photography

Mexican American Experience 2011, a two-day Tejano music fest at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center which featured Grammy winners, Tejano music hall of famers and rising newcomers. This event was produced by Crossroads Events (http://crossroadsevents.org) and in collaboration with The Mexican American Cultural Center (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/macc/). Video Produced by Jeff Zavala. Video Production by ZGraphix. http://zgraphix.org Photography by Rene Renteria and Gilbert Rivera. http://renerenteria.com Videography by Rene Renteria, Gilbert Rivera, Leonard Davila and Martin Gonzalez.

Led by union workers from across Texas, thousands of chanting marchers converged on the Capitol on Wednesday to protest the recently passed House budget's deep spending cuts to education, health care and state jobs. "We are all in this together," Judy Lugo, president of the Texas State Employees Union, told the raucous, cheering crowd on the south steps of the Capitol. "Every Texan, now and for years to come, will suffer the consequences if the Texas Legislature does not change course." "We must not pack our kids into overcrowded classrooms or dismantle our parents' and grandparents' nursing homes" or allow legislators to "paper over their mismanagement with pink slips for teachers and public servants," he said. After gathering at Waterloo Park, the line of marchers stretched for five blocks on the route to the Capitol. Popular chants included "They say cut back, we say fight back" and "It's raining, it's pouring, Rick Perry is snoring." The Texas State Employees Union, a lead organizer of the "Save Our State Rally," estimated that 6,000 to 7,000 people attended. At the Capitol, Lugo pushed for spending more of the rainy day fund and asked legislators to find additional revenue to repair a budget shortfall caused by "decades of bad public policy" and a recession brought on by financiers, speculators and corporate leaders. Workers, she said, "did not cause this problem, and we are not going to pick up the tab for it." Senators have been looking for $5 billion in non-tax revenue to help pay for as much as $10 billion in additional education and health care spending that has been added to the Senate's version of the budget. The first phase of their findings will be laid out at a hearing today. The groups also called for lawmakers to leave untouched the remainder of the state's rainy day fund.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- A group of people got together today to take part in an annual Native American tradition. The South Texas Alliance of Indigenous People held the re-blessing of sacred grounds this afternoon. It started on Ennis Joslin Drive at SPID. Local Native Americans say this is the second largest Indian burial ground in the state. After the blessing, people didn't let the rain stop them from also joining in on a short march. One of the organizers says he looks forward to this tradition every year. Larry "Running Turtle" Salazar says, "Many years ago it wasn't good to be Indian many years ago we were looked down as scum, the lowest of the lowest and ever since the Freedom of Religion Act passed in 1973 now we can do our ceremonies." Photography by Rene Renteriahttp://www.renerenteria.com/