This past Sunday, I attended a wonderful concert sponsored by South India Fine Arts (SIFA) at the Center for Employment Training auditorium on Vine Street. Part of a weekend of events celebrating the arts of southern India, the concert presented Chitra Visweswaran, one of the greatest living Indian Bharatanatyam dancers, with a group of master carnatic musicians, led by her husband, R. Visweswaran, on vocals. To sum it up in one word, the performance was sublime.
The Visweswarans hail from Chennai (Madras). The Bharatanatyam style of dance is a tradition that stretches back more than 2,000 years. Mrs. Visweswaran introduced each of the four extended solo dances, informing the audience about the story of the dance and describing the lyrical and musical content. It was quite an experience. The Visweswarans will return to the Bay Area in June so there will be another opportunity to see them again soon. In the meantime, you can read the excellent article by Sandip Roy in the Mercury News on the dance form itself.
What a marvelous contribution immigrants from India and Pakistan are making to life in our area. How lucky we are to have the opportunity to experience music, dance and performers of this caliber in San Jose. This is the sort of program that usually only makes its way to Zellerbach in Berkeley. I had never been to the CET auditorium and I found it to be a fine venue that deserves to be used more often. SIFA seems to be very well organized and funded. Indeed, during the day, they were using several means to raise money and I would be willing to bet that they were able to raise a considerable amount from the large number of attendees
An excellent post under my column last week from Gil Hernandez proposed a brilliant solution for the Plaza that I think is worth considering and I wanted to make sure nobody missed it. In short, that would be for the National Hispanic University (NHU) and its president, Dr. David Lopez, one of the most able citizens of our fair city, to become closely involved with the running of the Plaza. This makes so much sense I can’t believe that someone hasn’t thought of it before. This would make the Plaza an instrument for education not only for the public but for NHU students as well. To quote Gil Hernandez, “The students could become active, helpful participants and the university could benefit by graduating students that have recieved instruction and experience in [running a] theater [and] gallery, and presentions of many social and community events.”
This is a proposal too powerful to ignore.
“Either that, or turn the Plaza into a Cultural Heritage Center that can be utilized for presentations of any and all ethnic arts in a celebration of diversity.”
This is what it should have been all along. Poor families of all types – Hispanic, white, black, Asian, were eminent-domained out of their homes to make way for the now mostly-empty plaza. That alone is shameful. When officials use eminent domain, it must be for the benefit of everyone, not just for a cultural center for one group or another.
And the NHU joint venture idea is marvelous.
Two things:
I hope that you have been able to see the Indian Art at the Asian Museum in SF. 18th and early 19th century paintings from Mewar. A not to be missed exhibit!
And, the situation at the MHP are not as bad as reported:
Follows a letter we received from the CEO of the Plaza:
Dear Friends,
I am writing to advise you that MHC has recently completed a performance audit by the Office of the City Auditor for the City of San Jose. The report of the Auditor, with MHC’s response, will be publicly available tomorrow.
As many of you know, for over two years the MHC Board and staff have been working to revitalize the Mexican Heritage Plaza and build a reputation as a leading arts presenter and producer. We believe our hard work is bearing fruit, both in terms of audience attendance and critical acclaim for our programs. Significant challenges remain, however, before the Plaza’s recent success may be regarded as characteristic of a sustainable organization. Both of these conclusions are set forth in the report of the auditor, with which we agree.
The work of the Plaza’s Board and staff began in October 2004, when the corporation commenced an extensive financial and management reorganization. This decision followed several years of MHC’s struggle to create a sustainable business model for the operation of the Plaza, notwithstanding financial support it received from the City of San Jose, which owns the venue. The challenges faced by MHC since its selection as the exclusive operator of the Plaza facility in 1999 were both external and internal.
By the fourth quarter of 2004, MHC faced a severe financial crisis. The corporation’s expenses significantly exceeded its revenues. Fund development was non-existent. Programming was unprofessional resulting in a poor reputation with audiences, and with funders from both the corporate and philanthropic sectors.
