damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo and today, hip-hop for the kids who could really use the pick-me-up. plus, a one-man act by paul flores, here on your "comunidad del valle." announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with biking and bicycling. with us on "comunidad del valle" is carlos velazquez with the silicon valley bicycle coalition. welcome to the show, carlos. now, you just scolded me a little while ago off camera because i don't bike to work. what's the big deal? talk about why it is a big deal, carlos. carlos velazquez: well, silicon valley bicycle coalition, our main goal is to work with city leaders to make our streets and trails safer. and, also, to do more to--host programs and activities to encourage more people to get on their bike. damian: now, it's not just about the environment, right? i mean, there's some health aspects here that i could

certainly benefit from if i did bike to work and bike more often maybe. carlos: well, you know, there--everyone always talks about the health aspects of it, environmental. it takes more people off the roads. it gets--it's a very healthy form of exercise but for me, it's fun. i get to explore the city. i get to the see--have the wind flying against my--on my face. it's just a really great activity and that's what we're really trying to do on may 12th for bike to work day is just try to getting people to ride their bicycle once. there's 55,000 people who regularly ride their bicycle here in silicon valley and we're trying to make that-- make it, 60-70,000 on that day. damian: and, you know, i know that the--when we talk about bicycle safety, there are obviously some issues about sharing the road. and that's where your agency comes in to, kind of, educate people and, kind of, find a middle ground in all this. carlos: yeah, i mean one of the things we're always trying to do is to encourage a better relationship between motorists and bicyclists. one of the things that we ask for motorists is to give

bicyclists about 3 foot lanes. you know, there's nothing scarier than when there's a bicycle--a car, kind of, whizzing by me. so, we're just, kind of, respecting bicyclists and that they're also trying to get home. and, also, for bicyclist to practice safe bicycling practices: stopping at red lights, riding on bike lanes and not sidewalks, and riding with traffic not against it. those are the two most dangerous things that bicyclists can do to--and so, we're always trying to encourage best practices and good relationships between motorists and bicyclists. damian: what kind of environmental impact do we have when people do bike to work on this one day when it's really promoted? carlos: well, studies have shown that the levels of pollution in the air actually dip on bike to work day here in the bay area. so, there are some significant things that happen when people actually ride to work. there's less cars on the road. yeah, it's just a really exciting way. so, there are some great environmental impacts to it. and so, bike to work day, may 12th is just one day for us to

kind of encourage people to try it once. and to see that it actually is a real effective, comfortable, and fun way to get around to get to work. damian: yeah, i know that they try to promote it here at nbc bay area and telemundo but you would encourage, i would imagine, employers across silicon valley to encourage their workers to, kind of, do the same and provide the facilities for them to take care of things. carlos: yeah, i mean, we're very happy that organizations like facebook, apple, microsoft are really supportive of bike to work day. they're hosting 1 of just 120 energizer stations that are happening all over the county--and-- on bike to work day. so, people can stop by some of their offices, get some snacks, get some words of encouragement, get their official bike to work day t-shirt and bag. so, it's really, you know, for companies to encourage people to ride their bike to work is just something that's part of their company culture many times. damian: right, well, dust off the bando on your low-rider bike

and bike to work on bike to work day. you can log on to that web address. for more information, call that number, and find out more about maybe how you can help out, and make this thing a success. thank you, carlos, for what you're doing. carlos: thanks, damian. damian: alright, and up next here on "comunidad del valle," a performer, paul flores. stay with us. thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast

performance by performer paul flores. paul is with us here on "comunidad del valle." and now, you're playing 12 different characters, i hear, in this one? paul flores: yeah, man. i play a 6-year old girl. i play a 70-year old senior citizen. damian: so, talk about bipolar. i mean, you're taking on various-- here's some of them right here. i mean, you're taking on various different characters. paul: yeah, different ages, different races, different genders. basically telling the story of one block in the mission district, 24th street and york, basically. what happened around that area during the dot-com boom, and the mission, and see how people are impacted, and changed by an unexpected force of gentrification.

