Are you passionate about education?

Big Picture High School in Back of the Yards needs your support to make a difference. Remember that it took complete community involvement to get the Little Village High School built. This time we need to come together to keep the Big Picture High School in the Back of the Yards open.

Tianguis has hosted internships for Big Picture High School students and we strongly support its mission and model. At Tianguis we value the work that Big Picture is doing with the young adults from Back of the Yards. The students are encouraged to think BIG, pursue higher education and learn through real life experiences.The loss of this school would be devastating to the Back of the Yards community and an injustice to the young people who reside in it.

To support Big Picture consider doing the following:

*This Wednesday, Feb. 28th, 2007. 10:30 a.m.:

A group of students, mentors and parents will be going in front of the Chicago Board of Education meeting. If you can join us at CPS Central Administration Building, 125 S. Clark Street, 5th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603 .

*Call the Board or Education. Its pretty easy, just dial, 773-553-1600, and ask to be transferred to the office of one of the board members, then leave a message with the assistant.

Sample message:
This message is for ____________________ I am a _____________________and I am calling to ask you to please support Big Picture High School in Back of the Yards. At Big Picture we have seen the:
*Personal and academic growth of each student.
*The teachers’ drive to develop strong relationships with their students
*Students’ readiness to pursue higher education.
*Consider adding any personal messages on why you feel it is important to keep Big Picture open in Back of the Yards.
*Finally, ask to please let Big Picture High School enroll freshman next year.

*Write a letter.

Take a moment to write of a letter support for the Big Picture High School in the Back of the Yards and mail it to:

Arne Duncan
Chief Executive Officer
CPS, Chicago Board of Education
125 S. Clark Street, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603

Rufus Williams
Board President
Chicago Board of Education
125 S. Clark Street, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603

Cynthia Barron
Area Instructional Officer
Area 25 Office
4655 S Dearborn Ave.
Chicago, IL 60609

or any of the other CPS board members.

Finally, do not hesitate to send messages of encouragement and support to the educators, parents, mentors and students at Big Picture High School. Their commitment and hard work is inspiring but the support of its community is crucial at this time.

info@bigpicturechicago.org

Big Picture High School
4946 S. Paulina
Chicago, IL 60609

Please repost, foward, and distribute to your contacts. We need all the support we can get.

A Blank Stare is Better than an Empty Chair

A collection of stories written by Chicago native Michael Villarreal

Meztli Gallery
556 W. 18th Street, Chicago.

Tickets: $15 ($12 group/student)

Runs through April 8 (NO Performance Friday March 2)
Fridays and Saturdays: 7 p.m. Sundays: 3 p.m.

Everyone has a story. Some are romantic – some are tragic – some are funny. Our stories are the just about the only things we can truly call our own.

Villarreal explores the stories of six women of varying backgrounds and experiences. From Karyn’s sacrificial revelation to Dulce’s mysterious visitor, each of these characters offers a touching – often poignant view of life as seen through their eyes.

Cast includes: Niki Aquino, Diana Campos, Beatriz Jamaica, Venessa Ortega, Carrie Peters, Alicia Ponce, and Diana Shield. Music: Marcia Klatt and Waldo Ocana.

Info or rsvp: 866.811.4111, www.myspace.com/abstare, or www.theatermania.com.

Ending violence against women

“What Will It Take?”
Town Hall series

6 - 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 1

Westside Technical Institute

2800 S. Western Ave., Chicago

Special performance by Professor Maria Beltran-Vocal,

author of “Troublemaker: Peleonera Poems”

Recently, we have seen a rise in such forms of violence against women and girls such as the murder of a Latina woman in Little Village and the sexual assaults of two young girls in the Back of the Yards, all of which impact whole families and communities—and we have a lot to talk about.

Join us. Share your concerns and help us find solutions.

“What Will It Take? Building the Safest State for All Women and Girls” is a yearlong statewide initiative of Chicago Foundation for Women. It is based on the idea that to find answers, you have to ask the question. The Town Hall series is part of that effort.

This second of nine town hall meetings held across the state is hosted by Chicago Foundation for Women’s Latina Leadership Council in conjunction with Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Latino Coalition for Violence Prevention, Amigas Latinas, Chicago Public Schools’ Girl’s Initiative, and Rape Victim Advocates.

Violence does not discriminate. It affects people no matter what your income, age, race sexual orientation or gender identity. But it disproportionately affects women and girls of color, immigrant women and girls and disabled women and girls.

· Because of language, cultural and financial barriers, immigrant women are more likely to be vulnerable to abuse.

· More than three women are killed each day by a husband or boyfriend.

· One in three girls is sexually abused before the age of 18.

· Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women have the same risk of intimate partner violence.

“Que se necesita?” Town Hall series

6 - 8 p.m.

Jueves, Marzo 1

Westside Technical Institute

2800 S. Western Ave., Chicago

Presentacion especial de la Profesora Maria Beltran-Vocal,

autora de “Troublemaker: Peleonera Poems”

Actualmente se han incrementado las formas de violencia en contra de las mujeres y ninas; como los recientes casos de la muerte de una Latina en la Villita y los ataques sexuales de dos ninas en el barrio “Back of the Yards”, hechos que han tenido un impacto importante en la comunidad y sus familias. Tenemos mucho que hablar acerca de este tema.

Unete y comparte tus inquietudes. Ayudanos a encontrar soluciones.

