Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10 San Antonio, Tejas
Día de Muertos was widely celebrated in San Antonio and a few ofrendas will continue into this issue of La Voz. As we move into 2026, how we will fare will depend on whether we are willing to fight for our best selves as individuals and as a country in danger of losing our democratic ideals. Below are some thoughts on the recent city elections that called for another arena downtown with the passing of Proposition B without addressing the inequities that exist in our city. SA against local Goliaths by Antonio CabralSan Antonio people won 47.52% of support against the local Goliaths supporting Proposition B. They now know that Resistance exists. This is a lesson to all that even a small, diverse Collective united in a common goal can smack the powerful oligarchs. Goliath may not have gone down, but is stumbling to reorganize for the next People’s Storm. Local politicians and the media will continue to back billionaires, but all are worried about the 47% + awakening. Councilwoman Alderete immediately organized a press conference as part of her campaign to remove Mayor Ortiz Jones and take her position and Nirenberg who was asked what’s ahead for the City replied, “...first we must be sure that we have the right City leadership....” He and the oligarchs may already be waving $$$ to wanna-be candidates willing to serve the billionaires. San Antonio joined NYC, VA, CA, etc. in demonstrating what People Power can do and showed that Resistance is alive!Bread and Circus, the San Antonio elections by Aurelio M. MontemayorAntonio, I agree with you completely. We need to continue educating elected officials and the people on the community’s needs: good, better paying employment, affordable housing, health services, and EDUCATION for workers stuck in low paying jobs. Investment in people is what we really need.What happened in the elections is a current version of the ancient “Bread & Circuses” (panem et circenses) that the poet Juvenal coined to describe how the Roman Empire placated citizens with food and entertainment, distracting them from significant political and social issues. We now see a similar strategy used by the far right in the U.S. to divert attention from substantive policy debates and governance.The Modern “Bread and Circus” in the U.S. manifests through a variety of means:1. Media and Entertainment: The explosion of sensationalist media and reality TV has shifted focus from critical analysis of political actions to celebrity scandals or viral social media posts.2. Populist Rhetoric: Far-right leaders use populist rhetoric to stoke fears on immigration or cultural issues, avoiding debates on economic inequality, climate change, or education.3. Symbolic Actions: Superficial measures, such as building border walls or imposing travel bans get extensive media coverage and public attention while systemic solutions to complex issues are neglected.In the case of Proposition B, the media stressed the danger of losing the SPURS. That was the ‘circus’ for us in San Antonio. Otherwise, the voters would have understood the issues more clearly. Still, the oligarchs now know that Resistanceexists, and they can’t rest on their laurels.La Voz deEsperanzaDecember 2025 | January 2026Vol. 38 Issue 10Editor: Gloria A. RamírezLayout: Elizandro CarringtonCover Art: Liliana WilsonContributorsAntonio Cabral, Mary Cabral, Nephtalí De León, Victor Flores, Don Mathis, Aurelio Montemayor, Alfred Montoya, Maricela Olguin, David Spener, Tom Wetzler, Mary B. Younger Esperanza DirectorGraciela I. SánchezEsperanza StaffSherry Campos, Arabella Chávez, Elizandro Carrington, Kayla Miranda,Nonye Okoye, René Saenz, Imane Saliba, Susana Segura, Rosa VegaConjunto de Nepantleras—Esperanza Board of Directors—Rachel Jennings, Dennise Frausto, Amy Kastely, Sylvia Mendoza, 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 Esperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.orgInquiries/Articles can be sent to:[email protected] due by the 8th of each monthPolicy 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 2 individuals or groups will not be published.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 [email protected]. 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. -GARLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•
By Tom Wetzler I first met Jack in 1979 at a small meeting in San Antonio of people concerned about issues in Central America. We soon realized that we were Vietnam Veterans. I had been involved with VVAW since 1970, but had never met Jack before. Jack was knowledgeable, well-spoken, and willing to pitch in with the grunt work of meetings and mail-outs. It seemed he was too good to be true. I was suspicious. In the next few weeks, I learned he had been in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica before being drafted and sent to Vietnam. Originally from CT, he first came to Texas for Peace Corps training in 1965 after getting a B.S. in Biology from Catholic University in Washington, DC (Jack later told me he realized that if the 16mm films about the “benefits of Capitalism” did not work in the Peace Corps, there was the M16 of the Army in Vietnam). In Vietnam, he was assigned to a convalescence unit as a lab tech in Cam Ranh Bay. After returning from Vietnam and out of the Army, Jack finished an M.A. in education with a concentration in Spanish from what is now Texas State University. When we met, Jack was working as a math teacher at a middle school. He was married with three small sons (another son and a daughter came later). His wife, Diane, was fully supportive of not repeating Vietnam in Central America. Their life values of simple living and conscious non-consumerism, “Live simply so others may simply live,” showed they were the “Real Deal.” Jack’s experience in Central America and his fluency in Spanish gave him empathy for the plight of refugees from right-wing