damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to comunidad del valle. i am damian trujillo, and today on the show, moises "the hawk" benitez, a local boxer, is here, plus dr. francisco jimenez on your comunidad del valle. [music] male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with the monthly visit of the office of the mexican consulate in san jose. jorge agraz is the cónsul de asuntos economicos. jorge agraz: right. damian: y políticos at the mexican consulate office here in san jose. bienvnenido al programa otra vez. jorge: muchas gracias. damian: now, there are a lot of things that are happening at the consulate. you're kind of in charge of, one of the things you're in charge of is making sure that people who might want to start their own business kind of gets the help, and you get them started in that process, is that correct?

jorge: yes, exactly, damian. right now we have a workshop for entrepreneurs, for hispanics, and with low income families, who want to create their own business, to start up a business, and we're having today our first session at microsoft in valley fair. damian: now, tell us about that because when i read that press release i was pretty excited, and the fact that you're having it at the microsoft store is, could be appealing to many people. jorge: yes, of course. no, we found a great partner, and we talked to microsoft about empowering the latino community and what we can do for them, and there's a lot of fear between latinos of starting their own business. so, the purpose of this workshop is precisely to eliminate that fear. damian: what are the advantages of having it there at the microsoft facility? jorge: well, the idea is to also empower them into the high tech industry, and microsoft has programs for the small and business community, so the idea is also to learn about the programs

that they have there and also to gather strength into the programs that they want to do, especially if they want to get into the high tech industry. damian: no, you're right. i mean, and it benefits microsoft because you go down story and king, or the mission district, everybody is on their smartphone, and it doesn't matter where they're at, where they are, the smartphones are going. jorge: no, no, of course, you're completely right, damian. damian: and you have these workshops throughout, verdad. the idea is, again, to get them started. what's the biggest obstacle in starting your own business? is it maybe the fear, me voy a lanzar, this is going to be a little difficult? jorge: yeah, i guess it's lack of information because there are people that they don't know if they require a social security number to start a business. and so for specific industries you can use your taxpayer id. so, we have a team of lawyers and accountants that help the hispanic and the latino community how to navigate according to their needs. so, this is really empowering people because they thought that

they couldn't start their own business, and they've been working for 17 years doing the same thing, and now things are changing. damian: why not work for yourself? jorge: exactly. damian: we have some video that we showed, and if-- there are a lot of success stories. people have gone through the program, and they've started their own business. jorge: yes, we have-- we're very proud of our success story. a participant from our workshop from two years ago, she has now her restaurant in san pedro square. damian: wow. jorge: so, she's doing great. we're very happy for her. damian: does it, now, how long does it take? does it take maybe three or four sessions, or how long does it take before i feel i'm ready to get into my own business? jorge: well, the full program is 11 weeks, so there are 11 sessions about 1 hour 30 minutes each one. and yes, we cover everything, from funding, e-commerce, marketing, accounting. very, very helpful. damian: i've asked all the questions, so what's, you probably came with a list of things you wanted to tell our viewers. tell us something maybe that interests them that you want

to make sure you get across. jorge: yes, well, the most important thing is that you should try any idea that you want. follow your passion. we have startups that they are very artistic, and they do a lot of handicrafts, and they don't know how to sell at a large scale. so, don't think small. just dream big and follow your passion what you want to do. damian: all right. well, they're offering classes nonstop and, again, they're, some of those classes are at the microsoft store. they're at valley fair mall, and so there is a web address for more information. any final thoughts, señor cónsul, before i will let you go? jorge: no, thank you so much, damian, for everything and for inviting us and for letting us share with everybody about these workshops. damian: absolutely. thank you so much for coming with us. jorge: thank you, damian. damian: all right. and up next, here on comunidad del valle, "the hawk," stay with us.

damian trujillo: he's known as "the hawk," and he's undefeated three and o. moises benitez, is my guest, here on "comunidad del valle" and jesse huerta is with dreamland boxing out of san jose, welcome to the show. moises benitez: thank you. damian: why "the hawk"? how did you come up with "the hawk"? moises: oh, it was just my trainer. damian: your trainer. moises: picked me the nickname, yeah. damian: porque le gustaba picar or why did you call him "the hawk"? jesse: well, actually, originally he was trained, he still is, we're co-managing. sarge neeman from dreamland is actually his mentor from the very beginning, brought him through the amateurs, and then turned him pro. and now that he's pro, i am now co-managing with sarge. damian: very good. jesse: and then i'm actually a trainer. so, sarge actually nicknamed him. damian: all right. well, let's start from wearing the mask in the amateur ranks. what's the difference going professional as opposed to amateur? moises: it feels better without the mask. amateurs, you've, for me like pro fighters are like i think it's they're more easy than amateur fighters. yeah. damian: i know that our mutual friend, andrew flores, he used to walk out to wrestle, the song "el gallo negro"

