Cecilia Quade, President

Detailed itinerary information and map will be provided a week prior to the date of the tour via email with registration. For questions, please write alex@bordercommunityalliance.org

The 2021 version of Let's Speak Spanish will feature the class materials and exercises used this fall with a few additions and refinements. Starting the fourth week of January, the program will run for seven weeks, with a single 90-minute lesson scheduled each week. Two class sessions will be scheduled, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Arizona time. The registration fee for the 2021 program will be $80 for BCA members and $100 for non-members, which will help defray the cost of material development as well as a small honorarium for the facilitators.

Based on feedback from previous learners, we will add a special 3-session program to better prepare first-time Spanish learners for Let’s Speak Spanish. This new program will emphasize pronunciation and important aspects of the Spanish language, along with an opportunity to practice many of the key vocabulary words used in Let’s Speak Spanish. The sessions will be held online for three consecutive days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) the third week of January from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Arizona time. Because the program may be helpful for first-time Spanish learners, it will be offered at no charge to anyone who registers for Let’s Speak Spanish 2021. The online sessions also will be recorded for access by learners who may miss a session.

(Note:To participate for this course, you must register for Let’s Speak Spanish 2021)

If you have any questions about 2021 Let’s Speak Spanish programs, please don’t hesitate to email the program coordinator, Jim Hoff, at jhoff@tegnos.org

The Borderlands Literature and Film Circle is alive and thriving! The “new” (since July) format of books, articles, movies, and special guests at our monthly meetings is challenging intellect, community engagement, and commitment to social action. We meet by Zoom the second Wednesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. Our purpose remains as originally envisioned: to develop a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the Borderlands as a culturally diverse, historically significant and environmentally unique region within the context of today’s political and economic realities.

Our next meeting on January 13, 2021 will follow a theme of culture through personal and public history, featuring discussions with BFLC member Rita Cantu and her son, Francisco (Paco) Cantu, author of “The Line Becomes a River,” both long-time friends of BCA. We’ll be reading new writings by Paco exploring the intersection of art and culture in the Borderlands, as well as a portion of Rita’s memoir exploring family, ancestry, and the reckoning of story, monuments and mythology in the perception of a place and a people.

Join our group and engage in the ongoing exploration of the depth and breadth and magic of the Borderlands mystique! If you are interested in joining or want more information, contact Suzy Webber at 520.398.3229 or email her at info@bordercommunityalliance.org or Jerry Haas at jndhaas@gmail.com.

I have been active in BCA since its inception in 2013. I served as a volunteer, then as a board member before becoming the volunteer Executive Director in 2015. In the past six months, I have served as Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors.

I was introduced to BCA when I took the Cross Border Tour into Nogales, Sonora in 2013, soon after retiring to Green Valley. Bob Phillips and Alma Cota de Yanez ran the tour. Even though I had been introduced to the border before as a political agenda, I had never heard anyone offer a Mexican perspective. It blew my mind to see what the Mexican nonprofits were doing and to get a sense of their people and culture. I have been inspired ever since to continue the BCA mission of education and cultural exchange.

I spent my career as a leader in non-profit organizations, including being a Senior Pastor for the United Methodist Church and Director for the Academy of Spiritual Formation, an international retreat organization. I have also published a number of books and articles. I have always focused on bringing people together, building relationships and doing fundraising.

BCA is about holistic understanding of people and culture. I believe that education provides a basis of understanding and that BCA promotes education about our neighbor, Mexico. I value facilitating a middle ground of knowledge, without political partisanship. BCA is a community connected across the border and I value community.

Working with BCA has definitely been humbling and gratifying. Not only has it been rewarding to pursue the mission of BCA, but I have also been impressed by the community of BCA. In 2018 there was a snow storm in Nogales, Sonora bringing 8-10 inches of snow. No cars could manage the streets and supplies could not get to the migrant shelter in Nogales. Alex and I sent out an appeal to raise funds and quickly received over $10,000 in donations! Seeing how people of BCA come together to help others is very rewarding.

I will continue as the Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors, as a consultant. I would be happy to continue this role as long as I can be helpful. The strong relationships that I have made over the years may continue to be beneficial in facilitating the mission of BCA and helping the organization to grow.

BCA has many great established programs: the cross-cultural tours, Spanish conversation classes, Borderlands Forums, the Literature and Film Circle, the Internship program, etc. We have been able to manage and transform many of these programs virtually during COVID. Of course, I hope to see these flourish even more when the pandemic passes.

I also hope to see us offer educational programming for high school students and even grade school students and expand the college program. We’ll continue to serve the retirement community of Green Valley and Tubac, but I hope we can engage students, especially in Santa Cruz County, so that they can recognize and honor their heritage.

And as a Green Valley resident, I hope we can cultivate a growing desire in the good people here to move beyond the “white island” that we are and learn about the rich and unique cross border region in which we live.

Full Article Via KJZZ Fronteras Desk here.

To donate to the San Juan Bosco Migrant Shelter (Albergue para migrantes San Juan Bosco IAP) in memory of Don Francisco Loureiro, you can do so at www.bordercommunityalliance.org/donate - Click the Donate Here button and select "San Juan Bosco Shelter" on the "Mexico Pass Thru" drop down menu.

It is with profound sadness that BCA shares the passing of Peg Bowden.

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Martin Romero. Visits to the Rio Sonora region will never be the same without his giant smile and gentle spirit enveloped in a whirlwind of mesquite charcoal smoke and the appetizing scent of his magnificent carne asada so characteristic of his taqueria in Banamichi. One on one connections with people have been at the center of the nonprofit’s cross border trips and the chance to bring our guests to “Taqueria Martin'' for an evening meal and to notice their reactions as they were converted into fans of the chef and the delicacy he perfected will always be a nostalgic joy for us to reminisce into the future. He always received these new fan’s accolades in broken Spanish with brightening delight and laughter punctuated by the sounds of the tools of his trade, of his busy cleaver rapidly meeting the hefty seasoned cutting board. Our profound condolences to the Romero family on behalf of Border Community Alliance. May he rest in peace.