Sin Fin!

Chicano author featured at Southwest Book Fair along with Carlos Fuentes

2009-10-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Book fair Oct. 31

Author Joe Olvera will be at the Southwest Book Fair on October 31, 2009 in El Paso, Texas.
He will sign copies of his book "Chicano - Sin Fin!"
The book will also be on sale at the fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the El Paso Downtown Public Library at Oregon and Franklin. At 4 p.m., noted Mexican author Carlos Fuentes will give a keynote speech at the event.
Come by and say hello to Joe, the first Chicano TV reporter in El Paso, and a former candidate for mayor.
Earlier this year, Joe received state and city proclamations in recognition of his longtime service to the community.
Sin Fin!

Column about journalist-author Joe Olvera's tribulations and award in the El Paso Times

2009-01-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

Olvera to receive City of El Paso Award; tribute planned; account set up for Joe

Journalist's struggle is one we can all relate to

Column by Ramon Renteria/El Paso Times Online/Jan. 11, 2008

Reprinted from the El Paso Times (http://www.elpasotimes.com/)

It's not the kind of news you want to hear.
The e-mails rolled in a while back saying Joe Olvera had lost his other leg to diabetes, the disease that maims and kills so many Mexican-Americans.
Olvera is an old-school Chicano, a former newspaperman who worked at the El Paso Times and the now-defunct El Paso Herald-Post. He said he is the first Chicano who worked in El Paso television news.
Olvera upset readers with his in-your-face commentaries on El Paso life and politics and references to racism and other social maladies on the United States-Mexico border. He ended his columns with his signature sin fin, loosely translated as "without end."
Olvera's friends assumed he would spend his golden years writing, maybe spending lots of time with his large extended family. He wrote a memoir about his journalism adventures and struggle with diabetes. He once ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign.
Olvera is not the type to ask for charity or the type to wallow in self-pity.
So, it was difficult for those who know him to respond. Some of Olvera's friends, led by Del Pueblo Press publisher Reyes Mata, started trying to figure out how they could help.
La Fe Clinic first offered to build a ramp at Olvera's mobile home so he could have easier wheelchair access. La Fe also sponsored an account at Bank of the West (account No. 1099051) to help raise $10,000 to help him buy a prosthetic limb.
With mounting medical problems, Olvera disclosed that he, too, was affected by the mortgage loan mess. Creditors threatened to foreclose on his mortgage.
The naysayers will complain that it was his fault, that he should have set aside enough for retirement and that he shouldn't have to rely on the rest of us to bail him out. Saving for retirement isn't so easy in a city where many of us live paycheck to paycheck.
If we set aside the depressing thoughts that nag us day in and day out, we might conclude the situation is looking brighter for Joe Olvera in 2009.
Organizers say the city of El Paso will honor him Tuesday with its Star on the Mountain Award, its highest civilian recognition. Olvera recently told friends: "I'm flattered, honored and humbled."
Del Pueblo Press has lined up Hispanic civic leaders, artists, writers, activists and others to pay tribute to Olvera and hand him its Chicano Lifetime Achievement Award at 4 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 17, 2009) at The Percolator Cafe, 217 N. Stanton. The public is invited.
We all know somebody having a tough time making ends meet. And those of us who can usually will extend a helping hand, whether it's a homeless person, a neighbor or strangers who lost their house in a fire. Or the Olveras in our lives.
May el sin fin smile again.
Ramón Rentería may be reached at rrenteria@elpasotimes.com; 546-6146.

[Joe Olvera's book "Sin Fin; Chicano! Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist" ($19.95) will be available at the Percolator event.]

Although I'm not religious, I do respect religions

2008-11-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

I'm rather proud and happy with the way my recent book, Chicano Sin Fin: Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist turned out. Although, quite truthfully, I'm not so happy or proud at some of the things I wrote in it, but, hey, I've always been one to say what's on my mind and suffer or rejoice at the consequences.

