it's carlos perez ontistllo, your "comunidad del valle.". male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with the monthly visit of the mexican consulate in san francisco on comunidad del valle. julio cesar huerta is a consul of community affairs. and also with us is susana gama, who also works at the consulate office dealing with finances. damian: we welcome to the show. let's get one of those out of the way. what's the first one you want to talk about? juli it's a model in which we provide information in a variety of topics such as health, education, and financial education.

damian: this is kind of, i mean, one stop shopping, right? i mean, you stop in the office and there's every service available is there for you. julio: yeah, the people at the consulate, they're going to do the procedure for your passport or some other service. they have the opportunity to listen to some important information, brief presentations, but they can consult directly one on one according to the information they need. so, this model is based on providing information, guidance, and assistance. and it's educational models for our community. damian: right now, is it kind of a slow period because everybody is maybe in mexico and enjoying their vacations? or they're starting to come back now? julio: no, the work at--the work at the consulate never stops. 's we are glad that people continue to visit us. and it's a fast procedure, and we take advantage of the time, we make the most out of that time and to contact with the people at the consulate. damian: okay, and you're here to talk, susana, about a very important topic because i just did--my

family did our taxes recently. everybody's getting sticker shock. but right now, you want to make sure that people are aware that file their taxes and do it-- susana gama: exactly, and the mexican consulate, we have a-- damian: assistance or-- susana: assistance for taxes. it's not--we are not doing the taxes in the ventanilla. we have a--we scan the taxes, and then we send it by the site. and then when they come back, the taxes are ready for them to pick them up, it's around one week. damian: and so, what are they--who qualifies? who can bring them in, or what do they need to bring in? susana: okay, they have to earn less than $55,000. and yeah, w2 or 1099. damian: this is the time to get the word out, right? to make sure that people are aware. julio: yeah, we're in a perfect time. and like susana mentioned, it's like an intake office. and she prepares the paperwork and send it to the expert agency. and yeah, it's a perfect time.

we already started with the tax season. damian: is there a place on the website where they can find out what they need to bring to you so that they don't come susana: yes, and we havehe they have all the requirements, and also the other websites that they can go and make the taxes done, have the taxes done. damian: the bad thing people can do is say, "i'm not doing my taxes this year." julio: yeah, no, that's the worst thing they can do. they should get ready and be aware of the date and the requirements, and to contact the professional, the experts so they don't face any kind of trouble. damian: and your window, your ventanilla is open when and for how long? susana: monday to friday from 8 in the morning to 2 p.m. every day, monday to friday. damian: and what has that been like? because like as i mentioned, people ar being--there's new tax laws. so, everything changed from so how can this happen?ear.

susana: yeah, they are confused, but we have an expert. irs, specific for the irs. and then everything is clear and the reimbursement is going to be really fast and really good, well done. damian: well, this is free service for those earning 55,000. i mean, that--talk about why you provide this service for those who are low income. julio: yeah, these community programs are aimed to empower the community. so, besides the passports and the matrícula and the other variety of services, we need to educate our community and make their lives easier, so that's why it's free of cost for them, and just to make a better life here in the us. damian: well, absolutely, well, i mean, a lot of services being offered at the mexican consulate there in san francisco. there's their address, there's their web address also for more information. make sure you file those taxes, and they are there to help. again, if you earn $55,000 a year or less, they're there to help and it's free.

any final thoughts, consul, before we let you go? julio: no, just to invite the community to visit the consulate, they can ask for the ventanilla. and we are ready to talk to them and provide the we . damian: okay, well, thank you for being our partner in this, thank you very much, all right, and up next here on "comunidad del valley," wage theft and the stanford researcher involved in it, stay with us. that leave therea lasting impression. like the feeling of movement as a new journey begins, soft fur, warmed by the morning sun. you might remember new flavours, the sound of an old friend's laugh, or a view that defies all expectations.

these are the memories that stay with you, long after the moments have passed. and because redfin.com is america's #1 brokerage site our agents get more eyes on your home so you sell for thousands more than the one next door. don't get stuck in the past. sell with a redfin agent. than the one next door. and he's researching wage theft. forest olaf peterson is my guest here on "comunidad del valle." welcome to the show. so, we're talking about wage theft, and in particular when it involves construction. we do have some video what we're talking about. it's got to be unique for you to be assigned strictly to research wage theft in the construction industry. forest olaf peterson: yes, that's correct. wage theft as an academic research topic is unfortunately a gap in our field. you know, as academics, we look at engineering, how do we design the construction process?

