Domingo Newsbytes

Happy Sunday Everyone! Hope you are done doing laundry, grocery shopping and now relaxing. Here is a little recap of Latinas in the news for your reading pleasure. As always, if you see a story in the news about or impacting Latinas please share the link with us at info@proyectolatina.org. Last call for news link is every Saturday by noon.

Here is our round up:

HEALTH

The largets study ever of breast cancer in Latin American women is being launched in a unique multi-country, public/private partnership with $1 million in additional funding from the world's largest breast cancer organization, Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

More than one in four Latinas is a mother by the age of 19, was included in a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Every year there is a growing epidemic of teenage Latinas attempting to commit suicide. Find out about a teen suicide prevention program for Latina teenagers and their family. The program is run by Dr. Rosa Gil.

Many undocumented women fail to report domestic violence because they fear deportation. Help is available through the Violence Intervention Program, a nationally recognized Latina organization that provides services to women of domestic violence.

February Feature: Ruth on the Rocks

This month Proyecto Latina is thrilled to present writer/performer Ruth Guerra. She will be doing a reading/performance called Ruth On The Rocks that explores the act of dating and casual encounters from the point of view of several women's ideal image of what it should be.

Arrive early to grab a chair, settle-in, and sign up to share some of your work and drop a friendly chisme in the Chisme box.

Ruth Guerra hails from the south side of Chicago, the Back of the Yards neighborhood where eating tacos de la Internacional, cruisin’ to house music, and the ability to hinder the stockyards’ stench are just some of the wonderful attributes that contribute to her personality. As a kid, she watched shows like El Palomo, Chiquilladas and Kids Incorporated, encouraging her to create and perform her own sketches and routines for friends and family in her parents’ garage. Her love for the windy city, took her to Second City where she learned the art of improvisational theater and performed with several ensembles. Shortly after, she discovered a new found love in storytelling and moved on to do theater. Her theatrical debut was in 2005 with Teatro Americano and since has been performing with different groups in the city. Ruth recently embarked on a memoir writing journey where she sticks to her roots as she documents her life experiences in Chicago.








Monday, February 15 @ 7PM - FREE
Cedalhia Cafe
1010 S. Western
Chicago, IL
http://www.mapquest.com
Street parking available

Photo by Thelma Uranga. Thanks to our venue sponsor: Cedahlia Cafe.

November Lunacy

If we didn't know better we'd say there is a full moon out! This week kicks off Teatro Luna's full remount of LUNATIC(A)S - "We'll Show You Crazy!" The insanity returns with new stories and more musical numbers.

"We are so excited to be revisiting this piece...this play is quintessentially Luna, it tackles our namesake, The Moon (La Luna) and places our true-life stories in the context of myths and superstitions about women, Latinas and the moon," says Director Tanya Saracho.













Featuring some of your favorite Ensemble Members: Belinda Cervantes (Machos, S-e-x-Oh!) Maritza Cervantes (Machos, S-e-x-Oh!) Yadira Correa (Machos, S-e-x-Oh!, Jarred) Miranda Gonzalez (SîLO Tœ, Jarred) Suzette Mayobre (S-e-x-Oh!, SîLO Tœ) with Artistic Associate Maria Enriquez (S-e-x-Oh!: The Remix) and New Lunaticas Christina Nieves (S-e-x-Oh!: The Remix, The House on Mango Street), and Mari Stratton (The House on Mango Street)

For reservations / performance dates and times visit Teatro Luna
















Photography by Johnny Knight

Latina Teens At High Risk For Suicide

A new report that has just come out from Washington University in New York city reports that Latina teens have a high risk of suicide. Some of the characteristics that lead these at risk teens from depression include: mother/daughter conflicts, immigrants and low-income families. According to the 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of high school students 14% of Latina students attempt suicide.

Here is a link to a CNN article about Latina teens and suicide.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/20/lia.latina.suicides/index.html

If you or a someone you know is depressed or talking about suicide get help immediately. Here are some online resources. Feel free to post other resources in the comment section. The more resource sharing we do the more educated we can become on this matter that is impacting the Latina community.