I'm referring to the first chapter, page xx. I wrote rather flippantly about Catholics and Catholicism, and what I wrote didn't turn out the way I meant it to. Speaking of religion, and the fact that one of my friends wanted to visit me at the hospital with a group of her friends to pray for me, I refused her offer. To quote from my book: "She couldn't understand why, but I was adamant. No praying around my bed. If I recovered, it was going to be my own doing and not because of some supernatural mumbo jumbo.." There, that's it - that's where I made my faux pas.

Religion is not "mumbo-jumbo." Religion is what drives peoples' lives, only it doesn't drive me. Yet, I do respect religions - mind you, I said religions (plural). During the recent presidential campaign, the Republicans were working hard to typecast President-elect Barack Obama as a Muslim. I wondered, what? A Muslim? So, what's wrong with that? Isn't our United States of America a nation that accepts all religions? Aren't Americans Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindis and other religious sects perhaps not as-well known? Of course, our nation was founded on the basis of freedom of religion. So, why were the Republicans trying to label Obama as a Muslim, even though he's a Christian. Did they think we wouldn't support him because he was being accused of being a Muslim?

I have made it a point in my life to study every religion, as much as I can, without actually getting involved in any of them. I was born into a Catholic family and to my mother, attending Mass was tantamount to being a good Catholic. I followed that religion, making my first communion when I was six. Thereafter, I confessed my sins, took the Holy Host, attended special Masses, such as Las Misiones, and attended Midnight Mass every Christmas Eve. I remember going into a Protestant Church that was located in our barrio. My sweet mother would have a fit, because she said I would be destroyed by the Protestants. I love you mom, but, to me that was laughable, because I couldn't see anything wrong with that Baptist Church that dared to exist in a Catholic enclave. But, she did see something wrong. Obviously, she feared that I would be converted. This caused me to slowly, but surely, turn away from Catholicism.

When I joined the U.S. Air Force, I was the Chapel Guide in Basic Training at Lackland AFB, Texas. I would march other Catholics to Mass every Sunday, even though I was starting to have doubts about religion in general. When I was assigned to Travis AFB, California as my permanent base, I made a total change. It happened one Sunday morning, while I was going to Mass that I decided that what I was doing was merely robotic because I had lost all interest. I made a media vuelta and walked away from religion. Instead, I went to the Airman's Club on base to eat dougnuts and drink coffee - while watching the Dallas Cowboys on television. Thus, my religious interest ended then and there and I've never been sorry.

But, you know, I still respected religions and religious people. And, I still do. Without religion, can you imagine the chaos that would ensue? As it is, even the most holiest of holys, who feel they are beyond reproach when it comes to religion, commit some of the worst atrocities against human-kind. But, not everyone. Without religion, there would be no basis for some people to act kindly towards their neighbors and fellow humans. Without religion, it would be a free-for-all, with people being murdered, being abused. Even Bible thumpers of the past and present have been known to carry a bible in one hand and a rod in the other - all to punish what they consider sinners. But, really, what is a sinner? Someone that has been adjudged such by someone else?

So, no, keep your religion to yourself, and I will continue to be a good person, who loves life, loves people and wouldn't harm anyone. Remember, I like religions, respect them and I like and respect religious people as well. But, it's not for me. I'm glad I got this off my chest. Forget the flippant way I dismissed religion in the first chapter. But, please, don't try to get me to think like you - because it's just not going to work.

Sin Fin

Barack Obama is a breath of fresh air

2008-11-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

The election of Senator Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States marks a turning point in our nation's history. For the first time in more than 200 years, we finally have someone who is not White Anglo Saxon Protestant. No sir, those days are gone never to be recovered. I firmly believe that it will no longer be business as usual in the United States. Overnight, minority members such as Obama and myself will garner respect and understanding.

But, of course, we still have to keep an eye on Obama to make sure that he plays fair with every single person who lives in the United States - the world's most diverse Republic. You see, here in the U.S. we have a representative of every single country in the world. Still, other people from faraway lands are clamoring to join us so that they too can be free.

With the election of Obama to our country's highest post, minorities can be proud of who they are and from where they originated. Even those of us who are not black, but who may be Hispanic, Japanese, Native American, or from other lands, can also be proud that our nation continues to evolve, to change, to become the beacon it has always been - a beacon that shines a bright light so that people from other lands may follow. Our country will never be defeated, will never suffer the fate of other great civilizations. Why? Because we are so diverse, with so many proud citizens who care and who dare to protect our beautiful United States of America. Intelligence does not stem only from being White Anglo Saxon Protesttant - and, yes, of course, there are many brilliant white people who have guided the U.S. to where we stand today. However, change is great and this change is the greatest of all.

