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Challenging the city to keep its promises

Editorial

This month we anticipate upcoming elections, remember our heritage and celebrate a birthday.

First, we take a look at the political season with a comprehensive voter’s guide. Will the marches of this summer make new political history this fall? With a wider acknowledgement of growing Latino voting clout, new alliances are being formed, like the unique bridge building between the elders of the Mormon church and Latino community leaders in Mesa.

Then, in an exclusive interview Ruben Hernandez and Anita Mabante Leach sit down with Gov. Janet Napolitano and ask her to weigh in on Latino issues while trying to discern why she has achieved unofficial "honorary Latina" status among many Hispanic female voters.

RECALLING OUR HERITAGE

Writer Cristen Crujido launches a new feature focusing on our Native American cultural connections. Our indigenous ancestors, throughout Mesoamerica and South America, have played a large role in the history and cultural norms of most Latinos.

Arizona’s state historian, Marshall Trimble, offers his perspective on the importance of preserving our past by comparing the fate of two historical railroad icons – the demise of the Escalante and the preservation of La Posada.

Finally, Charles Sanderson investigates the eventual destruction of Golden Gate barrio. In a story reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, real estate development and an airport expansion designed to ensure a steady flow of tourists trumps the preservation of a neighborhood. A cast of characters includes a benevolently bigoted Phoenix 40 wiping out what they see as a blighted neighborhood, an unsympathetic Catholic Diocese that sells out its parish, a compliant, disingenuous city council and a fractious Latino leadership. More importantly Sanderson fast-forwards us to the present as he chronicles a small but determined group of activists who are tirelessly working to save what was once the pulse of the barrio – Sacred Heart Church. But from whom are we saving Sacred Heart?: city-led airport expansion, ambitious developers, or infighting among our own Latino civic groups?

Sacred Heart Church, built brick by brick by its loving parishioners, stands alone on 20 acres of dirt as industrial development encroaches upon its perimeter each year.

It has the potential to anchor a revitalized Golden Gate memorial and create not only a cultural center (long ago promised and never acted upon), but a vibrant local/tourist attraction similar to the success in Albuquerque.

This election year many fear-mongers will build their platform upon the dangers of the "Latino-ization" of Arizona. They will prey upon the ignorance of many recent arrivals to the Valley who are not aware of the critical role Latinos have played in the culture and heritage of Arizona. We, as a community, must use this moment to mobilize our leaders and help Sacred Heart’s saviors protect the last remaining symbol of an important chapter in our history.

A CHALLENGE TO THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL

We at Latino Perspectives Magazine challenge Mayor Gordon and the City Council to not only recognize, but act on this moral obligation the city has to its citizens and make the ground breaking of a world-class cultural center a reality by the end of this decade. This is a duty that cannot be sidestepped by delegating responsibility to activist groups. The city must own this initiative. Phoenix has found ways to fund or subsidize stadiums, convention centers, bio-technology centers and suburban sprawl. The Mayor suggests that we Latinos should be satisfied that the new ASU downtown campus will help grow enrollment for "central city minority students." If he checks the latest Census, he will discover that Latinos will soon represent the majority, not the minority of Phoenix’s central city students.

Latinos can no longer be viewed as a special interest group that can be placated by trying to spin a campus or a convention center as improvements for the Hispanic community or by Spanish-language sound bites at tamale festivals with unkept promises of increased social services. Most Latinos are looking for respect, not handouts. Our youth deserve to understand the contributions and sacrifices of their parents and grandparents, older generations who merit honor, not patronization. It is past time to recognize the contributions of the many Latino families who helped build this glorious state long before the recent arrival of snow birds, real estate opportunists and retirees, many of whom are suddenly preoccupied with immigration paranoia.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU…

On a lighter note, September is also a time of celebration as Latino Perspectives marks its second birthday and 25th issue. We have been blessed with a short but exciting history. We are happy to announce that Latino Perspectives can now be found in Barnes and Noble bookstores. We thank all of you - our readers, advertisers, employees, vendors and our community for helping us make a dream come true.