships is possible and I am now inspired to re-connect with my own father. I learned from the men that the common humanity that the youth and the volunteer share at the Summit is one that all people share.

This year’s Summit is aiming to bring together 76 youth from countries such as Kenya, Pakistan, Columbia, Liberia, Israel, and Palestine. Many youth are refugees who have recently resettled in Austin, while others come from their home countries specifically for the Summit. We are hoping that as a village, we can help sponsor international and under-served, local youth to attend the Summit. Over 70% of the youth are on scholarships provided by individual donors like you. It costs $775 to sponsor a youth to attend the Summit. We are all part of this transformational experience. We are all leaders for peace.

For more info see www.amalafoundation.org/projects/global-youth-peace-summit.

TejAno MusiC liVes on. In what form or quality it lives on is another question. Tejano music is a living embodiment of Tejano culture, a Mexican-American lifestyle with great traditions, vision and plenty of passion. Though not all Tejanos live in Texas – migration, of course, has been part of the culture since the early settlers – thus Tejano culture lives across America. Tejanos share one affinity in their DNA: the love for their music.

So what is Tejano music? It’s an original American art form much like country and Jazz. Music, in general, continues to evolve and at times erode indiscriminately, in almost every genre. Technology, along with the laws which govern the land, give music no boundaries on a global scale. Is that good or bad?

BoTH. Tejanos, like everyone, have more access to entertainment and are bombarded with mainstream culture, even from dying terrestrial radio; music still has no bounds there as bedrooms are filled with the sounds emanating from studios and web radio. At times, there is chaos with as classic Tejano tunes saturate the field, overshadowing out-of-the-box Tejano talent. Considering this fact as but one element eroding the infrastructure of the beloved genre; in metaphor, the palace that once was Tejano music is now arguably challenged beyond repair, a hollow shell of its former self.

The only equity holding Tejano music together by a thread is the affinity the baby boomer generation has as Chicanos hold the genre dear to its heart. That generation, unfortunately, is going home to a final resting place without passing on its cultural traditions to its children. Furthermore, Spanish as the core language of Tejano music is being used less by the younger generation, many of whom don’t understand Español. Where’s Bob Villa when he’s needed?

This battered Tejano culture, post-Selena era, is looking for answers, quick solutions, picking at the surface with words on Facebook and Tejano blogs while the true challenge lies beneath the

tip of the iceberg. The challenges will require draconian measures to hold even less than half of its original structure together.

But not all is doomed and the world will not end on December 21, 2012 as the rumor goes (by the way, I’ll be out of town). The bitter pill Tejano must swallow comes in the form of reorganizing itself as the last of the original breed yet breathes. Unity is only a word but working in concert for the great good must resonate with this culture if the next generation will contribute to its survival. The evidence is there with the presence of the United Farm Workers, LULAC, National Council of La Raza, Hispanic Scholarship Funds. Most of these organizations are now celebrating 50 years of survival.

Tejanos have no choice but to bring their resources (influence and donations) together and invest in its future or forever hold its peace. The NAACP, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, National Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Tejano Music Convention, all these organizations have a large footprint and many of their members are open to helping guide the Tejano culture toward prosperity. So who will lead? The leader who is born to lead.

Apathy is choking the Tejano culture, which in turn sets the tone for the Tejano musicians/creatives/stakeholders. Leadership will bring governance and structure to a culture ready to prosper as it hasn’t in years since the pre-Selena era. Commissioner Sylvia Garcia of Houston said it best, “… times change, traditions don’t.” Leadership is the most powerful tool in the toolbox to rebuild a solid structure of confidence for Tejanos across America (metaphorically and literally). Tejano population numbers are growing and leadership will be the guide but only action/power of the people will prevail.

Ruben Cubillos is attending the Tejano Music National Convention in Las Vegas this month.

