Sol's cousin Peter makes a music video for Christmas

Mercedes Sosa, Who Sang of Argentina’s Turmoil, Dies at 74

By LARRY ROHTER
Published: October 5, 2009
Mercedes Sosa, the Argentine folk singer whose politically charged repertory, sung in a powerful, earthy and impassioned alto voice, led her to be known throughout Latin America as “the voice of the voiceless,” died early Sunday in Buenos Aires. She was 74.


La Gaceta, via Reuters
In an undated photograph, Mercedes Sosa, the internationally known Argentine folk singer.
Related
Ms. Sosa at Concert in 1988 (youtube.com)
Ms. Sosa Sings Como la Cigarra (youtube.com)
More Videos of Ms. Sosa (youtube.com)
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Luciano Thieberger/Diarios Y Noticias
Mourners at her coffin in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
Ms. Sosa had been admitted to a hospital in the Argentine capital two weeks ago, suffering from kidney disease and with liver and lung problems. Her death was announced on her Web site and by her son, Fabián Matus, who said: “Mercedes Sosa has lived her 74 years to the fullest. She did practically everything that she wanted to do.”

In a career that spanned 60 years, Ms. Sosa became revered as both a victim of and a commentator on the political and social turmoil that afflicted her country and the rest of the continent. She was one of the pioneers of the “Nueva Canción” or “New Song” movement, a style of socially conscious music drawing on folk elements that first flowered in the 1960s, and enjoyed her biggest commercial success and political influence interpreting songs from that genre, like Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a La Vida” and Horacio Guarany’s “If the Singer Is Silenced.”

“Mercedes Sosa is synonymous with struggle, resistance and freedom,” the newspaper Clarín, Argentina’s leading daily, stated in an online tribute to the singer that will also be part of a special section to be published on Monday. “Traditional and modern, rural and worldly, rough and sophisticated, she was nothing more and nothing less than the most important Argentine singer in history.”

Haydée Mercedes Sosa was born in Tucumán, in northwestern Argentina, on July 9, 1935, the daughter of a day laborer and a washerwoman, and grew up in poverty. One of her grandfathers was a French immigrant, while the other was a Quechua-speaking Indian, and that mestizo background extended to her music, which drew upon and mixed both the Andean and the European song traditions.

Ms. Sosa’s career began at the age of 15 when, singing a song called “I’m Sad” under a pseudonym, she won an amateur hour competition on a local radio station. It was not until 1962, however that she recorded her first full-length album. Over the next decade, Ms. Sosa, also known as La Negra because of her dark hair and Indian features, became more and more popular throughout South America, thanks both to her resonant, expressive voice and to her reliance on songs that commented on the problems and issues of the day.

But after the military seized power in Argentina in 1976 and installed a murderous dictatorship, Ms. Sosa, who was publicly identified with parties of the left, began having political problems and found many of her songs banned from the radio. She complained of being harassed, followed and threatened by police, military and paramilitary forces, and after she was arrested in 1979 and released following international protests, she went into exile, first in Spain and then in France.

She was able to go back to Argentina in 1982, as the hold of the Armed Forces was weakening. But Ms. Sosa’s musical tastes had broadened during her years in exile, and after her return she became an early advocate of and mother figure for a new generation of singer-songwriters whose roots were more in rock ’n’ roll and international pop than traditional or folk music. She quickly added songs by future stars like Charly García and Fito Páez to her repertory, giving their careers and music both credibility and an important commercial boost. She continued to champion emerging young talent until her death.

Ms. Sosa was married to a musician, Manuel Óscar Matus, for eight years, and later lived with Pocho Mazzitelli, who was also her manager, until his death in 1978. Fabián Matus is her only child.

As her international renown expanded, Ms. Sosa seized on opportunities to collaborate with performers outside of Latin America, like Luciano Pavarotti, Sting, Andrea Bocelli, Nana Mouskouri and Joan Baez. After touring with Ms. Sosa in Europe in the late 1980s, Ms Baez described her as “monumental in stature, a brilliant singer with tremendous charisma who is both a voice and a persona.”

“I have never seen anything like her,” Ms. Baez added. “As far as performers go, she is simply the best.”

This year, Ms. Sosa released a two-CD set called “Cantora,” or “Singer,” that featured her in duets with more than a dozen Latin American and Spanish singer-songwriters, some of them young enough to be her grandchildren. The roster of participants is a who’s who of contemporary Latin American pop, including Shakira, Julieta Venegas, Caetano Veloso, Joan Manuel Serrat, Joaquín Sabina, Gustavo Cerati, Jorge Drexler and Calle 13. An accompanying DVD has also been released, but hopes for a tour had to be abandoned because of Ms. Sosa’s declining health.

