SOUTHERN EXPOSURE? Admittedly, the stats were mind-numbing: four decades of
military dictatorships, 150,000 deaths, 47,000 disappearances, 440 Mayan
villages destroyed, a million Mayan peasants displaced, a quarter million in
flight. Bluntly put, Guatemala had been a mess for so long that most North
Americans just tuned out.
That was before Jennifer Harbury. An attorney and U.S. citizen, Harbury
spent the last three years in a well-publicized search for her Guatemalan
husband, Efrain Bamaca Velasquez (aka “Comandante Everardo”), whom she
believed was being held and tortured by his country’s military. This March, she
learned he had been murdered by a Guatemalan colonel/paid CIA operative, the
same man who also ordered the death of an American innkeeper living in
Guatemala. She is now pushing for the release of CIA and state department
documents about the U.S. role in both deaths, and for congressional hearings
about U.S. involvement in Central America over the last 20 years. In the
process, she’s put a homegirl’s face on a labyrinthine horror – and put
Guatemala back on page one.
This week, you’ll have one chance to help, one to learn more:
* Sunday, it’s a Music Benefit at Pato’s Tacos (June 4, 6-9pm, 1400 E.
381/2) with tunes by Toqui Amaru and Kirt Kempter and the
Southern Lights. Suggested donation is $5; proceeds benefit Harbury’s work
and the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission, which reopened its doors in
Guatemala City last February after 17 years in exile (director and staff now
deal with death threats and inadequate equipment; funds raised at this
benefit will help purchase a badly needed computer).
* Tuesday, two Guatemalans will discuss their personal experiences at war (June
6, 7pm, Trinity United Methodist Church, 600 E. 50th). Santiago Cabrera is a member of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) who was held
and tortured by the Guatemalan army for over a year. He is a former comrade of
Harbury’s husband, whose torture he witnessed at the hands of Colonel Julio
Alpirez, a paid CIA informant. Since his escape, Cabrera has testified before
the UN in Geneva and the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.
Estela Ixcot has been a URNG combatant for 12 years and also fought on
the front commanded by Harbury’s husband. She is an indigenous Mayan, as are
most of the women who make up roughly 10 percent of the insurgency.
Ixcot and Cabrera’s presentation is free. Simultaneous translation will be
provided.
DOIN’ THE DOZEN: What’s got 18 syllables, a
heart that’s true, and the clunkiest moniker this side of Irkutsk? Break out
the NoDoz, Agnes… it’s The Mostly Music Festival and Almost Anything
Silent Auction!
AIDS Services of Austin’s annual shop `n’ bop marathon is
back (Saturday, June 3, noon-midnight at the First Unitarian Church, 4700
Grover). Over 60 performers will fill the 12-hour stretch with a mix of music,
dance, poetry, comedy, and general grooviness. Slow spots? Hit the silent
auction for ultimate buys on art, furniture, gift certificates, and other fine
consumables.
Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for kids or students with ID. Everyone gets
leave-and-return privileges, but if you want to pull the full dozen without a
break, there’ll be an on-site dinner sale from 6-8pm.
BUCOLIC FROLIC: A bit further afield,
Parkside Community School is throwing a Reunion Concert & Barn
Dance, Saturday, June 3, at Camp Chautauqua on Lake Travis. A potluck
supper starts at 7pm, followed by a cooperative ice cream social (BYO machine
and fixin’s) and a sundown hoedown with Tommy Hancock & the Supernatural
Family Band plus Texana Dames. Tickets are $10 at the door or $8 in
advance at the school (1701 Toomey). Kids get in free; pack your own brews and
such.
SHAVE THAT PLUNGING NECKLINE: Dare to be
Diva! That’s the official theme for Out Youth Austin’s Alternative
Prom, happening Saturday, June 3, 9pm-1am, at
425 Woodward. Now in
its fifth year, the annual soiree offers gay teens a chance to do the prom
thing in a supportive environment, without pretense, snickers, or a collective
bashing by the football team.
This year’s celebration includes contests for best-dressed drag and celebrity
look-alikes, plus door prizes and entertainment by Fausto Fernos & Renee
Russell. Admission is $5 for under 22, $8 for 23 and over. (If you’re not
too busy primping, hit the pre-prom Open House, 5-7pm; it’s to celebrate OYA’s
new drop-in center, also at 425 Woodward.)
