for continuing coverage on the b.a.r.t. strike, stay with nbc bay area. hello and welcome to "comunidad del ville." today a local artist with some amazing work is here in our studio. we want to make sure that you stay tuned to are that. plus, the buy national health week on your "comunidad del ville." ♪ we begin today with that buy national health week. with me here are sara cody, new santa clara county public health officer and with the mexican consulate of san jose. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> congratulations on being the new health officer in santa clara county. >> thank you so much. >> and so you would know about this collaboration between the

mexican consulate and santa clara county. it's been happening for many years. tell us what the premise is. why did we decide to do this binational collaboration? >> well, this is our ninth year of hosting binational health week in santa clara county. and like many communities now across the united states, it's a chance for a great collaboration between the consulate, the public health department, many, many, many community organizations and volunteers to celebrate and to promote health among the latino community in the county. >> is this kind of a no-brainer given the number of latinos and mexican immigrants we have here in santa clara county that we'd do this type of collaboration? >> we're trying to focus for the mexican community. however, in the health banner, there's no division within the countries.

and we can give reference to help the community. we are here as consulate in san jose, california, because we know san jose has the most latino population. and we try to focus and to serve that population. they don't have any health services as well. >> i'm going to take a wild guess and say that diabetes and childhood obesity are among the top topics for this week. >> that's right. so just to put this in perspective, the latino community in santa clara county, over a quarter of our population is latino, but by 2050, latinos will be the majority in santa clara county. so it's important that we do this right and serve the community well. and you're absolutely right. obesity and diabetes are two -- the two biggest challenges healthwise, the latino community, higher rates of obesity in adults and kids as well as higher rates of diabetes.

>> is this a cultural thing? i mean, growing up, my mom, manteca, there was no corn oil. it was lard. >> it is definitely a culture thing. until now, the mexican government is trying no the to focus on prevention because prejenpr prevention is key to prevent this kind of illness. and we're trying to do it little by little because it's a big change. and we have to start. >> is it one of those changes that's going to take a generation to maybe teach the new generation and help them maybe once they're of older age, eating healthier, being more educated on the dangers of eating fatty foods? >> yes. and definitely start earlier

stages with the kids, with the children, it will be easier for the community to grow up in a healthy community as well. >> what do you see in santa clara county? sorry to say or sad to say, i should say, is maybe a lot of the folks in this community resort to emergency services because preventative care really isn't available to them. do we see that? is that number kind of stabilized in santa clara county? is it up or down? a way to gauge? >> well, our hope is also with health care reform that the latino community who are not insured currently will now have access to care. and one of the efforts in binational health week is to link people to care and to help them get insurance if they don't already have insurance. so some of the events involve screening, insurance screening. and helping people navigate the system to get them insured. >> how hard is it to get our folks to these types of forums

and whatnot? because we kind of put things off. we'll wait till tomorrow. how hard is it to get them there? >> it is hard but we're trying to make as much effort as we can. in this case, partnering with the health department. we are trying to do it -- they print out a brochure with all the information. and we try to distribute it everywhere we go. as a consulate, we have our public service area where can talk to the people and let them know about what's going on. we actually have everyday informational tables on the health matter for the people that is there to -- to let them know what is available on the health matter. as a matter of fact, we have a program called health window. >> say that for our next segment. i want to get into it if we can.

the binational health week is happening through october 21st. a couple websites there for you. one for the santa clara county government. go on there and search for department of health services and the website is also there. we'll be back and talk more about the binational health week when we continue. [ wind howling ] [ female announcer ] it balances you... [ water crashing ] ...it fills you with energy... and it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. in a convenient two bar pack. this is nature valley... delicious granola bars made with the best ingredients in nature.

nature valley. nature at its most delicious. we're back talking about binational health week. you were talking about the salute you've had for a few years. tell us about it. >> it's a program for the mexican government and the mexican health department. they created it for the community here in the united states, especially the mexican community, basically noticing about people that were returning to mexico, returning with some

health issues regarding the living way here in the united states. and basically also focus on it is migrant community that has no health services and basically, we tried to work without those agencies or organizations, they offer those programs and tried to refer them to the people that they don't know, that they are available. >> dr. cody, you mentioned it during the break, when the mexican immigrants come to this country, they're relatively healthy. go ahead. >> i think it's important to remember that one is the latino community has some tremendous restill yzil yesiliency and hah the culture. when immigrants first come here, they're actually healthier than after they've been here five

years, for example. so the community here doesn't necessarily always play to the health of immigrants. >> does the culture have something to do that? >> possibly. the traditional mexican diet, lots of vegetables, grains, beans, that's an extraordinarily healthy diet. so that and there's many attributes of the culture, you know, the incredible social fabric. and those are very beneficial for health. so even though we went over the very concerning diabetes and obesity latinos live longer than the population as a whole. so keep that in mind as well. we have challenges, but we have tremendous resilience and resources as well. >> forgo that whopper tonight and go for that frijoles and whatnot. what's going to happen specifically throughout this binational health care?

