THE BORDER LINE
by Jerry Haas
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The Border Line…
Included in this edition is a short survey related to learning Spanish that I hope you will complete. Six years ago, when I retired and moved back to southern Arizona, learning Spanish was one of my resolutions. I didn’t think it would be too hard. I was a language major in college (German) and studied Hebrew and Greek in seminary. I took a year of Spanish at a community college when I was in my thirties, and thought the language was easy compared to those other three! Reality hit when I realized how hard it was to remember vocabulary words now compared to when I was younger. I shifted goals and decided to focus on acquiring better computer skills while leading BCA through a series of transitions from my garage to our lovely office in Tubac. Besides with two good bilingual friends, Alex and Alma, why should I try? Here’s another goal to consider: make friends with as many people as you can, and – presto -- the problem is solved! Except of course, the “problem” isn’t solved. A language isn’t just a tool for getting what you want when you go to a restaurant; it’s about a relationship. Learning a language is a way of valuing relationships; it’s also a way to learn a culture, a way of life, the heart of a people. Speaking even a few words in the language of the other honors them, even if the pronunciation is bad and the verbs are all wrong. As someone living in the Borderlands, committed to better relations between our binational culture, I believe that learning some essentials is something we should all strive to achieve, maybe especially if you happen to be the Executive Director of the Border Community Alliance, for heavens sake!
Jerry
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BCA IS CONDUCTING A SURVEY… AND WE NEED YOUR INSIGHTS
Through our Cross Border Tours and Borderland Forums, BCA has been successful in exposing U.S. Citizens to the vibrant economy and social life of Arizona’s neighbor state of Sonora, and this fostering of cross-cultural understanding has become the hallmark of BCA activities. Looking forward to the remainder of 2019 and 2020, we are exploring the expansion of our cultural initiatives to include a critical aspect of the unique culture of our area – namely the Spanish language.
Although many BCA members are native English speakers, it is important to recognize that the majority of people living in the Santa Cruz valley most likely use Spanish as their first language especially when you include the more than 300,000 people living directly along the border in Nogales, Sonora and nearby towns. And
as part of our mission to promote learning, communication, and mutual respect within the Borderland, BCA is interested in learning more about the role and importance of the Spanish language within our unique bi-national community. Specifically, we would like to:
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Better understand the importance of the Spanish language here in the Santa Cruz Valley.
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Assess the needs of our members regarding learning or improving Spanish language skills.
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Ascertain what role BCA could play in increasing the understanding of Spanish.
In order to better understand the importance of the Spanish language and BCA’s potential role, we are conducting an online survey; and we need to hear from you, our members. And so we encourage every reader of our newsletter to follow the link at the bottom of this article and participate in the survey.
The survey is very brief, and should take no more than 5 or 10 minutes to complete. (Please note that survey is
about Spanish, but not
in Spanish!) The survey will be used to help our planning for the 2019-2020 season, and results of the survey will be published in an upcoming BCA newsletter.
TO TAKE THE BCA SPANISH LANGUAGE SURVEY, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK
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NOTE:
The survey will be available until June 31, 2019, so please complete the survey as soon as possible.
Thank you in advance for your participation!
BCA Board and Staff
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BCA is offering three tours to Oaxaca next season, and two of them are already full, thanks in large measure to “The Magic of Oaxaca” event with Porfirio Gutierrez we hosted last January. We anticipate there will be space available for the February 12-19, 2020 and will open that registration link on our website after June 15.
For reservations or more information, contact Shauna at
shauna.bcatubac@gmail.com or (520)398-3229
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A few months ago, BCA offered a wonderful new tour experience to Kino Bay, a beautiful spot on the Sea of Cortez straight west of Hermosillo. Thanks to Russ and Blyth Carpenter, arrangements were made to secure high quality curation from local guides through Prescott College. The first day was spent exploring the amazing estuary marine life. The natural wonders of this “aquarium of the world” blew everyone’s mind.
On the second day, the group spent learning about the Seri culture from Claudia Lopez, an indigenous woman dedicated to carrying on the traditions of her tribe through weaving (see photo by Sue Rock below) and medicine. Claudia and a group of some 20 women practice sustainable harvesting while collecting information about the medicinal plants from the elders and science. Their dream is to secure enough funding to open a pharmacy for traditional medicines for their people and for all people.
__________________________
For more information contact
BCA’s Program Director,
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The class from Thursdays at Santuario shared this wonderful picture of their finished dresses from a pillow case program started 5 years ago.
This is social investment!
This group has been sewing as a source of income or as a second job and the networking in the community is wonderful.
By learning how to recycling, they are able to support the class with equipment, tools and materials.
Alma Cota de Yanez~ Fesac
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Asilo de Ancianos San Antonio in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora.
This home for the elderly is one of the social projects in the FESAC-BCA network and donations can be sent to this important civil society resource through BCA's (IRS approved) pass-through program. The asilo currently serves its max capacity of 38 senior citizens and has a long waiting list as the only elderly care center in the Sonoran community about an hour south of Nogales.
