Community organizing is not what it used to be in our communities. From the era of the Great depression to the 60′s and 70′s our community always rose to the occasion when it had to do with defending our communities.
Opening Day baseball in the South Bronx is always an exciting day for the thousands of baseball fans, but it is not that exciting for the thousands of community residents. Why? The following article explains the contradiction of loving and hating the Yankees.
http://latinosports.com/featured/two-sides-of-opening-day-a-reflection-from-the-community-4.html
El Bronx, NY: José “Chegüi” Torres was known and loved by many sectors of the Puerto Rican community because he was not afraid to mingle with his people in their environment. Chegüi would feel comfortable in all communities and those that were in the streets saw Chegüi on many occasions. That is why the South Bronx community has spontaneously organized a Memorial Tribute & Prayer Service to commemorate the life of: Chegüi – A People’s Champion.
Ever since the passing of Ramón S. Velez this last week we have seen, or heard many comments, or testamonies about him. Ramón Velez was indeed a power in the South Bronx and was responsible for much of the development that took place. However, we need to “keep it real.” When you hear a News 12 reporter state: “Mr. Velez was responsible for Bi-Lingual education” I cringe as to how history can be easily distorted. Evelina Antonetti and Antonia Pantoja were never mentioned and they were the true pioneers of Bi-Lingual education in this city and state. We can go on, but I won’t. Instead I would like to direct you to the following article written by Bronx boy, David Gonzalez of the NY Times. Regardless of what you think of Ramón Velez, we wish him peace.