>> binational health week, the mexican consulate tries to partner with the many different organizations, trying to put together health workshops like right now we have going on health fair at the consulate with the different tables. they give you information about health care reform and health matters, that matter for the community as well. and any other different events throughout the week with. >> that's good work. well, it's the binational health week in santa clara county. there are the web addresses. any final thoughts, dr. cody, before we let you go? >> well, we just hope that as many people will participate as possible. we hope it raises awareness, links people to services, and also it's a time for celebration as well. >> all right. thank you so much for the work that you're doing for our communities here in santa clara county. >> thank you. >> up next here on "comunidad

del valle, how to get into college, how to pay for college. stay with us. ♪

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♪ they've been helping families get their children into college and even paying for it sometimes or how to pay for it. the director of campus and community relateses at san jose state and with sonja ramos, welcome back to the show, sonja. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> so you just had this thing called college day. talk, if you will, sonja, about the importance of having college day and again, we mentioned in our last segment, getting families to even attend. but talk about college day and what it's about. >> so college day initially started about three years ago with a group of educators, community members from all different parts of the san jose silicon valley who are very passionate about making sure that families, all first generation families were accessing information about college. and we're hearing and having dialogue at school and in their homes and with others who could

share their story about their own educational journey. and so we started the college day initiative three years ago. every year since there's been a specific theme that we've used to help community members and educators share their experience when it comes to college. and we want students and families to understand that college is accessible, and they can be successful in not only pursuing college but graduating from college and making sure they have all the tools and resources they need to pursue those. >> and even setting foot on a college campus is a big deal. i remember my first time on a college campus was as a college freshman. you're hit in the face, in the back of the head with the fact that you're in college now. talk about that, if you will, just getting young adults, young students there early and getting them acclimated into college life. >> yeah, that's why it's important for us to be part of all these events where we actually make a welcoming experience for the families that

have never, like you said, set foot on a college campus just because it's overwhelming sometimes. the campuses are large and you get lost. so the idea to actually welcome the families with information that is going to pertain to how they apply, how they pay for college, how they plan for it, how to help them kids is very important, and they do it in a college campus, and they get acclimated, and they understand, you know, the different locations, the different presentations that are available for them. yeah, the idea of collaborating with different partners for college day is something that we are very committed to the university, and we love working with partners like kids in common, working with us in this endeavor. >> so now is the time to do it. college applications are going to be due in the near future.

think about filling that application out now. >> yes. it's never too early. and one of the great things about college day is it does take place every year-around the time that college applications open. so we want to make sure that students start getting familiar and customized to understanding that this is college applications season. for example, at the college day family conference which was our first family conference this year with over 800 families registered at the conference, we were able to offer a college application lab for seniors. so seniors who need assistance and getting their uc, csu or common applications filled out, assistance with their personal statement we're able to get that one-on-one assistance during that conference. this is a critical time, and we want families and students of all ages to understand that this is a tradition, and this is something that becomes part of, you know, what you're looking forward to in the future. >> and you guys are there to help throughout this whole process. >> absolutely. >> college applications or

financial aid. that's what these folks are for. my kid just went to kindergarten, third grade, they wear their favorite t-shirt of the college of their choice. >> great. >> it's getting them into that mentality of thinking of college early. people start thinking of college in sixth, seventh, eighth grade. if you're in kindergarten, you start getting that frame of mind, maybe that's the time to do it. >> yeah, absolutely, talking to your kids, asking them what they are interested in, talking about your experience of going to college or if you didn't go to college, why you didn't go to college, and maybe have people that actually are, you know, friends of your family who have attended and shared those experiences and let the kids actually explore or have those conversations is very, very important. and so that's why college day was something that was very important for several people that work in the area of vocation, work with kids because we were looking at some kids

actually getting that information and some others not being able to. >> and my kids want to be sparta spartans, by the way. >> excellent. >> final thoughts and also website where people with log on. >> right now really reminding students that this is a critical time to make sure they ask for help when submitting their college applications. the next step is financial aid. we want to make sure families understand where they can go to for the assistance in filling out the application, which is calgrants.org website. and then there's a great website that we've developed through the college day initiative which is collegeday.org which has a host of various resources and tools for families, students and for teachers as well who can incorporate that kind of material and conversation in their classrooms. >> well, thank you so much to you ys. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. up next here, the local latina artist with some amazing work. stay with us. [ female announcer ] now you can turn pillsbury crescents