damian: so, what did happen without revealing secrets, so people can do watch the performance. what did happen? paul: well, you know, the mission is beautiful, you know? you walk into the 24th street, you see all the pretty murals, and the trees, you smell the food, you see people talking, you know, it's exciting, you know. damian: we had a beer over there on 24th and mission. yeah. paul: yeah, so, you know, anybody comes to the neighborhood, they like it, you know? but the--in the '90s, folks came to the mission because it was cool, but then they started buying up stuff. and started, you know, saying "i'll pay three times the rent to live in this neighborhood." and then the folks who had already been established generations there couldn't keep up with that. so, folks got evicted. folks got kicked out. and so, the process of what happened when the new people moved in. you know, how did the culture of the neighborhood change? who was affected? what happened? where'd everybody go? you know what i mean? and so, like, a lot of the cultural shift that happened with gentrification in the '90s is being played out today. you can see it today.

so, really, the play is taking folks back to the '90s to see how did we get to this point now where, you know, not only is the real estate market so crazy out of control but how are people relating to each other? do we have re-segregation inside our neighborhoods again? and the trust is gone between the people and the police because oftentimes the police are the ones that are taking the, you know, the favor of the ruling class. and, you know, folks be getting made homeless, and then getting, you know, killed for being homeless by the police. so, really, it's about, you know, re-contextualizing the whole process of gentrification inside a latino neighborhood like the mission district. damian: and it's a powerful message but that's what you're known for, right? is delivering that punch. paul: yeah, i don't--you know, i like to hit you right in the heart, you know. that's what my work is. that's why it's called "you're gonna cry" 'cause you will not escape without a tear falling out your eyes-- damian: what is it about it that, do you think, that's going to be bring the emotion out in those who go see it? paul: it's a couple of things, one, is that, you know, there are real victims of gentrification, of its violence.

and often, those victims can be children, you know, and no one really thinks about how kids are impacted by evictions, or, you know, cultural shift. and if you put the process into the perspective of a 7-8-year old, 9-year old child, you know, who's grandparents who grew up in that house and all of the sudden they got to get out? that's sad, man. you know, it's really sad. damian: and this is your barrio, right? i mean, you've been there, and you've-- this is where you've done a lot of things-- paul: most of my work comes out of the neighborhood. damian: i mean, talk about the richness of that area, and why you ain't moving anywhere? paul: i'm not moving and they're going to have to pull me out, right? you know what i'm saying. i've got a couple of my friends still making art in the neighborhood. you know, we keep a close tight-knit. if you go to my website paulsflores.com, you'll see a poem that i did on 24th street called "we still be." and the whole idea is that, you know, we're not going to give up our neighborhood. we're not going let people erase our cultural memory. you know, we're going to keep being out in the street as much as we can. if you go there today, right now, to the mission district, you'll folks in front of the mission police department right

now protesting police brutality, on a hunger strike that's going on 14 days, damian. damian: do you--you have 12 characters. do you relate more with one of them? or is it kind of smorgasbord-- paul: oh, there's an alter ego inside the play. his name is cesar and he's the guy that i play. but there's one character that i've actually taken over from another play that i did called "representar." it's a guy called the chingón, right? and he's kind of like a ghost of the mission district past. you know, he let people know what it was like. you know, why people came to the mission. you know, how did we relate to each other? why was it so awesome? what was so beautiful? what was our cultura, and you know, what was attractive about our cultura? and, you know, so, he's kind of like this ghost figure, the chingón, right? and he's letting people know how it used to be. and then, the reality is what's happening right there. so, i love doing the chingón. he's like the opening and the closing of the show, you know, he's got that accent, you know.

he's having a live time-- damian: he's not the one with the pink wig though, right? paul: no, no. that's the chicana hipster dj chick that i do. and she's really funny, you know what i'm saying? she's like, you know, she comes from fresno. trying to escape fresno to be, you know, hippie hipster, rave chick inside of the mission, and she's awesome too, i love her. everybody laughs at me though. they think i'm trying to do drag but really i'm supposed to be a girl. "oh, i love the drag part." but i'm like, "it's a girl." damian: what, aside from crying, what do you want folks to go home with at the end of the night? paul: i want them to go home with an idea of who are the real people that live inside the mission district, right? you know, when you take the walls off the houses, and you look beneath the murals, who lives there? who are these people? what's so special about them? what kind of memories do they carry, you know? it's really about, you know, who are the families that live in the mission district? you know what i mean? so, you should come away with a better, deeper understanding of who your neighbors are, you know? and that's the whole idea is that gentrification destroys neighborhood connections.