Now, we need to unite. We need to accept one another as participants in this great Democracy. Let's forget the past, or, rather, let's try to forget the past. It's not easy because of what once was - what with vicious dogs being thrust upon us when we demanded our rights, or with vicious members of the Ku Klux Klan who would rather we all go back to where we came from, or with guns and laws that worked to keep us in our place, divided, conquered, and abused. But, it's a new day, a new America. And, do you know what? I've always been proud to be an American citizen. But, today, I'm even prouder. Yes, let's all work together to forge a path for our nation. Let's support Obama, even if you didn't vote for him - he is our new President, and, as such, we welcome him to the fold. I love the United States of America.

Sin Fin

2008-11-03T09:22:00.001-08:00

Review of Joe Olvera's book Chicano - Sin Fin by Ray Rojas in the El Paso Times

2008-05-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

El Paso Times

May 25, 2008

Guest Review by Ray Rojas

Olvera recounts journalism days with wit, irritation

Being stuck in the trunk of a car in Tijuana is not good news - unless you are reporter Joe Olvera doing undercover work.
In "Chicano Sin Fin!: Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist" (Zapata 1910 Press, $17.95), Olvera recalls life as a veteran border journalist.
These days, it is not unusual to see a brown face on television or a Spanish surname attached to a newspaper story. In Olvera's day, there were few. In fact, he claims he became El Paso's first Chicano television journalist in the early 1970s.
Olvera's book opens with a topic outside of his journalism experience - the diabetes he has had for many years. As in many of his columns on Chicanos and diabetes, he chastises himself for ignoring the symptoms until it was too late. When he eventually went to the hospital, doctors had to amputate some of his toes right away.
The gems in Olvera's book are of his journalistic experiences.
I was expecting a collection of Olvera's editorials and was hesitant at first when the book read like a memoir. But his streetwise antics offer a humorous glimpse at a modern journalist.
Olvera was recruited to be part of an intense journalism-training program at Columbia University in New York City. He describes chasing stories and learning to do investigative journalism in the Big Apple.
Because the training focused more on television, Olvera tried broadcast journalism for a while at what was then the CBS affiliate Channel 4-KROD. Broadcast journalism did not agree with him, and he later became a reporter with the El Paso Herald-Post and El Paso Times.
Though it's a memoir, "Sin Fin!" feels as if Olvera is talking about modern-day issues: killings in Mexico, illegal border crossings, notary publics practicing immigration law, U.S. citizens in Mexican prisons, and abuse of low-income workers.
Posing as an illiterate undocumented immigrant, Olvera exposed an El Paso notary public fraudulently practicing immigration law and ripping off the poor.
He traveled from central Mexico posing as a Mexican immigrant, and was smuggled into the United States in a car trunk. He continued his journey to Chicago.
When "Americans" were killed on a road in Mexico, the El Paso Herald-Post editor asked Olvera to ride the same road to see whether it was that dangerous.

Olvera gave a prison guard a few bucks during the course of reporting a story. Hilariously, he jotted down "bribe" on his expense report.
Another time, he used his street savvy to access El Paso's most notorious gangs.
Olvera also posed as a farmworker, witnessed the abuses of farmers, and experienced a chile picker's backbreaking labor.
Over the years, Olvera called out racism when he saw it. He even ran for mayor at one time. He fought with editors and fellow reporters who, he thought, mistreated Chicano reporters. He also battled against "taco beat" assignments (covering sappy Hispanic events) just because he was among the few "Mexicans" in the newsroom. He resented being used as a translator for his Anglo colleagues.
He talks about how corporate journalism influenced local newspapers and how advertising dollars, rather than the public interest, often influenced how news was covered.
"Chicano Sin Fin!" is a wonderful exploration of a Chicano in journalism, the kind of book that should influence others in Olvera's footsteps to re-examine whether they are still doing the "taco beat" or real investigative journalism that lands you in tight spaces.
Raymundo Elí Rojas is the editor of Pluma Fronteriza, a publication dedicated to Latino and Chicano writers in the El Paso-Juárez-Las Cruces region.