dictatorships in Central America. He worked for several months at Casa Oscar Romero, a refugee shelter sponsored by the Catholic Church, in 1983. During that time, Jack was arrested twice and convicted once of transporting refugees to the bus station. While awaiting trial, Jack often spoke publicly about US policy in Central America and the creation of refugees from that policy. It is estimated that between 1981 and 1990, almost one million fled from El Salvador and Guatemala, many seeking Asylum in the US. Jacks’ actions morphed with the grassroots faith-based Sanctuary Movement. In 1985, Jack was convicted of charges related to transporting immigrants and was sentenced to two years’ probation with the condition that he not publicly speak about immigration issues. Jack refused the sentence as “unacceptable” and continued to speak. A week later, he was given another sentence: 150 days in a Halfway House in his hometown of San Antonio. When released, Jack continued as a VVAW member, speaking at rallies and demonstrations, in classrooms, and participating in lectures at universities. Jack had participated in going to the office of our Congressional Reps., both in San Antonio and with VVAW in Washington, DC, during Dewey Canyon IV in 1982, before going to Casa Oscar Romero. He returned to teaching, but after 9/11, his conviction became a hindrance to his work in education. Jack then worked in other fields, including construction, tree trimming, and safety engineering. He volunteered at a homeless shelter, Catholic Worker House, and did daily food deliveries for Meals on Wheels. Jack continued to do this work after his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in 2011, due to Agent Orange Remembering Jack ElderLiterary OfrendasLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•3Jack Elder and Tom Wetzler, MLK Day, 2017.
exposure in Vietnam. He managed his illness well as it progressed, staying involved and active in both National and community events. But progress it did, and in true Jack fashion, as he was becoming less able to function, he decided once again to take control of his life on his own terms. A couple of weeks after helping me with reading the Declaration of Independence in the community park, on the Fourth of July, Jack decided to stop eating and drinking and let nature take its course. He was surrounded by his family when he passed; it was his instruction to be cremated in his VVAW t-shirt. “America doesn’t need to be a great nation, it needs to be a good Nation.” Jack was a true friend and comrade, always having my back. NOTE: Reprinted from the fall 2025 issue of Vietnam Veteran’s Against the War, The VeteranBIO: Tom Wetzler is originally from NYC, was a medic with an infantry company D 1/18, 1st Inf. Div. 69-70 and has been involved with VVAW since learning about Operation RAW in 1970 while volunteering with a GI newspaper “Your Military Left”, in San Antonio, TX. He worked in nursing, teaching, and various other jobs, and is now retired in San Antonio. The Heart of the WestsideJohn Gagliano, Giovanni’s DeliJuly 15, 1944 – October 19,2015Giovanni was more than the owner of one of the best pizza spots in the heart of the Westside; he was a true anchor for the community. His kindness wasn’t just a trait—it was an active commitment he demonstrated every single day.He had a remarkable way of looking out for people. I remember so many nights working late at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center or San Anto Cultural Arts. If he saw my car still there past 8 o’clock, he would personally bring me a fresh, off-the-menu dinner right to my office. He was also famous for his constant supply of fresh baked cookies for all of us. His pizza wasn’t just food; it was truly made with love.Giovanni always extended his services, ensuring he could feed my volunteers and fellow community members without question. For those who didn’t have the money for a meal, or for a neighborhood kid needing to help their family, Giovanni always found a way for them to make a little cash through honest hard work. He was a deeply kind man and his presence is profoundly missed.Giovanni, you were one of the first people to show me how much a great, healthy cooked meal could change a person’s entire day. Thank you for embodying love through food to support the community you cherished.November 19, 2025Maricela Olguin EDITOR’S NOTE: True to his generous spirit until the end of his life, John (Giovanni) left the building and property that Giovanni’s Deli was on to a group of community organizations. Ultimately, the Esperanza, one of the designated groups, took on the responsibility of renovating the property for the benefit of the community with plans pending to reopen in the future.LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•4
Remembering La Familia SolanoBy Mary Cabral I recently lost my last living sibling, Lupita Solano Ramonez. Her birthday was on October 26. I mourn her still as well as the fact that nobody seems to care when a hardworking person dies. I write this in tribute to my family, the Solano family that have now all passed. My dad, Telesforo Solano, Mom, Trinidad Rodriguez Solano, Sisters, Alicia Solano, Melida Iglesias, Guadalupe Ramones, Armandina Arredondo, Margaret Moreno and my brother, Ofilio Solono. I also include in my tribute all the Latinos from the Westside and Southside who have ended their journey on earth as ordinary hard-working people and never were acknowledged for the importance of their existence. I salute them with the words of a great American poet:“When Great Trees Fall”. And when great souls die,after a period, peace blooms,slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.They existed.They existed.We can be. Be and be better. For they existed. —Maya AngelouFlaco Jiménez(in celebration of his life) © Nephtalí De LeónFlaco is an icon, icono del acordiónbarrio bajo, barrio arribaa patín o hasta en avión,I