Women’s History Month March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 San Antonio, Tejas
La Voz de Esperanza March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 Editor: Gloria A. Ramírez Design: Elizandro Carrington CoverArt: The Call By Liliana Wilson Contributors Azul Barrientos, Janny Paneque Hernández, María Cristina Moroles & Lauri Umansky, Darby Riley, Esperanza Director Graciela I. Sánchez Esperanza Staff Sherry Campos, Elizandro Carrington, Sarah Chavarria, Kayla Miranda, Roxanna Rojas, René Saenz, Imane Saliba, Susana Segura, Rosa Vega Conjunto de Nepantleras —Esperanza Board of Directors— Richard Aguilar, Norma Cantú, Brent Floyd, Rachel Jennings, Amy Kastely, Ana Lucía Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Lilliana Saldaña, Nadine Saliba, Graciela I. Sánchez • We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues. • Opinions expressed in La Voz are not necessarily those of the Esperanza Center. La Voz de Esperanza is a publication of Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org Inquiries/Articles can be sent to: [email protected] Articles due by the 8th of each month Policy Statements * We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length. * All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published. In San Antonio, International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1985, when a group of women planned the first march and rally. It was not celebrated again until 1992 when the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center took on the responsibility of organizing the march and rally for IWD Day and begin programming for Women’s History month. Now the IWD March is in its 34th year and everyone celebrates Women’s History Month internationally, nationally and locally. The focal point for the celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month is no longer one organization or one institution of higher education. Now, there are a multitude of sites that offer events, programs and pláticas locally and globally. The status of women still lags behind in many aspects even though one can point to some gains like a woman of color being vice-president of the U.S. and women’s sports, in some areas, having equal pay and better publicity in the media. But, these are superficial gains, at best, in these politically charged and mysogynistic times that more than ever threaten the health of women in so many ways. This year the National Women’s History Month’s theme celebrates “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” Ironically, efforts to implement equity, diversity and inclusion in institutions of learning and in business enterprises are under attack. Equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in instituions are powerful driving forces that are having a wide-ranging impact on our country—so, no wonder these ideals are under massive attack. Women in communities across the nation are helping to develop innovative programs and projects within corporations, the military, federal agencies and educational organizations to address injustice. But there is pushback and women need to speak out and activate in order to stem the tide of repression that is creeping back into our society. It takes courage for women to advocate for practical goals like equity, diversity and inclusion when established forces aim to misinterpret, exploit or discredit them. This year, get out and support the International Women’s Day March on Sunday March 10, 2024. Check the back page of this issue of La Voz for details. For events celebrating Women’s History Month locally check these sites among others: bit.ly/alamo-iwd bit.ly/library-iwd bit.ly/utsa-iwd – Gloria A. Ramírez, editor 2 VOZ VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/ spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come. ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to lavoz@ esperanzacenter.org. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list, for whatever reason, please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GAR LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 2008 International Women’s Day March, San Antonio Texas
Águila: The Vision, Life, Death, and Rebirth of a TwoSpirit Shaman in the Ozark Mountains By Maria Cristina Moroles & Lauri Umansky EDITOR’S NOTE: We are honored to include in this Voz issue excerpts of a new book, Águila, that details the journey of a Chicanita/Indigena growing up in Dallas, Texas being fully aware of her place in the world and suffering the “atrocities of the city” that drive her away from her familia which she recounts in the book. She eventually encounters a spiritual path that leads her to become a TwoSpirit Rainbow Prayer Warrior who now leads a sanctuary in the Ozarks of Arkansas. [Note, photos used here are not in the book.] Awakening I am an indigenous woman, a daughter of Tonantzin, my Mother Earth. I am a Two-Spirit Rainbow Prayer Warrior. I am Matriarch of Santuario Arco Iris, a wilderness healing sanctuary in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. A vision led me to this land, with the sacred responsibility to protect my Mother Earth here in all her aspects - her water, soil, rock, and all inhabitants: trees, plants, animals, and all humans. As steward and spiritual leader and teacher, I follow the guidance of nature, my Mother Earth, my Ancestors, and the Ancestors of these lands. Dreams and visions of past, present, and future times guide me. My Ancestors -Coahuiltecan, Aztec, and Star Nationlived in our original territories ranging from Utah to southern Texas to the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo León and many parts of the surrounding Mexican states. Turtle Island is my Mother Land. Like many indigenous people, we were forcibly displaced from our original home lands. Medicine people and elders from all around our continent have told me the story: We were displaced by white men’s wars, their greed, their ignorance. They had lost their true spiritual wisdom, their understanding of universal laws and knowledge. I first came to this wilderness sanctuary to escape the atrocities of the city that had befallen me. I was led by a vision to this mountain, to heal and protect myself and my daughter. I was led here to live. Initially we sought simply to survive, with the intention to build a place where we could thrive. I needed to reclaim my self-determination, to remember who I truly am. Over decades, I studied and received wisdom from North and South American masters of their own respected indigenous teachings and healing practices. My teachers, my community, bestowed upon me, not as badges to flaunt for personal or financial gain, but as recognition of sacred responsibility, these titles: Curandera Total, Chamán, Master Massage Healer, and Águila. I always remember that I am only a part of a global indigenous family of women. This memoir documents my story, the herstory of one woman who is similar to millions of indigenous women. As people of color, as women, we have all struggled and suffered atrocities to survive. This world we live in channels us from birth toward menial services as maids, housekeepers, bodies churning out babies to power the vast farms, factories, and prison systems. The few who hold excessive power live extravagant lifestyles off the backs of people of color and those of low income. They continue to grab our lands, systematically stealing our way of life and denying us the most basic human rights. I share here my story of waking up to remember our sacredness and the sacred universal laws given to us, the original indigenous people, by the Creator, telling us to protect our Mother Earth, protect the old, young, poor, and vulnerable. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 3 Águila, formerly known as Sunhawk.
