Laredo has a new logo and slogan for tourism--designed by a 10-year-old school girl

Isabelle N. Mercado, 10, was proclaimed the winner of the Laredo's city-wide theme contest. Her winning logo and slogan, shown below, will be incorporated in official city and tourism affairs sometime in the near future.

By RAFAEL BENAVIDES

Laredo now has a new official logo and motto that expresses pride for the city. The winner of the “Name the Pride in Laredo Theme Contest” was announced on May 16 at the City of Laredo Council Chamber.

Amparo Gutierrez Elementary School fourth grade honor student Isabella N. Mercado, 10, outshined 43 other contest entries in the approximately 30-day, city-wide contest promoted by both the City of Laredo and the local media. Other theme entries included PowerPoint presentations, songs, digital pieces, text phrases and original artwork.

Mercado, a native Laredoan, recently moved back to Laredo after living four years in Canada, where she and her family moved due to her father’s profession. She is glad to be back in Laredo and heard about this contest through a project with the National Elementary Honor Society at Amparo Gutierrez, which was formed just this past semester. NEHS student members must maintain a 94 grade point average, or higher, and must be involved on campus and in the community.

Mercado is a on the basketball team at her school and says she loves drawing. She wants to be either an artist or forensic scientist when she grows up.

Among receiving many gifts, passes and tickets from the Chamber of Commerce, Laredo Energy Arena and Allegiant Air, Gutierrez also has the satisfaction of knowing she has helped to create a better image for her city in a way that no one else has.

“You’re going to be remembered for this forever,” Mayor Raul Salinas said. The winning piece and now official slogan for a new marketing and tourism operation for Laredo is “Always a reason to celebrate in Laredo,” provided by Mercado, who’s colored drawing includes the old international bridge in Laredo, with a semicircular pattern on top comprised of all the seven flags that once claimed Laredo, and two new ones that seem to be promoting some famous institutions in the city, and a giant sun in the center.

Mercado says she was able to come up with the idea after brainstorming with her mom and younger sister.

Laredo Chamber of Commerce President Miguel Conchas said, “One of the reasons we started this contest is because Laredo has a bad rap.” Conchas, along with the mayor and other members of the contest committee, congratulated Mercado and her parents for their contribution to this campaign to rebrand Laredo as a safe and fun destination for tourist and new residents alike.

On killing Osama bin Laden: An eye for an eye leaves the world blind

The Situation Room during operations to hunt and kill Osama bin Laden.

By RAFAEL BENAVIDES

                President Obama stunned the world, and even stole my birthday celebration as we all were glued to the television set, awaiting his confirmation on the death of the infamous Al Qaeda leader on May 1.

The United States has successfully killed Osama bin Laden. Wait, what? This old washed up man in hiding couldn’t possibly be the evil mastermind behind the attacks of 9/11. What’s that? He wasn’t even armed? It looks like we sure showed him that sneak attacks and murdering people is wrong.

Seriously, though. While most of us probably felt some sort of relief and accomplishment with the death of this terrorist mastermind that has caused so much pain for so many Americans and civilians around the world, in the depths of our heart many of us also felt a sense of having been robbed of something.

So the Obama administration and U.S. Navy SEALs decided to shoot to kill and unarmed man, sneak his body out of the country where he was hiding, burry (or dump, who knows?) his cadaver at sea as a way to avoid building a shrine for his followers, but also in contrast to the burial rights of Islam, which is the world’s second largest religion. No photos, audio or video have been released except for one video that attempts to bring down the god-like status of this evil warlord.

What about this signifies justice to the American people? Couldn’t we have simply arrested him and tried him at an international court to show him, Americans and the world that democracy is the key to civilized societies, and that even world-stage criminals have the right to a fair trial? His ideas and his followers would have been met with the realization that justice prevails, that what they did and continue to do is fundamentally wrong and that the world and the world’s religions agree on that. I think that would have done more justice for the United States than the operation conducted recently.

When I was in school, I would read how foreign countries long ago would invade each other and murder each other’s leaders. I used to think, “Thank God we don’t live in those times any longer.” But then I look at Iraq and Libya and the nation of fanatical Islam that uses religion as its scapegoat to conduct the most horrendous crimes in nature. I may be the only one to think this, but there is nothing civilized about the way the United States is waving its mighty influential hand around the world, especially in predominantly Muslim countries.

I am glad, though, that President Obama keeps touching on how this is not a war on Islam, rather it is a war on those who aim to hurt and kill innocent people based on corrupted religious teachings. Honestly, using religion to justify bloodshed isn’t anything new. Should we remember the bloody inquisition, or more recently, the Holocaust?

Let’s refrain from racial profiling or claiming vengeance over Muslim countries because this broken record has been playing since the beginning of time.

The real war isn’t fought on the ground or with computerized military drones. It should be fought with knowledge and enlightenment by everyone in the world, regardless of religion or creed. Democracy, freedom and knowledge are what give people a fighting chance to protect themselves and their way of life in the world. As the leader of the free world, we must abide by these principles if we expect anyone to embrace them. That means even giving Osama bin Laden his day in court.

Local newspaper receives SPJ Award

Way to go, LareDOS!

Suggestions?