guess that’s why el Tata said to Flaco,won’t you come and play for meangel music, tacuachito rock! at 86 se lo llevó to celebratelike only we can dreamimagine heaven con cerveza y con ice cream mana, tripas y menudo,toma lo que quieras and you don’t get crudo! Imagine el porazo starting to take placewith all the best magicians of our race,Esteban, Nicky Snick y la Selena,and what about the cats that never sleepel Ernie Garibay, ay ay ay nombre shuttup! – I hear the Flaco rolas:??? “te gusta mucho el bailey bailas al compáste vas hasta Laredoy quieres mucho más”?????? “todas las muchachas usan pantalónno se ponen medias usan calcetín…toditos con la moda que no tiene finhasta el padrecito andaba en blue jean”???ay mi Raza linda y bellathat created such estrellaslike Flaco Jiménez --the most humble brilliant starnever fear he won’t be far we carry him, a permanent tattooetched in our heart - you hear his echoesin the memory of his tunespachangas locas that he loved to playall through the night and even when the sun came upwith loving all embracing sunny rays! Love Blooms Like A RoseMaria Younger, Teatro EsperanzaLife never dies, but it transitions and ascends to another form we call love, never to be forgotten. Mother would always say,” thank-you for bringing me flowers.” Then one day, she paid Me a visit in my garden.LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•5My family hardly ever took photos. We did not even own a camera, but here they are: my brother and 6 sisters: In the Middle: Ofilio, my brother; my sisters, left to right: Margaret, Melida, Licha, Armandina, Guadalupe and Mary. My parents, Mother, Trinidad Rodríguez Solano, (02.17.1908 to 01.25.1986) and Father, Telesforo Solano, (01.05.1998 to 01.10.1972). All have passed, but I love and mourn them now and forever.
Looking “Mexican” In The Ice AgeBy Alfred Montoya and David SpenerIn América, all of us have something of indigenous blood. Some of us, in our veins. Others, on our hands. Eduardo GaleanoToday, teams of heavily-armed, well-funded, and masked ICE units are carrying out raids as part of the biggest mass-deportation operation in the U.S. since the 1950s. ICE agents are invading people’s homes and snatching people off the street who look to them like they might be “illegals,” terrorizing immigrant communities around the country, including here in Texas. Although reliable figures are hard to come by, the vast majority of people being detained by ICE today are Latinxs. The 4th amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, but ICE agents engage in racial profiling to stop, question, arrest, and detain persons until it can be determined whether they are “deportable.” Rather than focus on arresting individuals known to have committed violent felonies, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have ordered ICE agents to round up as many potential “illegal aliens” as they can based on their physical appearance, geographic location, and perceived occupations. Not surprisingly, U.S. citizens have been apprehended in these round-ups. Some have been released after producing their “papers,” while others have been disappeared for days into the fast-growing immigrant detention system. Since 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed immigration agents on roving patrols in the Southwest border region to use “Mexican appearance,” along with other factors, to stop vehicles or pedestrians if agents have a “reasonable suspicion” that such persons are engaged in illegal activity, including having unlawfully entered the United States. In September 2025, the Supreme Court granted the same power to agents conducting raids in U.S. cities far from the border. Immigrant advocates charge that the Court has effectively legalized racial profiling all over the country in support of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program. Today, “looking Mexican” is still one of the main factors that ICE agents use to decide who to target for arrest, detention, and deportation. Of course, the Latinx population of the United States includes people tracing their ancestry to many other places, including the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Nevertheless, Mexicans are more than 60 percent of all Latinxs in the United States and nearly 90 percent of all Latinxs in Texas. Mexicans are also three-quarters of the Latinx population of both Los Angeles County, California and Chicago, Illinois, the two cities with the most aggressive ICE campaigns targeting Latinx immigrants. So, what makes a person “look Mexican” to ICE agents, whether they are Mexican or a member of some other Latinx group? The simplest answer is having brown skin, in combination with things like speaking Spanish and working in a manual occupation. But where does the brown skin of so many Mexican immigrants and U.S.-born Mexicans—who often are members of the same family living under the same roof—come from? The answer is also simple: Mainly from their indigenous American elders and ancestors. In other words, the people who today are being surveilled, detained, and deported for being undesirable “invaders” of a soon-to-be great again “America” are the descendants not of invaders of this continent, but the heirs of its original inhabitants.Today, few Latinxs identify as indigenous in the U.S. census. In 2020, of those who saw themselves as having only one race, just 2.4 percent of this country’s 62 million Latinxs identified as “American Indian” or “Native American,” while 20.3 percent identified as “white,” 1.9 percent as “Black” and 42.2 percent as members of “some other race.” At the same time 32.7 percent of Latinxs identified themselves as a mix of two or more races, mainly of white with “some other race.” Thus, most Mexican and other Latinx persons do not seem to see themselves as related to indigenous nations in the United States or connected to specific indigenous communities in Mexico. This despite the fact that the bulk of the population in Mexico is either mestizo (a blend of European and indigenous ancestry) or indigenous.Why do so few Mexicans in the United States identify as indigenous and so many identify as “some other race”? As scholar Jongsoo Lee and others have shown, during the early 20th century, the concept of mestizaje (racial mixing) was promoted LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•6 1981 poster by the late Chicana artist Yolanda López