I pray that my story gives others courage to face the challenges of these crucial, changing times. I share my story to demonstrate that we can rise above our oppressors’ theft of positions of power and leadership, of resources, of the very land, our Mother Earth, and all Her bounty. It is our time as indigenous women to speak out. We must act NOW for the survival of our indigenous peoples, our sisters, our children, and our planet, Mother Earth. I may be labeled a displaced indigenous woman, but I am not that. My Mother Earth is everywhere I go. She is with me. She led me here. She led me back home to this sacred mountain. She and our Ancestors want us to remember, to never forget, our original ways. They know a time is coming, a time of great Earth changes. Now more than ever, we will need to remember and return to the original ways, to live in harmony with nature and our neighbors, to respect our Mother Earth and Father Sky, to respect ourselves and one another in honorable ways. What I tell needs to be told. It is the true story, the apple cider vinegar version, raw and unfiltered. It takes fortitude to swallow, as it has taken to live. Brace yourself. I will lead you along the path that brought me to a mountaintop in the Arkansas Ozarks. There my body lay wracked with hepatitis. There I died at the age of twenty-three, as buzzards circled in. Know that I will not abandon you in that place of desolation. On that winter day, as a red-tailed hawk screeched across the brilliant sun, scattering the other birds of prey, I returned to this world as “SunHawk.” My new life began. I am a Two-Spirit Rainbow Prayer Warrior. I am daughter of Tonantzin, my Mother Earth. And make no mistake: I am also a renegade, a rebel, a survivor, a survivalist, an adventurer, a homesteader, and a matriarch. I fear nothing. The Ancestors show the way Dallas: Vision My life took another turn. I had a vision. It came first in a dream. I saw myself standing at the top of a mountain, almost as if I were a tree rooted in the soil of that place. At the same time, I could see myself from above, from an eagle’s eye, distant yet clear, arms outstretched toward the sky. A wild, uncharted scent pervaded the air, like the trace of every being, plant or animal, that had ever existed, pressed into one clear essence. I could hear below the city in apocalypse, with sirens screeching and bombs blasting, people moaning and animals –dogs, cats, horses- wailing as they stampeded through melting tar roads to escape the burning metropolis. I felt safe on the mountain. Somehow, I knew this dream to be more than a dream, even the first time it came to me. In its urgent pull on every facet of my mind and senses, in its defiance of the boundaries of perspective and time, in its call to levels of my being beyond those I could name, I recalled my most intense experiences with psychedelics. I took psychedelics not to get high in an ordinary sense. I sought truth: transcendent, lucid, prophetic. Why are we here on this Earth? Why do we suffer? What are we supposed to be doing and how are we supposed to do it? I had asked these questions since childhood, finding no answers whatsoever in the fire and brimstone sermons at the Baptist churches my mother sometimes dragged us to. LSD, and psilocybin –the magic mushrooms- even more sharply, allowed me to pierce the veil, to glimpse the world of the Spirit. I ached for that world and knew when I touched it. I did not flinch at its brilliance. I craved it more than anything in the material world. And so, I knew this dream to be a vision when it visited me, and I knew that it held the meanings, the map, of my life’s path. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 4 A river at the Santuario Arco Iris An ojo de dios planted in the earth to look out over the land during an annual caminata at the santuario.
...I told only one person about the dream: my mother. She closed her eyes as I described the vividness, the quality of light and sound, the perception of another realm. I could not liken the experience to an acid trip in the telling, of course. Instead, I told her, “If Jesús had this dream, he could sculpt it. Amá Angelita could have sung it. Words can’t describe it.” “These dreams will come to you, as they come to me,” she said. “Amá Angelita sings to you. The Ancestors speak to you. You must learn how to listen, mija. We bear this burden.” Afterword by Lauri Umansky EDITOR’S NOTE: This final excerpt is Lauri Umansky’s afterword that details how the book was put together in an amazing collaboration. This book reflects a collaborative process. The process involved a deep dive into memory for María Cristina. She revisited, and spoke of, the experiences of a lifetime. Some she recalled for the first time in many years. Some she spoke out loud for the first time ever. Some she had told over and over, and not always in the same way, depending on audience and circumstances. These pages reflect the memories she wants to tell at this moment in her life, in as full or as truncated a form as she believes will preserve her story for posterity. I believe that she has told her truth as she understands it now, from the vantage point of almost seven decades of living. This is always true of memoir, as of memory. We bring to it experiences we have encountered, reshaping our understanding of those experiences all the while. There is no static moment of original truth in memory, or in memoir. Beyond a few historical signposts, it cannot be “fact checked.” Nor should it be. It is an exercise in creative nonfiction, truthful but also molded into a narrative. Our practical process in writing the book went something like this: First I transcribed all of the tapes. This took many months of close work, much of it coinciding with my work quarantine at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, working with the transcribed material, I drafted sections of the narrative, using as much of María Cristina’s actual wording as possible. Spoken word differs from written word at every level of structure, however, complicating the matter of “authorship” from the start. As I completed sections, I sent them to María Cristina. Did this section say what she wanted it to say? Did the words feel right to her? She made many corrections, some of fact and some of sequence or tone or nuance. Each segment passed back and forth between us several times until it felt just right to her. Occasionally we recorded a new session to fill in detail that our initial round of interviews somehow missed. María Cristina also sent writings she had done over the years: poems, prayers, blessings, ceremonies, recipes, eulogies. We worked some of these into the manuscript where we felt they belonged. We included as many photographs as our publisher allowed, trying to give readers a fuller sense of the people, places, animals, and plants that populate the narrative. The photo essay about Isis in her final days, through death and burial, we included at the explicit request of Sheila “Isis” Brown upon diagnosis of her terminal illness. I tried to stay out of the way in the telling of María Cristina’s story. Recognizing the fallacy of that invisibility, however, I have shared in this postscript some of the experiences and perspective that brought me to our collaborative work. We will leave it for readers, scholars, critics, and the future to name the genre, if they must. Is it an as-told-to memoir? Is it a co-authored work of creative nonfiction? Yes and yes, I would say. For me, the book is a gift to a treasured friend as she works through the meaning of her time in this life. I believe that she has told her story with integrity and valor. It is a unique story of profound depth, written in the Book of Life for the ages, and preserved here in these pages. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 5 María Cristina’s familia is an integral part of her story including her brother, Jesús, who became a famous sculptor and died in a car accident. Pictured: Disc Sun, by Jesús Moroles. In her book, María Cristina recalls the tragic death of her comadre, Marsha Gómez, who was eulogized by a network of Indigenous mujeres at Alma de Mujer in Austin Texas. Pictured: Madre del Mundo.