“Cantora” has been nominated for three 2009 Latin Grammy Awards, including best album and best folk recording. Ms. Sosa, who recorded more than 70 albums and CDs, won the Latin Grammy for best folk recording three times, in 2000, 2003 and 2006, and has from the start been considered a favorite to win again at this year’s ceremony, which is to be held in Las Vegas in November.

In recognition of her status as “the nation’s most beloved voice,” as Clarín put it, on Sunday afternoon Ms. Sosa’s body was lying in state at the Argentine Congress building in Buenos Aires. According to Argentine press reports, her body is to be cremated on Monday in a private ceremony.

Outside the Congress building on Sunday, long lines of fans, ranging from artists who admired and copied her to the ordinary people who flocked to her concerts, waited to pay their last respects. “Thank you Negra, for your singing and your struggle,” read the placard one man held aloft.

**********************

Kenia used to play CDs of this wonderful singer. I wonder if Sol and Kenia still listen to this sort of progressive music. I fear that their conservative ideology from the Domino Pizza guy who runs the Ave Maria school will take this amazing woman from their lives. How sad.

What do they think of the contras who were funded by the Domino creep? Do they now love Ronald Reagan?
At least Mercedes Sosa knew a bit about the world and the treachery of billionaires.

Bread and Puppet Circus 2009

When Sol Maria was young she was in the Bread and Puppet Circus and played her violin for a sideshow. This is a side show from 2009 in which Margo Bloch plays her violin. It's about a student initiative in her school to try to get styrofoam trays and cups eliminated from the school cafeteria. The kids collected $10,000 to buy dishes and a dishwasher to replace the toxic products, but the school officials are in cahoots with the incinerator company and don't want to change. This is the side show that Nadine Bloch, Margo Bloch, Iolanthe Boneham Brooks and Helen Finagar produced.

Here is the opening of the circus, 2009!

Nicaraguan History

I wonder what Sol is learning about Nicaraguan history?

The Weaving Porch

Xena, Molly and Io made this rug.
Every year we have a big get together in the summer. Sol Maria was present at several of these parties. For our annual 4th of July party this year, Molly and I set up a loom for the guests to weave. It took Molly two days to warp it, but it was a great experience for all!
This is Iolanthe's rug:
This is Molly's rug:
Tolan started weaving after everyone left Willow.
Tolan kept weaving deep into the night. This is his rug:

Sol's Grandfather Plays Schubert

Playing chamber music at the Sheerar Museum, Stillwater, Oklahoma
The Sheerar Museum and the St. Cecilia Federated Music Club began a series of Cool Classics chamber music concerts on Friday.

Sol's grandfather loves chamber music and played in many groups when Ezra, Sol's father was a boy. Sol played violin very well for many years, starting when she was about four. She had a great natural talent.

June 17 passed

No word from Sol Maria on Ezra's birthday. And Father's Day coming up.

Gioconda Belli: EL DISCURSO DE OBAMA

Sol's mother, Kenia Halleck, once did an interview with Gioconda Belli for Bomb Magazine.
This is a recent article by Belli about Obama
Por Gioconda Belli

Tras siglos de iniquidad, ¿es posible comenzar de nuevo? ¿Puede la historia hacer borrón y cuenta nueva? Por mucho que uno quisiera creerlo, la experiencia nos habla de lo lento que cicatrizan los agravios en la piel de los pueblos. En los pueblos oprimidos, traicionados, casi que se viene al mundo genéticamente modificado para ser desconfiado y no creer en promesas. Si algún día, superada esa tendencia, se vuelve a creer, y reincide la desilusión, es difícil recuperar ya la fe y el optimismo. El que se quema con leche, no sólo la cuajada sopla, como decimos nosotros; el que se quema con leche, ve una vaca y llora, como dicen en Argentina. A pesar de esto hay que reconocer que la esperanza es testaruda. La humanidad ha creído en los cambios una y otra vez. Ha sido la convicción en su propia capacidad de transformar y transformarse la que la ha hecho remontar enormes tragedias. “Rellenamos el cráter de las bombas/Y de nuevo cantamos/Y de nuevo sembramos/ porque jamás la vida se declara vencida”, dice un poema anónimo vietnamita. Y es que la vida no florece en la desconfianza; se estanca. Es innegable que las trincheras cumplen una función, pero no se puede vivir eternamente atrincherado. Por mucho miedo que produzca la idea de dejar el refugio, uno tiene que atreverse a salir a la hora del cese al fuego y mirar de frente las oportunidades.

El discurso del presidente Barack Obama en la Universidad del Cairo el 4 de Junio, me hizo preguntarme si la humanidad no estará en este momento de la historia frente a una de esas raras oportunidades que merecen, no sólo el beneficio de la duda, sino el respaldo decidido de un impulso que potencie la voluntad de este presidente en particular de corregir el rumbo equivocado de décadas de historia.

