Tag: youth

  • For a former attorney, now young adult author, representation is key

    For a former attorney, now young adult author, representation is key

     

    Author Francisco Stork (Courtesy Francisco Stork)

    Francisco Stork’s youth was so compelling that it makes for a great novel.

    He was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1953 to a single mother from a middle class family in Tampico (a city on the Gulf of Mexico). She was sent to live in a convent in Monterrey, because her father did not want anyone to know that she was going to have a child out of wedlock.

    Six years later, his mother married a retired man more twenty years her senior, named Charles Stork, and he adopted Francisco and gave him his last name. After some time, Charles decided to bring the family to the United States for more opportunities. The three of them moved to El Paso, Texas when Francisco was nine. When Francisco was 13, Charles died in an automobile accident, and Francisco and his mom moved to the public housing projects of El Paso. Because of Francisco’s phenomenal grades, he was able to obtain scholarships to attend prestigious schools such as, Harvard and later Columbia Law School, which would change the direction of his life.

    It was not until his late 40’s, while working full-time as an attorney, that Stork wrote his first fiction novel for adults. By the time he was working on his second book, his two children were teenagers, so he started reaching back into the riveting memories of his youth and wrote them down. Today, he’s a young adult fiction author of seven novels. His last book, “Disappeared,” hit shelves this fall.

    “I like writing about young people,” says the author, now 64, who lives in a town outside Wellesley, Mass. There are a lot of important decisions that are made at that age.”

    For his first young adult book, “Behind the Eyes” (2006), he wanted to share his experiences growing up in El Paso and living in the projects.

    “My kids had a very comfortable life,” says Stork. “I told the story of a young man in El Paso who gets in trouble with gangs. He was smart just like I was but was afraid to show he was smart.”

    This plot parallels his own life.

    “When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a writer, because I loved to read,” says Stork. “In high school, I started keeping a journal. I started enjoying being alone and writing things.”

    He says writing about personal situations became a habit for him that continued with him through graduate school and has lasted his entire life.

    “I was always guided by things to help me become a writer,” says Stork, adding that writing also provided a sense of self-acceptance for him. “You feel like your self-worth is validated.”

    Although, Stork’s first love and passion has always been writing, when he was studying Latin American literature at Harvard, he later decided to pursue a career in real estate law.

    “I didn’t see any relevance to some of the topics I was asked to write about it,” says Stork about his time at Harvard. “I thought maybe if I did something more practical to make a living, I could write on the side.”

    However, little did he know how time consuming the law profession would be. It was 25 years later that he was finally able to write.

    “Eventually, I found my way to the public sector, and the last 15 years I worked in affordable housing,” says Stork. “It was a job that was 9 to 5, and I had some time to write. It was challenging, but it was doing that job that I was able to write most of my books – almost all, except the last, were written when I was a lawyer.”

    He say a lot of the stories were in him for a long time like little seeds, and then somehow they eventually blossomed.

    “Usually the character comes first, and then I imagine a person growing inside of me,” explains Stork.

    In his book, “The Memory of Light” (2016), he wrote about a teenage girl recovering from depression after a suicide attempt. This is also a topic close to the author’s heart.

    “Depression started when I was a teenager, and it continued through my life,” says Stork. “Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder…In this book, I wanted to focus on the recovery aspect – that hasn’t been covered too much – the day to day to getting better. I poured into that book all of my experiences – it took me four years. It had to be hopeful so that if it fell into the hands of a young person with depression, it would turn them in the right direction.”

    What helped him recover?

    “I had my family, my wife and my kids – I really didn’t have an option to be out of commission – they depended on me,” says Stork. “A lot of what helped me was trying to understand that it was an illness. When you have thoughts of not being worthy – [I now understand] that’s from the illness.”

    For Stork, representation is also very important.

    “All my characters are Mexican-American – first or second generation,” he says. “Some are poor, some are smart, some have struggles – it’s really all over the spectrum. Hopefully I’m showing that these are human beings that happen to be Mexican – the race is not the focus, but an integral part…My hope is that the book becomes a space where young people see themselves reflected.”

    His latest novel, “Disappeared,” came right after the one about the girl with depression. The idea for it came during the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign.

    “There were stories of Mexicans raping and killing young women, and I was sort of amazed at the number of people who kind of rallied behind this opposition to the undocumented immigrant, and the picture that was being painted of Mexicans,” says Stork. “I felt angry and wanted to do something with that anger… I wanted to show how complex the Mexican society was.”

    So Stork decided to write about a fictional brother and sister in Juarez, and the factual topic of femicide happening all over Mexico and Latin America –thousands of women and girls have gone missing, or been killed, for more than two decades.