Bendición a mi madre By: Blanca Elizondo Edited by: Dr. Carmen Tafolla EDITOR’S NOTE: Condolences to Blanca Elizondo and her familia on the recent passing of their mother, Carmen Ortiz Elizondo, at the age of 89. A Westside resident for over fifty years Doña Carmen was an active member of The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church where she was a devout Guadalupana and served her community in a multitude of ways. Mi madre querida, al cielo te has ido Y has dejado un hueco en mi corazón. Siempre te recordaré con inmenso amor y siempre te extrañaré con profundo dolor. Cada lágrima que derrame yo llevará tu nombre pintado Cada gota de luz que entra a mi día, llevará tu sonrisa brillando. Madre querida, al cielo te has ido a estar sentadita, juntita a tu Dios. Y este dolor que ha puesto campamento triste aquí en mi corazón, no vive solo, sino vive acompañado por los bellos recuerdos, tesoros dorados, que nos dejaste como herencia, herencia de amor. Y esos recuerdos dulces y sin par, ya nunca nunca podremos olvidar. Tu Fe en Dios y en nuestra Virgencita de Guadalupe, siempre fue admirable y nunca te falló. Gracias por enseñarme como es el amar a Dios. Gracias por dar ejemplo, para que podría tener fe yó. Gracias por siempre darme tu dulce bendición por darme un besito en la frente con un abrazo lleno de cariño, repleto de amor. Yo sé que a veces, de deprisa, no aprecié el regalo de amor que me ofrecías en ese momento, y ahora siento el dolor de querer un momento más contigo de sentir una vez más tu linda bendición. Gracias mamá por todos tus consejos, por toda la enseñanza de qué es el amor y por enseñarme cómo ser fuerte en tiempos difíciles y cómo disfrutar la vida con alegría, y risa, y calor. Hoy estoy triste, siento que nunca mi corazón sanará de este tremendo dolor pero tengo el consuelo que del mero cielo me ayudarás tú a calmar mi dolor. Hasta muy pronto, mamá. Sé que estarás siempre abrazada en los brazos de Dios y de tu Virgencita Adorada. Y yo aquí quedaré fuerte Cada noche escuchando en mi corazón tu voz, como siempre, dándome tu bendición. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 6 Blanca Elizaondo , a graduate of Lanier Hight School, Texas Lutheran University & Incarnate Word (M.A.) with her mother Carmen on a recent birthday. Doña Carmen had great faith in Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and visited La Veladora installation by Jesse Treviño on Guadalupe St. to pray and give thanks.