but the responsibility for the individuals actually constructing, you know, what we called built environment a lot of times is left to another field. as an engineer, when i walk on a job site and if i see the construction worker, i say hello, ask them how they're doing. but i don't ask, you know, "are you being paid properly?" that's not my responsibility. but most likely if i do ask, i might get answers that i don't expect. damian: have you gotten that? forest: yes, definitely; walking onto construction sites, now that i'm more aware that wage theft is as prevailing as it is through my research, going out and verifying that wage theft, you know, the dynamics of wage theft and listening to construction workers. and it's interesting 'cause it is california, so there's a lot of latino workers, and so sometimes there's a language barrier and maybe a trust barrier as well. so, you know, i might ask some workers, "oh, how are you doing?" you know, "it's hot out today."

and the workers will say, "oh yeah, it's hot." and i'll say, "oh, you know, is your--is this a pretty good company you work for?" they might say, "oh, you know, it's okay." and i say, "well, you know, do they always pay you?" and i say, "you know, sometimes you don't get paid." and they might laugh, a little joke, and the next thing you know, you know, there's these two workers in particular were telling me, they're like, "no, we never get paid." damian: it's not a joke. forest: yeah, it was for real for them; they started talking to each other, and you know, three minutes after i walked up and just said hello, these two workers are explaining to me how they really aren't paid. damian: and how are you allowed on the site? i know that they have strict guidelines on who can and can't. forest: right, so finding sites to be allowed on is difficult. there's several ways. i can ask local construction leaders to gain access to sites. i can ask construction companies to provide me access to sights. but as a researcher, i can always just walk down the sidewalk, and if there's workers within earshot, i can simply just say hello. and it's up to them if they'd like to talk with me or not. damian: you're a stanford researcher. you can't have bias in your reporting, it has to be

analytical, it has to be factual, and you can't opine. forest: that's correct. damian: how vital is that that, that that's the kind of end result that you're going to come up with? forest: remaining neutral is absolutely important. and of course, as a researcher, i don't have a choice because i have to follow where the data and the facts take me, you know? and when i start off, i start off with the assumption there is no wage theft. and i need to prove to myself that there is wage theft. and so, i try hard to show that there is no wage theft. and to date, i have not been able to prove that. no matter how hard i try, i have only found evidence that there is wage theft, i found evidence that it's widespread, i found evidence that it's hidden, and i found evidence--i've had it difficult finding evidence that there's anywhere that doesn't have wage theft, in fact. damian: your report will go where, and what will be done with it at the end? forest: so, as an academic, we have publications that we have. there are academic journals where we publish this

information, so then it's available not just, you know, to other academics in the western us, but also internationally and globally so we can share information. you know, maybe wage theft also occurs in poland, and it's possible that wage theft there is similar to wage theft here. you know, maybe there's wage theft in germany with similar dynamics. so, we're able to share that information as wage theft researchers. it's an early field, and so, there are other researchers out there, but it does take time, and it's through those publications that we're able to share that information. damian: those victims, is there always a fear of something? fear of deportation, a fear of family harm? why are they accepting to work for nothing? forest: so, that's something that we've had a hard time understanding is why is there wage theft? and we don't have an answer for that. thera workforce thatns that do sdoes have--you know, the paperwork is still a little bit out of order and they're

still finalizing things that maybe they're less likely to come forward and say that there's an issue. and they're waiting until they feel more secure before they come forward with that. so, i have seen publications out of europe that they have shown that, especially from eastern european workforces working in, say, the euro zone, that they have seen concerns, say workers from romania working in germany, that they won't necessarily report those wage discrepancies that they--that they're seeing. damian: well, it's a billion--billions and billions of dollars in industry, especially here in silicon valley, and it's happening right under our noses here. again, this is research out of stanford university. you can log on to that website out of, this oict here,right?s g and that's where your research will ultimately end up. forest: that's correct. is it okay if i add an invitation? so, this saturday, february 23, there will be an event at the

yerba buena high school called justice for workers. and at that event, we will have some presentations. and some of the research that i've been involved in will be one of those presentations, where we'll show where we've used an advanced data science approach using machine learning to try to better detect wage theft. damian: okay, all right. well, good luck. appreciate your work, all right. and up next here on "comunidad del valle," teatro vision and her latest production, stay with us.