Hey guys! Sorry I have been busy with work an unable to blog much. Since it seems I have a decent following, I'm throwing this out here. What do you want to read or discuss on this blog? I usually write about Nahuatl or something concerning anthropology or ethnic studies, but I'm open to ideas. I am down on the border, but I think the cartel violence is somewhat romanticized. That's not to say I don't care about lives being lost in this conflict in Mexico and United States (the drug violence is here in the U.S. too, whether you want to admit it or not).

Post a comment here, or send a message on Twitter @Notlahtol_Blog. Thanks guys, see you soon!

Latest Player in Sanctuary Cities Debate: God

by Julian Aguilar, The Texas Tribune

The latest player in Texas' sanctuary cities debate? God.

Citing passages from the Bible they say teach that immigrants should be shown compassion, a group of religious leaders congregated at First United Methodist Church in Austin on Wednesday to denounce HB 12 by Carrollton Republican Burt Solomons. The bill would prohibit government entities from adopting policies that prevent law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status.  “Jesus said [in the Book of Matthew], ‘I was a stranger, and you invited me in,’” Bishop James E. Dorff of United Methodist Church in San Antonio said. “Our prayer this morning is that we find a common ground on this issue.”  HB 12 is one of about 60 immigration-related bills filed this session. Abolishing sanctuary cities, the common term for entities that prevent law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status, has been declared an “emergency item” by Gov. Rick Perry.  Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Catholic Diocese of Austin said the issue is a “moral one, not just a political one.” The group’s opposition “stems from the belief that every person is created in God’s image,” he said.  State Rep. Jose Aliseda, R-Beeville, said the religious leaders are confused. A practicing Catholic, Aliseda says he knows for a fact that the church does not condone illegal immigration.  “If you read the catechism of the Catholic Church, when it discusses immigration, it says that people should not cross a nation’s borders without respecting that nation’s laws,” he told reporters in Spanish.  Unlike Perry’s other emergency items, however, HB 12 has been slower in getting to the floor for a debate. HB 12 has been stuck in the Calendars Committee since last month, and Solomons said today even he didn’t know when it would be debated.  “I am not even thinking about sanctuary cities right now,” he said. Instead Solomons, the chairman of the House Redistricting Committee, is focused on the first batch of new legislative maps set to hit the House floor this week. Solomons did say he was growing weary of all the discussion surrounding HB 12, which he says mandates very little. The bill only requires that entities do not adopt policies restricting law enforcement from asking about status, he said, but it doesn’t require that they do.  Solomons has already amended the bill from its original form to address some House Democrats’ concerns. He struck language that would require that school district employees inquire about the status of students unless they are commissioned peace officers investigating a crime. But he conceded that a floor debate could allow members to attach to his bill other immigration legislation that hasn’t passed out of committee via amendments.  It is that possibility that has some Democrats looking ahead with concern.  “I am going to be very vigilant to these types of amendments which may be germane to this type of legislation because I believe it can get out of hand and we’ll end up writing a very bad bill," said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas.  Meanwhile, Dorff said he just wants lawmakers to know how the religious community feels about the bill.  “We want to make sure that as the legislators are considering this bill, that they understand where we stand on this issue … so that there can be no doubt about our common understanding and our common perception and our common wisdom,” he said.  That common wisdom, said Rabbi Neil Blumofe of the Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, is that nothing good comes from discriminating against a group of people for any reason.  “I am concerned that we are routinely looking for ways to break us down and divide us rather than [ways to] unite us,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/h3DOJD.

Work, or something like that

It has been less than a month since my former employer and I had a disagreement about direction and I decided to explore other options. Since then, I have only contacted local news/magazine publishers and yet the response has been wonderful. I have to sit down and choose what I am to do. I have to be working while I plan and start my very own company. I have so many ideas, I just need to follow everything one step at a time.

Everyone who I have worked and spoken with thus far is great and very professional. If anyone should want to contribute either as a writer, commentator or photographer, send me a direct message @Notlahtol_Blog on Twitter. I accept work in any language, so please don't hesitate to ask about anything.

See you soon peeps. I have to write a bunch of stories for some papers in town, and I have to send something out to a national publication. Exciting! Timoittazeh moztlah notequixpoyohuan!

Int'l Symposium on On-line Journalism at the Univ. of Texas at Austin

I'm learning a lot from this symposium, but I still don't think these guys understand what exactly is happening to journalism in the digital world.

Niquicuiloz ni tonaiuh tlen tepatiquetl pan Laredo (Hypnotism)

Today I will interview a hypnotist for a story. Although I've been interested in the subject for some time, I have never actually talked to one. Maybe he can hypnotize me and make a believer out of me. I'll keep you guys posted. Timoittazeh (We'll see each other soon!)

tlacuiloh-tlahtoani

Naman nitlacuiloh(quetl)-tlahtoani para ce amazemtlalticpamatlatl huan amoxtontli pan noaltepeuh. Nicamati miyac notequiliztli pampa na nicahcahuac nochih.

Putting myself on pause

It's been a while since I've written. There's a lot of work to finish, but I'm glad I have Monday off to (hopefully) relax. I plan to head to my ranch for some much-needed meditation. Ma'asalama!