Z Godmother -Carmen Calatayud There’s a woman on her front porch Inhaling her cigarette. She’s in love With the slender white stick Between her fingers. My fingers pretend to play piano While tapping my left arm. Blue-green vein rises and I stroke it like a purring cat. It’s been four weeks, heroin, And I need you to feel nothing. There is so much I want to tell you— I want to thank you for being my godmother For taking me to the church where god doesn’t care And we don’t pretend he does. Truth blooms in a way a moon girl can understand Truth being there is no me. Just velvet junk afterglow that Streams from stars into my arm. Wish magic alone could blow my heart open Fill it with a mouth to kiss all the losses. On the sidewalk in front of my feet A grey feather just landed. The woman lights another cigarette The smoke smells like her name, Dulce. I pick up the feather and put its point To my vein, dream of burnt caramel Streaming in, lips smack from fast joy— The sweet blur gone too quick. Carmen Calatayud: Giving voice to myself, and then giving voice to the voiceless are what drew me to poetry. This was a form of otherworldly communication that came from the heart, whether it was wholehearted or brokenhearted. It was all welcome in the world of poetry. Being part of the Corazón Collective has given me the gifts of learning, teaching and sharing in community with writers who support each others’ work and offer inspiration. This is crucial for writers, as we primarily create in solitude. My second poetry collection, This Tangled Body, coming in May 2024 from FlowerSong Press in conjunction with Letras Latinas, is about the journey of struggling to heal the broken parts of self and the world we live in—through surreal and lyrical language, This Tangled Body travels through the territory of the body, the legacy of loss and the need to love at the individual, generational and collective levels. Time -Jen Yáñez-Alaniz it exists in a sky above my home on one October night when I didn’t step outside to look yo sé que en esas horas las nubes iluminadas exhalaban Imagino mi hogar como una madre dormida como una iglesia agotada cansada del matrimonio unraveling herself from sterling light unraveling herself from the moon Jen Yáñez-Alaniz: Poetry has become an essential practice for me, offering a way to stay connected to my senses and sources of pleasure during the intense focus required by PhD studies. Writing poetry allows me to express feelings tied to insecurities and melancholy that sometimes overwhelm me. Focusing on themes of eroticism in my poetry grounds me and helps center my energy force. This plays a crucial role in my academic self-reflection and reflexivity work as I continue to grow as a scholar. Poetry serves as a vital means to examine and understand my developing positionality as a researcher interested in translingual poetics and the inseparableness of embodied language. I have begun experimenting with translingual practices in my poetry as it provides a unique space that tells so much about what I have lost, what has been taken, what I continue to hold, and what I struggle to access. Corazón Collective THE POETS & THEIR POETRY LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 7
chrysanthemums elegy for Gloria E. Anzaldúa - jo reyes-boitel tell me the truth the world has ended in a burst petals blown away from a flower’s nearly imperceptible eye filmy scales, fish’s skin flecking along billowed cheeks like stars unraveling, condensed, churning from center to surface dark matter heavy iron molten mirrored hematite then cooling mica iridescent and falling away into translucent sheets purples and greens rain down oceanic salt living in these bodies they say we are built of stardust I want to believe some part of us took a breath before we were this, and that this breath continues after us I want to believe you are here | have left | will return not enough to say you were beautiful in those dark rooms I dream you in softness: slip shoes, ivory silk, and a forest green sweater, its large collar framing your heart-shaped face I feel like an intruder to your nighttime sky, watching you while you choose your bracelets, turn your palms back and forth – they are song birds in the air, light surrounding you you watch my eyes follow you then pull at still warm amber until it glistens and promise to embrace me within its walls I kiss your palms, find pearls and yellow gold jo reyes-boitel: I have inherited exile and non-belonging from my antepasados. I write to honor them and their long journeys to new worlds – despite the potential or actual harm and persecution – to entrust their ideals will take root in me and others to come. Through them I found a talent for writing and artmaking. While I write about my inheritance I also craft my own interpretation of this world and of my own body, especially when it is at odds with how others perceive me. Writing in nepantla has given me strength in carrying multiplicities, and comfort in knowing I don’t know everything. This in-between space lets me question and doubt as ways toward learning. Too many times people see the softness in me (the femme, the queer, the fat, the poet, the introvert, the immunocompromised, the working class) and think they can cloak me with their expectations. I have felt silenced – was taught to be silent to save myself – but now use my voice (and my silence) toward ancestral knowledge and tangible memory. In this magnificent choque of potentiality there is a collective of truth tellers I strive to be a part of, supporting and supportive. Corazón C THE POETS & LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 8 Corazón Collective Chapbook Release March 9, 2024 @ 7pm Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, 922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX Gloria Anzaldúa, author of Borderlands/La Frontera
