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Home - Culture
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Fiesta For All - |
South Omaha invites everybody for Cinco de Mayo weekend
by Chris Aponick
South Omaha’s first Cinco de Mayo celebration was a community event, but 23 years later it has matured into a regional attraction.
Event organizer John Barrientos said Cinco de Mayo festivities have become south Omaha’s chance to shine.
“It gives people, first of all, a reason to come to South Omaha,” he said. (Barrientos is part owner of ABM Enterprises, which owns Reader sister paper El Perico.)
South Omaha’s first official Cinco de Mayo celebration attracted about 1,500 people and only had a budget of about $2,500, Barrientos said.
The highlight of the event that was organized by Bob Campos and Franny Hernandez was a 24th Street parade featuring some 25 entrants marching for somewhere between 30 to 45 minutes, Barrientos said.
“Then they had a little fiesta in the plaza,” he said. |
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Calming Force - |
Crisis Intervention Team preempts dangerous, costly scenes
by Warren Francke
The man pointing a screwdriver at his throat smiles thinly and talks like Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Two police officers listen carefully and decide how to disarm him. They’re training to join the Crisis Intervention Team and the man with the screwdriver, Rodger Gerberding, is role playing.
Rodger, a Community Alliance staff member, smiled wider when the trainees said, “My God, you were really scary.” But they weren’t the first trainees and the scenario was no scarier than real scenes that law enforcers face on the streets or in prisons.
The CIT Council, chaired by Sgt. Scott Lane of the Douglas County Sheriff’s department, met at 40th and Leavenworth where Community Alliance provides wide-ranging mental health services, and shared recent stories of real crises rather than role playing. Sgt. Colleen Hinchey, an earlier trainee, had just handled a case that typifies the value of her CIT training.
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‘Live First, Work Second’ - |
Cool companies breed cool cities
by Tessa Jeffers
It’s Friday, and Rebecca Ryan asks me what I’m doing this weekend. I tell her I’m seeing some live music. “Are you going to see, like, Bon Jovi or something?” she quips with a laugh. I tell her that although the Jovi was in Omaha just weeks ago, I’ll be seeing a local band. This community’s music scene is quite alive, I say, and she gets excited.
Ryan, keynote speaker of Omaha’s 2007 Young Professionals Summit and the 2008 YPS opening speaker, founded Next Generation Consulting, which guides companies and organizations to engage 20- to 40-year-olds. |
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Future’s So Bright - |
Young professionals are getting involved in the economy … and politics
by Andrea Heisinger
It was a mere decade ago that David Dix could count himself among the voting public.
Now 28 years old, and considered one of the country’s top young political strategists, he is deeply imbedded in the presidential race that is drawing strong involvement from young voters. |
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Awarding Omaha Artists - |
The OEAs make changes for future growth
by Wayne Brekke
The Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards has made some significant changes in its second year, which will culminate in a Jan. 3 performance and awards ceremony at the Holland Performing Arts Center.
As the event has grown, so has the organization and process behind it. More representatives from other aspects of the creative community are now represented on the board or voting academy, thus exposing more facets of Omaha’s arts and entertainment industry. Constructive criticism and suggestions from last year’s event have opened new dialogue between organizers, spawning monthly planning meetings, challenging the board to make improvements in both procedures and logistics. |
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Vibrant and Vivacious - |
Ballet Hispanico moves with
the colors of Latino culture
by Sarah Wengert
This isn’t ballet as the world generally knows it. This is Ballet Hispanico and it has brought a powerful fusion of classical, contemporary and Latino dance to audiences worldwide since 1970. The troupe formed by Artistic Director Tina Ramirez will perform Saturday in Omaha. |
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Outlaw Blues - |
Ron Hansen’s masterful Jesse James novel faithfully interpreted on screen
by Leo Adam Biga
The return of the Western to American cinema is made complete with the Warner Brothers film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck and a deep supporting cast. It comes fast on the heels of 3:10 to Yuma and Shoot ‘Em Up and the multi-Emmy Award-winning TNT mini-series Broken Trail. |
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Color War - |
Ben Kuroki fought to serve
by Leo Adam Biga
As the first Japanese-American war hero Ben Kuroki will long be remembered not only for what he did as an Army Air Corps gunner on B-24 and B-29 bombers, but for what he endured to be able to fly in the first place. |
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Calvin’s Key - |
Jazz musician brings back roots for the future
by John Wenz
Calvin Keys is coming home. His mother’s birthday is in a month, and he’s ready for Native Omaha Days.
But most important to Omahans, Keys is bringing his jazz trio to the Black August Benefit Concert, headlining Saturday night. The concert was arranged through the Omaha-based Malcolm X Foundation. Go back, clear back, and Keys can remember meeting Malcolm himself. He was young, and his grandfather, a Baptist preacher, introduced him to the legend. |
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Coloring History - |
A long, hard road for UNO black studies
by Leo Adam Biga
When 54 black students staged a sit-in on Monday, Nov. 10, 1969 at the office of University of Nebraska at Omaha’s then-president Kirk Naylor, they meant their actions to spur change at a school where blacks had little voice. Change came with the start of the UNO department of black studies in 1971-72. A 35th anniversary celebration in April 2007 featured a dramatic re-enactment of the ’69 events that set the eventual development of UNO’s black studies department in motion. |
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