Entre todos los presidentes norteamericanos de los últimos tiempos, Barack Obama sobresale, no sólo por el color de su piel, sino por su experiencia de vida. Este hombre no sólo ha experimentado en carne propia la discriminación racial; sino que también sabe cómo es y qué significa vivir en el Tercer Mundo. Hasta su discurso en El Cairo, muchos como yo hemos estado observándolo cauta y calladamente, antes de decidirnos a afirmar categóricamente un juicio positivo. Después de esa intervención, sin embargo, a mí al menos no me quedan dudas de que Obama está apostando a dar un golpe de timón serio en la política exterior norteamericana. Es obvio que un discurso es un discurso, pero también es cierto que la manera en que fue pronunciado y el contexto de éste, lo convierten, según mi opinión, es una suerte de manifiesto de la administración Obama, no sólo sobre el Medio Oriente, sino sobre los principios que él aspira imprimir a la relación de Estados Unidos con el resto del mundo. Que lo logre o no depende tanto de sus enemigos internos –por el momento en minoría en el Congreso y el Senado-, como de sus interlocutores internacionales.

Quiero resaltar aquí algunos aspectos de su contenido y señalar por qué afirmo que es un giro de timón a tener en cuenta, pues como sucede en muchos discursos, éste está lleno de claves que al buen entendedor no pueden pasarle desapercibidos, en cuanto que, viniendo de un presidente norteamericano, muchas de estas afirmaciones denotan un cambio sustantivo de enfoque y actitud vis a vis el Tercer Mundo. A continuación indico primero el contexto y transcribo las citas que me parecieron importantes.

Al inicio, tras referirse a los siglos de tensiones por las guerras religiosas entre Occidente y el Islam dice: “luego las tensiones se alimentaron del colonialismo que le negó derechos y oportunidades a muchos Musulmanes y de la Guerra Fría donde los países de mayoría Musulmana fueron muy a menudo tratados como peones sin ninguna consideración para con sus propias aspiraciones.”

Sobre Estados Unidos: “Así como los Musulmanes no caben en crudos estereotipos, Estados Unidos no es el crudo estereotipo de un imperio velando sólo por sus propios intereses. Los Estados Unidos han sido una de las mayores fuentes de progreso que el mundo ha conocido. Nacimos de una revolución contra un imperio…”

Sobre la interdependencia entre las naciones: Dada nuestra mutua dependencia, cualquier orden mundial que eleve una nación o grupo de gente por encima de otro, fracasará inevitablemente. Así que sea lo que sea que pensemos del pasado, no debemos ser prisioneros de éste. Debemos abordar nuestros problemas como socios; el progreso debe de ser compartido.

Sobre Irak: Citó a Thomas Jefferson, que dijo: “Espero que con nuestra poder, crezca nuestra sabiduría de manera que aprendamos que nuestro poder será mayor en la medida en que menos lo usemos” Y añadió: “Hoy América tiene una doble responsabilidad: ayudar a Irak a forjarse un mejor futuro y dejarle Irak a los Iraquíes.”

Reiteró la colaboración con Israel, pero añadió: “Por otro lado, es innegable que el pueblo Palestino –Musulmán y Cristiano- ha sufrido en la búsqueda de una Patria. Por más de sesenta años han soportado el dolor de la dislocación. Muchos esperan en campos de refugiados en la Ribera Oeste, Gaza y tierras aledañas por la vida de paz y seguridad que nunca han podido vivir. Soportan las diarias humillaciones –pequeñas y grandes- que resultan de la ocupación. De manera que no quepa la menor duda: la situación del pueblo Palestino es intolerable. América no dará la espalda a las legítimas aspiraciones de dignidad, oportunidad y un estado propio del pueblo Palestino….la resolución es que las aspiraciones de ambas partes sean realizadas a través de dos estados, en los cuales Israelitas y Palestinos puedan vivir en paz y seguridad.

Sobre los armamentos nucleares: “Hemos llegado a un momento decisivo….Entiendo las protestas de quienes argumentan que unos pueblos tienen armas nucleares y otros no. Ninguna nación por sí sola tendría que poder elegir qué otra nación pueda o no poseer armas nucleares. Por eso es que reafirmo el compromiso de América de lograr un mundo donde ninguna nación posea armas nucleares.”

