La Raza cancels car show

Finale to week-long Semana de La Raza canceled after money woes

The first annual La Raza Car and Truck Show, scheduled for Saturday at Cal State Long Beach has been canceled due to a lack of funding as of Monday.

The cancellation follows Wednesday's attempt by the A.S. Senate to increase funding for the event by overturning a veto issued by A.S. President Suzie Aramesh.

The CSULB Board of Control had originally allotted $5,100 to La Raza for the show which was then reduced to $1,500.

The A.S. Senate augmented an additional $2,000 to La Raza, immediately following a warning statement made by Aramesh that she would veto any senate action to increase the $1,500 allotment.

The car and truck show was to be the final event for Semana de La Raza, a week-long event organized by La Raza.

Semana de La Raza began Monday with Tierra de Oro, an art exhibit and poetry reading by CSULB Latino students.

The art exhibit displayed various forms of artwork by CSULB Latino students in a non-thematic forum.

Even though the funds raised during Semana de La Raza will be used to help undocumented CSULB students pay for their nonresident tuition fees, La Raza member and organizer of the event Patricia Sanchez said that the artists' work did not need to reflect the struggle of the undocumented students.

"I wasn't really looking for anything thematic, I was just looking for Latino artwork. It didn't have to really correspond with or involve the whole theme of La Raza," Sanchez said.

Some artists did choose to display their cultural beliefs and heritage through their art, such as photographer Lorena Soto and painter Vivian Ybarra.

In reference to her black and white documentary-style photographs of an under-privileged Mexico, Soto said, "That's the type of work I like to do. To document life the way it is. The way I see it. To keep records of the time."

Ybarra's portrait of Latina artist Frida Kahlo titled, "Heritage Unspoken," is Ybarra's homage to Kahlo.

"Frida epitomized the Mexican culture, and it was through this that I was inspired to create a piece that reflects the heritage to which I was born," Ybarra said.

Painter and sculptor David Gonzalez, whose dark yet satirical pieces primarily feature skeletons, made it a point to display artwork that was not very politically motivated.

"My work, unlike those of other Mexican artists, is apolitical, and deals with the humor and sense of wit that many artists have," Gonzalez said.

Tierra de Oro will be displayed for the remainder of the week on the second floor of the University Student Union Informal Lounge.