Meet the author

El Paso author and journalist Joe Olvera will discuss his memoir "Chicano - Sin Fin!" at the Tumblewords writing workshop at 11:45 a.m. June 14 at Memorial Park Library, 3200 Copper.
The book is available at amazon.com and other online outlets.
To learn more about Olvera, e-mail joeolverwrites@gmail.com or go online to www.joeolverawrites.blogspot.com.
Information: 539-6365; e-mail

lorena.garza11@gmail.com

###

To order the book contact Zapata 1910 Press, Attn: Lorena Garza(lorena.garza11@gmail.com)

Look for it in other venues in the near future

Read Joe Olvera's hot new book Chicano - Sin Fin!

2008-05-01T06:31:00.001-07:00

May 2008

Zapata 1910 Press is proud to present Joe Olvera's new book Chicano - Sin Fin! Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist (ISBN 978-0-9777992-9-9; May 2008; $17.95).

Buy the book at www.amazon.com and other online retailers. We will keep you informed of bookstores and other outlets that also will carry the book.

Educational institutions may order bulk copies through the publisher's wholesalers.

Read the book review by Ray Rojas in the El Paso Times, May 25, 2008.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_9371372

Write the author at joeolverawrites@gmail.com

A schedule of Joe's future book signings and presentations will be posted here:

- June 14 (Saturday): Joe Olvera will lead a workshop for the Tumblewords Project and discuss his new book; 11:45 a.m. at Memorial Park Library, 3200 Copper Ave., in Central El Paso.

- June 28 (Saturday): Joe Olvera will present his book at the La Fe Cultural and Technology Center; 2 p.m. at 721 South Ochoa (rear) in South El Paso.

Do we create our own illnesses?

2008-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Dr. Michael Crichton, author of many best-sellers and creator of the Jurassic Park trilogy, remarks in his book, Travels, that sometimes we tend to create or invent our own illnesses. I agree with him, because that's what happened to me in 1998.

I had suspected all along that I was a diabetic. I had the classic symptoms - I was always thirsty, I had to frequent the bathroom to urinate, I was always hungry, and I was dehydrating - fast. I was in denial, of course. Sick in bed because gangrene had attacked an infection on my small toe on the right foot, I refused to even see the doctor.

That is, until my wife, Julieta, threatened to call an ambulance to take me to emergency. I realized that the ambulance would charge me $500 for the trip, I forced myself to get out of bed and allow myself to be dragged, kicking and screaming to emergency. Once there, the surgeon told me that my little toe might have to be amputated. I was aghast, scared, frightened, and every other emotion you can imagine.

Did I bring this on myself? In a way, I did. Why? Because I didn't take care of my problem immediately. Instead, I allowed it to fester. My toes grew blackened, only it was no longer just my little toe. All my toes became black and useless. The doctor amputated all five toes on my right foot, after removing only the smallest one. The amputation of the little toe didn't stop the spread of gangrene to the other toes, so there you have it. I was an amputee. But, it didn't stop there. Six years later, my whole foot became blackened and rough - once again, with gangrene. This time was easier for me because it was my decision to have the entire right leg, below the knee, amputated. However, it was my decision. I superseded the doctor, who told me he was only going to clean it. But, I decided against that.

So, did I cause my own illness? I believe I did because I ignored the disease until it was too late. Amputating my leg had been my own decision, so I was able to deal with that horrible scenerio. Today, I am active, still write and still give public lectures and motivational speeches. I can't walk very far on my prosthesis because it starts to hurt. But, I can walk. I can't walk very fast, but I can walk. If I caused my own disease, then it behooves me to deal with it and to come to terms with what life has handed me. Life didn't do this to me. I did it to myself. Perhaps if other ill people come to grips with their own illness, they'll have a much better chance for recovery. Sure, my leg can't be replaced. But, I can walk with my prosthesis. I've always been an optimist. Despite my health problems, I'm still an optimist.