by Mexican intellectuals and political leaders to unify the nation after the turmoil of the Revolution. They conceptualized the new Mexican state as a blend of Hispanic and indigenous peoples and their respective pasts into a single national mestizo culture. To be Mexican was to be mestizo, a member of what José Vasconcelos called a bronze “cosmic race” that he promoted as a fusion of the best qualities of European and indigenous peoples. The cosmic race ideology celebrated the indigenous civilizations of pre-Hispanic Mexico while promoting the absorption of contemporary indigenous communities into the mestizo majority. Soon after, however, these thought leaders were forced to adapt this vision to the context of a white supremacist international order. Mexican intellectuals reshaped mestizajeinto a form more acceptable to the elites of North American and European nations whose ranks Mexico sought to join. Intellectuals promoted mestizo as the national identity, but highlighted its Hispanic-European foundation. Spanish tradition, iconography, and Christianity consequently dominated the self-image of Mexicans and Mexican Americans through the 20th century. The government’s promotion of the mestizo ideal was in effect, as anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla argued, a policy to “de-Indianize” the country. In reality, of course, Mexico was a nation-state with a diverse population and Mexicans were its citizens, not members of a single “race.”In the early 20th century in the US, anti-Mexican rhetoric, racist stereotypes, and state violence against Mexicans, including their extrajudicial killings by the Texas Rangers, prompted many to de-emphasize their indigenous heritage. Segregation and Jim Crow-era discrimination entrenched the pernicious linkages between race, ethnicity, class, and social status. This led many members of the U.S. Mexican community to emphasize their Spanish ancestry, i.e., their whiteness, as a strategy to gain acceptance and respect in the white-dominated society north of the border, leading to further disidentification with their indigenous ancestry.In the 1960s, participants in the Chicano Movement took pride in their Mexican heritage that Anglos in the United States had denigrated. They lay special claim to being descendants of the original indigenous inhabitants of North America. The young members of the movement were often self-taught regarding their history and culture. They largely adopted the racial ideology of the Mexican government, and constructed a political identity for themselves as modern-day revolutionaries resisting colonialism and imperialism. “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us,” became a movement slogan, in the double sense of being Mexicans separated from their paisanos and as indigenous-descended people deprived of the right to traverse the lands that their ancestors had been the original inhabitants of. Some 21st century observers have criticized Chicano Movement participants’ claims to indigenous identity, noting that most of them had little connection to contemporary indigenous communities on either side of the border. Others went so far as to accuse them of being “Pretendians.” In this present moment of mass deportations, however, it is important to recognize that the indigenous ancestors of Chicanxs were victims of European and Euro-American colonialism, suffering invasion, plunder, rape, enslavement, loss of lands, and suppression of languages and cultural practices, making it impossible for most Chicanxs to know their original native identities.In the late 20th century, a new term further added to this erasure of indigenous identity. In 1976, the “Americans of Spanish Origins Social Statistics Act,” mandated the U.S. government to collect data about “Hispanics.” The term “Hispanic” is derived from “Hispania,” the ancient Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. It strongly emphasizes a connection to Spain and association with it as a colonial power, rather than descent from the myriad indigenous American groups that also characterized most of the people the government labeled as Hispanic. As sociologist G. Cristina Mora said in an interview about the origins of this term in official discourse, “There were, at the time, people in the Nixon and Johnson administrations that really liked the term Hispanic. They saw themselves as Hispanic. ‘Hispano’ was the term in New Mexico that many families used to differentiate themselves from Anglos and some argued from the indigenous population there as well.” These days many San Antonio residents similarly identify as Hispanic rather than as Mexican. Today in the United States, Mexican and other Latinx descendants of the Americas’ original inhabitants are being hunted down and deported by militarized police deployed by descendants of the white European colonizers that took their forebears’ land in the first place. A complex history of Spanish and Anglo colonialism has worked to keep them from identifying as indigenous descendants whose birthright is to migrate freely throughout the lands first populated by their ancestors. How might it change the dynamic of debates about immigration in the ICE age if they did?BIO: Alfred Montoya and David Spener are professors in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity UniversityLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•7Anti-ICE demonstration in San Antonio on June 11, 2025. Photo by authors.
