Beyond the Language Barrier in 2010

This post is contributed by Diana Lopez, senior at the University of Washington, double-majoring in Law, Society and Justice/Spanish.

The Census 2010 will soon be in the hands of every household in the United States, but will everyone know how to respond to it?


The Census Bureau is acknowledging that many languages are spoken within the U.S. and will be releasing its Census form in 5 different languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Russian. A recent article in La Raza del Noroeste highlights the measures that the Census Bureau has taken in the state of Washington to reach out to those who do not speak English. They have hired locals who speak various languages so that they can reach out to every community and explain to everyone the importance of the Census. There will also be community centers where people can seek out any help they might need to fill out their forms.

I’d have to agree that the language barrier is an important factor that must be overcome; however, I also think that it’s important to educate everyone that the Census Bureau is not allowed to share any information that is provided to it. I have had opportunities to ask locals if they plan to fill out the Census and many have said they don’t plan to. Pero, ¿por qué? They fear that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement will be notified of their undocumented status in the United States. Many immigrants will not be counted because of this simple fact, but it’s crucial that everyone gets counted because the more accurate the numbers, the more opportunities are given to the community.

Shakira's impacting her community...we can, too!

The following post is from Matthew Bernton, intern. Matthew is currently studying International Studies, Spanish and Latin American Studies at Seattle University and scheduled to graduate in December.

I would like to spotlight a well known artist today who is not only creating worldwide hits, but is making an impact on the world. That artist is Shakira. She won this year’s social work award at the MTV Latino awards, which took place in her home country of Colombia earlier this month.

Shakira has a passion for working with children who lack basic resources and manages the Barefoot Foundation, which offers underprivileged children free education. According to La Raza del Noroeste, her work currently reaches more than 5,000 children in Colombia.

I have always respected people who give back to their communities, and I find it inspiring that someone who has achieved superstardom can still be humble enough to remember where she came from and the issues that affect her community. Maybe it shouldn’t take a superstar to inspire someone to do good in the world, but it certainly helps bring attention to social causes when a star is backing them.

This award seems rather timely, as Shakira is on the front page of November’s Rolling Stone. I think the fact that she is on the cover this coming month, rather than being solely featured somewhere in the body of the magazine, says a great deal about her personal achievements. She graces the cover of a major media magazine because she is Shakira and the world knows that she is a very creative, unique woman in entertainment. She is not on the cover based on her ethnic background. Congratulations, Shakira!

I think it is important to remember that we can all learn something from artists who are able to mix their professional career with social work. I am not saying that we all need to open our own nonprofit organization to validate our impact on the world, but we should constantly be engaged about the issues going on in the world around us, as there may be a particular cause that we feel especially passionate about.

By engaging in service, we can learn more about members of the community, while simultaneously learning what our passion is.

Check out the Barefoot Foundation website for more information about Shakira’s organization.

*New* Local Spanish-Language News Online

This post is contributed by Intern Melissa Duque.

The Northwest now has a daily Spanish news website
… and I couldn’t be more excited.

I moved to the Northwest about a year ago, and over this past year I have been having trouble with my Spanish. I left a predominately Spanish-speaking community in Los Angeles to move to the Seattle area, where I have slowly begun to meet other Latinos.

My biggest issue hasn’t been speaking the language (a quick phone call to a friend or ordering in Spanish does the trick); it has been reading and comprehension that have caused me difficulties.

When it comes to getting my daily dose of news I watch local English-language television stations before my commute to get the weather and traffic. I get my national and international news from English-language broadcasts. Occasionally I will watch the local Spanish news station, Univisión, for international news but not for local.

I did try to read El Nuevo Herald from Miami for a couple of months, and although the celebrity news was great, the news stories weren’t relevant to me. Same goes for La Opinión from Los Angeles--lots of great information but not the stories I needed.

I am not like many of the local Latinos who go to small carnicerías (or "marquetas" as they call them) in the area, so I don’t have a chance to pick up “La Raza de Noroeste” but as of today I can go online to find daily Northwest news in Spanish at the publication's brand new site, Nuestro Noroeste.

The site is pretty easy to navigate and so far I like it. On my iPhone, it's a little difficult to navigate (really big photos) but on a desktop that's definitely visually appealing.

In the following weeks we shall see if this website becomes part of my morning ritual. For now, I will give it a chance. Let me know what you think about this new resource for Spanish speakers by leaving a comment.

This Week's Puget Sound Business Journal

In this week's PSBJ, there's a brief article by Heidi Dietrich regarding the state of the local Spanish-language newspapers, and how like all print media nationwide (perhaps globally), slower ad sales are affecting the bottom line. It also mentions how some of these papers are beefing up their online components to compensate.

And speaking of...La Raza del Noroeste has leaked that they're working on a very exciting online project. More to come!