Sobre la democracia: “Déjenme decirlo claramente: Ninguna sistema de gobierno puede o debe ser impuesto a una nación por otra nación. Esto no resta de mi compromiso con los países donde el gobierno refleja la voluntad popular. Cada nación da vida a sus principios a su manera, en base a sus propias tradiciones. América no quiere presumir de saber qué es lo mejor para todos… Pero tengo la profunda convicción de que los pueblos quieren ciertas cosas: quieren la libertad de expresarse y opinar sobre la manera en que desean ser gobernados, quieren tener confianza en que se respeten las leyes y se administre la justicia de igual manera para todos, quieren un gobierno transparente que no robe lo que le pertenece al pueblo, quieren tener la libertad de elegir. Estas no son sólo ideas Americanas, son derechos humanos y por eso es que nosotros los apoyaremos en cualquier parte…. Hay quienes invocan la democracia sólo cuando están fuera del poder; una vez que llegan al poder son implacables en suprimir los derechos de los demás. No importa donde se asiente, el gobierno del pueblo exige un estándar a quienes ostentan el poder: deben mantener su poder por consenso, no coerción; deben respetar el derecho de las minorías y participar con espíritu de tolerancia y compromiso, deben colocar el interés popular y el funcionamiento legítimo del proceso político por encima de sus propios partidos. Sin estos ingredientes, las elecciones por sí mismas no hacen la verdadera democracia”

Para terminar, entre otras cosas dijo: “Todos nosotros compartimos el mundo por un breve instante en el tiempo. El asunto es si escogemos ese tiempo para permanecer concentrados en lo que nos separa, o si nos comprometemos en el esfuerzo –en el esfuerzo sostenido- de encontrar coincidencias y de concentrarnos en el futuro que aspiramos para nuestros hijos y en el respeto a la dignidad de todos los seres humanos.”



En lo que tengo de vida, jamás había oído yo a un Presidente norteamericano dejar de lado la arrogancia de esta manera; admitir no sólo las secuelas del colonialismo, sino la instrumentalización que tanto EEUU, como la URSS hicieron de los países árabes y del África. Me pareció significativo que exaltara el hecho de que los EEUU hubiesen surgido de la rebelión contra un imperio y más significativo me pareció la manera reiterada en que rechazó la idea de que una nación se coloque por encima de las demás, que decida quién tiene armas nucleares o no, o que imponga a otros su sistema de gobierno. Irak debe dejarse a los iraquíes, dijo, al tiempo que lamentó la permanencia de EEUU en Afganistán. Su apoyo y claridad en cuanto al asunto Palestino fue meridiana; reconoció el sufrimiento del pueblo Palestino, llamó ocupación a la ocupación, pidió el cese de los asentamientos y el reconocimiento del derecho del pueblo Palestino a su propio estado y cuando se refirió a la violencia, lo hizo condenando su uso por ambos lados en iguales términos. En cuanto a las referencias a la democracia, creo que fue hábil al señalar que las aspiraciones de libertad, estado de derecho, transparencia y demás, no son valores norteamericanos, sino derechos humanos de todos los pueblos.

Su llamado hacia el final, de buscar coincidencias, hace eco de sus palabras iniciales donde pidió la oportunidad de un nuevo comienzo, basado en el respeto e interés mutuo, que ponga fin a la desconfianza y discordia predominante.

Es evidente que este discurso sienta ciertos predicados novedosos que no se limitan a las relaciones de EEUU con el mundo árabe, sino que lo trascienden y presentan la visión de un estadista que desea un rol donde el poder de su país pueda convertirse en un factor de progreso y de conciliación dentro del nuevo contexto global.

Como decía yo al principio, ciertamente es difícil superar las desconfianzas. El recelo y hostilidad contra Estados Unidos no es un invento gratuito. Está fundamentado por innumerables abusos de poder y violaciones de ese país a los derechos de los pueblos. Pero, como ciudadanos de este mundo, no del de nuestros padres o nuestros abuelos, tenemos la obligación de considerar las lecciones de la historia que muestran cómo individuos excepcionales pueden lograr lo aparentemente imposible, así en el mal, como en el bien.

El Presidente Obama tiene cuatro, lo más ocho años de plazo para demostrar que el espíritu que se lee en este discurso puede dar frutos. El mundo que ha sufrido a los Estados Unidos tiene dos caminos: el rechazo a sus palabras para seguir en las trincheras, o la aceptación de este reto no para bajar la guardia, sino para subirle la parada a la agenda del Presidente Obama proponiendo cambios concretos, proyectos comunes concretos que lo comprometan y alteren la tradición agresiva de la diplomacia del norte de manera duradera. Más allá del “respeto” –exigencia que en Nicaragua recientemente sólo esconde la necesidad de un partido de afianzarse impunemente en el poder en menoscabo de la democracia- una nueva visión de su propio rol por parte de Estados Unidos podría significar un mundo más justo, más limpio, más equitativo y humano para todos. Como dijo Lenin: “Hay que soñar”, y atreverse a la esperanza, añadiría yo.

Mothers' Day

I remember one Mothers' Day in San Diego. Ezra, Kenia and Sol were living in the Mesa housing complex. Kenia was sleeping late and Sol and I woke up early while the dew was still on the grass and ran from garden to garden around the housing complex picking a big bouquet of flowers for Kenia. It had batchelor buttons, poppies, nasturtians, lilys, delphiniums and many other flowers. We put it on the table so that when Kenia woke up she would see it.and of course next to the flowers was Sol's dear bunny.

