Eights, nines and tens for the Santa Julia girls
By Robin Loving, Sept 1, 2006

As the new academic year begins, “ochos, nueves y dieces” (eights, nines and tens) is what the 34 girls of Casa Hogar Santa Julia Don Bosco are hearing a lot from the four Dominican nuns who care for them as well as from various volunteers.

The phrase, equivalent to setting a goal of 80s, 90s and 100s on school grades, may be essential to their ability to continue in school past the sixth grade, the last required grade in the Mexican school system.

“In our first six years at Santa Julia, only one girl got a best in her class medal one time for one subject in one grade. However, last year, because of increased community support, for which we will be always grateful, we were able to give the girls the three things they need to enhance academic performance: better nutrition, enrichment programs and more love—the latter due to steady volunteer involvement and because we had some help with cleaning, cooking, maintenance and psychology. As a result, our girls performed so much better in school that three medals were awarded to them. Now, it’s time to set goals for them to aim for scores that will enhance their abilities to get scholarships to secondary school, high school and college. 

Without high grades, there may be no other way for them to continue school,” said Madre Superior María de Jesús Ortiz Balderas. Santa Julia is supported only through community contributions.

En route to their schools the first week of the new academic year, the girls sounded like “a choir of little birds,” according to Madre Gloria, who assists Madre Chuy with transportation duties each weekday morning.

The Madres make daily trips to and from Santa Julia to guardaría (pre-school), kindergarten (two years of which are mandatory), primary school (elementary) and secondary school (middle school). That takes a lot of gasoline money, which is not underwritten by a donor at present, so the money comes from general donations and colectas—which amounts to begging, which the nuns still do every Saturday.

And what was on the girls’ minds during these trips? “Tomás is my boyfriend,” said one girl. “No, he’s my boyfriend,” said another, giggling. “No, he’s her boyfriend,” said a third, indicating a fourth girl. Others said they liked their teachers, Spanish, recess, geography and art. But what the Madres and various volunteers will focus on in after-school programming is math—especially subtraction.

“When we tested the girls’ intelligence and abilities in math and language, we found that they are capable but hindered due to life circumstances more than lack of ability,” said Angela Spaulding, Ph.D., who heads the Department of Education at West Texas A&M University at Canyon, Texas.

“We undertook the tests as volunteers to train our educators in using tests in other languages and other cultures relevant to our students, who primarily become educators who encounter many Mexican students.” 

And what do the girls think of “eights, nines and tens?” It took each a moment to comprehend the concept; but, when encouraged, each agreed that “ochos, nueves y dieces” are a good idea!

Atención reporter publishes book on Mexican cinema

Last Friday, Atención reporter Jesús Ibarra presented his newly published book, Los Bracho: Tres Generaciones de Cine Mexicano (The Bracho Family: Three Generations of Mexican Cinema) in Mexico City. The Brachos are a family of actors and filmmakers who have been involved in Mexican cinema since the 1930s.

“I have always been passionate about Mexican cinema, and I wanted to take readers on a journey through the history of Mexican movies by telling the story of the Bracho family,” said the author. 

The Bracho dynasty began with actress Andrea Palma (1903–1987), a Mexican diva whose real name was Guadalupe Bracho and who was a Marlene Dietrich look-alike. One of her brothers was the film director Julio Bracho (1909–1978); another brother, the art designer Jesús Bracho (1910–1976), worked for such important directors as Luis Buñuel. Julio’s daughter, Diana Bracho, has acted in films since 1972 and was recently honored at the Expresión en Corto film festival in Guanajuato. Her nephew, Julio Bracho, Jr., is a young actor who has recently begun to appear in films. 

The book, edited by UNAM (National University of Mexico), was presented by Diana Bracho; Gerardo Estrada, UNAM cultural director; film director José Luis García Agraz; and the author himself. 

“Reading this book has moved me deeply,” commented Diana Bracho. 

A copy of Los Bracho is available at the Biblioteca Pública.





Mujeres Productoras “fair trade” store reopens
By Holly Yasui

Store inauguration, Ya Tsedi Behña Saturday, September 2, 12pm, Calzada de la Luz 42

Mujeres Productoras, a rural women’s artisanal cooperative, has reopened its retail store Ya Tsedi Behña (The Power of Women) in its new location next to the Center for Global Justice office, Calzada de la Luz 42, between calles Loreto and Animas. On Saturday, September 2, women from several of the participating communities will be present for the official inauguration of the new space, starting at noon and featuring homemade food as well as a display of the many products on sale at the new store. 

Mujeres Productoras is a “Sociedad de Producción Rural”—a rural production organization of 104 women from Allende, Victoria, Tierra Blanca, Apaseo el Alto and Dolores Hidalgo in the state of Guanajuato. The women produce baskets, preserves and candy; natural nopal soaps, creams, shampoo and hair gel; and embroideries, textiles, children’s and baby clothes, sheets and tablecloths. In each of these activities, the women themselves are both the directors and producers, making this work a source of training and income—in some cases, the only income—for the family. 

The group arose from the desperate need among rural women to contribute and, in many cases, to take complete responsibility for the economic well-being of their families. For the past several decades, especially after the passage of NAFTA, there has been an exodus of men from the countryside, migrating north in search of work. The small-farm economy has collapsed because of falling prices for local agricultural products and the advantages of scale that favor large agribusiness enterprises. Thus, many rural women are left alone in their homes, having to take on the role of both mother and father, while at the same time taking care of their children, crops and animals. 

This situation has affected many women in rural areas. The members of Mujeres Productoras are young girls and women, including adult older women. Upon entering the labor market, every day they confront a series of shortages that arise from the lack of capital for the purchase of raw materials or lack of know-how due to specialization in their activities.

As a consequence, their products are not consistently available in the marketplace. The opening of the Ya Tsedi Behña store in its new, more visible location is an important step forward for the organization.

The Center for Global Justice is proud to support this unique fair trade initiative in Guanajuato. The sale of all the products at the store generates income that goes directly to the producers in proportion to their efforts. Thus, all purchases made at Ya Tsedi Behña directly benefit the women whose handicrafts are created under worker-controlled conditions.

New issue of JUARDE being compiled

The Directory of San Miguel Residents: JUARDE is one of the many community projects uniting and serving the foreign community of San Miguel. Its editor, Bob Fangue, often receives comments from the directory’s users about how indispensable it is. Just this week, a newcomer, David Cronin of the New York Council for the Humanities, sent JUARDE a fax saying: “Here are two new listings for the next edition of JUARDE. It’s a great resource!”

Bob Fangue and his staff of five are busy now compiling the 47th edition, which should be available December 1. They are making changes now through September 30 to the residents’ section, offering individuals free listing of their data such as address, phone, fax, mailboxes, VOIP phones, email addresses and such. This information should be submitted in written form to avoid error and either faxed to 154-5526 or left in Bob’s mail slot at Reloj 24. Also, businesses or services that want display advertising in the 2007 edition are welcomed to call 152-0638 to arrange it.

Lander Rodriguez is the new graphic designer for the JUARDE, replacing Jane Evans who retired after many years for health reasons. Rodriguez’s solid reputation as a designer will certainly be reflected in the upcoming edition.