it destroys neighborhoods. we don't know who we live next to no more. don't nobody bring food to you on sundays anymore. and, like, "hey! my name is jose and this is my daughter." that don't happen anymore, you know? because people don't know who live next to each other. and so, the whole idea was, ask yourself who you're living next to now? you know, are you going to, kind of, say, "this is my property and i'm going to enforce my fences"? or are you going to like, say, "i'm part of this neighborhood. so, let me get to know the people i live with"? damian: good, well, some say the mission district is a birthplace of chicano rock, and so, a lot of history there. paul: carlos santana all over the neighborhood. damian: again, this is called "you're gonna cry." "you're gonna cry." and it's by paul flores, a one-man act. may 6th through the 28th at the phoenix theater there in san francisco. any final thoughts before i let you go, paul? paul: keep fighting for your culture. don't give up. that's something we got to remember, you know. keep telling the stories. damian: you're always welcome. thank you, paul. alright, up next here on "comunidad del valle," hip-hop for the youngsters who really need it. stay with us.

need to turn their lives around. it's being provided by anthony pineda. he's back here with the hip-hop leadership academy. welcome back to the show. anthony pineda: thank you, damian. damian: now, we're talking about kids who really the need help. we're talking about those in juvenile hall. we do have video of kids who are in school, so, we're not talking about them but let's talk about two different scenarios. this is the one at the school but this is kind of the message you're sending, also, inside juvenile hall. talk about that and the impact you think you're having. anthony: so, the message we're really trying to provide youth is that their voice matters. they have story. they've kind of been disenfranchised, so to speak, with most systems that they've gone through. and so, we want to provide an opportunity for them to have that voice and to do it through a culturally relevant medium which is hip-hop. it's youth culture. and so, we're hoping that the impacts really are a stronger sense of social, emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, critical thinking, analysis, and also relationships.

like, actually, first and foremost building themselves a relationship personally, and then, you know, with their peer groups, with adults, in the hall obviously with staff. the program i've been working with within the hall has been showing very amazing promise with regards just the relationships between the officers there that are in charge and them. and how even the staff are like, "nah, i want to be involved in this. i want to participate." so, it's really interesting to see how that's all kind of flourishing. this is my first time in the hall doing this program. and i'm very excited, and i'm very humbled, and honored by what i'm seeing. damian: i would imagine that if you came in with your same program and you used a ranchera's aspect, you wouldn't have the same impact because nowadays you're dealing with kids, and they relate to hip-hop. anthony: yes, that's very true. i think there's an opportunity to utilize other musical mediums for sure. i just know that the research that i've done with hip-hop over the years, and kind of building this evidence based practice

with hip-hop, and this program, is really much more in tune with the youth, and the voice. and if you think about, you know, hip-hop beginning in the '70s, and what it stemmed from, from oppression, and communities of color who need to, like, voice what was happening, the injustices. it definitely resonates a lot with the youth, especially incarcerated youth. damian: i mean the lyrics are different than the sugarhill gang back in the day but, i mean, at the same time, i would imagine that once these kids listened to these messages. because sometimes the message is hidden within the words you write, and i saw in the video that you challenge those kids to decipher what is in that rap, and let you know what they think the rapper is trying to say. anthony: yeah, and the other thing too is that i have a very specific set of artists that i use. i have a very specific set of music that i go back to. this is after years of trial and error, and trying to figure out like, which messages do i want them to understand? what are some of the more advocacy-based stuff, what are

the more social-emotional, what are some of the spiritual components in music? and especially within hip-hop. so, i'm very specific about the music that i use with them and deciphering. and also, not just deciphering lyrics, but, you know, music videos carry information. and so, how do artists utilize the visual imagery to tell their messages? damian: you know, a lot of people, i would imagine, drive by juvenile hall, no matter what county you're in, and they look at the building, and they say, "well, they're there for a reason. they deserve to be there." for those of us who haven't been on the inside of those walls, what are we not seeing in the faces of these kids, in the characteristics? maybe in the ganas--to want something better. anthony: it's been a very humbling experience. it's--i think what, people drive by, and not see is kids. i mean, at the very basic is these are children, still. and whether--whatever they have done to be there, there's also

circumstances within the community that has also played a part in this. there's families that have played a part in this. there's educational systems that have played a part in this. there's-- damian: mental health has a lot to do with it. anthony: mental health, and that's the other thing that, you know, me and my colleague, who's here today as well. you know, we work for a mental health agency, emq familiesfirst. and, you know, i was asked, you know, "can you reproduce this here at the agency?" and i'm like, "yeah, for sure. we can definitely work on more of a mental health perspective." and it's very relevant when i'm in juvenile hall to see how these kids are very hungry for information. i think a lot of times we think, "oh, well, these kids they don't want to learn anymore. they don't care about school. they don't." all of these, kind of, stereotypes for incarcerated youth and even adults at times. and so, i'm seeing, you know, i'm seeing respect. i'm seeing caring, and you know, some of these kids are like, "how are you doing? how was your week?" and things like that where i didn't expect.