    “As a writer, the most important thing is that you enable the reader to go into the world of the novel and become a part of it,” says Stork. “What would be great is that if the novel brings a greater understanding of the people that are sometimes hated. We don’t understand the world they come from. We don’t realize how technologically advanced Mexico is, for example…The disrespect of women that led to all these killings of women – these feelings are also in the U.S. – which we are seeing now.”

    He’s already thinking that his next book is going to talk about the same brother and sister, and their life now in the U.S.

    What would be the most important piece of life advice he’d like to give his younger self?

    “I would tell my younger self to concentrate on the enjoyment of the work itself. Don’t worry about the rewards – which may come or not come – just do your best. Do something that you enjoy, and something that is useful for others. Whatever happens after that is up to God and is in His hands…”

  • The King of Latin Soul, Joe Bataan, on what matters in life

    The King of Latin Soul, Joe Bataan, on what matters in life

    (Courtesy Joe Bataan)
    (Courtesy Joe Bataan)

    Born Bataan Nitollano to an African American mother and Filipino father, Joe Bataan grew up in Manhattan’s East Harlem in the 1950’s and 60’s – otherwise known as “Spanish Harlem,” or “El Barrio.”

    During that time, “El Barrio,” was a mainly Puerto Rican neighborhood where many Latin sounds started to boom. Bataan, who ultimately became a leading figure in Latin soul music, as a self-taught pianist and vocalist, was specifically influenced by Latin boogaloo and African American doo-wop. Fania Records spotted his talent, and signed him in 1966 – through which Bataan released his famous “Gypsy Woman” in 1967. He was also a main subject of the 2014 documentary on Latin boogaloo in New York City, “We Like It Like That.”

    “My first ambition was to become an athlete,” recalls Bataan, now 73. “I wanted to follow in the steps of Jackie Robinson. That didn’t realize, so at around 9, I decided I wanted to become a singer. I used to buy hit parade books and imitate the artists every Saturday morning – from Frank Sinatra to Tito Rodriguez.”

    Watching movies, he says, were also an inspiration to him.

    “It was like a romantic period – what you couldn’t see, you could sing about,” says Bataan. “Music gave you a good feeling and gave you a different outlook on the world. It was like an injection of happiness. It was motivating. That’s when my dream started.”

    However, his dream took a little detour. At 15, Bataan found himself as the leader of a gang called the Dragons and with a pregnant 13-year-old girlfriend. He was also sent to a correctional facility for stealing a car. It wasn’t until he was freed five years later, that he was able to resume his dream of becoming a musician.

    “I started a band and learned the piano,” says Bataan. “It took me like six months to put that band together [Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers]…I found a group of young kids, around eight musicians that stuck with me – ages 11, 12 and 13 – I was 19. I taught myself the piano, and then I helped teach them. It was all trial and error.”

    He says it took a lot of hustling to become successful.

    “You just don’t pick up and say, ‘I’m a star,’ says Bataan. “You had to find out what was available, seek out executives to listen to you, and get a following from the public. I started out with a dream, and then I was able to fulfill it little by little. No one ever gave us anything. We had to go out and get it.”

    After a breakup with Fania, Bataan founded Salsoul Records in 1973. “Salsoul” was the term he gave the sound which blended salsa and soul. In the late 70’s, he ended up recording a rap hit under that label called, “Rap-O Clap-O.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcA4-HinQpQ

    In the 1980’s, Bataan’s music career plummeted due to a gambling habit, and he took another detour back to Bridges Juvenile Center in the Bronx. However, this time it was for 25 years, but not behind bars.

    “At 40, I found a job as a youth counselor exactly where I had been locked up [years ago],” says Bataan, who by then was raising a family. “I needed a job to pay my rent, but it turned my life around. I got to mentor troubled kids, just as I had wished someone had done for me. It makes me feel good that I had a meaningful part of my life besides music.”

    He says he used techniques inspired by karate to create the discipline the 10- to 17-year-olds so craved and needed.

    “Their role models were silly,” says Bataan. “They believed in somebody who had gold chains. A lot of them didn’t have parents, and they’d been on their own from a very young age. They needed motivation to change their life. If they don’t hear this from somebody, they’re lost.”

    Now that he’s retired from the juvenile center, he says that he is currently writing a book called, “Streetology.” It gives youth tips on how to survive in life, including how to speak on a job interview, and how to be respected.

    “Playing music for people is my pastime, but I also like to think I’m bringing a message,” says Bataan. “God has come into my life…He’s what allowed me to be here today. My faith in God has protected me all of my life.”

    Bataan explains that he grew up in Catholic school, but he wasn’t ready for God as a young boy. It wasn’t until he was in his late 50’s that he had his encounter with who he calls “The Big Boss.”

    “I went to see ‘Star Wars’ one day after work,” he recalls clearly. “I was borderline diabetic, eating all this popcorn at the movie. I came out, and I started to bleed out of my mouth. I started to lose consciousness, and I went into a coma. When I was in a coma, I felt God say, ‘Joe, why do you keep running away from me? I’m going to give you one more chance.’ I know he brought me back to life. The doctor had told my wife I wasn’t going to make it.”