by vicente fernandez. any song inspires you before? i know that sometimes that boxers and wrestlers listen, you know, on their ipods before every match to kind of lift them up and get ready for battle. moises: oh yeah, the song that i like is about vicente fernandez's son. i think it's "el polvorete." damian: uh-huh. moises: it's a nice song. it always put me up, you know, like it make me excited when i hear the song. damian: now, is there a fear factor when you step in the ring? i mean, you know that you kind of have to eliminate fear when you're a fighter, but it's got to creep in at some point, thinking, you know, i'm going to, either i'm going to beat his brains in, or he's going to beat my brains in? is there any of that going on? moises: no. damian: you don't think of that? moises: the first fight, yeah, the first fight was i'm nervous, so i was thinking i'm probably getting a towel, or something going to happen, or i don't know what to do. it's, first, and after i get the first punch, it's like-- damian: that's it. moises: that's it. like let's do it or not. damian: so, give us your age and your weight class. moises: one twenty-three, and i fight at 140 or 135.

damian: i don't even remember 135 or 140. tell us about this guy, jesse. jesse: well, he's, actually, a fascinating fighter, i mean, action packed fighter. he's got a big crowd here in san jose, and he's actually getting a big crowd now just because of his-- his style of fighting is the, he originally started as just your typical strong mexican come forward and just punch and non-stop. now, what they're seeing is he's becoming an all-around fighter now, and he's moving, and he's got counter punching, and he's got a lot of power. so, you know, again, it's he's putting what we believe is dreamland on the map and san jose back on the map as far as boxing is concerned. damian: we've been missing a local champion here for a while. now, you got a match coming up at the end of the month. jesse: yeah. damian: and how do you prepare for that? you eating grass right now? you're probably not eating anything and running 50 miles a day. moises: i'm eating a lot. i'm putting on my weight, and i weigh like 143, 144. so, i'm fighting a 140, so i'm perfect in my weight. so, we're just getting ready right now.

damian: so, folks in richmond, get ready because he's coming to your town. tell us about the match coming up. jesse: yeah, well, square vision promotions is actually promoting this. he's one of our promoters, and he's putting this fight together in richmond, april 25th, richmond auditorium, and he's got it action packed. a lot of the local fighters from oakland, hayward, san francisco will be fighting also in the court, and we're looking for a, you know, fast, action-paced fight. it should be good. damian: all right. jesse: yeah. damian: where would you be would you say without boxing, without the training that you've gotten? moises: probably on the street just doing bad things. also boxing be helping me a lot, in a lot of different ways, so. damian: now, tell us about maybe those chavalitos out there who might be getting into bad things and getting into trouble, tell us what it is about boxing, or maybe even any extracurricular activity that got you maybe out of the streets and into something positive like this. moises: boxing is getting me out from gangs.

i was, not only gang related, but i was into that kind of things a little bit. so, when i started boxing, i met sarge, which is my trainer, and when i met him, he just started telling me things, "oh, you know what? this boxing going to help you a lot. just focus, start doing what you're doing." and i said, "oh, maybe no, maybe not." and later on i just started getting into boxing. like when i started my first amateur, oh, it was like, "oh, that's a nice thing to do!" so, i was not really, really into boxing, so he's the one who got me more excited to get into boxing. damian: maybe if you come in with anger already inside of you, the punching bag is a good place to get rid of that anger? moises: yeah, it help you a lot, especially this. damian: talk about that aspect, jessie. it's not boxing by itself, but it's about getting kids, giving them a chance. jesse: yes, you know, like moises said, you know, dreamland was founded by sarge demon and his wife, maria, and that was the whole, intention of the whole thing is to bring these kids that needed a place to call home, you know, express their anger in a better

way, and sarge has mentored a lot of the younger fighters. actually, he's taken them through national titles, and then, of course, moises is the first pro fighter that he has turned pro. and now i've come along with him now, and i'm helping him manage the gym now, but the same concept of bringing these kids off the street. we're building a strong community at dreamland, and it's just not the kids. i mean, even parents come in there, and parents are actually training with us. they're actually members, and they actually come in there. you know, it helps with stress and all of the things are going on in life. so, it's a community that boxing, through boxing, teaches you so much, so much discipline and, you know, getting in shape and feeling better about yourself, and learning how to deal with all these issues that we have in life in a positive way. damian: there you go. you saw "the ghost," you know, he's on national television all the time. you have those aspirations to wear that belt and to raise it? moises: yeah. damian: what about the ring? moises: one day, i will. damian: there you go. well, you can watch him, you can say you watched him live.

