Category Archives: Viva!

A Passion for Helping: Pilar Montoya

Por Estaphania Baez
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Born in Bogota, Colombia, Pilar Montoya left her home country when she was just 5 years old with her mother and her two older brothers, leaving behind her dad, the rest of her family and friends, and the thousands of memories forged during her early childhood. Her mother’s goal was clear: to provide a better future for her children, and what better place to pursue that than the country of the Stars and Stripes, so she brought them to Los Angeles, California. It was there that Pilar witnessed a woman’s first act of grit and bravery and decided to follow on that same path. Today, she dedicates her life to helping the millions of Latinos in the U.S. shine through a foundation she set up precisely to help Hispanics living abroad, in addition to her being a motivational speaker and businesswoman.

After becoming a U.S. citizen at 11, she has never stopped thriving. She got her degree at Sacramento State University, and has over 25 years of experience in business entrepreneurship. She has also earned national and international awards and is known in the business world as a born leader and outstanding public speaker.

“My passion is helping those in the community who feel like they’re alone and make them see that they are not. I came to the realization that our challenge as Latinos is to get a job, build trust, create a good life in the U.S. both for ourselves and for our children, and achieve our dreams… that is the reason why I help the community”, highlighted Pilar Montoya during her interview La Prensa San Diego.

Pilar Montoya, now a resident of San Diego, created the Caminos Foundation in 2014, and since then she has provided support to more than 2,000 low-income Hispanic residents. The foundation provides training to men and women looking for work, as well as workshops to educate the community regarding risks they are susceptible to, such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer, which greatly impact the Hispanic community due to not having the right information as to how to protect their health. Also through her foundation, Ms. Montoya works with small-business entrepreneurs seeking to open their own business; she advises them on how to obtain their licenses, better manage their finances, and sometimes even provides the resources needed to get their businesses going. As a result, Pilar is greatly admired and loved by the people who have found in her a helping hand.

Pilar shared that one of her greatest recent achievements has been the workshops she provides specifically for Latino women, where she teaches them to overcome all the challenges life can throw at you and turn them into positive results.
“You can either play the victim or you can learn how to get back up and overcome the challenge; the key – and my goal – is to inspire, to encourage these people to get over the hump… people who have lost their job… that is how life is, we all go through it, and these obstacles have to be risen over”, stressed Ms. Montoya.

These workshops for women are taught through MANA, a grassroots organization, over a four-month period.
In spite of the large number of awards Pilar has earned and the satisfaction she feels when she sees her alumni thrive, she assured us that nothing can compare with the great pride she feels seeing her children – Carlos, now 28, and Sibone, who is 25 – becoming successful professionals. Carlos is an industrial designer, and her little girl has a degree in Psychology; they have both lived in the U.S. their entire lives and have had access to better opportunities, all thanks to their mother’s work.

Pilar Montoya is part of a growing list of successful Latino women who have made it in a country other than their own. She is a source of pride for the Hispanic community, a Latino jewel.

Of All Arizona and New Mexico Tribes, Navajo had More Violent Crimes in 2014

In this Feb. 12, 2014 file photo, Navajo police officers closely keep watch on two men who lie handcuffed on the ground early Wednesday morning after executing a search warrant in Shiprock. Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero

In this Feb. 12, 2014 file photo, Navajo police officers closely keep watch on two men who lie handcuffed on the ground early Wednesday morning after executing a search warrant in Shiprock. Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero The Navajo Nation Drug & Gang Unit along with the Strategic Reaction Team aim their weapons at the front door of a suspected meth dealer on an early Feb. 12, 2014 in Shiprock while executing a search warrant. Officers arrested two men without incident. During their search, officers found 2.2 grams of meth and stolen firearms.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
The Navajo Nation Drug & Gang Unit along with the Strategic Reaction Team aim their weapons at the front door of a suspected meth dealer on an early Feb. 12, 2014 in Shiprock while executing a search warrant. Officers arrested two men without incident. During their search, officers found 2.2 grams of meth and stolen firearms.

Published January 21, 2016

WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA — New Mexico continues to face a higher degree of violent crimes than most other states, according to figures released recently by the FBI.

National figures put out by the FBI for 2014, the latest year that is available, places New Mexico as the fourth highest state when it comes to the amount of violent crime per capita.

And figures provided for crime in Indian Country shows violent and property crime per capita far higher on the Navajo Reservation than for any other tribes in the country.

These figures coincide with figures released annually by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.

New Mexico in 2014, according to FBI figures, showed 8,653 cases of violent crimes in metropolitan areas, 2,908 in the smaller cities in the state and 895 in rural areas in the state.

Violent crimes include murders, rapes, and aggravated assaults (usually with a weapon of some kind).

Looking at the counties in the state, San Juan ranked third (behind Bernalillo and Valencia) and McKinley County rates third in the state behind Otero and Taos for crime in non-metropolitan areas.

McKinley County Undersheriff Paul Lucero said Wednesday that crime in the county is high “but it seems to be getting a little better.”

Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the Navajo Times. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

 

The post Of All Arizona and New Mexico Tribes, Navajo had More Violent Crimes in 2014 appeared first on Native News Online.

Good-bye to a popular Ambassador

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El Salvador is saying good-bye to US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte.  The Ambassador, who was appointed by president Obama, is ending her five years of service to El Salvador.    She has been appointed by the US president to be the new permanent representative to the Organization of American States, but that nomination is still pending confirmation in the Senate.

The US Embassy website describes some of the recognition being bestowed on the ambassador:

Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez awarded the National “Jose Matias Delgado” Order in the Grand Cross Silver Plaque in recognition of her work and commitment in strengthening the relations between El Salvador and the United States.  

“We found in Ambassador Aponte an exceptional professional, with a great spirit of solidarity and a renewed vision,” said Minister Martinez…..

The second recognition received by the Ambassador this week was the Golden Zenzontlat, granted by the municipal government of Sonsonate, for her humanitarian work in the performance of her duties as a diplomat in the country. 

The ceremony was held in front of the town hall in the center of Sonsonate, led by Mayor Roberto Aquino. 

During his speech, which took place in front of the Municipal Palace of Sonsonate, the Mayor Roberto Aquino told the Ambassador: “To us, you are a leader who has invited us to moderation and dialogue. You are leaving your mark across El Salvador. “

What Puerto Rico born Aponte brought to the job, which her two predecessors lacked, was a great heart for the Salvadoran people and the ability to speak Spanish.  She was respected by political figures on both the left and the right, and the Salvadoran people responded warmly to her outgoing personality.   She will be missed.

Aponte will be replaced by incoming Ambassador Jean Manes. Manes is a career State Department officer. Her two most recent assignments include serving as the Director of Resources for the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, overseeing $1.2 billion in resources for public diplomacy domestic and worldwide operations. She recently returned from Afghanistan where she served as the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy.

Video: Daily Show Helps Convince Whitesboro To Change Racist Seal

Video: Daily Show Helps Convince Whitesboro To Change Racist SealEarlier this month, the upstate town of Whitesboro became the focus of a lot of national attention when the village voted on whether or not to keep its controversial seal, which depicts a white man apparently strangling a Native American man (or a “friendly wrestling match,” depending on how you look at it!). The residents voted 157-55 to keep the seal—but today, Whitesboro announced that they would reverse that vote and change it. And it turns out that Jessica Williams and The Daily Show have a lot to do with it, as you’ll see in the clip below. [ more › ]

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