Center for Mental Health Services

http://www.mentalhealth.org

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

Depression.com

Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago

Community Counseling Services of Chicago

Note: The above photo is courtesy of Health Spa Blog

Visual Interpretations of the Virgen of Guadalupe

Ever since she appeared to Juan Diego back in the 1531 folks can’t get enough of her. You see Lupe on t-shirts, key chains, calling cards, SUV’s and all kinds of other stuff. I’ve never gone to the Basilica in Mexico City to check out La Virgen de Guadalupe but maybe I will get a chance in December when I go visit family. A friend tells me they have a pedestrian conveyor belt that zips you right past her shrine and into the gift store.


Columbia College will be hosting the following event:

Latino Culture & Conversation: Visual Interpretations of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Tuesday, September 29, 12:30 p.m.

618 S. Michigan Avenue, 4th Floor Conference Room

The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been a cultural and religious icon throughout Latino America. Join Columbia College Chicago students, faculty, and staff as we discuss how her image has impacted Latino art and culture, including her influence in community murals, theater, and more.

Listening To Latinas

In a new report "Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation" was released August 27 by MALDEF and National Women’s Law Center highlighting the greater challenges Latina students face than their counterparts. The report is meant to offer strategies to get young Latinas to graduate High School.

The report took a close look at the drop-out crisis in the Latino community and found the following:

• The latest data show that 41% of Latina students do not graduate on time with a standard high school diploma.

• The study reports that while 98% of high school seniors want to graduate from high school, and 80% aspire to higher education, Latina students continue to face numerous challenges in reaching these goals.

The recommendations of the report include:

• Calling on schools, policymakers, and government agencies to: invest in the future of Latino children through high-quality early learning program

• Ensure that all students are prepared for post-secondary educational opportunities, ensure safe school environments that are culturally inclusive and free from discrimination
  

• Improve efforts to prevent teen pregnancy and provide support for pregnant and parenting students, and require better data collection and promote school accountability.

Together we can improve the quality of life for Latinas by reaching out to our community and encouraging them to stay in school. Irasema Gonzalez and I are proud to say that we’ve had the opportunity to mentor some amazing young Latinas who are the next wave of Latina leaders in the city and they include Mayra Macias and Zulema Ortiz.

The report is available here.

For more information on this report, visit MALDEF.org.

January 2010 - PROYECTO LATINA

Proyecto Latina is thrilled to announce the first Latina to kick off our reading series in January! Stephanie Diaz Reppen will be reading an excerpt from her novel-in-progress You Can't Call The Indians Maria Anymore. She will also be premiering a new Bunraku-based puppetry piece called Dichos as well as bringing along the book her mother made me when she was little- The Seven Little Goats-- for people to look at.

Save The Date & Spread The Word!

Monday, January 18 @ 7PM - FREE
Cedahlia's 1010 -12 S Western
Chicago, IL 60608 (312) 733-0885
Street Parking Available
http://www.transitchicago.com
http://www.mapquest.com

Stephanie Diaz Reppen is delighted to share her own stories with Proyecto Latina, as she has been busy for the past 20 years telling others' stories in her career as an actress. As such, she has performed at theatres big and small in California, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Milwaukee, and has also enjoyed a career as a voice-over artist, lending her voice to audio books, video games, commercial spots-- at one time, she was the Spanish voice of the Puget Sound Light Rail system (and may still be, for all she knows)! She is also a puppeteer specializing in the Bun Raku style, and most recently performed with Blair Thomas and Company in Millennium Park.

However, Stephanie's first love has always been writing, and she comes by the predilection honestly-- on display at Proyecto Latina, you will find a hand-bound book created for her by her mother, illustrations and all. She is currently at work on a novel, "You Can't Call The Indians Maria Anymore", based on 3 generations of mujeres in Guatemala and the U.S. spanning over 50 years. She is a member of Teatro Luna's Playlab workshop and is developing a play called "Boogey Women," featuring La Llorona, La Siguanaba, and Bloody Mary. She is also currently exploring the duality of her identity as an first-generation Guatemalan-American through personal essay and character sketches of her Gringo and Latino familia.

She is inspired and intrigued by courage and cowardice, strength and weakness, beauty and ugliness, joy and despair, and all things shiny and colorful. She looks forward to adding her voice to the canon of Latina writers in 2010.

We also want to thank Jesse Iniquez for generously donating his space. Mil Gracias!