Without a radical and innovative change in how MHC did business, it would need to file for bankruptcy protection. MHC faced an immediate need to restructure the operation but it decided not to appeal to the Plaza’s owner, the City, for financial assistance. Instead, MHC proceeded to determine if a sustainable arts management model for the Plaza could be proposed that would warrant such a discussion, and subsequently set upon a course of self-correction. The plan consisted, in essence, of reorganization outside of bankruptcy and included internal financial reviews to determine whether any sustainable operations model was possible given the unique constraints it faced.
Specifically, the restructuring encompassed a top-down and bottom-up survey of the old operations model and the completion of several critical milestones, including but not limited to:
· The adoption of a comprehensive Board strategic plan;
· The reorganization of the Board of Trustees to fully transition from its origins as a grass-roots governing body to a fundraising governing body; and
· The conduct of a national and international CEO search and the hire of an experienced senior entertainment industry executive with expertise in non-profit and arts management.
By the end of FY 2005-2006 MHC was able to report a modest operating surplus, a newly revamped programming model, and a visual and performing arts season that resulted in critical acclaim and record revenues. Notwithstanding this success, the MHC faces a continued challenge to its financial stability due to inherent defects in the operating structure originally agreed to by the City and MHC in 1999. Without additional changes to this outdated model, MHC will not be able to continue its present operations. As a result, MHC has completed a new business plan that sets forth its recommendations to achieve sustainable growth, with reduced dependency on City support, within five years. This plan has already been submitted to City staff and to the City Auditor.
The conversation and thoughtful review this process has catalyzed, concerning issues of best practices, revenue generation, and programming choices within an emerging arts environment, is timely. The report of the City Auditor asks hard questions, as it must. We look forward to continued work with City staff to sort through the answers and to re-build an operations model that is at once sustainable and innovative. Many of the potential answers are already emerging from this joint effort of the Auditor’s staff, City staff and MHC. We are committed to “going the last mile” to see that our momentum turns into continued success. Please do not hesitate to call me personally or any of the MHC Trustees – we pride ourselves on being transparent and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Marcela Davison Aviles
President and CEO
Mexican Heritage PLaza
[email protected]
http://www.mhcviva.org
408-928-5501
Jerry Rosenthal
For a perspective on National Hispanic University and Dr. David Lopez, I recommend that our readers take a look at the following article from yesterday’s Mercury News by Joe Rodriguez.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5754042
Dear Jack,
Today, I was interested to read what our new Council member Oliverio, had to say in his post, “City Hall Diary: Fiscal Accountability for Non-profit”, and I noticed your post, “Lessons in Presenting Ethnic Arts”. In it you state, “Either that, or turn the Plaza into a Cultural Heritage Center that can be utilized for presentations of any and all ethnic arts in a celebration of diversity.”
I want to correct you that the Mexican Heritage Plaza has been a host of very culturally diverse events, presentations and concerts featuring more than what many seem to think only Mariachi or Latin style arts presentations. The Mexican Heritage Corporation has always been an open place to come together for our very diverse community.
Over the past 6 years I have been to performances at the Mexican Heritage Plaza that include jazz and world music. Including different Persian, East Indian, and Asian community festivals, art shows, community informational meetings, and some very good dramatic and musical presentations, including two special cultural Bharatanatyam style dance presentations by Abhinaya Dance Company and Shri Krupa Dance Foundation.
Also, Gil Hernandez brings up a very good suggestion that the MHC and National Hispanic University get closely involved. This is a great idea. There’s not enough art in our schools or in our children’s lives. And if you ask almost any educator, they’ll say that arts education is very important to their students well being.
The arts promote individuality, bolster self-confidence, and improve overall academic performance. The Mexican Heritage Corporations arts programs can help troubled youth, providing an alternative to delinquent behavior and truancy while providing an improved attitude towards school and their higher education.
An impressive 89% of Americans believe that arts education is important enough to be taught in schools, but the sad truth is, its almost non-existent. Read the facts on how arts education helps kids do better in class.
#5 Alicia
Thank you for your comment. There have been many great performances and events at the MHP as you say. However, that was then and this is now. The problem with the MH Corp isn’t even that they are doing a bad job but that they are doing no job at all. If you go to the MHP website, there are no events on the calendar for the rest of the year after the end of May. Zero! The facility should be booked up with activities and events for a year or more ahead, all day every day.