Migrating IdeasEDITOR’S NOTE: Don Mathis reminds us that International Migrants Day is December 18, 2025. We are a nation of immigrants.“We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.” – Mitt RomneyOur attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal.“We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.” - Robert F. KennedyThe diversity provided by immigration has made our country what it is.“The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources–because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.” – Lyndon B. JohnsonBeing an American is different from being a citizen from any other country.“I received a letter just before I left office from a man. I don’t know why he chose to write it, but I’m glad he did. He wrote that you can go to live in France, but you can’t become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Italy, but you can’t become a German, an Italian. He went through Turkey, Greece, Japan and other countries. But he said anyone, from any corner of the world, can come to live in the U.S. and become an American.” – Ronald ReaganThe very essence of the United States embodies acceptance of the immigrant.“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respected stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges…” – George WashingtonA few of our ancestors arrived on the Mayflower.“We came to America, either ourselves or in the persons of our ancestors, to better the ideals of men, to make them see finer things than they had seen before, to get rid of the things that divide and to make sure of the things that unite.” – Woodrow WilsonNearly all Americans have ancestors who arrived by land, sea, or air – liberty-loving risk-takers in search of an ideal – the largest voluntary migrations in recorded history.“Immigration is not just a link to America’s past; it’s also a bridge to America’s future.” – George H. W. BushIt says something about our country that people around the world are willing to leave their homes and leave their families and risk everything to come to America.“Their talent and hard work and love of freedom have helped make America the leader of the world. And our generation will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty and the most hopeful society this world has ever known.” – George W. BushThe words on the Statue of Liberty embrace the American idea of immigration.“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” – Emma LazarusUntil 1921, this was an accepted picture of our society.“Under present law it would be appropriate to add: as long as they come from Northern Europe, are not too tired or too poor or slightly ill, never stole a loaf of bread, never joined any questionable organization, and can document their activities from the past two years.” ― John F. KennedyWe have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic.“Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” – Jimmy CarterLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•8
America was built by immigrants.“We are a country where people of all backgrounds, all nations of origin, all languages, all religions, all races, can make a home.” – Hillary ClintonThere is much building to be done.“You know, 11 million people live in the shadows. I believe they’re already American citizens. These people are just waiting, waiting for a chance to contribute fully. And by that standard, 11 million undocumented aliens are already Americans, in my view.” – Joe BidenWhat would be the result if we shunned the immigrant?“If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.” – Ronald ReaganWelcoming immigrants is the right thing to do!“We have a legal and moral obligation to protect people fleeing bombs, bullets and tyrants, and throughout history those people have enriched our society.” – Juliet StevensonFear should not determine who can immigrate.“We the people of this continent are not afraid of foreigners because many of us were once foreigners.” – Pope FrancisIt has always been so.“The U.S. should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.” – Thomas PaineImmigrant families have integrated themselves into our communities, establishing deep roots.“Whenever they have settled, they have made lasting contributions to the economic vitality and diversity of our communities and our nation. Our economy depends on these hard-working, taxpaying workers. They have assisted America in its economic boom.” – Ted KennedyIt is crucial for us to know where our standards have dropped; such as when the United States jailed American citizens of Japanese heritage.“And it seems to me important for a country, for a nation to certainly know about its glorious achievements but also to know where its ideals failed, in order to keep that from happening again.” – George TakeThe wife of our current president was born in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Elon Musk, born in South Africa, served as senior advisor to Trump and as the de facto head of DOGE. Elaine Chao, born in Taiwan, served as Secretary of Transportation during Trump’s first administration. Yet it is hard to find a positive statement from our president concerning immigrants.“In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net.” – Donald TrumpWhat has happened to the United States?