Ezra and I had been to the nursery in Mission Hills and bought Kenia a beautiful rose bush. It was a yellowish rose with red edges. One of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Roses aren't my favorite flower, but this one was truly lovely. Ezra planted it and over the years it gave many lovely roses-- almost all summer long.

When I went back to visit many years later, I was surprised to see that the rose bush was still there! Looking as beautiful as ever, though no one had pruned it and it certainly didn't have the mulches and compost that Ezra had lavaished on it.

I wonder how Sol is and think of her every day.

This is a Mothers' Day memory and an appreciation of the lovely "mothering" which Ezra gave Sol. No mother could have tended to her needs with as much patience, dedication and love as Ezra. It is such a tragedy that he cannot see Sol. It is a deep sadness for all of us. It is also a tragedy that Sol obviously has been fed lies and distortions about Ezra. That is the only explanation for the cruelty with which she has treated him. When she graduated from college she only thanks her mother and her grandmother Violeta. Sol has forgotten all the mornings that Ezra woke early to make her lunch and drive her to school, all the hours he spent growing her healthy food and flowers. I don't know what Kenia could be telling Sol about Ezra, but no one would ever doubt or question the total dedication and love that Ezra gave to Sol. All of Kenia's friends are unanimous in appreciating Ezra's amazing committment as a father and are in total wonderment that Kenia and Sol have so cruelly wounded him. I don't know if this has something to do with the way that Kenia was treated by her own father? It is a mystery.

Sol's Old Friend, Adrien

When Sol was living at Mesa houses she was friends with Adrian who is Colin and Eloise's son.
Here is his picture taken with Eloise's mom.

Sol's Graduation

Sol Maria Halleck Plays Bach, 2002

This was filmed in 2002, before Sol's parents were divorced. Sol's mother was in Spain with her new friend at the time of this concert, so her grandmother from Nicaragua was there. You can see Sol go up to her grandmother Violetta right after the concert. At the time she had already become quite hostile to both myself and her father, a continuing tragedy for us and all her US family and friends.

Portrait of Ezra Last Summer

The Magical Eucalyptus Groves of UCSD

This "net" is by Robert Irwin, and is one of the art installations of the "Stuart Collection" at UCSD.

Sol and I would often walk through these trees, sloshing through the detritus of the fallen leaves and flowers-- an exercise in olfactory pleasure as the aromas of the eucalyptus oils wafted up as we walked. Once I saw a huge flock of Monarch butterflies resting in the grove on their way to Mexico. Once the university took down dozens of the trees to make way for a new building and the students placed crosses on each stump.
I wonder if Sol remembers the campus and the many groves and arroyos that we often walked through.I wonder if she remembers the cool, cleansing smell of those magical trees.

In another part of the grove were two talking and singing trees made by Terry Allen. Sort of a radio station. Allen would send tapes to be broadcast over speakers in the trees. The texture of their trunks was a metal version of the scales of the Eucalyptus trees themselves.

By the library, the Stuart Collection had a snake mosaic twining around a desert garden by Alexis Smith. They had just put it in around the time Sol and her family left, so the garden hadn't really grown that much. But Sol liked the mosaic and the benches where one could sit and get a view of the campus and the library.

Ezra's Concert

Concert Part I

Concert and Feast Part II
Program Notes by Ezra Halleck: Living in their small country bordered on the west by the Black Sea and in the north and south
by the Caucasus Mountains, the Georgians are one of the world's ancient peoples. Their culture virtually revolves around music. Georgian polyphonic folk song is one of the most remarkable musical forms in the world, counting Igor Stravinsky among its admirers.

Although Georgia has recently been in the news due to its strategic importance to the world's two largest military powers, few people are acquainted with its distinct culture. The Georgian language is related to no other in the world and has its own unique alphabet. The Georgians have managed to preserve their extraordinary ancient vocal tradition, which is believed to predate Christianity. There has been a growing appreciation of Georgian singing in the West and several groups sing this music regionally.

This benefit performance is an opportunity to hear some of these regional Georgian singing groups. On the program are The Kartuli Ensemble, a choir from the Mid-Hudson Valley and 3 trios: The Other Georgia (Boston), Dzmoba (Philadelphia) and Brevalo (Williamstown, MA). Rounding out the program are soloist Aurelia Shrenker and two choirs from Princeton University:
Dedebi (a women's group) and Gaumarjos (a men's group).

Sol and Shulea and Jane Castle

The Priest and the Poet

Sol’s mother did an interview with Gioconda Belli, Nicaraguan poet, in Bomb Magazine.