Que se necesita? Construir un Estado Seguro para todas las mujeres y ninas.

Es una iniciativa de la Fundacion de Mujeres de Chicago que se llevara a cabo durante todo el ano en el estado. Su fundamento esta basado en la idea de encontrar respuestas, tu tienes que hacer preguntas. Estas series son parte de ese esfuerzo.

Esta es la segunda de nueve reunions que realizara el Estado y esta auspiciada el Concilio de Liderazgo de Mujeres Latinas de la Fundacion de Mujeres de Chicago en union con mujeres Latinas en accion , la La Coalicion Latina para la prevencion de la violencia, Amigas Latinas, Iniciativa de Ninas de las Esculas Publicas de Chicago, Defensores de las victimas de violacion.

La violencia no discrimina. Afecta a toda la gente no importa su ingreso, edad, raza, orientacion sexual o genero. Pero afecta desproporcionadamente a las mujeres y ninas de color, mujeres inmigrantes y desabilitadas.

• Las mujeres inmigrantes son mas vulnerables al abuso debido a las barreras economicas, de lenguaje y cultura.
• Mas de tres mujeres son asesinadas diariamente por sus esposos y novios.
• Una de cada tres ninas es sexualmente abusada antes de la edad de 18 anos.
• Las mujeres lesbianas, bisexuales y transexuales corren el mismo riesgo de ser intimamente abusadas por sus parejas.

Palabra Pura

A perfect excuse to start the weekend early. Grab the alcoholic concoction of choice, a chair and enjoy the show. The Guild Complex and its partners* put a lot of thought into this monthly bilingual poetry series.

Feature's for Wednesday, February 21st.

Fernando Olszanski and Carl Marcum

California Clipper
1002 N. California (California at Augusta), Chicago
Doors open 8:00 p.m.
Reading begins with an open mic at 8:30 p.m.

Free admission/Books for sale
21 and over show (don’t forget your i.d.)

Fernando Olszanski was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has lived in Ecuador, Europe, Japan and now in the United States. He is the author of the novel Rezos de marihuana and the book of poems Parte del polvo. He has received awards for his poetry, fiction and essays in Argentina, Spain and the US. He has published his work in The Barcelona Review and Nitecuento, in Spain; Franchachela and Las Letras in Argentina, contratiempo, The Cove, and Ventana Abierta in the US, as well as publications in Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. Part of his work has been translated to Japanese. He is the Chief Editor of Revista Contratiempo.

Carl Marcum is the author of Cue Lazarus (University of Arizona Press, 2001), a second place co-winner for Best Poetry in 2002 for the Latino Literary Hall of Fame Awards. His honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, the D.H. Lawrence Fellowship from the University of New Mexico’s Taos Summer Writers’ Conference, and a recently awarded Illinois Arts Council Fellowship. A native of Arizona, he currently resides in Chicago and teaches creative writing and literature at DePaul
University.

*Letras Latinas of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the Rafael Cintron Ortiz Cultural Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This series is also supported by contratiempo and Arena Cultural.

Let us be your cupid

Valentine's Day is just couple of days away. In case you can't figure out what to get that special someone in your life. Allow us to suggest a few very original items all available at Tianguis.

Featuring Xochico's licensed Loteria t-shirts. They can convey just the right message.

Regalale La Luna,













La Rosa, (that will not wilt in a few days),













O dale un flechaso en El Corazon.













Blue Sky Creation's Valentine's Day Cards will add the finishing touch to any gift.












Our current book club selection, The Alchemist would make an inspirational gift to that special person in your life.

XOXO, Teatro Luna's Valentine's Party

Tickets on sale @ Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.













We hope you join us this weekend.

Featuring a special encore performance of S-e-x-Oh!, live music from The Luna Blues Machine and Nuestro Tambo

Saturday, February 10th, 7:30 p.m.
@ BOX CO, 4440 S. Ashland, 2nd Floor
$15 in advance/$20 at the door (suggested donation)

B.Y.O.B, bake sale, photo booth, and the chance to meet your secret admirer!

Tianguis in the Press

We just came across the following article, New Businesses for the New Year. We thought it was a story that never hit the presses so we were pleasantly surprised to find it online.

Writing our stories

Pushing, featuring, and celebrating books and literature by Latino, Latin-American, and Hispanic authors is part of the mission behind our business. So is nurturing future poetas y escritores, so we thought we'd share this submission calendar with you. All perfect excuses to polish up those cuentitos you've had brewing and get 'em out there.

Feeling a bit stumped when you crack open your journal? Feeling cheated by the muses when it comes to your fair share of creativity? Its okay, it happens to all of us sometimes. I recommend Demetria Martinez's, Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana to help shake you out of it. I was hooked and inspired before I even finished with the book's first sentence, "A long time ago I learned that if I were to stay sane, I had to jot down notes in the margins of the official story." Its a collection of essays, newspaper columns, speeches and poems and scattered throughout you will find little golden nuggets of info that any Latin@ writer will appreciate, along with small glimpses into Demetria's writing process. Our favorite is the essay, Sweet Revenge, where Demetria states that, "The best revenge is a book of poems." We agree and think that you can throw novels, memoirs, short story collections, etc into that mix.

I want to encourage you to write down your own official stories. Even if in the end they are only for you to read. If the desire is in you, its for good reason. You never know who your words may touch. We promise to make room on our shelves for your publications.