corazón espinado/nopal -ire’ne lara silva love all the thorned things with me as Nature made them — thorned and bright and dangerous not tamed not domesticated not bred for softness —wild things require respect —beautiful things should require careful handling —there is nothing more meaningful than to be entrusted with the soul of a thing i can’t remember if it was my vision or my brother’s but i carry the image in my heart —all golden and green —radiant and radiant and radiant —paint god in the shape of nopales —make the canvas hold the reflection of the sun —make it so that our eyes can’t see all of it at once —so that our eyes can’t rest on it because the face of god would drive us mad love all the thorned things with me because life is beautiful and terrible —because everything alive carries its death —because nopales never surrender never cease their rebirthings —because we live like this —creating fiercely —fierce thorned creatures carrying our deaths and carrying our medicine ire’ne lara silva: I don’t know who I would be or what my life would have been without poetry. It doesn’t matter whether I’m writing essays or articles or novels or short stories or comic books or social media posts— I’ve learned that everything is poetry. I go to poetry whenever I need to understand things, whenever I need to feel my way through life, whenever desperation or grief or curiosity or desire needed articulation. I don’t know any other way to be. I haven’t found any better way to chisel away at the essential questions: What is the spirit? What is the body? What is the world? What is my spirit and my body in this world? What are we to each other? I believe it is an act of resistance to work towards healing and being whole. An act of resistance to not give into self-destruction. An act of resistance to speak to this way of the heart and spirit. An act of resistance to move through this world consciously. An act of resistance to find others dedicated to these tasks. On the postcard of Monumento Cervantes -Angelina Sáenz taped to my kitchen cabinet you can see my lover’s window there on the 19th floor of the Torre de Madrid building that towers behind the statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza Count to 19 Allí está el Angelina Sáenz: At the age of 20, I had my first encounter with poetry that spoke to my human experience. I was a student at East Los Angeles College and my mother had just died. Jimmy Santiago Baca’s work reached its hand out to me all the way from Albuquerque to an aisle in the East Los Angeles County Library and told me not only that I was not crazy, but that the experiences of injustice and oppression that I had lived were shared experiences and also part of a carefully, politically orchestrated conspiracy to oppress (and destroy) people of color. My life would never be the same. The affirmation and clarity I felt reading Jimmy’s work made me want to write poetry that would speak to this shared truth and that would have the same effect on others that Baca’s poetry had on me. Collective THEIR POETRY LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 9
BEYOND CAPITALISM: ESSAY ON RIFKIN’S THE AGE OF RESILIENCE By Darby Riley Jeremy Rifkin is a visionary economist and advisor to governments, including China, the European Union and the U.S. Senate. He is the bestselling author of 22 books translated into 35 languages. In 2009, Rifkin was invited to San Antonio by Mayor Hardberger and CPS Energy to speak on a vision for our energy future. The ideas he laid out on the transition of the U.S. energy system to renewables have had a lasting impact on our city. His 2022 book, The Age of Resilience – Reimagining Existence on a Rewilding Earth provides another leap forward in making sense of what is already a very difficult 21st century for humanity and earthly life. There are presently over 20 million climate refugees every year, according to the United Nations. The first half of the book shows how western nations began down the path of industrial civilization. It started with thinkers Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, and others, who imagined a static universe where humans are separate autonomous conquerors of the earth. This flawed worldview later spread into Adam Smith’s economic theories and into the business practices of Europeans and the West. In the 19th and 20th centuries, science developed the laws of thermodynamics, which ultimately showed that humans are not separate but clearly part of nature, constantly changing and moving towards entropy, like all other beings. However, business practices of the 20th century ignored the new science and continued down a path which considers each business transaction as an isolated event, ignoring the consequences which result from it; and considers the earth as a separate object to be plundered for short-term profits. The natural result of 250 years of such practices is the global environmental crisis we have stumbled into. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived off the bounty of nature, creatively adapting to extreme environments. Only in the last 10,000 years, when the climate stabilized after the last Ice Age, have we attempted to disconnect ourselves from the air, water, soil and plant life that all life depends on. Related historical factors which have led to our profound damage to the biosphere include the doctrine of efficiency, which has been taught in U.S. and other business schools since the early 20th century. This gospel holds that the goal of business is to maximize profits by treating workers not as humans but as objects. Amazon is a “prime” example of this common approach: it keeps its warehouse workers under surveillance to make sure they do not take more than 18 minutes for breaks during an 11-hour day. The resulting efficiency has yielded $170 billion in profits for its owner, Jeff Bezos; and a lot of injuries and misery for its workers. Rifkin shows how capitalism is in decline and is changing to a “digitally interconnected and distributed sharing economy” which eventually will be outside the control of national governments and global corporations. Capitalism runs on efficiency and consumerism powered by advertising, leading to environmental destruction. Besides the oil industry and industrial agriculture, another good example is the fashion industry, which is responsible for 10% of all global warming emissions and is the second largest water polluter. It runs on cheap labor with no environmental standards. The industry promotes constantly changing fashion leading to more purchases. This system results in massive waste, using annually 44 trillion liters of water a year for irrigation, and 2500 chemicals in manufacture. Capitalism never wants to pay workers more than it has to, so the gap between the rich and everybody else has widened. The bursting of the housing debt bubble in 2008 would have caused capitalism to collapse but for government bailouts of the banks. Such bubbles repeatedly arise from unsustainable debt. Americans, whose wages have not risen since the 1970’s, were $14.3 trillion in credit card debt as of 2020, a historic high. Rifkin explains that in the Third Industrial Revolution which is unfolding, humanity will necessarily move beyond capitalism. The workforce of the 21st century will increasingly center on stewarding the biosphere (the air, water and soil on which all life depends). There will be millions of new jobs to monitor and steward ecosystems, to address climate related disasters, and to create resilience and adaptivity in communities. The new economy will have to deal with the unexpected, since we do not know how global warming and other enviLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 10 In 2009, Jeremy Rifkin was invited to San Antonio by Mayor Hardberger and CPS Energy to speak on a vision for our energy future. In October 19, 2022 he published a new book that expands on that vision.