Belli is quoted in a recent article by Gumuio Dagon on the occasion of the imprisonment in Nicaragua of Ernesto Cardenal, priest and founder of Solintiname Christian Community:

Gioconda Belli,… emblema de la cultura nicaraguense y Sandinista militante, ha escrito: “Lo que fue una caracteristic unica del FSLN, la direccion colectiva dejo de existir en los 90. Se impuso la actitud vengativa y dura, la misma que esta ahora dandose rienda suelta de una manera tan obcecada que ya no es solo un peligro para los sujetos contra las que se enfila, sino para el pais en su conjunto.” Y concluye: “El Sr, Ordega y su esposa tendran que dares cuenta que estan creando una narrativa de odio y confrontacion muy peligrosa para la estabilida de nuestro pais. En esa narrativa destructive en que estan empeñados, se quedaran solos, aislaran a Nicaragua y dividiran un pais que solo unido puede salir adelante. Harian bien en no olvidar aquel proverbio que dice: Siembra vientos y cosecharas tempestades.”

From the Guardian (UK)
Artists and intellectuals have accused Nicaragua's Sandinista government of betraying its revolutionary heritage by waging a vendetta against a revered poet.

Ernesto Cardenal, an 83-year-old cultural figurehead, faces jail after clashing with President Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader who was once a darling of the left.

More than 60 Latin American writers and cultural luminaries, including many who used to champion the Sandinistas, denounced the move as illegal and another sign that the revolution had curdled.

In a joint letter they said Cardenal, a former culture minister and Catholic priest who helped popularise the movement in the 1980s, was the most recent victim of systematic persecution in the impoverished Central American country.

Recent Pictures of Ezra

Ezra with all his brothers and sisters at Molly's wedding.

Georgian Sing at Molly's Wedding

Sol's father, Ezra, is part of a Georgian singing group. They performed at Molly's wedding in Willow on August 9, 2008. This video was made by Ezra's aunt Fritzi, using her small still camera.

Sol Graduates

Sol Maria graduated from Ave Maria University in Nicaragua this year. On the web page she thanked her mother and her mother's sisters. But she didn't mention her dear aunts nor her cousin Jose Ivan, and she didn't mention her father. The Pizza-man Delivers His Dream Town and Dream School
By Frank Cocozzelli
Thomas Monaghan wants to transform our society. Part of how he is going about it, as I reported in the last installment of this series that, the Dominos Pizza King is using his vast wealth to try to transform the basis of American Jurisprudence from the principles of the Enlightenment to one based upon an ultra-Orthodox Catholic vision of natural law principles.
Investing in Higher Education
Give Tom Monaghan credit: he puts his money where his mouth is. He fully understands that there are not enough American Catholics who share his ultra-orthodox vision for the Church. As a result, he is mow using his wealth in an effort to transform American Catholicism. And while the Thomas More Law Center is his vehicle for putting forth his vision of justice, Monaghan is also actively creating both a community and training ground designed to churn out future leaders who would ultimately implement a court system based upon Magisterium rather than Value Pluralism.
To that end, he is investing heavily in education. In Michigan he is heavily funding in Catholic grade, intermediary and high school education. His foundation of socially conservative Catholic millionaires, Legatus, is similarly investing in the cultivation of a pre-Vatican II generation of leaders. As the Wall Street Journal observed:

Over the years, Mr. Monaghan has indulged in his share of vanity projects--such as purchasing the Detroit Tigers. But he also consistently gave to the church. Well, not directly. Rather than simply supporting existing institutions, he has made a habit of starting his own. He began with two Catholic elementary schools in the Ann Arbor area in the late '90s, and he thinks these schools are very effective at getting people to heaven. "You give kids the faith and they'll keep it for life." But "the problem is you can only build so many grade schools and you're out of money." On the other hand, he continues, "if I can train a principal I can impact a whole school. I can do that at a university. I can train thousands of school administrators, thousands of catechism teachers, provide thousands of vocations to the priesthood and religious life." (i)
Along with his right-hand man Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, (ii) Monaghan not only slanders secular educational institutions, but also mainstream and progressive Catholic institutions, calling them "...places where the fullness of Catholic truth is joyfully and vigorously taught, defended, and proclaimed. The present crisis is at its core a crisis of Catholic Truth." The National Catholic Reporter noted, "Ave Maria's right-wing orientation has drawn its share of criticism from more liberal Catholic quarters. Jesuit Fr. Robert Drinan, for instance, writing in NCR May 7, (1999) accused Ave Maria of a "holier than thou" attitude toward other Catholic law schools."(iii)

The Ave Maria Educational System
The Ave Maria University system is set up to provide both a liberal arts undergraduate program as well as a school of law. The university's emphasis is not merely upon education, but one that views it through an ultra-orthodox perspective.