it's happening on april 25th there at the richmond auditorium. there's a web address of dreamlandboxing for more information. we'll see you at the fights. jesse: thank you. moises: thank you. damian: all right. thank you for coming. and up next here on "comunidad del valle" dr. francisco jimenez, stay with us.

an trujillo: hey, his new book is titled "taking hold," and we have it right here on "comunidad del valle." dr. francisco jimenez, author and professor at santa clara university, is my guest here. welcome back. it's been a long time. francisco jimenez: thank you, damian, it has been. damian: we're talking about boxing. what would you be called? we had "the hawk" here. what would you be called? you had "the ghost" in gilroy. we had "the hawk" here in the studio. a ti ¿cómo te nombraban? what would your name be if you were entering the ring? francisco: if i were entering the ring, el miedoso. damian: [laughing] ¿el miedoso? i'd be right behind you, brother. well, welcome back. francisco: thank you. damian: tell us, you've kind of written a series of memoirs on your-- francisco: yeah, this is the fourth one. damian: this is the fourth one, and this takes us from leaving the family and going to columbia university. francisco: right, right. damian: talk about that experience because, i mean,

you said some things here that related to me because you're leaving the family, and where you, when you were living at home you contributed to the family economy. now, you're leaving it, and you're worried about that aspect. francisco: that's right. that's right. well, in the book, i talk about memorable and life-changing experiences that i had at columbia in graduate school, and i focus on the transformation of power of education, and i describe how the challenges that i faced in graduate school trying to find a sense of stability in my life and purpose in my life in terms of what i was going to do with my education. and it was during the late '60s and early '70s when there, a lot of turmoil and unrest in our country,

and so i'd talk about those experiences, with the assassination of martin luther king, for example, and-- damian: well, everything is happening all at once when you were-- francisco: yeah, i was there when the columbia riots took place, and i was very supportive of many of those issues that were being protested against, the injustices, for example, and the war in vietnam, i opposed it as well. and i was very supportive, but then i turned away from the violence and that because i had gone on that march to sacramento with cesar chavez in 1966, and it was a peaceful march and very effective. and i thought that approaching issues through violence really was not the right way to go. so, i talk about that in the book. i also talk about, you know, feeling guilty,

being in graduate school, knowing that my family was still struggling economically. and so what i did, i got a fellowship to go to columbia and had a stipend. so, i used part of the stipend to send money back home to support my family. damian: wow. wow. francisco: and then instead of having two meals, three meals a day, i would, i cut it down to two, and then i would cook in my room, which was illegal. i had a hotplate. damian: but you had to do it. francisco: i had to do it. i had a hotplate and, yeah. damian: sandra cisneros says that you kind of give a voice to the heroism of our children. what do you think she meant by that? francisco: well, you know, when i started writing the first book, "the circuit: stories from the life of a migrant child," i realized immediately that my experiences were not unique. there were the experiences of many, many families from the past and the present, like your own family, and that,

and so i felt that in my writing i was basically chronicling the experiences of those families who worked very, very hard from sun up to sundown for very low wages. and what sustains these families, like many other families, is the hope and dreams of having a better life for their children and their children's children. and i feel that it's important to document that experience like they did with your documentary because it is part of the american experience, and the mexican, and mexican-american experience is an important, an integral part of american history. damian: it's a part of the american fabric. francisco: that's right. damian: absolutely. francisco: and it has to be, you know. i think it--so that's why i wrote these four books with the idea of contributing to that void that exists, especially in the area of literature where mexican-americans were really

not visible in literature, or through my elementary, junior high, high school, even college. you know, whatever we read there was nothing that i could relate to-- damian: there was the steinbecks, but that was about as close as you go. francisco: yeah, except for that one, and that made a world of difference in my life when i read "the grapes of wrath." for the first time, i realized the power of literature to move hearts and minds. damian: wow! that's awesome. now, to those, i would imagine, those who said you're the son of a migrant family, there's no way you're going to get a ph.d. and look at you, i mean, you're a living testament to that. if you can talk to the chavalitos out there and say, you know, it doesn't matter what your background is, it-- francisco: that's right. that's right. and that's what i hope that my readers will get out of the books is the importance of education. when i give talks in the schools, and i've kind of become

