PUERTO RICO SUN

Bronx News Network: Protest Over Controversial Art Piece Fizzles While the so-called protest fizzles, the Bronx News Network wants to know what are your thoughts in the use of the word "Spic" in art. Check out this entry.

American Values Network Releases White Paper: Vieques Today, A Sea of Broken Promises   Washington, DC ( CapitalWirePR ) - A new white paper by American Values Network examines the current situation in the island municipality of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Vieques is a small U.S. territorial island located eight miles from the main island of Puerto Rico. The people of Vieques are American citizens who have made tremendous sacrifices for our country’s national security. For over 200 days per year from 1941-2003, the Navy used significant portions of the Island of Vieques for training exercises and munitions testing. During this period, the Navy tested nearly every kind of munitions employed by the military, dropping over 80 million pounds of ordnance on Vieques from 1984-1998 alone. The Navy has refused to disclose the complete list and amounts of all materials sprayed, dropped, tested, or disposed of on the island and surrounding ocean during the 62-years of weapons testing.   The people of ...

Tonight "The War Boys," a film by Ron Daniels, makes its world debut at the New York International Latino Film Festival. I give it a thumbs up.  It is not the stereotypical story of Mexicans crossing the border. It looks at the issue from a different perspective. It explores how easy it is for us to laugh at what we don't know, for us to make to do things even though they are not right just to feel big. "The War Boys is not about the plight of the illegal immigrant, desperate to cross the border into El Norte, fleeing poverty for a better life," writes Ron Daniels, the director who was born and grew up in a small town across the Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janiero. "That story cannot be told enough," he states. "And only circumstantially is it about the cross border smuggling trade. The originality of The War Boys, perhaps, is that it tells the immigration story from the point of view of three American young men (including one who is Latino) who cou...

Pensamientos Reading "Down These Mean Streets " after twenty years, when i was young i was not prepared to read "Down These Mean Streets," now I respect Piri. -- Coconut Brujita Coconut Brujita contributes her pensamientos to Puerto Rico Sun. Editor's note: "Down These Mean Streets" by Piri Thomas is available at the PRSUN aStore. Click here:

Examiner speaks to Victor Cruz on his "La Operacion (The Operation)," a short 15 minute film he directed on the sterilization of Puerto Rican women during the 1940s. The synopsis of Victor's film is based on a bill passed in 1937, which allowed the sterilization of women on the island and the decision one woman makes on whether to go ahead with the procedure. "La Operacion" is now part of the lineup of short program playing at the New York International Latino Film Festival in Manhattan.  For more, go to my Examiner site at  http://www.examiner.com/x-11970-NY-Latino-Community-Examiner~y2009m7d30-Director-Victor-Cruz-speaks-on-his-short-film-La-Operacion

“Olga Mendez was a great role model not only for the residents of her Bronx and Manhattan district, but across the United States. As the first  Puerto Rican  woman elected to the New York State legislature, she opened doors for all who came after her, myself included. She was a tireless advocate for the concerns of her constituents, and she will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of all Bronxites, are with her family as they mourn her loss.” -- Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

The New York International Latino Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a rich lineup of feature length flicks, documentaries and short movies highlighting Latino culture of course. The festival, which runs until Sunday, is also a time to star watch. For more, go to http://www.examiner.com/x-11970-NY-Latino-Community-Examiner~y2009m7d28-The-NY-International-Latino-Film-Festival-celebrates-anniversary-with-movies I'm the NY Latino Community Examiner. Have story ideas for my Examiner column, feel free to e-mail me at clariselgonzalez (at) yahoo.com.