The university maintains departments of history, biology and chemistry, theology, philosophy and "politics," which describes part of its curriculum as "Courses in the field of American government serve to test the theoretical underpinnings of political philosophy..."

Ave Maria's School of Law had its curriculum drafted with significant input from US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Other Catholic Right jurists who have either advised the school or have taught courses there include Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and the former Solicitor General, Robert H. Bork. And as the National Catholic Reporter further noted:

Ave Maria is expected to fit into the militantly religious category as well. Funded to the tune of $50 million by Domino's Pizza magnate Thomas Monaghan, Ave Maria will clearly have a more conservative religious orientation than any existing Catholic law school in the nation. Its board members include such noted Catholic conservatives as Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput; Jesuit Fr. Joseph Fessio, founder of Ignatius Press; and Fr. Michael Scanlan, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Two of the most conservative members of Notre Dame University's law school are also on the Ave Maria board: Gerald V. Bradley and Charles E. Rice.(iv)
As if the faculty's track record as well as the school's own stated aims do not point to a more theocratic view of the world, the presence of Opus Dei should. Dianne DiNicola of the the Opus Dei Awareness Network has told the American Baptist Press she receives reports of Opus Dei recruitment at Ave Maria University and potentially in the town.

The Ave Maria Community
Monaghan's dream town will be one of 11,000 residential units surrounding the Ave Maria University complex. At the center will be a towering oratory, very similar to the placement of cathedrals in medieval Europe.

According to the Wall Street Journal "Set to open in the fall of 2007, Ave Maria Town will be unincorporated and governed by county officials...Mr. Monaghan announced in 2004 that "you won't be able to buy a Playboy or Hustler magazine in Ave Maria Town. We're going to control the cable television that comes in the area. There is not going to be any pornographic television in Ave Maria Town. If you go to the drug store and you want to buy the pill or the condoms or contraception, you won't be able to get that in Ave Maria Town."

But this raises serious constitutional issues. As Howard Simon, the Executive Director for the Florida ACLU observed on Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show, the issue is not that Monaghan wants to create a community where like-minded ultra-orthodox Catholics want to live together, but governmental control:

If he wants to build a town and encourage like minded people to come and live there, that's fine. We get into problems where he tries to exercise governmental authority. That's the issue. It's not-Tucker, you've to make a distinction between just encouraging like minded people to come and live in the same place with a town organized on religious principles, in which the religious group is given governmental authority. It's that latter that is the problem.
And as Simon properly pointed out:

This is not Catholicism-this is not a story about Catholicism. It's a story about any religious group trying to exercise governmental power.
And what happens when one religious group exercises controls over healthcare issues is extremely important in a democracy. The Florida ACLU's Director of Communications, Brandon Hensler further elaborated:

There are no constitutional issues with like-minded people living together and there are many examples where it works - Hasidic Jewish communities in upstate New York, Mormans in Utah, and Amish and Mennonites in the Midwest are just a few examples.
The central issues that may cause grave concern are not the trivial aspects such as what video games can be rented, magazines sold or other superficial problems.

However, we can already foresee potential problems with a medical clinic that is open to the public, and run based on religious principles. What happens if someone is rushed there in an emergency - will they honor living wills and advance directives? What about rape victims? Will they be offered Emergency Contraception, or at minimal given information on a place to go? These are serious questions that need to be answered... questions that people in the community need to be asking of their elected leaders.

We don't think religious groups should be making medical decisions for the people of Ave Maria, or any other town; that should be relegated as a doctor/patient decision for what is in the best interest of the patient.

And while Monaghan recent public statements give the impression that he has backed off from such restrictions, he may be speaking with forked-tongue. Again, as the Wall Street Journal reports:

The ACLU threatened a lawsuit, and Mr. Monaghan backed down. He tells me he consulted his lawyers and realized "that some of the things I'm talking about we may not be able to prevent. We never ever intended to break the law." (But Mr. Monaghan seems to tailor his message to his audience. In June, he told a Catholic gathering in Denver that "our plan is that no adult material will appear on the town's cable system and the pharmacy will not sell contraceptives.") (v)
And among those who would have to live by Monaghan's zoning restrictions would not just be Agnostics, Atheists, Protestants and Jews but many mainstream Catholics who choose not live by every single Vatican proclamation. This possibility has even rankled other Christian denominations as well as the many American Catholics who choose to live as much by their conscience as by Magisterium. Then there would be the question of what would happen if the Ave Maria community would get control of the local Collier County government. Would Mr. Monaghan then try to impose ultra-orthodox Catholic morality upon its citizens too?