The Tejano Music Challengesaving a Vital Part of our latino Heritage

By Ruben Cubillos

Amala Foundation’s 6th Annual Global Youth Peace Summit By Savannah Kumar

Alfredo Antonio Guerrero

El Charro Negro


Change someone’s life by Volunteering with southwest Key’s youth Mentoring Program

By Kelle Kampa

Look behind many kids on probation and you’ll see they come from disadvantaged backgrounds: growing up in single-parent households, living below the poverty line, going hungry for extended periods of time, etc. The hard truth is that many kids living in these kinds of environments will end up in the juvenile justice system, on probation, or on a path towards delinquency. However, sometimes all it takes to get such kids on the right track is for them to develop a mentoring relationship with someone they can trust, respect, and rely upon for solid advice. Enter the Southwest Key Youth Mentoring Program, a partnership with the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department in Austin.

Daniel Hinojosa, a 30-year-old P.E. instructor in east Austin, has been volunteering as a mentor with the Southwest Key Mentoring Program since early this year. As a beneficiary of a number of influential mentors in his own life, Hinojosa deeply understands how the development of a mentoring relationship can steer one’s life in positive and unexpected directions. “Without the mentors I had [growing up], I have no idea where I’d be today,” Hinojosa reflects.

Hinojosa has enjoyed spending time with his 16-year-old mentee and sees the results of the mentoring relationship through the boy’s improved grades, developed interest in playing team sports, and curiosity about activities and opportunities available to him in the greater Austin area. Though Hinojosa describes his mentee as coming into the program “with a background,” he says he couldn’t tell from his quiet personality, interest in school and love of basketball, that he was ever in any kind of trouble. Hinojosa notes that the success of his mentoring relationship is in part due to the fact that mentees volunteer for the program. “It makes the program much more effective,” Hinojosa adds, “Because they want to be there.”

Each week, as Hinojosa and his mentee get together for a meal or to play basketball, the two take time out to set goals and monitor his mentee’s progress towards achievement in school and beyond. Hinojosa admits that there are times when he best fulfills his role as a mentor by “calling out” his mentee or bringing to his attention the times when his mentee is not making positive progress in his life. “There were times when he was missing a lot of school to hang out with friends,” Hinojosa says. “And I told him what a bad idea it was – bad for his grades, bad for his chances of playing on the school basketball team.” Today his mentee has regular attendance and is planning to try out for the basketball team next term.

The mentoring relationship Hinojosa has fostered through this program parallels similar relationships he had growing up in Corpus Christi. Hinojosa remembers the stresses involved with living in a low-income, single-parent family. He acknowledges that his success in school and career came in part because of the wonderful mentors he’s had, and continues to enjoy even to this day. Such experiences have been the driving force behind his dedication to the Southwest Key Youth Mentoring Program. In his own life and for his mentee, Hinojosa stresses positivity as integral: “You’ve got to surround yourself with positive people in order to succeed,” he says.

Southwest Key is currently looking for more volunteers like Daniel who can commit to spending one hour a week for one year with kid referred by the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department. For more information, contact the Volunteer Youth Mentoring Program Director at Southwest Key, Melanie Smith, at 512-705-0810 or email [email protected].

Rising numbers of Children Coming into Foster Care Means Higher need for CAsA Volunteers

By Callie Langford

This past May, more than 50 new cases of abuse or neglect were filed with the Travis County court system for the first time. At the beginning of the year, CASA of Travis County was appointed to advocate for approximately 35 new children each month. But starting in March, the numbers rose to more than 70 new children each month running through May. At CASA’s recent Volunteer Swearing-In Ceremony, Judge Darlene Byrne of the 126th District Court emphasized that “the numbers are going off the charts, and those are our kids, our families, our community and therefore our responsibility to take good care of them.” Fortunately, Travis County is doing a better job than many others when it comes to taking good care of children in the child welfare system. Texas Appleseed released a report last month, “Texas Children in Long-Term Foster Care: Outcomes, Court Hearing Practices, and Court Costs,” that named the Travis County court system as one of the most effective in Texas when it comes to best serving children in long-term foster care. Over the past five years, Travis County has done a better job than most Texas counties of finding permanent homes for and reducing the number of children in long-term foster care. Statewide, the number of children in Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) has decreased by 15% per capita, while the number of children in state care in Travis County has decreased by 57%. The reasons for CASA of Travis County’s success include holding more frequent hearings, having children in court, assigning a single judge to follow a child’s case throughout his or her time in foster care and ensuring children have effective advocates like CASA volunteers. Having noted the value of children having an advocate, the report compared courts across the state as to how often CASA was present at court hearings