FIRST, GET MINTON OUT OF THE POOL: Earth
First! and Citizens Organized to Defend Austin (CODA) will hold a
joint strategy session, Friday, June 9, 7pm, at the picnic tables by Barton
Springs Pool. Not to mince words, they’ll be brainstorming on ways to drive
Freeport-MacMoran out of town. Bring ideas, energy, and a willingness to work.
As they say, “Nothing but the future is at stake.”
HOW TO SPEND A HUNDRED MILLION: You’d never
know it from the state of things, but each year a hundred million dollars gets
dropped on health and human services in and around Austin. Currently, the
Community Action Network (CAN) recommends how much city and county
funding goes to these services and which programs get the money. The group is
made up of city and county elected officials, plus representatives of AISD, the
United Way, and other interested parties.
CAN recently completed a major study, “A Snapshot of Our Community,” and
they’d like feedback on their findings. To this end, they’ve scheduled a series
of public hearings: Thursday, June 1, 6-8:30pm at Lanier High School, 1201
Peyton Gin Rd.; Tuesday, June 6, 6-8:30pm at Mendez Middle School Theatre, 5106
Village Square; and Thursday, June 8, 6-8:30pm at Town Lake Center Assembly
Room, 721 Barton Springs Rd.
Copies of the study’s findings are available for review at all city rec
centers, neighborhood police centers, libraries, health and human ser-vices
neighborhood centers, and Travis County community centers. Might be a good idea
to skim one before you shoot your mouth off.
DON’T THEY KNOW WHO OUR READERS ARE? It’s
June and we’re awash in pleas from foreign student exchange programs,. Hmmm…
Well, some of you must be host family material. If so, read on:
* PAX (Program of Academic Exchange) has several students who’d like to
be placed in Texas, including Jesper, a 17-year-old Dane who loves soccer and
basketball, and Carina, a 16-year-old Norwegian who likes pets, small children,
and hopes to have a career in the hotel business. If either sounds like a match
for your brood, call Austin PAX rep Richard Manson at 442-0379 or dial
800/555-6211.
* AYUSA (Academic Year in the USA) has kids from 40 different countries,
all “carefully selected based on maturity, flexibility, scholastics, civic
responsibility and motivation to learn about the American culture.” All
students also have full medical insurance and spending money, and have studied
English for at least three years. For details, call Carolyn Rich-ardson at
447-4677 or dial 800/333-0606.
* ASSE International Student Exchange specializes in “exceptional high
school students” from Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Great Britain,
Holland, Spain, France, Japan, Portugal, the Czech and Slovak Republics,
Mexico, Canada, and the former Soviet Union. For info, call Phiadre
Harper-Vega at
834-1355 or dial 800/473-0696.
* Nacel Cultural Exchanges is looking for host families for 75 French
and Spanish students, due to arrive for a four-week visit in early July. All
have studied English for years and carry their own insurance and spending money
(American teens are often invited for a reciprocal homestay with the visitor’s
family the following summer). For details, call
358-0134 or
800/233-8455.
BOOT ‘EM UP, BOOT ‘EM OUT: Finally, the
DeWitty Job Training Center needs volunteer computer teachers who can
handle ages 13-18 and are available June 13-July 28. Classes meet twice weekly
for 90 minutes, between the hours of 10am and 4:30pm. If interested, call
472-5718 before June 5. n Benefits
The Mostly Music Festival and Almost Anything Silent Auction benefits
AIDS Services of Austin, at First Unitarian Church, 4700 Grover, noon-midnight.
$12 adults, $6 children and students. 345-3152.
5th Annual Fundraising Auction to benefit Sharir Dance Co., at Barton
Creek Estates pri-vate residence, 7pm. $25 / person. 458-8158.
Whole Foods North will donate 5% of the day’s proceeds to benefit the
Humane Society of Austin & Travis County, at Whole Foods Market Gateway
(183 & Loop 360).
1995 Inter-Generational Fashion Show to benefit Community Residences
for the Elderly, at the Marriott, 704 E. 11th, 2-8pm. $20 adults/$10 kids under
12. 452-1406.
Endangered Species presents A Musical Benefit to benefit Matthew
Melear, 3-year- old survivor of family violence, at McBeth Rec. Center, Zilker
Park, 7pm. $4. 302-0869.
This article appears in June 2 • 1995 and June 2 • 1995 (Cover).