Trouble in Paradise
But there are signs of problems arising from Monaghan's single-minded determination. Criticism is even arising within the ranks of teachers and students who initially believed in Ave Maria University's reason for being. Miscalculations and mistakes have even resulted in the return $259,000 in federal money that was originally earmarked for student aid for the Michigan campus was improperly diverted to the Naples, Florida campus. There are also accusations that university employees at the Michigan campus
are not treated with dignity. The Wall Street journal has reported that Monaghan has thwarted attempts by university employees to unionize.(vi) Such opposition to the rights of organized labor demonstrates a significant amount of religious hypocrisy:

The battles between Mr. Monaghan and the Ave Maria faculties have become vitriolic. Some have even tried to unionize. When I ask if he sees a contradiction in trying to block such a move, even though unionization is supported by the Catholic Church, he says, "I think that [the church] hierarchy doesn't know as much about those things as they do about their theology.
For a man who constantly preaches against so-called "cafeteria" liberal Catholics who do don't readily accept every Magisterium pronouncement, this is a clear case of "do as I say, not as I do." It is nothing more than picking and choosing on a much grander scale-smorgasbord Catholicism.

Monaghan founded Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan in March 1998. However discord began to set in when Monaghan became more and more enamored with his Ave Maria University in Florida. He had most of the staff and faculty moved to Florida, with the Ypsilanti campus to be phased out once the class of 2007 graduates.. As one disgruntled teacher told the New York Times:

Many Detroit-area Catholics said they gave up jobs and teaching posts elsewhere to work at the schools, with some faculty members moving from hundreds of miles away because, as a former Ave Maria College biology professor, Andrew J. Messaros, recalled, they were committed to promoting a faithful version of core Catholic teachings.
''I bought into the whole vision lock, stock and barrel,'' Professor Messaros said. He added that he took a $16,000 pay cut from a tenure-track position at the West Virginia University School of Medicine to teach at Ave Maria in mid-2003.(vii)

And as several parents of students enrolled in the Michigan campus complained:

Mrs. Bower, whose son Paul was a junior at Ave Maria College when the move to Florida began to accelerate, said she became concerned that the Michigan campus was being deserted. She grew more anxious in 2004 when word got out that school administrators in Florida had tried to have most of the books at the Michigan campus's library shipped to Naples.
''I thought, 'Wait! There are still students there. They can't just take all the stuff,' '' said Mrs. Bower, who created a Web site -- aveparents.com -- to help keep the Michigan campus intact.

Another parent -- Edward N. Peters, who taught canon law in a theology program now based at Ave Maria University -- threatened to sue if the campus was dismantled.
''It has become clear that Tom Monaghan regards Ave Maria not as a kind of public trust but rather as his personal domain which he can effectively treat however he wants,'' Professor Peters, whose son attended the college, wrote in a June 2004 letter to the college board. He added that since Mr. Monaghan shifted his attention to Florida, he had cut support for several of his Michigan projects, including a weekly Catholic newspaper and a new convent. ''Ironically, the very legacy that was being built up with Monaghan's help is now being torn down at his will,'' Professor Peters wrote. ''It is a tragic and scandalous waste of the human and financial resources given by God.'' (viii)

**

Such complaints raise issues about Monaghan. Is it sloppiness, an autocratic nature or just the price of whimsy? Perhaps it is a combination of all those factors. In any event his actions seem to indicate a belief that some people are expendable. Here is a powerful man who ignores Catholic teachings on economic justice when it is convenient for him. And it seems that it is those expendable ones who must always follow Magisterium to the letter of the law, not the powerful.

To paraphrase Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B., Tom Monaghan is trying to get the state to legislate what he cannot get his own co-religionists to accept. And as the vast majority of Americans known, from mainstream conservatives to the most progressive of the Left, the proper role of American government is not to serve as the enforcer of any religion's doctrines, but to allow its tenants to be freely practiced.

Apparently, Mr. Monaghan does not see it that way.

Sol's aunt Molly's Marriage Blessing

No, it's not the wedding. It was a little ceremony at our annual party-- Molly and her husband to be, Shawheen, were presented with a poem from Janine Vega, local poet. The wedding is August 9. We are hoping that Sol Maria (and her mother, if she wants to come) can be there!

Fathers' Day

Another Fathers' Day passes and no word from Sol Maria.
Is she alive?
We think about her every day and miss her terribly.

Visit by Sol's other Grandmother

Kenia's mother Violeta visited San Diego many times. This was taken on a trip to one of the regional parks in San Diego. When Kenia broke up with Ezra, Violeta supported Kenia and was very hostile to Ezra. I think she always wanted Kenia to come back to Nicaragua.

Birthdays!

One birthday when she was in the 6th grade I rented a limo to come to her school and pick up the birthday party.The limo took the girls to Corvettes.
This is a later birthday--I think perhaps her 12th birthday.

Sol at Palm Springs Mountain

Ezra loves cross country skiing. Sometimes we would take the cable car up the mountain at Palm Springs and cross country ski on top.