ronmental challenges will unfold. This will require humans to revert to the skills of our primitive past in which we creatively adapted to harsh and changing environments. “Resilience” here for organizations means strengthening by keeping options open, valuing heterogeneity and diversity, and viewing events in a regional rather than local context. It means realizing that we cannot precisely predict the future but must develop a capacity to devise systems that can absorb and accommodate future events in whatever unexpected form they may take. The 21st century will also see the development of complex adaptive social/ ecological systems. Humans will respond to the environmental crises by “the initiation of a series of physiological, behavioral, ecological, and genetic changes that restore their ability to respond to subsequent unpredictable environmental changes.” The computing power of ubiquitous cellphones, GPS technology, renewable energy distributed to millions of homes and businesses, electric vehicles, and other factors will help create a sharing economy, not based on profit but on mutual benefit. Early examples of the sharing economy are Uber, Wikipedia, Airbnb – over time the sponsoring middlemen will be cut out. The global oligopolies like Google, Apple and Facebook, which are built on selling users’ personal data, will be phased out as governments regulate antitrust and privacy issues. Europe has already begun doing so. This new economic system, the first to develop since capitalism and socialism in the 18th and 19th centuries, will value QLI (quality of life indicators) over GDP (gross domestic product, which measures all economic activity). It will require that humanity realize that it is kin to and dependent on all of life, and not separate or superior to other life forms. It will focus on restoring the air, soil, and water of the earth. Humans will reject consumerism and endless acquisition and redefine what makes a successful life. Rifkin sees the beginnings of much greater participation by citizens in the management of their communities in what he calls “distributed peerocracy.” In order to steward our local bioregions through the climate emergencies, we need “a specieswide commitment to collectively participate in strong peerocratic governance.” This means every person must be involved. The idea is not Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am,” but rather “I participate; therefore, I exist.” To achieve this participation requires the expansion of “biophilic consciousness”: the feeling of deep empathic resonance with all of life – which is already rising in the younger generation. The Age of Resilience is an exciting book, full of hope for the future, based on science and new thinking, on how we will preserve and strengthen life on earth in the face of the 21st century challenges. BIO: Darby Riley practices law in San Antonio with his son, Charles Riley, and is a long-time environmental activist. He is a active with the Sierra Club. Rev. William (Bill) Davis March 27, 1931 – December 18, 2023 Rev. William “Bill” Davis, OM, born in San Antonio, Texas, died here at the age of 92 years. He professed vows as a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on May 31, 1954 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1957 in San Antonio. He taught at the Oblate Seminary in Mexico City where he honed his skills in Spanish. That was followed by ten years of teaching in San Antonio at St. Anthony’s Catholic High School. Father Davis was campus minister at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, between 1978-1981. His pastoral ministry in San Antonio began at St. Alphonsus Church in San Antonio, a poor church located in the barrio where he found his voice as a social activist and would take part in programs and marches to improve the lives of his parishioners. While there he was very active as a supporter of C.O.P.S. (Communities Organized for Public Service) and continued supporting grassroots organizing efforts by community members. In 1986, he facilitated the rental of Esperanza Peace & Justice Center’s first building at 922 N. Flores for $1 per year, from the Oblate Fathers. From 1990-1993 he served in the Oblate mission in Zambia. Back in Texas his last two pastorates were at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Houston, and San Francisco Javier, Laredo, a parish that was extremely poor, with mostly elderly and immigrant parishioners. His dedication and Spanish-language skills immediately attracted a congregation that continued to grow. He expanded his focus to include environmental concerns and was active in an effort to get plastic bags banned in Laredo which had been littering the community and causing significant problems for the city’s creeks and storm drains. In 2014 Fr. Bill formed “The Samaritans,” a group of parishioners who lend a hand to anyone who needs it — the elderly, disabled, sick, lonely and grieving. The good works of The Samaritans began to draw attention beyond the parish and was a reason why Fr. Bill was nominated for a national award, the Lumen Christi Award from Catholic Extension. Since, 2016, Fr. Davis has lived at Oblate Madonna Residence in San Antonio. Fr. Davis will be remembered with respect and esteem by his Oblate brothers and all the people who were recipients of his pastoral care for 60 years. He was celebrated in services on December 28, 2023 and was buried at the Oblate Cemetery in San Antonio. Memorial donations in honor of Father Davis may be sent to Oblate Madonna Residence, 5722 Blanco Road, San Antonio, TX 78216. The Esperanza board, staff and Buena gente will hold Fr. Bill in esteem and extend condolences to his family, friends and parishioners on his passing. ¡Que en paz y poder descanse! LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 11
La Marca De La YEGUA By Janny Hernández Paneque AUTHOR’S NOTE: My Name is Janny Hernández Paneque, I am a mental health Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Texas. I am first generation in the U.S.A, born in Habana, Cuba. I enjoy writing (in poetic versus/and metaphors). I was inspired to write this passage that comes from my personal reflections, and interpretations with regards to matters that bare the heart, and unravel both love & grief. This passage “La Marca De la YEGUA” explores the impact, and consequences of decision making, and the impermeable marks that come from those decisions made or not made. La YEGUA is a symbol of strength for me- because she is grounded; she represents both freedom, and captivity, carrying with her both primal and intuitive awareness. La YEGUA, understands that we have decisions to make, and all of these decisions leave residue of either triumph, failure, regret, pain, loss, etc. that we cannot escape from. Hence, it is through the process of selfexploration, and awareness, where we must find the