The MHC appears to be bankrupt financially and artistically. They have a huge growing debt and a large financial need every year to keep operating. Yet, the entire 16-member board only raised $3,750 in the past year. That should have been $3 million. This goes beyond incompetence. The city bailed them out to the tune of $100,000 last week to keep them afloat for three months. I am willing to bet that at the end of that time, the calendar will still be empty and they will be further in debt. Since the city won’t be able to justify giving them another handout and the board is obviously incapable of raising more than spare change, the end of the MHC’s stewardship of the Plaza is in sight.
What I am suggesting is that the council should be urgently looking for someone competent to take over running the Plaza as soon as possible and that the National Hispanic University under David Lopez seems to be the best bet for that. For the Plaza to survive as intended, it will need a board of committed fundraisers, a full calendar and artistic direction that creates excitement in the community. Further utilizing it for NHU educational programs will be an excellent use of the facility and the public’s investment.
Sorry Jerry,
Where’s the beef? Enough already! A duck is a duck. Quack quack quack!!!
The MHC board is “History”. You adopt them Mr. Pioneer.
D.O.A.
Jack,
May intention was to only correct your statement that the Mexican Heritage Plaza was someway not inclusive to “all” in our community.
But, anyone can check the MHP calendar posted on their website—and its events run until the end of September 2007. Your statement about May, is not the truth. It was a little more than 2 years ago that the plaza made public that because of the current state of the economy and the need to refurbish (upgrade/fix) the plaza is going to go into a quite period. Makes common sense due to the fact that it costs money to produce and market community arts events.
As for your negative opinion about the MHC Governing Boardmembers… what can I say its your opinion?
Have fun being a hater.
Alicia,
Thank you for your comments. Your last sentence,“Have fun being a hater”tells me you are having a difficult time letting go of away of life that no longer exisits.
It’s our Village, politicians serve at our favor.
The Mexican Heritage Plaza, As Mike Honda discribed it at ground breaking, “Belongs to Every One”!
This is a time for change. Change we must!
Politics belong at City Hall, NOT at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
If my memory serves me well, the lease on the plaza is 35 years. Half of that lease has come and gone.I have been saying what Jack has posted on San Jose Inside for years. It was not popular with some but here we are.
Do we remain in denial, or do we suck it up and work together with our NEW chosen LEADERS.
Who are they? They’re your next door neighbor the guy at the at the bank, the woman that checks your groceries. The President of our Hispanic University, they are our Noth American Families. We are every where. Keep in mind, it’s our Village .
NO MAS!
The Village Black Smith
Non Profits Boards have clear oversight responsibility which REP, Mexican Hertage, Northside Community Center and others have not done to control costs within budgets which means events or performances should be profitable or at least breakeven and if not either suspend unprofitable activities or do fund raising since many non profits can expect to have losses on some money losing events or
performances
Many arts, entertainment or community non profit group’ Boards have come to depend on large grants or subsidies from San Jose rather reduce costs or increase fund raising while city government has budget deficits year after year
Non Profits need to quickly learn to not rely on city subsidies as San Jose and Santa Clara County faces billions in future budget problems
Alicia #7
I am afraid you are mistaken on both counts. I looked at the MHP site calendar, and there isn’t one event listed after June 5. Take a look at July for yourself and then cycle through the rest of the year:
http://www.mhcviva.org/calendar/month.php?Month=07&Year=2007&LocationID;=
As for your assertion of hatred, I don’t understand why you would use such a word. Just like you, I believe that the MHP is a very valuable community institution and I want it to be utilized to its fullest potential so it is making the maximum contribution to the city’s cultural life. That requires a professional management approach that is currently lacking for the reasons I have stated. Like Gil Hernandez says in #8, it’s time to suck it up, recognize our mistakes and move on. We can do so much better than this.
Condemned Haters Welcome New Member
San Jose (FFN)—According to a reporter in attendance, Hate Addicts – Help Anonymous, a local self-help group comprised of people who have all been accused of committing hate, welcomed San Jose Inside’s Jack Van Zandt as a new member at this morning’s weekly meeting.
