Advice to Arturo, a character

Terrible things can happen in the world - there is violence and tragedy I know of since I have experienced it. I also know that living between two cultures is difficult. The most important thing is to look into yourself for affirmation. Your "friends" can provide you with strength, they also can mislead you. Your parents are your greatest source of wisdom, but your world and theirs differ. Find those places that can give you inner peace, calm, and humility. For me, the church at night is such a place. Perhaps writing can provide that place to you. Despite all differences we are of the same blood; the same flea that bites you can bite me, also

Diego Rivera in Detroit

During the 1930s Diego Rivera was considered the world's greatest muralist. Influenced by the Mexican Revolution, his art used the public mural form to emphasize the perspective of the common person, especially the Mexican laborer, peasant and Native American. Rivera was interested in the history of the conquest of the New World, in the ongoing exploitation of working people. Rivera forged a distinctive style fashioned from a unique fusion of indigenous pre-Columbian art, European Modernism, particularly Cubism, and early Italian Renaissance fresco painting. (Mario Pereira)
In the Detroit Art Museum Rivera created a mural that became controversial. From an article on the NPR website:

In 1932 Edsel Ford, the son of Henry Ford and president of the car company that bears the family name, and William Valentiner, the director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, commissioned Rivera to paint two murals for the museum's Garden Court. The only rule was the work must relate to the history of Detroit and the development of industry.

Soon thereafter Rivera and his wife, painter Frida Kahlo, arrived in Detroit and began studying and photographing the Ford automotive plant on the Rouge River. The factory so fascinated and inspired Rivera that he soon suggested painting all four walls of the Garden Court. Ford and Valentier agreed and soon Rivera's commission was expanded.

Kalamazoo's Hispanic Community

I have had several points of contact with the growing Hispanic community in Kalamazoo -- a community that greatly adds to the richness of our town!

About ten years ago I worked closely with four classes of bilingual students at Loy Norrix High School, the vast majority of them Hispanic with a wide range of assimilation and language fluency. One of our projects was to try to encourage the high school to incorporate some Hispanic American literature into their language arts curriculum. At the time there was none! And, yet, the drop out rate for Latino students at the high school was greatly disturbing. (Of 150 Latino students, two-three per year were graduating.) We signed petitions, met with teachers, met with the principal, and even had a tense meeting with the KPS superintendent. In the end the school agreed to adopt The House on Mango Street as a required text in ninth grade! The students were ecstatic. At this point, however, I think the book mainly sits on the book room shelf...

I also have a connection with the community through a man who has worked for me doing remodeling work on two houses I have had for four years, sometimes months at a time. Since I speak Spanish I have been able to help him with many legal documents and negotiations with other employers. He and I have spent many hours working together, and I have learned a great deal about his life here. He is a person of great integrity and ability, yet his situation is difficult, at times desperate.

I also thoroughly enjoy the authentic Hispanic stores, bakeries, restaurants, dancing and music that having this community in Kalamazoo brings us. I hope all of you get a chance to learn more about it!