Your donations and part of the proceeds from your BCA cross border tour registrations go to directly support borderlands civil society projects like the Asilo de Ancianos in Magdalena. We appreciate your continued support in the cultivation of empathy in our shared border region.
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Rio Sonora Dia de San Lorenzo
Special Summer Tour
August 8-10 2019
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Border Community Alliance is pleased to offer a special tour for those of you who still reside in Southern Arizona over these beautiful monsoon summer months. This tour is set for August 8 - 10 and we will be travelling to the Rio Sonora region for a special cultural festivity known as Dia de San Lorenzo.
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Kino Bay
Coming Fall 2019
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Surprising
Hermosillo
Coming Fall 2019
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Magdalena
Here
&
Now Tour
Coming Fall 2019
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Upcoming Events
And Odds & Ends
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New Exhibit at the Hilltop Gallary
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WE ARE ARTISTS!
Join us for the opening of a wonderful new art exhibit at the
Hilltop Gallery
in Nogales, Arizona on
Sunday, June 9, between 1 and 4 PM. The artists are all members of the Nogales special needs community who have recently completed a unique program call “We are Artists,” a program offered in collaboration between the Santa Cruz Training Program, the Patagonia Center for the Arts and the Santa Fe Ranch Foundation. The developmentally different adults have created a wide range of artistic works, which will be displayed for several weeks after the opening exhibit. Come though on June 9 for delicious hors d’oeuvres and to meet the artists themselves! Your presence will be most welcome!
Tony Sedgwick
Hilltop Art Gallery is located at address is 730 North Hilltop Drive, Nogales, Arizona.
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WANTED: Seven passenger (or bigger) van and drivers
! BCA’s intern program begins when the students arrive from around the country on June 23. For the six weeks after that, they’ll be in Mexico, Tucson, Douglas, Tubac, Sahuarita and other spots around the region. None of the students this year has a car, so we are looking to rent or borrow a van for transportation on the US side (we have transportation options for Mexico). If you have a van you’d be willing to lend BCA for that time period (June 24-August 2), we’d be most grateful. We also need drivers as well.
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DENNIS QUAID and the SHARKS? You may be wondering why we have a promotional flyer for this event in our website. Our friends from the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation are hosting this event as their fundraiser, and because GGVCF has supported our work with several grants, we want to support them! So, go ahead and buy a ticket online and reserve your spot. Note that there will not be any tickets sold at the door.
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The Border Community Alliance was one of ten organizations recognized for its outstanding work in preserving and promoting our historical and cultural heritage by the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission. Others receiving recognition included the new Mexican-American Cultural Heritage Museum in Tucson; the Chuck Huckleby Loop project team; and the organizers who successfully lobbied for the National Heritage designation for Santa Cruz Valley. Awards were presented on Saturday, May 25 at the Lander Auditorium, Dunbar Pavilon, Tucson.
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DONATE APPRECIATED STOCK
BCA just received a donation of appreciated stock from one of its members. The donor purchased the stock some years back at low cost. By donating to BCA through our Edward Jones account, the donor will be able to write off the full appreciated value and avoid paying capital gains. And because BCA is a charitable 501 c 3 non-profit organization, the gift comes tax-free. If you have stock that has appreciated in value, you might want to consider a similar option. For assistance, contact our broker Benjamin Duncan, Edward Jones at 520-398-2785.
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BCA LOGIN Now Required.
Beginning June 1, you will need to remember your user name and password to register for BCA tours, events and classes on our website. Up until now, we have had an open system, resulting in duplicate accounts and higher costs. With the new system, you’ll be prompted to use the same user name and password each time. And if you forget your password, you’ll be able to create a new one in the same way that other websites do. And of course, if all else fails, you can call us and we’ll guide you through the process.
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BCA MEMBERSHIP TIERS
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP: $50
per year, renewable on the anniversary of the contribution. Individual members receive a discount on BCA tours and events. The membership fee is tax-deductible. Student membership is $25 per year.
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FAMILY MEMBERSHIP: $75
per year, renewable on the anniversary of the contribution. Two members of the household receive a discount on BCA tours and events. The membership fee is tax-deductible.
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BOOSTER: Contribution of $500
or more to BCA general fund, intern program or endowment. Membership privileges for three years, as well as special recognition events free.
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ENTREPRENEUR: Contribution of $2000
or more to BCA general fund, intern program or endowment. All membership privileges for five years, plus participation in BCA leadership circle events.
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FOUNDER: Contribution of $5000
or more to BCA general fund, intern program or endowment. Lifetime membership plus all the privileges above.
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Click Here
BCA Calendar
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Click Here BCA at a Glance
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Tubac Office now open!
NEW Office Hours
Monday - Friday
9:00 am -12:00 pm.
Additional hours by appointment.
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I-19 2221 E. Frontage Rd.
Bldg H Suite 201-202
PO Box 1863
Tubac, AZ 85646
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Membership / Events 520-398-3229
Office 520-419-1960
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Shauna.bcatubac@gmail.com
AJ: ajh.bca@gmail.com
Jerry: jndhaas@gmail.com
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