strength to face ourselves and leave our mark. Quiero Dejar Mi Marca En Todo, Porque El Que No Deja Su Marca No Ha Vivido, Y Bueno... Si No Dejas Marca, No Tienes Nada Que Contar. Quiero Que Mi Marca Vibre Inconfundiblemente Como La Marca De Una Yegua. ¿Será mía (será la tuya?), inconfundible a otras, digna, propia, fresca, brillante, volcánica, nostálgica, amorosa, y libre. Todas nuestras decisiones, y acciones en la vida dejan una marca, esa marca es tuya, te pertenece, es tu esencia, es tu suspiro, es tu pasión, al igual que la rabia… es lo conseguido, o lo perdido, es tu angustia, y tu sonrisa, las decisiones realizadas y las perdidas, es el todo que vive en ti, es la sonrisa que regalas, o la que ocultas, es la sombra que nunca puedes esquivar, es tu perfume, es tu firma con punto final, única, bestia, radiante... ¡YEGUA! ¿No te pasa, que a veces piensas qué sería de mi vida, sí, sólo esa “decisión” esa pequeñita decisión hubiese sido diferente, no tan diferente, pero solo un poco… ¿Quizás sólo un tilín diferente? Bueno, ningunos en sí sabemos la respuesta a esto. Porque adquirí tal respuesta requeriría vivir dos vidas al mismo tiempo, y bueno, este tipo de magia simplemente no existe. Pero si existe en nuestra cabeza, y quizás en nuestros corazones, cuando el fracaso de lo “tal elegido” nos regresa al punto preciso- donde creemos sin duda que cometimos “el error.” Pero la verdad es que siempre vivimos en dos mundos, vivimos los hechos de la realidad física, y vivimos en la mente (con nuestros sueños, imaginación, rencores, y pensamientos). Lo interesante es que cuando creemos que nos fue “bien en tomar una tal decisión” generalmente no pensamos mucho que quizás detrás del supuesto triunfo pudiera en un futuro (inesperado) aterrizar el gran error. Y al igual cuando tomamos una decisión que nos resulta en un inmediato error, no concebimos mucho en la posibilidad que en el “supuesto error” también puede existir un bello triunfo. Ya que el soñar en sí, no tiene punto final, sin límites, fluyendo infinitamente, esquivando el ancla de su realización. Pero en fin, todos soñamos, unos más que otros, y existen aún aquellos que parecen vivir fuera de la realidad. ¿Sabes donde habita la duda? Habita entre él sueno y la realidad, y existen momentos donde la realidad supera el sueño. ¿Y qué pasa con estos sueños no realizados, existirá un cementerio de sueños? O, simplemente les cambiamos el nombre a “fracasos.” Qué fácil, ¿no? ¿Qué es lo que existe entre el espacio entre un sí o un no? Lo crees ser un abismo, o una batalla entre la ansiedad y la angustia del no saber el punto final; y la esperanza que se tiene cuando se lanza la fleche a su merecido destino. Ah, pero esto no es angustia para la YEGUA por qué ella no contempla estas ideas filosóficas. Ella ve la vida y los sueños muy diferentes, y ella no contempla tal batalla en lo que es (realidad) y lo que se sueña. Para ella- es un poco más simple. Ya que ella vive sus sueños y su realidad al igual. ¿O, es que pensabas que la YEGUA no sueña? Bueno, te equivocaste, si sueña, y sueña mucho, pero también sabe muy bien como vivir en la realidad. Sus patas no confunde la yerba con el mar, oh sus maltratos por caricias, oh su corral por hogar, oh sus suspiros por el duelo de lo que no pudo ser. La YEGUA es sabia y es sabia porque ella comprende que el fracaso al igual que el triunfo no existen, la meta es vivir, y vivirlo bien vivido, y cuando aprendas a escoger entre el sí, o el no, firme, segura, y brillante... lanzarás tu marca... es tuya... solo tuya... mi querida y honorable YEGUA. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 12
The Mark of the MARE I want to leave my mark on everything, because the one who doesn’t leave her mark hasn’t lived, and well... If you don’t leave a mark, you have nothing to tell. I want my mark to vibrate unmistakably like a mare’s brand. Will it be mine (will it be yours?), unmistakable to others, dignified, proper, fresh, bright, volcanic, nostalgic, loving, and free. All of our decisions and actions in life leave a mark, that mark is yours, it belongs to you, it is your essence, it is your sigh, it is your passion, and your rage... It is your conquest, and also your loss, it is your anguish, and your smile, it is the decision made and lost, it’s the everything that lives in you, it’s the smile you give, it is the smile you hide, it’s the shadow you can never avoid, it’s your perfume, it’s your signature with an end point, unique, beastly, radiant... MARE! Do you ever ponder at times, what would my life be like if that “one decision” that small decision would have been different, just slightly different, not so different…Maybe just a tad different? Well, the reality is that none of us really know the answer to this. Because for one to consider a response, one would be required to live two lives at the same time, and well, this kind of magic simply doesn’t exist. But it does exist in our minds, and perhaps in our hearts, when the notion of failure “based on what has been chosen” brings us back to that precise point— where we believe without any doubt that we made “the mistake.” But the truth is that we are always living in two worlds, we live the facts of physical reality, and we live in the mind (with our dreams, imagination, grudges, and thoughts). The interesting thing is that when we believe that we did well “in our decision making” we usually don’t pause to consider that perhaps beneath the perceived triumph there could be in an (unexpected) future mistake that awaits for us. Furthermore, when we make a decision that results in an immediate error, we do not conceive of the possibility that in the “supposed error” there can also lurk a beautiful triumph. Do you know where doubt dwells? It dwells between a dream and a reality, and there are moments when reality can be better than a dream. And, what happens to these unfulfilled dreams, is there a cemetery of dreams? Or do, we just rename them “failure.” That’s easy, isn’t it? So I ask what is it that exists in the space that lies between a yes and a no? Do you believe it an abyss, or possibly a battle between the anxiety and anguish of not knowing the end point; or perhaps it is the hope you have when you launch the arrow to its well-deserved destiny. Ah, but this is not distressful to the MARE for she does not contemplate these philosophical ideas. She sees life and dreams very differently, and she does not contemplate the battle between what is (reality) and what is dreamt. For her— it’s a little simpler than that. Since she lives her dreams and her reality in the very same way. Did you think the MARE doesn’t dream? Well, you are wrong, she dreams, and she dreams a lot, but she also knows very well how-to live-in reality. Her feet do not confuse the grass with the sea, or her mistreatment for care, or her fence (corral) for a home, or her sighs (suspiros) for the mourning of what could not be. The MARE is wise and she is wise because she understands that both failure and triumph do not exist, the goal is to live, and to live fully, and when you learn to choose between a yes, and a no, firmly, confidently, and brilliantly... Your mark will be launched... for it is yours... yours alone... my dear and honorable MARE. BIO: See Author’s Note. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 13
