Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

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Index of information about Esperanza's Funding Cut

Why did the City of San Antonio Cut 100% of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center Funding?

The travesty has many people wondering, "Who will be next?"

El Placazo
November 1997

by Sandra Arambula and Katja Kohler

Our neighborhood lost out when the majority of city council members voted on September 11th to cut all of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center's city funding. These cuts might not only affect next year's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, but also other projects that benefit low income women, teenagers, and children in the neighborhood. Specifically, the Visiones Youth Media Project, The Other America Film Festival, and Mujer Artes, a women's ceramic cooperative, are in jeopardy. The elimination of city money could mean that art will only be available for the rich. Other art centers, like the Guadalupe Theater, also lost part of their budgets (15%), but none as much as the Esperanza (100%).

Curious as to why all of Esperanza's city funds were cut, I called and faxed questions to the council members. Only Debra Guerrero and Roger Flores responded. One of my questions was, "How do you feel in regards to people that think the cuts were homophobic?" Flores' response was, "I believe these thoughts are warranted when only one agency is cut from the grant process." Based on comments from the Express-News columnists Mike Greenberg, Carlos Guerra and others, I also believe that Esperanza was attacked because they support the gay and lesbian community.

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center works with surrounding communities providing programs to the traditionally marginalized, such as gays and lesbians, low income families, women, and people of color. Local residents are able to have hands-on experience in a variety of activities thanks to the Esperanza Center.

It is unfortunate that the council who voted for the cuts seemed to have little knowledge of all the projects (other than the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) that the Esperanza runs. With regard to the "Out at the Movies" Film Festival, Mario Salas made a narrow-minded statement describing the films as "borderline pornography" (based only on looking at the publicity brochure). The brochure does not show any pornography. We see people embracing intimately on network television all the time. Why is it all of a sudden something "pornographic" when it's two women in love?

Katja Kohler went to the film festival and saw Ivonne Rainer's "Murder and murder," a docu-drama about a middle-aged woman who's recently come out as a lesbian and is, at the same time, coping with breast cancer. Far from being "pornographic," Katja said the film "was a well-researched and moving investigation into cancer and how it effects women . I have never seen anything like it. It was so informative. Mario Salas, I urge you to see it and I thank the Esperanza for bringing it to my local Theater!"

The Visiones Youth Media Project is another program the Esperanza offers. In this program, teenagers are trained to use video equipment and encouraged to tell their stories. In this way, students realize the power of developing their own voice.

Last year I worked on a video documentary at San Anto Cultural Arts. Unfortunately, because of their limited funds, we worked with only a video camera and trainers. Eventually we had to edit the video. When we asked the Esperanza to help us out they were very kind in opening their doors to us. They let us use their editing machines for a month at no cost. We finished our documentary on San Anto's mural project last year and entered it into The Other America Film Festival and The Latino Film Festival.

The Other America Film Festival is another program that the Esperanza puts on. Inner City Development was one of many community centers in our city that participated as venues. For three days parents, teenagers, and children came to see videos, many of them made by other teenagers like me. Blanca Salinas, a third grader at King Elementary, said she liked the film festival because "there were many races besides just one. On TV you usually see one. White." Blanca's sister, Malerie Salinas, was excited about "Romello and Julia," one of the films made by teenagers, because "it was a 90's version of Romeo and Juliet and Romeo was black and Juilet Mexican." Rosalinda C. Espinoza, a mother of four children, liked the positive message in the videos . She was happy to see stories that showed "people working with teenagers to prevent them from being in gangs." Blanca Salinas was so inspired that she is now working on her own video with a group of her friends at San Anto Cultural Arts.

It is very important to have video programs like the Esperanza's Visiones Youth Media Project because it gives teenagers access to materials that normally cost a lot of money and they realize that they can produce their own videos. There are educational benefits to making videos, too. More than merely pointing the camera at "neat" things, these kids diligently write out their ideas. Elissa Gonzalez, a Brackenridge senior working with Blanca on her video, says, "the kids enhance their vocabulary while at the same time writing out their story."

When I worked out our video idea, we had to think about ways to tell our story. We wrote out the structure from beginning to end and many times it changed as we learned new things. The best thing about this is that the kids are doing something creative and constructive. Blanca, Marie, Veronica and Elissa meet twice a week after school at San Anto to work on their projects. They hope their video will make it to next years Other America Film Festival. If there is one...

Another project that Esperanza funds is the Mujer Artes, which is a west side community arts economic empowerment project for unemployed or under employed women. I visited the women there a few days before their craft sale, where they sell their work. A large percentage of their earnings is applied towards the cost of classes and supplies. As they worked at kneading the clay, forming a candle holder, or painting a plate, the women told me about their experiences at Mujer Artes. "These classes have given me the strength and willingness to go back to school to get my diploma," said Carmen Medrano. Maria Elena Guerrero said, "I suffer extensively from pain to my hands and I hate being home alone depressed all the time." She added, "This program is like a therapy to me and I don't mind walking several blocks each morning to get here." Samantha "Sam" Zapata said, "I hate being at home doing the 'housewife chores.' I was depressed at home and felt unworthy. Now I'm doing something I greatly enjoy." While painting a plate she made out of clay, Imelda Maldonado talked about her financial situation and a shed she built herself. The classes at Mujer Artes helped her fell self-sufficient. Now she recognizes that she can make things with her own hands. She also feels a strong sense of community at Mujer Artes because all of the women there come to know each other and help each other out. The classes teach women a craft that will help them economically and it also gives them a sense of self worth.

Programs like the Visiones Youth Media Project, the Other America Film Festival, and Mujer Artes are important because they are a few of the many programs offered through Esperanza that give teenagers and adults a chance to show off their artistic abilities and creativity at no cost. With these kinds of programs teenagers and adults find some sense of hope for themselves. Everyone that attends these programs sees it as a support group where they can find someone to understand them.

The City Council claims money was cut from Esperanza and other arts organizations' budgets to spend on repairing San Antonio streets and sidewalks. However, why was ALL of Esperanza's budget cut? Also, couldn't this repair money have come from other sources? Could there have been other solutions to the budget/street repair problems, rather than cutting ALL of Esperanza's money? This was also one of my questions to the council people. Councilman Flores responded with a single, yet emphatic, "certainly."

Councilman Robert Marbut said, "Esperanza's problem is a lack of tourists" and "any group that is not producing any tourists should not get any money." However, shouldn't he be thinking about our needs in the community first, before "tourism"? And who is to say that, if we nurture one of our local artists, s/he won't be the next Diego Rivera? His hometown attracts millions of tourists each year. Also, how many tourists and large corporations will choose to visit a city that subverts its cultural diversity in the name of the tourism dollar? Isn't San Antonio's cultural diversity one of its main selling points? Maybe some city council members haven't REALLY looked into the programs that organization like the Esperanza offer our community.

One final note... What exactly does the Sports Foundation do? If we are being tight with money that would go towards streets and sidewalks, why did the Sports Foundation get a budget increase of 30 thousand dollars?

Sandra is a freshman at San Antonio College. Katja is a volunteer at Inner City Development.

What do you think? E-mail us at esperanza@esperanzacenter.org.