“If we study our own history, we find that we have always been ready to receive the unfortunate from other countries, and though this may seem a generous gesture on our part, we have profited a thousand-fold by what they have brought us.” – Eleanor RooseveltWe must remember.“Remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” — Franklin D. RooseveltSome say the quality of the recent immigrant is undesirable.“The time is quite within recent memory when the same thing was said of immigrants who, with their descendants, are now numbered among our best citizens.” – Grover ClevelandIf we do not provide the same opportunities for future immigrants that were provided for our forefathers, it is an affront to our national ideals.“We owe these servicemen more for the sacrifices that they have made for this country.” – John McCainDiversity makes our country great.“Yes, we become stronger when men and women, young and old, gay and straight, native-born and immigrant fight together to create the kind of country we all know we can become.” – Bernie SandersOur destiny is more important than our origin.“What makes someone American isn’t just blood or birth, but allegiance to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone — from anywhere — can write the next chapter of our story.” – Barack ObamaBIO: Don Mathis’ life revolves around the many poetry circles in San Antonio. His poems have been published in a hundred anthologies and periodicals and broadcast on local TV and national radio.LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•9
The highlight of the year for the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in 2025 was the Grand Opening of the Museo del Westside on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at the Rinconcito de Esperanza. It began at 10am with an Opening Ceremony that featured a list of speakers including members of the Reyes family that had sold the property that housed Ruben’s Ice House for a modest price to the Esperanza with the understanding that it would serve as a future Museo. The future finally arrived as the opening of the Museo was celebrated with speaker after speaker that included SA Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones who presented a City of San Antonio Proclamation to Esperanza’s Director Graciela I. Sánchez. Other speakers included scholar Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, former Councilwoman María Antonietta Berriozábal, Councilwoman Terri Castillo, Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz who took on the role of master of ceremonies dressed like the famous LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•10Former Councilwoman María Antonietta Berriozábal was one of the speakers. A representative of the Museo Advisory Committee Dr. Verónica Méndez addressed the crowd. Teresa Champion, a living legend, flamenco dancer and founder of the Teresa Champion Dance Academy donated artefacts from her career to the museo, now on display. Posing with the Proclamation from the City of San Antonio are councilwoman Terry Castillo, Graciela I. Sánchez, Director of Esperanza, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, and Dr. Rita Urquijo Ruiz Folks lined up along the sidewalk leading up to the entrance of the Museo
vaudevillian comic, “La Chata Noloesca”, Pat Reyes, the Museo Community Advisory Committee and more. A ribbon-cutting followed at the Museo’s doors officially opening the first exhibit, Our Work Transforms the World. with community guides ready to escort folks in. The celebration continued with música en vivo, food, poetry readings by Teatro Esperanza and even workshops at Casa de Cuentos throughout the day. Gente waited patiently in a long line to enter the Museo while others wandered into the MujerArtes studio to buy or view clay art. People lingered at the outdoor mesitas enjoying food, drink and the convivencia afforded by the event. For now, the Museo will be open to individuals and groups by appointment and will continue to serve everyone in the Westside community and the City of San Antonio. For information or to visit call 210.228.0201. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•11The ribbon-cutting ceremony included various members of the community including Councilwoman Terry Castillo, Irma González, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto and Dr. Antonia Castañeda. A wheel exhibiting a timeline of events informs museum goers of what was happening on the Westside throughout the decades. Among the musicians playing at the Museo was Panfilo’s Güera.Araceli Herrera uses a magnifying glass to locate sites in the Westside of San Antonio
Cuentitos Y Poemas de Victor de Anda FloresLa LloronaAy Llorona Llorona mía! Ay Llorona Llorona mía!cuando yo te conocí eras una elegante y hermosa mujer.Mujer mia, mujer miapero como se casó con un chamán que la hechizó,de una maldita maldad que la hizo odiar a sus hijostres pequeñitos sin saber del la maldadHay llorona llorona….mía por qué no te conocía cuando eras míate quiero con toda mi alma pero el hechizo te hizo actuar muy mal, por eso llorona llorona miaaclamas por tus hijos…. Sin cesarhay hay mis hijos!ya no se puede recapacitar donde el díaque la veas o la oigas lamentar y sollozarHay mis hijos ay mis hijos por ahí la vas a escuchar, no te asustes de susgritos ayuda a rezar que al final si no cuidamosA nuestros hijos con el Chamuco vamos a ir a dar. Tan, tan.