    Coincidentally, he always sang his song, “The Prayer,” to himself for many years before that incident, but it took him 30 years to finally sing it in public.

    “I wasn’t ashamed anymore,” says Bataan about now one of his most popular songs. “I’m not just chasing women anymore – or a new house, or a new car. Joe Bataan is never going to be rich. God has me on a mission now. Everyday I wake up, and I thank God for another day.”

    And each day is busy. He enjoys taking care of his grandchildren daily, and he’s also back in the music business and very active touring.

    “Every month I’m performing somewhere around the world,” says Bataan who will be in Philadelphia on March 25 and on April 9 at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts in New York.

    He leaves us with this advice for life he wishes he had when he was younger:

    “Don’t get involved in something unless you have a passion for it. Never give up, and never accept the word ‘no.’ If you’re weak with your drive, you should pick another profession. You might not become wealthy, but that’s not the only thing that matters in life – it’s living, teaching and sharing…You also have to believe in something – a higher being to guide you in life. You must take care of your body to enable to do what you need to do in life, and knowledge – it’s criminal to let a day go by without learning something new. Spirit, health and knowledge.”

  • A life dedicated to sharing the importance of our national parks

    A life dedicated to sharing the importance of our national parks

    Roberto Moreno, founder of ALPINO Mountain Sports Foundation and the Camp Moreno Project. (Courtesy Roberto Moreno)
    Roberto Moreno, founder of ALPINO Mountain Sports Foundation and the Camp Moreno Project. (Courtesy Roberto Moreno)

    Throughout his life, Roberto Moreno has worn many hats from mountain real estate developer to journalist to mountain hotelier. However at 68, his lifelong mission is not even near completion.

    For more than half a century, he’s been introducing the Latino community to the benefits of the outdoors and to embrace our national parks as a way of life. In 2006, he founded a Colorado-based non-profit the ALPINO Mountain Sports Foundation. Under the umbrella of the National Park Service, he also oversees the Camp Moreno Project with his wife, Louise, since 2008. Together, they have created overnight mountain recreation experiences for more than 28,500 Colorado, Arizona and Texas multicultural children and families. The project operates in seven national parks out  West, including Saguaro and the Grand Canyon.

    Last September, Moreno was honored as one of the major contributors to Rocky Mountain National Park for the park’s 100-year celebration as part of a permanent exhibit.

    “The exhibit, located at the History Colorado Center – our State History Museum – features a section devoted to my contributions to Rocky Mountain National Park,” says Moreno, who resides in Denver. “It features a continually running video and a historical  pictorial of my history with the park…I’m the only Latino to ever receive such recognition.

    Moreno’s love affair with the outdoors began because of his father, a U.S. World War II vet born in Mexico. One day in 1956, when Moreno was 9, he remembers his father coming home very excited.

    “He just happened to see the movie, ‘The Long, Long Trailer,’ with Lucille Ball and Cuban actor Desi Arnaz  where they went to Western destinations, like Yosemite National Park,” says Moreno, whose parents were campesinos. “My dad said, ‘If Ricky Ricardo can go camping, so can we.’ From that day forward, we went to Yosemite every single year.”

    Moreno says that experience led to him falling in love with the outdoors and make him want to share the experience with others who might not otherwise think about it as an option.

    “Camping is one of the less expensive ways of getting involved in the outdoors,” says Moreno. “There’s a tremendous amount of interest in the Latino community, but if you don’t grow up in it, you end up developing ridiculous stereotypes that it’s very hard and life threatening. A lot of it revolves around fear –  you don’t want to be the only Latino family at a campground.”

    Through his camp program, Moreno says he tries to make families understand the fundamental value of the outdoors to families and teach them how to replicate the experience on their own.

    “Having quality time together, and convincing people that we should be taking advantage of it, because it belongs to all of us.” he adds. “We are a program that shows how you can be a camping family for less than $200. How you can shop garage sales to get the basic materials you need. All of my grandkids now are involved in the outdoors. When my family gets together, the experiences that mean the most to them is the times we spent outdoors.”

    Alpino
    Roberto Moreno at one of his mountain getaways with 30 kids and their families. (Courtesy Alpino Mountain Foundation)

    He says he only wishes he had more finances and resources to be able to provide for the demand that’s out there.

    “We have waiting lists,” says Moreno, who wants to plan a camping trip to one of the national parks in the Northeast if possible in the near future.

    But he will continue sharing his knowledge about parks one family at a time, because he understands how it impacted his life for the better.