for children in PMC. In Travis County, CASA was present at more than 75% of these hearings, compared to 25-50% of hearings for Dallas County and less than 25% of hearings in Bexar and Harris Counties. CASA of Travis County is one of the top CASA programs in the nation, serving the highest percentage of children in care among other urban programs. Yet 500 children still needed a dedicated CASA volunteer last year. CASA volunteers come from every walk of life and share a commitment to improving children’s lives, a willingness to learn, and an open mind towards life experiences different from their own. Volunteers complete an interview, background checks and 33 hours of intensive training. After being sworn-in by a judge, volunteers are appointed to a child or family of children and spend an average of 20 hours a month advocating for these children for at least a year. They get to know the child while also gathering information from the child’s family, teachers, doctors, care-givers and anyone else involved in the child’s life. Judges highly value CASA’s recommendations which help them make informed decisions in the child’s best interest.

As numbers of children coming into care are rising, new CASA volunteers are needed more than ever. If interested in volunteering, learn more on CASA of Travis County’s website, www.casatravis.org/volunteer, or call 512.459.2272.


Austin energy’s Power saver Program saving green by Being green By Carmen Nenadal

How would you like a little extra cash in your wallet this summer? By doing just a few simple things, you can save on your energy bill and spend those savings on your favorite summertime activities. It will take you just a couple of minutes and you will reap the benefits of knowing you have saved money and helped the environment, too.

Everyone doing their small part can add up to big savings. If all 338,000 Austin residential customers turned off just two 40-watt light bulbs, the energy saved would power 3,100 homes. Also, by replacing your five most frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs, the “squiggly” ones), you reduce that lighting energy use by 60-70 percent and the bulbs last 10 times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs.

Small actions can be powerful and effective energy savers. Another way to become involved is to participate in Austin Energy’s Power Saver Volunteer program, which encourages customers to use less electricity. When you sign up for the Power Saver Volunteer program, Austin Energy will contact you either by email or text message (your choice) during very hot days so you can help reduce the impact on the electric grid. Power Saver Volunteers get a cool thank you gift from Austin Energy – a free Home (or Apartment) Weatherization Kit that includes weather-stripping, light switch and electric outlet sealers, and two Energy Star-labeled CFL light bulbs.

When contacted, the Power Saver Volunteer program asks their volunteers to take four simple steps to use less electricity:

• Switchoffunnecessarylights• Delaywashinganddryingclothes,andusingyourdishwasher• Cookdinnerinyourmicrowaveoven,ratherthanwith an electric range• Increaseyourthermostattemperaturebytwotofourdegrees

Even if you are not a Power Saver Volunteer, doing these things will cut down on electricity use. Electricity saved is good for the environment and your wallet.

There are many other ways to use less electricity. This summer, follow these energy saving tips to help cut your energy bill and feel good about saving energy and money.

1. use fans throughout the day to help keep you cooler. switch fans to counterclockwise rotation during the summer months.2. Watch your thermostat. every degree higher than 78 cuts your cooling bill by 3 percent. This adds savings to your utility bill.3. Keep curtains closed during the day on any windows that will be hit by direct sunlight.4. Change your AC filter once a month.5. unplug any appliance when not in use, such as TVs, dVds, computers, microwaves and cell phones. or consider using a power strip and turn off many devices at the same time.6. limit trips in and out of entry doors, reducing the amount of cool air going out and hot air coming in.7. Make your home energy efficient. Austin energy provides rebates and zero percent loans on home energy efficiency improvements. Customers who make all key efficiency improvements can see up to a 30 percent decrease in their energy use.

Austin residents have often searched for a way to combine enjoyment of their community with their love of the environment. If you care for the environment and want to make a difference consider taking part in Austin Energy programs designed to make energy conservation practical and easy.