—Víctor de Anda FloresSin Frontera No importa si has cruzado más de 7, 8 o 10 fronteras, lo que importa es que ya estás aquí echando raíces y ayudando a tu semejante!Construimos palacios rascacielos casas Caras Fuentes, etc.No importa de dónde vienes,no importa cómo llegaste, no importa de qué religión eres,lo que importa que tengas un corazón puro, libre y lleno de amor y amistad!—Víctor de Anda FloresThe HoarderMy friends and family, when they come to my house they really enjoy when I cook for them egg omelette, French toast quesadillas, carne guisada, barbacoa, tamales on Christmas, yes, they love all these delicious foods!But they tell me that I’m a hoarder but I always remind them thatI’m not a hoarder I’m an environmentalist if You Ever Looking For Anything From A To Z itemsyou will find it here like a rotten apple and an old shoe but still it’s my Home and my Palace and I will share it with you I only have one chair for me and two other for guests and visitors everyone is welcome in my pad casa. If there isn’t room y’all can Wait outside taking turns or go help me clean the yard you might find something you like but it’s not free it’s for the common good and a good price $$$.— Víctor de Anda FloresMi Herencia Familiar Yo, soy Quien soy y no me parezco a nadie! Bueno me corrijo y digo bien, me parezco el 40% de mi padre, 40% de mi madre y un 10% a mis hermanos, pero cada que voy al zoológico veo a un gorilita que me ve siempre y me avienta besos y abrazos, me dice ven yo te conozco y yo me quedé asustado porque dije: ah cabrón! será mi tío, será mi primo, será mi otro hermano que nunca conocí, al fin me atreví y fui a platicar con el gorila que se llamaba Octavio me dijo: me puedes decir Tabo soy tu tío perdido y encantado por una hechicera, pero si me ayudas, aquí en mi jaula yo tengo mucho pero mucho dinero, yo empecé a llenarme de alegría pero estaba el otro chango en una esquina viéndome, cuando yo me descuidaba para quitarme mi lonche, pero mi intuición me dijo: no seas pendejo Pedro, este chango no es tu primo, tu tío, ni nada, no te dejes engañar, así seguí caminando y viendo los demasiados changuitos orangutanes y todos se reían de mí, se te escapó el dinero! se te escapó el dinero! me decían, pero yo me hice sordo y seguí caminando. Me encontré a un jardinero le platiqué mi historia me dijo el jardinero: qué bueno que no le hiciste caso, porque así son de burlones estos tontos gorilas a mí varias veces me han quitado el lonche, más que nada mis gorditas de pollo, yo les dije a los gorilas y a los changos que a la otra que me asusten, las gorditas van a ser de chango o Chang’an a su madre. —Fin— —Víctor de Anda Flores LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•12
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•13Esperanza Peace & Justice Center’sDia de Muertos, 2025Mil gracias, Buena gente for making this special day memorable for those present in body and spirit!Photos by Lupito ConjuntoArtwork By Jacob Mena
“Keeping Our Kids Safe”By Monte ViejitoThe evening heat was easing up, the porch catching a soft breeze that smelled of grilled corn and mesquite smoke. A few teens sat on the steps—phones in hand but ears open. They’d come to ask Don Chon and Geneva what they thought about all the talk on the news: guns, lockdowns, school shootings.Don Chon shifted in his chair, the wood creaking. “Mira, back when I was your age, the worst thing we worried about at school was getting caught skipping class. Now you all gotta think about someone walking in with a gun. That’s not right.”Geneva nodded. “It’s not just the schools that changed. The streets did, too. But one thing stays the same—what happens inside schools starts at home. You keep guns locked up, unloaded, and out of reach. That’s basic respeto for life.”A girl in a Lanier T-shirt spoke up. “But lots of families got guns. My tío says he needs his for protection.”“Protection’s one thing,” Geneva said, “but leaving it where a kid can find it—that’s not protection, that’s danger.”Don Chon nodded. “Your tío wouldn’t leave his truck running for a baby to crawl into. Same idea. If you own it, you lock it, keep the bullets somewhere else. That’s love, mija— protecting your people.”A tall boy raised his hand. “My uncle’s a hunter—le gusta ir a matar venados—and he says having a gun is his constitutional right. He’ll never vote for anyone who wants to take it away.”Don Chon chuckled. “Your uncle’s right—it is a right. Folks been hunting around here since before the highways were paved. My own brother used to haul back venado from the Hill Country. That’s tradition.”Geneva leaned forward. “And nobody’s trying to take that away. Rights come with responsibilities. You can hunt all you want—but you keep that gun locked up so no kid finds it, and you make sure it never ends up hurting someone by mistake.”Geneva nodded. “That’s what real freedom looks like—when our rights protect life, not take it.”The teens grew quiet. Then one asked, “But people say laws don’t stop criminals.”“Maybe not all of them,” Don Chon said, “but they stop some. And if that ‘some’ means one less mama burying her kid, that’s worth it.”Geneva’s tone softened. “It’s not only about laws. It’s about knowing when someone’s hurting and getting them help before they hurt someone else. Schools gotta notice the warning signs, not just punish kids when they act out. Build a team—teachers, counselors, even the janitor—and check in. Offer help, not handcuffs.”Don Chon tapped his cane. “You can’t heal pain with a suspension slip. Back in our day, we walked out for justice, not just for ourselves but for classmates who got pushed out. Same story today. You throw a kid away, that pain don’t disappear—it finds another way to come out.”