    “It makes you understand that you have options,” says Moreno. “It makes you understand that there’s a world out there that’s bigger than the one that you were born into. In my case, it was East LA. I wanted to be part of [the outside] world. It’s with some pride that because of my father that happened to see a movie that I started on a path that has ruled my life, and why I’m so dedicated to this whole problem of exclusivity…If we don’t have a way to make [the parks] resonate with people of color, if they’re not relevant to their life, they won’t support them financially, and they are not going to feel any obligation to protect them.”

    Looking back on his long career, what does Moreno wish he knew when he was younger?

    “I wish as a younger person, I’d have had more faith in my interpersonal skills,” he says. “One of the reasons why I focused on print journalism, rather than television, was that growing up in East LA, I had an accent…When I went to Columbia University, I had to decide whether I wanted to study print or broadcast journalism, and I chose print because I thought I’d have more impact, but I would have liked to give broadcast a shot…I probably didn’t have as much confidence as I do now. Over the years, I realized that I became pretty good at public speaking, and I even became a keynote speaker. I probably would have liked to explore that side of me a little. That’s my one regret, but it’s been a blast.”

  • On 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, a veteran remembers discrimination in US

    On 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, a veteran remembers discrimination in US

    Ernest Eguia in uniform during World War II. (Courtesy LULAC)
    Ernest Eguia in uniform during World War II. (Courtesy LULAC)

    After living through the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Ernest Eguia went from fighting in Normandy during World War II to fighting for the civil rights of Latinos when he returned home to Texas in 1945.

    Fifty years ago, this week, of President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Eguia remembers what the U.S. was like before this law made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

    “In 1946, I heard that a World War II veteran that was a recipient of the Medal of Honor had been denied service in a hamburger joint because he was a quote, unquote, Mexican,” recalls Eguia.  “[That veteran], Marcario Garcia, sued the owner of the restaurant. When I found out about it, I joined LULAC…We raised a little over $6,000 for Marcario, and he bought a house for his mother. That’s why I joined.”

    League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is an organization which was founded in 1929 to advance civil rights and educational attainment of Hispanics in the U.S. When Eguia returned to Houston after his active four year military duty, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant and receiving the Bronze Star for his heroic efforts, he became  a successful salesman and store manager, but perhaps most importantly, he played a very active role in combating discrimination of Hispanics in his American hometown.

    After the Marcario incident, Eguia says LULAC’s Houston Council #60 grew to more than 200 members. The organization needed large numbers to fight the amount of discrimination that was happening.

    At that time in history, Eguia explains discrimination against Latinos was rampant in the U.S.

    “I remember going to a church here in Houston. I was in LULAC already, and they asked me to go ask the pastor in the Catholic Church if we could rent a dance hall for a fundraiser,” remembers Eguia. “Would you believe that a Catholic priest told me to go to a Mexican church? That was in 1947 – somewhere around there.”

    Eguia, whose father was from Mexico and his mother from Texas, also recalls separate drinking fountains in downtown Houston that had signs for “colored,” “whites” and “Mexicans.”

    “I remember one time they would not allow a Jewish man to register in a hotel,” says Eguia.

    Something else Eguia, and his fellow veterans, noticed upon returning to Houston was finding out there were no police officers or firemen who were Hispanic in Houston.

    “We went after the city government, and pressed them so much, that eventually there were many young men who started joining,” says Eguia. “My brother was one of the first Hispanic firemen in Houston. His name is Leon Eguia.”

    Eguia, who throughout his life has held every LULAC Council 60 officer post, including president, says although discrimination still exists, it’s hardly noticeable compared to when he was younger.

    ErnieEguiaInside
    Ernest Eguia in November, 2013, at a reception commemorating the 50th anniversary of JFK’s visit with LULAC, at the Rice Hotel in Houston. (Courtesy LULAC)

    “I’m 94-years-old now, and I’ve forgotten a lot of these things, but I see things have changed for the good,” he says, in terms of discrimination.

    Last month, he handed out a LULAC scholarship in his name to a high school senior at Sam Houston High School. He’s clear that his priority is now the future of Latino youth.

    “Our leadership in LULAC is a bit weak right now,” says Eguia who is still a member. “What we need is stronger leadership – one that is focused on community and neighborhood…The leadership we have now is very weak…”

    He explains that when he first joined LULAC, he never took a penny and put it in his pocket.

    “Now leadership is taking big salaries,” says Eguia. “That money belongs to the community – for scholarships for our youngsters. We need to get our young ready for the future.”

    And what advice would he like to tell today’s youth?

    “The first thing I would tell them is, ‘Be a good citizen. We live in a country that is free, and we could do whatever we want and live comfortably,’” says Eguia. “The second thing I would say is, ‘Get yourself educated, because once you get education, no one can take that away from you’…The important thing is to be honest to the country, yourself, and the community, and if you have a good education, I think a youngster could get very far. Short cuts are not going to get you anywhere.”