i expected a very systematic like [clicking] kind of set-up, you know. and these kids are, "how you doing today?" and, like, very heartfelt, genuine. like, "hey, you know, i'm going to be out soon, and i'm really excited to take this back, and keep working on this art." because that's really, also, what we're teaching is how to creatively express themselves through a medium that is typically, through mass media, has really been taught, "well, this is what hip-hop is." and that's not what hip-hop is. hip-hop is so much more. and that's when we originally had our interview back--some years back. you know, it was like, hip-hop is more than what we've been told. and working with these kids in juvenile hall, it just reaffirms that. it's like, "oh my god, like, they want to tell their story." and they're not sitting here trying to tell their story and, you know, discount what they've done, you know, or what has happened. damian: i spoke at juvenile hall, i want to say 3 months ago, and it is eye-opening. and these kids are paying attention. they want something better it seems and that's the encouraging part. last question. we saw the video that--now this is at a school. talk about this endeavor at the schools.

anthony: yeah, so the footage that you're seeing was a program that i did in middle school in mountain view at crittenden middle school some years back. and that's where it originally started. it was an educational system. and so, really what we're trying to do is get them excited about learning, period. from there, you know, we got all these kids, kind of, decoding, deciphering information. and it was interesting to see just how much they had to say and how much they process the information. and that's something we don't really actually understand yet because there's not a lot of research. how are kids processing hip-hop information? and how can we, again, reconnect it back to education, and learning, and knowledge of self. damian: we will listen to some of that video in its entirety in our next segment. but thank you so much for what you're doing in this community. if you'd like more information on the hip-hop leadership academy, you can log on to that website. some great information there. thank you so much for what you're doing.

anthony: thanks, damian. damian: alright, and up next on "comunidad del valle" we'll show you that video, so stay with us.

in your comunidad on "¿qué pasa?" [music] [music] [music] [music]

damian: and saludos to those celebrating a special day, felicidades. [music] damian: and there is our contact info. 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. don't forget to watch us every saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. on telemundo canal 48. "comunidad del valle" en español every saturday on telemundo at 5:30 p.m. thank you for watching our show and joining us on this beautiful sunday. we're going to leave you now with a little bit of that video on the hip-hop academy and also, we're going to peg it with a little bit of selena; pase usted buenos días.

anthony: if you can hear me, clap once. [clapping] anthony: if you can hear me, clap twice. [clapping] anthony: okay. [music] anthony: listen up, first verse, "an' a fly go a moon and can't find food for the starving tummies." what does he mean? male: what? male: say it again? anthony: "an' a fly go a moon. and he can't find food for the starving tummies." what is he talking about? we went to the moon, right? do you know how much money it cost to go to the moon? a lot. i'm not too sure but a lot. so, he's making it clear that we can do these things but we can't feed our people. very concrete. very strong image, starving people. second verse, same page. "the earth was flat if you went too far you would fall off.

now the earth is round." anthony: everybody close your eyes. i challenge you. yeah, you might fall asleep. i'll wake you up, don't worry. close your eyes. now, listen with your ears. i ask you to close your eyes because when you have no visual input coming in it changes the way you listen. [music] anthony: this is absurd the way we teach kids. man, we're teaching them how to burn because we need to understand instruction is much deeper than this. we need to understand this much deeper than this. i repeat the words, so you get it embedded, encode, understand and how to unfold yourself. [applauding] anthony: again, we deal with walls, okay? is everything perfect? not always.

does it rap? does it rhyme? does it have to? no. but this is an important juncture for you to understand that your walls need to be broken and that includes the writing process. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ oh-oh-oh. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ oh-oh-oh. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ bidi bidi, bom bom. ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, ♪ ♪ bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, bidi, ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bidi bidi, bom, bom. ♪ ♪ cada vez.

♪ cada vez que lo veo pasar, mmmm. ♪ ♪ mi corazón se eloquence. [audience cheering] [audience cheering] ♪ bidi bidi bom bom. ♪ y se emociona. ♪ y se emociona. ♪ ya no razona. ♪ ya no razona. [audience cheering] [music]

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