One of these programs is GreenChoice, a program which began approximately 12 years ago to help deliver a transition to wind, solar and other clean, renewable forms of energy. Austin Energy’s GreenChoice renewable energy subscription program has been the most successful voluntary program in the country for nine years in a row, and has served as a model for new programs around the world. As of June 2012, GreenChoice subscriptions of renewable energy equal to the amount of energy needed to supply 80,000 Austin homes each year.

Not only does renewable energy help the environment, it also creates “green” jobs in many communities in the areas of research and development, manufacturing, construction and installations. Austin Community College now offers two-year degrees in Green technologies and Continuing Education certificates in wind, solar and weatherization installations and technologies.

No matter if you spend your summer at home, at the pool or playing Frisbee golf, keep these tips in mind when deciding how you can do your part to conserve electricity. Every time you turn off a light or raise your thermostat, you lower your electricity bill. Remember, by conserving energy you not only help the environment, you save money, too.

For more information on these and other green ideas, visit www.austinenergy.com or call (512) 482-5346.

Be cool and stay green!

Texas Regulators oK Wholesale electricity Price HikeBy Kate Galbraith and John Wayne Ferguson The Texas Tribune

The highest wholesale prices on the Texas electrical grid will be allowed to rise by 50 percent starting in August, following a vote by state regulators.

The Texas Public Utility Commission voted 2-0, with one abstention, to raise the “wholesale price cap,” which electricity prices sometimes hit on hot summer afternoons. (The most recent such case was June 26.)

The idea is to allow power plant owners to make more money on electrical generation — which could give them an incentive to build more plants to supply the state’s growing population. Right now they are not building new plants because of low power prices — linked to cheap natural gas — and the strain is evident on the grid when hot weather causes air-conditioning use to spike. But consumer and environmental advocates fear that the higher wholesale prices will translate to significant price hikes for ordinary Texans.

“The one thing that we can’t do is ignore the situation and move forward blindly based on a faith and a hope that we’re

going to have enough electricity,” said PUC Chairwoman Donna Nelson, one of the two commissioners to vote in favor of increasing the price cap. “We have to hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Commissioner Roland Pablos also voted for the increase, while Commissioner Kenneth Anderson abstained. The price cap will rise from $3,000 per megawatt-hour to $4,500 per megawatt-hour.

Anderson said that he was “just not convinced” that the increase should be implemented this summer, though he said that “we absolutely need” a higher price cap in the long-term. In an April commission meeting, he said, in a widely quoted phrase, that increasing the prices this summer would mean that power companies would be “carting away money, not in wheelbarrows, but in Mack trucks.”

In a recent PUC filing, a Texas industrial group warned that had the new price cap been in place last year, with its hot summer, the total cost of raising the price cap would have amounted to $4.7 billion. The Sierra Club echoed such concerns in its response to the vote on Thursday.

“Raising the cap this August will raise energy prices on home and business owners,” Ken Kramer, the Texas head of the Sierra Club, said in a prepared statement. “But it won’t lead to any new investments in electric power generation because power plants take 18 to 24 months to build.” A better idea, he said, would be to encourage more energy-saving programs.

Nelson descried what she described as the perception that electric rates for households will rise 50 percent as a result of the PUC decision.

“I think that there are people out there who are not stating that it increases rates by 50 percent, but they are certainly implying it,” she said. “And I don’t appreciate that. Because all it does is send panic through electric customers in Texas.”

Graphic by: Todd Wiseman


Tengo HAMBRe

We Gotcha Horchata Katie Walsh | words and photos

RestauRant, BakeRy & BaR

tex-Mex breakfast and lunch since the 1950’s“Best Freakin’ Migas” – Best of austin awards

1511 east 6th street512.478-2420

Mexican Food and CantinaGreat Lunch Specials and a great priceCome try our Happy Hour from 4-7pm!

1107 North IH 35 • 512.467.4444

Welcome to Texas summer, ya’ll. Last month we offered up a few tasty ways to beat the heat, and this month we further that noble cause by bringing you everything you ever needed to know to make your very own, guest-wowing, whistle-whetting, awesome and amazing horchata.