“So what should schools do?” a boy asked.“Start with counselors, not cops,” Geneva said. “We don’t need teachers packing pistols—we need people who listen. You can’t build peace with fear.”“Yeah,” Don Chon added, “some folks think the answer is metal detectors and armed staff. Nah, hombre. You fix the leaks before the flood. You invest in your people— counselors, psychologists, programs that teach how to talk, not fight. Make the school feel like a community, not a cage.”A girl with braids frowned. “But what about lockdown drills? They freak me out.”Geneva gave her a kind smile. “You should feel prepared, not traumatized. Drills should be calm and clear—no fake blood, no loud bangs. Let everyone know it’s a drill, and teachers should check in with students after. Safety shouldn’t come with nightmares.”“True that,” Don Chon said. “And schools gotta get the basics right—locks that actually lock, alarms that ring, doors that close. Half the time, they buy fancy gadgets but forget to fix the broken window.”Geneva laughed softly. “You see, baby, safety’s not magic—it’s maintenance. It’s community.”Another teen asked, “What can we do? We can’t pass laws.”“You got eyes, don’t you?” Don Chon said with a grin. “Use ’em. If you see someone lonely or angry, reach out or tell someone who can help. Don’t stay quiet. Sometimes one word of care changes everything.”“Yeah,” Geneva added, “the Sandy Hook parents say, ‘Know the signs.’ That means pay attention to your friends—and to yourself. Speak up. That’s power right there.”The night deepened; a dog barked somewhere down the block. Artwork: Jocelina GuerreroDon Chon and Geneva Platicas:LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•14
The teens shifted, thinking. Don Chon tapped his cane again. “You know, people call our neighborhoods violent, like we were born that way. But we’ve always looked out for one another. Community safety starts with community love.”Geneva smiled, her eyes soft in the porch light. “And laughter, always laughter. Don’t let fear steal your joy.”Don Chon chuckled. “If you forget to laugh, you’ll end up like one of those city meetings that never end.”The teens laughed, but their faces stayed thoughtful. Geneva reached over, resting her hand on Don Chon’s. “We fought for justice in our time,” she said. “Now it’s your turn to fight for peace.”BIO: Aurelio Montemayor is an IDRA senior education associate and family engagement coordinator. A Chicano activist and fronterizo, he was county director of the VISTA program in Del Rio in the 60s and marched with MAYO in the 70s as part of the Chicano Civil Rights movement. He was co-founder of the first independent Chicano college, Colegio Jacinto Treviño and the Juárez-Lincoln College. Legacy Awards Ball “Caring for the Culture: The Heart and Spirit of Legacy”Friday, January 9, 2026 at 6pm Boeing Center at Tech Port3331 General Hudnell Dr., SATX 78226Honoring local Black heroes whose work reflects our area’s Black historic icons.BHFS: “Brick By Brick: A Civil Rights Story”December 5, 2026 • Doors open @ 5:30 pmScreening from 6 - 9:00 pm, Free!The Little Carver, 226 N. Hackberry, SATXA panel discussion will follow the film.saaacam.org/event/2026-legacy-awardsball-caring-for-the-culture-the-heart-andspirit-of-legacy/saaacam.org/event/bhfsbrick-by-brick-a-civil-rightsstory-dec-2025/Forced by Circumstance: Chicana Feminist Essays (1981-2024)By Norma Alarcon & editors: Norma E. Cantú, Dionne Espinoza, Marisa BelausteguigoitiaAvailable now on Amazon! www.amazon.com/Forced-Circumstance-Chicana-Feminist-1981-2024/dp/1951874Paperback edition: December 2, 2025A landmark collection of the work of pioneering Chicana scholar, Norma Alarcón.Support the Esperanza with an end of the year donation!go to: www.esperanzacenter.org/Donateor send check to:Esperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro Ave • SA, TX 78212Become a Monthly Donor!or call210-228-0201Your donationhelps us advocate for all.www.esperanzacenter.org/donateCheck 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.AnunciosDec 2025 | Jan 202615LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•
Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTIONEMAIL [email protected] CALL: 210.228.0201TRANS HISTORY & MOVING FORWARD Sofia Sepulveda,Field Director, Equality Texas—presentation & panelJanuary 16,2026 @ 6pmEsperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro, SATX Monday, January 19, 2026 @ 10 a.m.*Kickoff at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy3501 Martin Luther King Dr. Park celebration at Pittman-Sullivan Parkfollowing the end of the March*March lineup begins as early as 9 a.m.39th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. March & Celebration 14TH ANNUAL DREAMWEEK SAN ANTONIOJANUARY 9-31, 2026Exchanging Ideas. Inspiring discussion. Igniting change.For a schedule of events go to: www.dreamweek.org/events/Non-Profit Org.US PostagePAIDSan Antonio, TXPermit #332LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 Vol. 38 Issue 10•ESPERANZA PEACE & JUSTICE CENTER922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org