MANY THANKS: As President of the Little Village Community Council, I wish to publicly thank all of our supporters, contributors and volunteers who helped in making our 5th Annual “Back To School” Block Party a “blast” and a huge success.
IN ATTENDANCE: 700 residents with 400 children registered received free back packs filled with school supplies. Everyone enjoyed the free hot dogs, pop and popcorn, while children were thrilled with the petting farm, jumping jack, and a clown who made animal balloons. The biggest hit with the kids were the pony rides. The party began at 10 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m.; all the school supplies and refreshments were exhausted. Due to limited donations it was impossible to give everyone at the party school supplies.
THE LV COMMUNITY Council deeply appreciated the generosity from the following contributors to the block party: Walgreens, Zemsky Store, Midwest Generation, State Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, DJ Jesse Barraza, Azteca Mall, State Farm Insurance, La Chiquita Supermercados, Polar Ice Co., Cretors Popcorn Co., Little Village Chamber of Commerce, Orions Mind, Latin American Motorcycle Club/Cicero, Farragut Career Academy Jason Sigellak, Judge Rodolfo Garcia, Meyer Steel Drum Inc., State Sen. Tony Munoz, Wal-Mart, El Milagro Tortillas, Lawndale News, Emi & Sons Joyeria, Ambrosio Medrano, Sam’s Club, Leo Burnett, Calli Arch-Tech Inc., Charlie Hernandez, Democratic Committeeman of the Town of Cicero, Violetas Permit & Business License LLC, Cermak Foods, Strategic Storage, Ald. Ricardo Munoz, Cuahutemoc “Temo” Morfin, Federico Valencia Morfin, Francisco Nieves, Supermercados Torres in Cicero and Michael Ramos.
DOWNSIDE: In our Little Village neighborhood we have eight banks: Second Federal & Savings, TCF, Fifth Third-5/3, Popular Community Bank, Metropolitan Bank, Citibank, Chase and two Bank of America. I sent a letter to each bank manager seeking support for our children’s “Back to School” event. Only one bank indicated support, but in the end, not a single bank in Little Village supported our “Back to School” block party.
HOWEVER, TCF did support our 2010 Halloween Party.
A MUSICAL LEGEND: Guitarist “Little Joe”, a four time Grammy Award winner, will be in Chicago with his show “A Man & His Music” Thursday, August 25, 2011 at Joe’s Bar, 940 W. Weed Street. Door opens at 7 p.m., show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information call [312] 666-8960.
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| Little Joe |
PROFESSIONALLY, singer Jose Maria De León Hernández, is known as Little Joe. Jose is a Mexican-American Tejano performer with a rich and colorful musical history. His band is called La Familia and is one of the most popular Tex-Mex bands in the music industry.
LITTLE JOE was born in a one room dirt floor shack in Temple, Texas on a cold and stormy night on October 17, 1940. He was the seventh child of thirteen. Joe learned to play the guitar and in 1955 he played his first paying performance in Cameron, Texas for $5 at a high school Sock Hop. He was excited and realized that picking a guitar beats picking cotton.
HIS CAREER as a guitarist led him to work for Terrero Records in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1958. In 1959, Joe took over his cousin’s band and renamed it the “Little Joe & The Latinaires.” In the 60’s, Joe signed his first record deal with Corona Records in San Antonio, next Valmon Records later Zarape Records in Dallas.
IN 1968, Joe started his own independent record company “Buena Suerte Records” for his Spanish recordings and “Good Luck Records” for his English recordings. Following would be Leona Records with a distribution deal with Freddy Records in Corpus Christ, Texas. It kept Joe independent through the 70’s and early 80’s.
IN 1992, the album 16 de Septiembre earned La Familia the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. In 2008, Little Joe once again won a Grammy for Best Tejano Album of the Year for “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”. Other Grammy nominated albums include: 1988’s Timeless, 1993's Que Paso, 1999's Little Joe Y La Familia 2000, and 2003's Celebration of Life.
IN FIFTY YEARS, Little Joe has produced over sixty albums and has been described as the “King of the Brown Sound.” He continues touring the world, trailblazing, looking for new challenges, breaking down cultural and musical barriers and innovating his musical style. Joe always strives to bring people together to make a more peaceful and harmonious world.
LOOK UP pbs.org/latinmusicusa also go to Latin Music usa/preview/pbsYouTube to learn more about Little Joe’s musical career.
UNBELIEVABLE: This is the second weekend in which the fire hydrant between 25th St. & 26th St. and Christiana Ave. has been pouring out water flooding the street continuously for THREE days. Can you imagine how much water has been wasted in three days and at what cost? Just guessing, water running 24 hours a day for three days must be about $100,000!
CITY ORDINACE 11-12-070: ‘No person shall take water from any fire plug, hydrant, valve, faucet, pipe or any other opening connected with the Chicago Waterworks System, nor shall any person open any such fire plug, hydrant, valve or faucet for the purpose of taking water, or for any purpose…’
“ANY PERSON who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall, for the first offense, be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 20 days or both; and for such subsequent offense shall be fined $1,500 or imprisoned for not to exceed 30 days or both. Community service may be imposed in lieu of, or in addition to, the monetary fines and imprisonment provided by this section”.
I remember hearing Gov. Pat Quinn saying, “We drink whiskey, but we fight for water!”
IRISH/MEXICAN HISTORY: Dr. Michael Hogan will be here in Chicago at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 North Knox Ave. on Sunday, September 11, 2011 to discuss his book, The Irish Soldiers of Mexico from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Donation at the door is $10.
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| Michael Hogan |
THE PROGRAM includes a screening of the video documentary, St. Patrick's Battalion, with an introduction and post film Q&A with Dr. Hogan. He will discuss, sign and sell his book before and after the film. This multimedia presentation on the San Patricios is about the Irish soldiers that deserted the U.S. Army to fight on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848.
THE SAINT Patrick's Battalion [Batallón de San Patricio] led by Capt. John Riley, a unit of more than 500 immigrant soldiers, mostly Irish, deserted the U.S. Army and joined forces with Mexico.
AFTER THE video and discussion, Mexican and Irish food will be available for purchase in the Fifth Province. Mexican and Irish traditional music will also be played for the enjoyment of the visitors and guests. Mexicanos learn about your history and Irish connection. See you there
SAVE THE DATE
CLEAR YOUR CRIMINAL RECORDS
EXPUNGEMENT WORKSHOP
SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 2011
ADULT & JUVENILE
Learn from experts about how to apply for
clemency and expungement
Registration at 8:30 a.m. - doors close at 6 p.m.
NEW LIFE CHURCH
2657 S. Lawndale Ave.
Chicago, IL 60623
Bringing Services to the Community
Information on employment, job training, health care
and other services for ex-offenders will be available.
Sponsored by Little Village Community Council
In conjunction with Attorney Jorge Montes