Horchata (or-cha-tah), for those of you who’ve managed to get by this long without it, is a spiced rice milk agua fresca typically made by soaking rice with whole-stick cinnamon, blending it, straining it, and sweetening it into a refreshing, chilled drink. It’s sweet, cold, and creamy—giving beer a run for its money on being the perfect accompaniment to a hot, spicy Mexican meal.

Horchata originated in Spain, and was originally made with tiger nuts (chufas, in Spanish), an influence of the Moors. Rice, cinnamon, and sugar are the typical ingredients, but there are many variations among Latino countries.

Some add sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, coconut milk, vanilla, or jicaro seeds. It very often gets a boost on richness and creaminess with the addition of milk or evaporated milk. Today, you’ll often find it in taquerías and Tex-Mex joints and can even buy it pre-made or in concentrate form at Fiesta, Latino markets and some HEBs.

The bottled stuff is great and convenient and all, but also super sugary and unfortunately bottled with chemical preservatives and sometimes fake flavoring. Plus, the real stuff is super easy to make.

HERE’S HOW IT’S DONE:

1. Place a cup of rice and a quart of distilled water in a covered bowl with a two-inch cinnamon stick and soak overnight, or up to a few days. Traditionally, this is done with long-grain white rice, but it’s actually quite nice with brown, and can be made just as well with basmati, jasmine, short-grain, etc. Optionally, add nuts, a whole vanilla bean pod or a splash of vanilla extract.

2. Pour everything into a blender—water, solids and all. Puree until rice is chopped fine. Strain through a fine wire sieve and/or cheesecloth into a quart jar or small pitcher. This step should be done with patience—you’ll likely need to work in batches and over the sink, as it can get a little messy.

3. Sweeten to taste. You can use stevia, Muscovado, plain ‘ole sugar or even honey. My favorite way to do this is to strain my horchata into a big jar, pour the sweetener in, screw the lid on and give it a good shake.

4. Stir and serve! Keep what you don’t drink in the fridge and enjoy for up to two weeks. Give it a good stir if it’s been a while since you had a glass, as horchata tends to separate a bit as it sits. And—be sure to pour out an old batch before you start a new one or if you’ve had it a while—the bits of rice pulp that make their way into your pitcher will go sour after a while.

I’d always been taught to add some milk after straining, but am not a big milk drinker and so have tried it with many other additions, including soy milk, almond milk, and whole soaked almonds.

Recently, though, a gal I went to herb school with brought a pitcher to our potluck lunch. I couldn’t get over how light and refreshing it was. I asked her what she used, and her answer was simple—nothing but water. I’ve since begun making it that way, and I have to say it’s perfectly creamy and perfect on a hot day.

You can also try adding some to coffee in the mornings, or spiking it with rum or cream liqueurs. Buen Provecho!

A version of this content was originally published on www.WhiskedFoodie.com


PluM WRiTing

CHRoniCles oF undeRCoVeR MeXiCAn giRl:

Celebrating our land of Freedom and opportunity

By Alexandra M. Landeros

Every 4th of July, we celebrate Independence Day – the day the United States declared independence from the ruling of the Kingdom of Great Britain. We celebrate our freedom with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics and concerts. Yet, every day, in spite of heightened war against terrorism, our freedoms are being taken away one by one.

We’ve lost our freedom to eat non-genetically modified food – 80-90% of corn, soy and cotton sold in the U.S. is genetically modified (also referred to as GMO). GMO foods have been tested and proven to cause organ failure in laboratory animals. We’ve lost our right to being innocent until proven guilty and fair trial with the passing of the NDAA, allowing indefinite military detention if suspected of anything vaguely terrorist or anti-American. Currently, politicians are working to take away our freedom of speech on the Internet – the Internet has become a

crucial channel to spread truth and news that is not generated by corporate owned media.