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she's a local artist and professor with her work exhibited right now at the triton museum in santa clara. with us is local artist and professor consuela. welcome to the show. you brought some of your artwork here to the show. but you want to talk about your triton museum exhibition. >> that's the most important. >> it's thought provoking. tell us about it briefly. >> it's a show that brings together 30 years of making art. and it's partly i got the message of how to talk to people beyond my -- my world. i want -- the work speaks to the young people. it speaks to people who don't even know anything about mexico or the borderland. >> what is this here? we're looking at -- >> this is the undocumented border flowers. and these are the state border flowers of texas, california,

arizona, new mexico, and they grow on both sides of that borderline that you see there. there's california. and these flowers grow on both sides. and they're not documented. so they don't know what to do. >> what do you want -- because you have your own impression of what you're painting here. what do you want the guests, the viewer, to go home with? >> i want them to go home to think about their children and their children's children and think about that borderline and how it's devastating our environment. >> i mentioned to you before we started taping about our interview with jose hernandez, the astronaut. and i asked him what it was like to look at the earth from up in space without any borders. and his answer was just fascinating. your thoughts. i mean, it's kind of the same message that you're sending here with your art. >> exactly. because i think the world is now inundated, we're being killed with these border issues. and it's not just mexico and the united states. it's the whole world that is

being slammed, the young people have no hope. there are borderlines in every part of our world, in our society, even in our own families. we have to be able to go beyond that. we're here to make flowers and songs. we're not here to divide and conquer and get our resume to the highest that we can go. >> how easy or difficult is it to send your message via the art? i mean, you do it in a great way there with that one artwork on the border flowers. >> it's so easy now. because i've been doing it for 30 years. i've struggled of how to get my message across so that it does not alienate people but rather bring them into this world of unity, of flowers without borders. that's what i want. i want people to go into that show, and i think once they see the work, they'll get it. they'll understand. this is silly. this thing about yours and mine

america. it's the southlands. it's the world of flowers. and we have to learn how to live with each other and the flowers. but right now we're just crushing those flowers. that border on our americas is creating the sahara desert in two or three generations, we're going to have a giant sahara desert. and the americas, i don't like that. i don't like that for our flowers, for my children, for your great-grandchildren. we've got to stop it. we've got to learn to do what rodney king said was can't we all just get along? what is so hard? that's my thing. >> and with that message, how easy or difficult was it to convince an institution like the triton to display your work and to talk about some of these issues that might be thorny, pardon the pun? >> it's very difficult. that has been most of my struggle as an artist. it's not been to create artwork. it's been how to get into these museums. how you get into this higher art world. now that i kind of know how to do it, i'm so excited. and the most important thing for

me now is having -- how do you get people to come in and see this work? and i appreciate that you gave me this community to kind of rant and rave about, come on, folks. the world is falling apart here. and it's because of our notion that this is yours and this is mine. it's not. it's everybody's. >> so some of this embroidery, some of your initial artwork when you were first breaking into it? >> yeah, this is the work i made back in the '70s. how do you make this weaving, this craft into an art form that can go into the museums? it took me 30 years. but now i can make these weavings, and whatever these objects that i'm making to, again, reinforce the idea, let's get along, people. it's the land of flowers. it's not the land of people. you know. >> and as a professor, do you think that your message maybally yennates some students or maybe this draws them?

>> i have to clarify that because i retired early. i got the tenure full time, and then i said it's time to go because it's time to do my own art. >> so how was it then? >> oh, it was incredible. every first class, i told them, you know, you have to learn how to do thread work. it is the most basic human way to convey to one another who we are and what we do with our clothing, with our threads. so i always gave them the philosophy as well as the process of how to take a plant and make it into a thread with color and finally into an object that may convey some kind of flower, whether it be personal or for the environment. >> what's next for you? is this a traveling thing for you? >> oh, my gosh. i feel -- i've always -- when i became an artist, i wanted to be a footnote. i'm a footnote. my work is now in the smithsonian. so i'm now in history. so everything now is kind of like dessert which means for me will keep on continuing weaving for our mothers.

nobody has woven for the moon, for the ocean. they're in the show. the ones in the guadalupe are made with gold threads from japan. they're from their kimono studios. i made one for our five mothers, the ocean, the earth, the moon and our real mother and the guadalupe. those are in the show, too. and i want to keep making them for her. >> you're part of the american fabric now. this is -- if we can hold it -- this is what you have on display right now, the triton? it's the american flag. tell us what's on it. >> it's a 4 feet x 7 feet. i call it one nation underground. if you live in this area, it's the same. and if you look at my work, if you go to the exhibition, you'll see how similar both sides are. and how wonderful that is. it's not something to be terrified and be angered about and let's make it worse. it's about unity. this is about the flag. the mexican and the u.s.

they're together. they're one nation. there's just line, a borderline of barbed wire. that separates it. >> one nation underground. thank you so much. we have your website we want to put up. if you'd like to log on, again, exhibition at the triton museum here down the street in santa clara. consuelo, thank you so much for your knowledge. >> thank you. >> now here's what's happening on "comunidad."

here is our address. our e-mail address and also follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. be sure to pick up a copy of our newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. doing a great job at keeping the institution going in the south bay for decades. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us. we will be back here on "comunidad del valle" nbc bay area next week. we all have our little tricks.

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