TALES OF TORRES 4.07.14
RIC SALINAS OF CULTURE CLASH IN NEW PLAY TITLED "PLACAS" The culture and customs of the Salvadoran community are at the heart of a new play featuring the mercurial actor Ric Salinas who is best … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 3.09.14 “LATINO BLACKS IN BASEBALL”
LATIN BLACKS IN BASEBALL BEFORE JACKIE ROBINSON. The start of the Major League Baseball season is just around the corner and that seems like a good time to look back at some of the very early … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 2.09.14 “WE NEED BETTER COPS”
POLICE BRUTALITY CONTINUES IN OUR COMMUNITIES. WE NEED BETTER COPS. The year started with the ugly but not necessarily unexpected news that a couple of cops who apparently beat a man to death were … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 12.08.13 “THE YEAR IN REVIEW”
THE YEAR IN REVIEW. This year is drawing to a close. What kind of a year has it been for Latinos here in what 1960s African American activist Frank Greenwood referred to as “the Land of the Free … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 11.04.13 “PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS”
THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR NAMES AND OUR STORIES. In 1974 a teenager named Jaime Ramirez made his way from a tiny town in Mexico to the city of Pasadena, California. He got a job as a dishwasher. It was … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 9.01.13
POLITICAL ANNIVERSARIES WE COMMEMORATE AND WHY. The observance of the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the annual observance of Labor Day (regrettably, … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 6.30.13 “NOT CINCO BUT CUATRO”
NOT CINCO DE MAYO BUT CUATRO DE JULIO. Celebrations of the Fourth of July and this country’s Independence Day are booming all around us. In my neighborhood that’s literally the case, with mocosos … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 6.02.13
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS ON RECENT NEWS I once offered the notion that pretty soon nobody will be reading blogs, because everybody will be busy writing blogs. Maybe. But let’s plow ahead, guided by the … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 4.23.13 “SAL CASTRO- A REMEMBRANCE”
REMEMBERING SAL CASTRO. Some 45 years ago Sal Castro told me, “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders – for a guerito – go out and do something good for yourself and for your gente.” He said it … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES “JACKIE ROBINSON” 4.06.13
JACKIE ROBINSON. Not long ago something happened that really had me scratching my head. I accompanied a friend of mine who went to Tucson to shoot a little film about the political scene in … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 3.10.13
LET'S GET TOUGH ON ILLEGAL BORDER-CROSSERS! That’s it! I’ve had enough. All this talk about immigration reform. All this talk about “Let’s just accept the fact that they’re here and let’s give them … [Read more...]
TALES OF TORRES 1.27.13
STARTING A SUPPORT GROUP CALLED "GUEROS ANONYMOUS." I’ve sometimes thought about starting a semi-secret organization, complete with decoder rings and speakeasy-like murmured passwords. I’ve … [Read more...]