a cheerleader for education because i tell young people that by working hard in their studies, they are honoring the sacrifices that their parents and grandparents made when they first came from this country, from wherever. damian: right. francisco: and they struggled, and they worked hard, and so by working hard in their studies they're honoring those sacrifices that their parents made so that they can be in school, and by studying hard they're securing a better future for themselves. and then they are also securing a better future for their own families once they decide to have their own families. damian: well, that's absolutely true. well, while we go to the credits, i'm going to have you sign this for me, if you don't mind. it's called, "taking hold," and it's from clarion books. there is a web address for more information. we'll be back after these messages and talk more with dr. francisco jimenez, so stay with us. [music]

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after all, your dog is a lover not a fighter. frontline plus. the vet's #1 choice. damian trujillo: we're back with dr. francisco jimenez talking about his new book called, "taking hold," which was just released this past tuesday. so, this is your first, and you have signing sessions all over the place, i'm reading, so congratulations on that! francisco jimenez: yeah, thank you. damian: the message, you kind of talked about this in our previous segment, but the message you want the reader to go home with once they read the last page and close the book, what do you hope they're feeling or they're taking with them? francisco: my hope is that they understand the transformation of power of education, that education is really the best means by which we can improve our lives, and also by having our young people apply themselves and getting a good education we have a stronger democracy. democracy suffers when its citizens, citizenry--

help me with it, will you? damian: citizenry. francisco: citizenry, you know, is not well educated. damian: right. francisco: and so that's what i hope. and there's, even though there are some descriptions of experiences that were kind of sad, there was always hope, and i got that from my mother, who insisted that we should always have hope, that we should work hard, and that we should have faith. and i remember her saying to our family, "you know, mijitos, you must have faith, you must have hope, and you must have respect, respect for yourselves and others because if you lose hope and if you lose faith and respect, what do we have left? a television set." and i thought, she's absolutely right. damian: right. francisco: right. and yeah.

and so and the other aspect about education is that it's a gift that us to have and to hold. we can never lose it. we can lose the most valuable material things that we own. if you own a house, if you can afford it in this valley, you can lose it, and some people have, you know. but the education, it will never be lost, and it will serve, it serves us for a lifetime, and it helps us get a better job but, as equally important, it helps us to improve our society and also to appreciate the things that we have in our society. damian: is number five in the works in your series of memoirs? francisco: no, not at this point, yeah. damian: well, tell us about what's next, then? you're just going to sip on cocktail, marguerita, and enjoy that? francisco: no, no, no, i have some ideas for children's books, yeah.

damian: mm-hmm. francisco: yeah. yeah. yeah. because part of my effort is to promote literacy and education. for example, at the end of this month i'm going to go to baja, california, where they're reading the first three books in spanish to promote literacy, and then i will go there and visit schools, and many of the schools are very, very remote and very rural. they don't have the resources, but you see these young kids, you know, insisting on learning to read alongside their parents, and it's a beautiful experience for me and very inspirational, and i hope that we can promote that kind of spirit in this country as well. damian: how important was it, real briefly, about 30 seconds, how important was it for the book to be translated, the books to be translated into spanish? francisco: mm-hmm. yeah. i translated them myself into spanish, and i felt that it was

important because spanish is the language, or native language is what identifies us, and it's through language that we communicate culture. so, if we lose our native language, in a sense we're losing our culture, and so i think it's important to maintain one's native language while you learn other languages. to become bilingual, as they say, you know, it's a tremendous advantage to be bilingual, to be spanish and english, or vietnamese and english. it doesn't matter. to know several languages is tremendously advantageous 'cause you see life from different perspectives, and we realize that even though there are different linguistic differences and different cultural-- different cultural backgrounds, that we have a lot in common

in this country, that we're all immigrants or descendants of immigrants. and when we tell our stories, like you did, we make connections, and once we make those connections, and we see ourselves reflected in the other, and we realize that we're a lot alike. damian: i feel like i'm in one of your classes. thank you so much. it was a pleasure having you back on the show. it's called, "taking hold." that's his latest book by dr. francisco jimenez. there's a website for more information. thank you so much. francisco: thank you, damian. damian: all right. and now, here's what's happening in your comunidad on ¿qué pasa? [music] [music] [music]

damian: and our saludos to those celebrating a special day. felicidades. [music] damian: here is our address for next week's saludos. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us here on comunidad del valle. we'll see you again next week. [music] [music]

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