To d o s A g u a : A celebration of music and art in honor of Sacred Water March 22, 23, 24 Esperanza, 922 San Pedro Ave. See ww.esperanzacenter.org and FB for more details Day 1 Friday Doors open at 5 pm| Program begins @ 6pm Motivated by the desire to honor the sacredness of water and its connection to life, especially in San Antonio, the first day of the Todos Agua Festival which coincides with International Water Day will feature a tapestry of local artists including poets Carmen Tafolla, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, and Eduardo Garza. The musical lineup will include Ceiba Ili, Mazatl Cihuatl and Los Hermanos Bonifacio, who will showcase the vibrant sounds of Garifuna music. Artist Mauro De La Tierra, who created the Todos Agua artwork will showcase his work and live painting. To add to the celebration of water Greg Harman of Declaration News and Marisol Cortez will speak about the history and status of water in San Antonio, originally known as Yanaguana. Day 2 Saturday Doors open 6 pm| Concert @ 7 pm Julian Herreros Rivera is the headliner for the Todos Agua Festival. Amidst the multitude of artists Azul has encountered, Rivera’s name shines brightly. Originating from Chile, he emerges as a luminary in the realm of folk music. His music defies categorization, weaving together threads of emotion that resonate deeply with audiences. With a virtuoso command of both voice and guitar, Julian crafts compositions that transcend boundaries. It’s his fearless artistic vision that truly sets him apart, capturing the hearts of listeners around the globe. Rivera is also a visual artist with with Azul has a shared love for Atahualpa Yupanqui. These revelations have deepened Azul’s appreciation for Julian’s artistry revealing a profound connection between them—a shared love for the roots of folklore that shape their musical identities and will be shared with San Antonio audiences in a once in a lifetime event. Day 3 Sunday Doors open 3:00 pm | Cacao ceremony: 3:30 pm | Concert: 5 pm The festival begins with Diana Dos Santos offering a cacao ceremony, providing an immersive experience. Then, Julian and Azul will come together to share the stage, weaving a final musical journey that celebrates water and the beauty of Latin American folk music. The Todos Agua Festival is a vibrant music, poetry, and art celebration rooted in the reverence for water, acknowledging its vital role in sustaining life, its spiritual significance, and its profound connection to our ancestral legacy. It pays homage to the wisdom of our ancestors, who originally established their communities in the Américas, guided by the intrinsic knowledge of water, birds, and animals. Water has always been a source of life, and this festival aims to honor and celebrate its importance in our lives. Through music, art, and cultural expressions, we come together to pay homage to our roots, connect with our ancestors, and deepen our understanding of the sacred bond between water, all forms of life, and humanity. Festival organizer and performer Azul Barrientos who headlines Noche Azul at the Esperanza invites you to join her at this very special 3-day event: LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 14 Azul Barrientos Artistic Director of Todos Agua Carmen Tafolla Julian Herreros Rivera’s artwork Los Hermanos Bonifacio Greg Harman Marisol Cortez Eduardo Garza Ceiba Ili Diana Dos Santos Mauro De La Tierra Mazatl Cihuatl Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson Julian Herreros Rivera Todos Agua Headliner
Check individual websites, FB and other social media for information on community meetings previously listed in La Voz. For meetings and events scheduled at the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center check: www.esperanzacenter.org or call 210.228.0201. Anuncios March, 2024 COMMISSION SHIFT Invites art that reflects how people are positively affected by the oil and gas industry in Texas. The poster theme is “The People of Texas”. Go to: commissionshift.org/poster-contest-2024/ for details and contest rules. SOLDADERAS TO AMAZONAS: Escaramuzas Charras exhibit opens March 22, 2024 and includes Escaramuza, The Poetics of Home, portraits by award-winning photographer Constance Jaeggi accompanied by original works from poets Ire’ne Lara Silva (Texas State poet laurete), and Angelina Sáenz, who consider themes of identity, family and gender within the escaramuza community. The exhibit continues to December 2024. See www.cowgirl.net/museum/exhibitions-2 Remember your tax deductible gifts Your donation supports the Esperanza! go to: www.esperanzacenter.org/Donate or send check to: Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro Ave • SA, TX 78212 Become a Monthly Donor! LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • 15 or call 210-228-0201 to donate Your donation helps us advocate for you. Support the Esperanza www.esperanzacenter.org/donate Sandra Cisneros Keeping San Antonio Lamé: My Life Among los Artistas Trinity University is proud to welcome Sandra Cisneros as the 2024 Madrid Lecturer. Join us to hear about her life in San Antonio and beyond. The Madrid Lecture Series celebrates the rich and varied artistic works of Latinx artists from across the country. Book signing to follow. Free & open to the public - Register today! Thurs, April 11 7 p.m. | Laurie Auditorium
Esperanza Tiendita year-around gifts from local and international vendors Open M-F during Office hours, 10am to 7pm Call 210-228-0201 for more information See Page 14 for daily schedule 922 San Pedro Ave, SATX JULIAN HERREROS RIVERA AZUL BARRIENT0S CARMEN TAFOLLA • VOCAB • EDUARDO GARZA • HERMANOS BONIFACIO • MAZATL CIHUATL • MAURO DE LA TIERRA • CEIBA ILI • DIANA DOS SANTOS The Bread & Puppet Theater presents The Palestine Emergency Mass Friday, March 1 @ 8pm Saturday, March 2 @ 8pm Esperanza Peace & Justice Center 922 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212 Bilingual show! ¡Espectáculo bilingüe! $10-$25 suggested donation at the door. Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTIONEMAIL [email protected] CALL: 210.228.0201 Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID San Antonio, TX Permit #332 LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • March 2024 Vol. 37 Issue 2 • ESPERANZA PEACE & JUSTICE CENTER 922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212 210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org