On a personal level, I often wonder if we’re better off than the American pioneers of the Wild West, or our ancestors who struggled wherever they came from – spending their days simply to survive. They built their homes from scratch, grew and raised their own food, sewed their own clothing. All the work they did was simply so that they could live. They earned no money. They owed no money. Their leisure time, although probably limited, was likely spent around a campfire or on the porch, telling stories, playing songs and watching the nighttime sky.

Now, most of us work jobs – at a computer desk or behind a register – simply to earn money to pay the bills, whether it’s mortgage or rent, utility and phone bills, credit card debt, school loans and so many of the other expenses created by modern life. Has life gotten any easier? We spend all day working so we can supposedly enjoy life. But sometimes, we get home, too tired or stressed out to really enjoy it – so we get on the Internet again or watch television. We pop in a frozen dinner, or we order take-out or delivery.

In some ways, having a secure job, even if not spiritually fulfilling, offers a degree of convenience. We’re always fairly certain we know where our next meal will come from and what it will taste like, we know we’ll be warm or cool in our beds, we don’t have to break our backs or dirty our fingernails (if we’re lucky not to work as manual laborers), and we know that tomorrow we’ll likely wake up and do it all over again.

Lately, though, I’ve been watching friends lose their jobs due to the economy, suffering through unemployment and accumulate even more debt. There is no alternative in this society – you can’t just go live off grid, even if you managed to acquire the skills to build a home and successfully grow your own food. Without money, we are unable to live a decent life.

Last week, I lost my job. The start-up company I worked with did not make it through to the next level of growth. This happens all the time with start-ups, actually – it’s quite common. But I had always worked with established non-profits. The last time I was faced with the prospect of being unemployed, I was fresh out of college and living at home. Now I’m thirty-five years old, with a mortgage, no health insurance, an unemployed husband (it’s not any easier out there for musicians) and two dogs. The economy back then was actually booming. Now it’s falling apart.

I should be more scared and nervous. But I’m not (well, okay, I am a little). All my life, I swore I would one day take the plunge from the security of day jobs and make my own way, but I never did. Now I don’t have a choice, it seems. Although I would love to see what it’s like to live like a pioneer of the old west, it’s not really a feasible option.

But I do know this – I’ve always wanted to make a living as a writer. I’ve wanted to travel the world. I want to learn to build houses out of cob. I want to learn to identify birds by their song. I want to learn permaculture and grow amazing vegetables. I want to see what it’s like never to have to drive, walking and bicycling everywhere. I want to meet people who do their thing off the beaten path. And I want to write about it all. Maybe this is finally the time for be to embrace that path.

There is a perfect formula that exists that allows you to feel good, inside and out, feeling healthy, happy and energized.

There is a formula that exists that creates the framework within which you feel necessary, purposeful, passionate and in the right place at the right time.

There is a formula that gives you solace, comfort and internal peace, allowing you to rest your head at night knowing you did your best, and to wake in the morning more than ready and willing to see what’s next.

There is a formula that exists that allows your body to function, flourish and flow, alive, vibrant and able to address and adjust itself quickly when disharmony, imbalance or illness is near.

There is a formula that simultaneously supports your uniqueness, your gifts and your special quirks while connecting and uniting you easily, intimately and energetically to every person you encounter.

There is a formula that accentuates and encourages your strengths, and dissipates and disregards your ideas of your weaknesses.

There is a formula that connects your dots, fills in your blanks and opens your eyes, ears, arms and heart.

This formula exists, I fully and completely believe, and it is our reason for being on this this planet. To find our own formula, and to encourage and help others to find theirs.

But the brilliant part is that if – and when – it is your intention to ultimately just be happy, you might discover that fewer things were needed than you thought, that what you were missing you really didn’t need, that what you really want isn’t that far away, and that your “perfect” formula isn’t that many ingredients off from what you’ve already got on your plate.

Unless it is … in which case, send that plate back to the damn kitchen and order something else.

Frame of ReferenceBy Blake Shanley

On Facebook at Bellas Artes Alliance

Follow us on Twitter at @bellasartesa

www.bellasartesalliance.com

TODO Austin July 2012

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