“I’m as surprised as anyone to find myself here,” Van Zandt was quoted as saying to the assembly. “In fact, I’ve spent my entire life trying to be reasonable, tolerant, considerate…”
With that, Van Zandt was interrupted by the sudden outbreak of derisive laughter from the group.
“Why would you think being any of those things could keep you from being condemned?” challenged one member, adding, “Becoming a known hater doesn’t have anything to do with your intentions, good, bad, or indifferent—it’s about the intentions of those who condemn you, those who wish to control public discourse.”
“But in my case” replied Van Zandt, “I was clearly in the right. I had the facts, not to mention the opinion of many others, on my side!”
“Facts!” screamed another member, jumping out of his chair, “What on earth do facts have to do with being condemned? Look at my case, I had the facts on my side. I got passed over for promotion because of my company’s commitment to promoting women. When I pointed-out that the new boss didn’t even have half the credentials of those she would be supervising—a verifiable fact, by the way, my complaint was deemed hateful and I was given a choice to resign or attend tolerance training. So here I am at HA-HA, only I’m not laughing.”
At this point the group leader, a minister at a local church, explained to Van Zandt that he would find that most of the members had had similar experiences. “It’s just these strange times,” suggested the leader, “it seems as if the most intolerant of people in our society have seized the banner of tolerance to help them wage war against anyone who dares to think different from them.”
The leader then pointed out a middle-aged man who was condemned for publicly complaining about affirmative action after his valedictorian son was unfairly denied a spot in a top university; a young homicide detective who, despite his 100% arrest and conviction rate, had been ordered to counseling because he’d arrested no white males; a political science teacher critical of the use of hate speech laws to suppress historical inquiry; a Mexican-American war veteran who spoke out against illegal immigrants; and the mother of a teenager who’d admitted urging her daughter to date only her own kind.
“All of these people have been condemned, yet not one of them has committed a crime or been proven to have uttered a falsehood,” said the leader, who, like most of the members, insisted on anonymity. “I’m here because I am serious about my faith, and what it teaches about the sanctity of life. The mistake I made was thinking that the college at which I teach would be as tolerant of my perspective about life outside the classroom as it is of the perspective of others about choice in and out of the classroom. But, as you can see, the school thought it better to brand me a hater than to risk having its young women rethink their values.”
“Nonetheless,” concluded the leader, “we welcome our newest hater, Jack Van Zandt, to our group, here courtesy of the reckless and slanderous efforts of a certain Ms. Alicia Terrones-Cardwell, who no doubt considers her opinions and beliefs to be so beyond dispute that she can, with confidence and extreme prejudice, condemn the motives and character of anyone who would dare disagree with her.”
“This may not be very Christian to say, but Stalin would’ve loved her.”
Village people,
This will be the 16th year successful run of the very family friendly Mariachi Festival and Concerts. Many people do not know that the Mexican Heritage Corp produces this great event that draws thousands of people. The Plaza also houses the education and arts programs of MHC, plus the work of three resident arts groups, Teatro Vision, Los Lupenos, and the San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild.
I agree that in challenging times, the need for collaborative and creative strategies or partnerships is needed urgently. And I know that the Mexican Heritage Corporation has always believed in the power and effectiveness of collaboration with the City of San Jose leaders (yes even our current Mayor & Council members), other community leaders, marketing professionals and representatives from four major Silicon Valley arts support agencies i.e. Arts Council Silicon Valley, San Jose Arts Commission/ Office of Cultural Affairs, Culture Initiatives Silicon Valley and the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau. Anyone interested in getting involved is welcome.
I just don’t get some of the opinions about the people that work with the Plaza. I know them and they are wonderful people, who work tirelessly to make the Plaza the best that it can be, even in difficult economic times for the Mexican, Latino, Asian, Indian, Black, and Filipino people who call the Plaza their community art center. Everyone belongs at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.
What I meant by my, “hater” label—is about people who are more negative than positive when discussing other people. Most commonly refers to a group of individuals whose negativity is all consuming. However, that wouldn’t apply to anyone here at San Jose Inside.
Have fin fan fun…