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of the doodle pequeño" is right around the corner. with me is cristal gonzalez, the director. and edith macias is with teatro vision. welcome to the show. well, tell us about this production. you're the director, what are we going to be entertained with? cristal gonzalez: well, i'm very excited, this is my first time working with teatro vision, and it's the second youth production at teatro vision after 32 years, so it's huge. we are making sure that our youth gets catered again,

that gets exposed to the craft of acting, and i think this is a great production to do it. "the transition of doodle pequeño" is about two boys, despite their differences, harvesting a relationship, a friendship. and some of the themes that come up is friendship, loss of innocence, the imagination and the reality really plays a part, gender identity and gender expression, single parent homes, and i could go on. so, this play has a lot of themes. the beautiful thing is that it's looking at it through a very innocent lens, and i think that's my favorite part as a director. damian: is your cast mostly youth, then? damian: what--i mean, talk about the going back and visiting the youth movement in all this. what do you hope that--i'm sure you're going to have classes coming, what do you hope those youth at the end of

the day go home with there in alum rock or franklin mckinley, whatever school district they're from? cristal: well, from my perspective as a director, i think the cast first had an opportunity to work with me as an instructor, teaching them the craft of acting and really experimenting, and that was great because usually you see an actor in an audition, and it's like yay or nay. but when you have them for six weeks working with them, you really get to see that muscle flex, and it was great to be able to pull from them, and now be in a professional setting and working with them for this production. now, looking into what we hope the audience gets as students coming in is really opening that door of dialogue. this young character named doodle is the protagonist, and he's going through a lot of things that i think our students are going through in their own way. single parent homes is real, poverty is real. this idea to find an alternative way to cope is very real because

our kids, our students are dealing with adult problems, and they have no way to express themselves. and i think theater sometimes--or arts gives us an alternative way of expression. and i really hope that happens with our audience members, that they see this window of opportunity, and they too begin to have that dialogue with themselves, with their teachers, and with others. and i know edith, you're planning on having like a feedback with participants that may come from students. i think that would be awesome. edith: yeah, i feel like it's also really important to keep in mind that, like, these students who are part of the cast, right, not only are they members of the society of the valley, but also they're future generations, right? they're going to grow up and take on the knowledge that they've learned in their youth and apply it to their adult life, right? so, we have a production that centers on gender identity and expression, right? which is very pressing i think in latinx community because we

hold back from speaking about these topics so much, but they do in fact affect a lot of youth, right, who are lgbt identified. and so i think that, in having this production, right, in having a youth cast, in having a guest come who may or may not identify as lgbt, we can further the discussion, the dialogue, and the knowledge that we have about gender expression and identity and lgbt youth in latinx communities. damian: teatro vision has a way of shaking people in their productions and delivering that solid message subtly. i mean, iherone of those examp. edith: yeah, definitely. damian: it's got to be exciting for you to be able to present this and showcase what you're going to be showcasing. cristal: yes, and like i said, i'm very excited. the group of youth that we're working with

is super talented, and they're ready to learn, and that's what's beautiful about it. yes, we get that from exposing them to these themes that, like i said, there's multiple themes that we talked about, including deportation, isolation. so, it's pretty universal the themes that we talked about, and i'm pretty sure everyone in the audience will connect with one or multiple themes in this production. and that's what we do, we got to shake it up. our community got to be--has to be alert, has to be on their toes, and we got to be able to prepare our generations to come. damian: we have about 30 seconds, but i'm assuming that when you prepare these youth, once they're backstage rehearsing and performing, they're professionals, i mean, they hit the stage and they're doing what they have to do. cristal: yes, and that's how i treat them. damian: that's a ship you run. cristal: that's a ship i run. they are youth, but they are going to work that muscle to the fullest. damian: well, it's a great run, and it's here at mexican heritage plaza in san jose. it's the production by teatro vision. it's coming up on march 28 through the 31st

and at the mexican heritage. make sure that you do watch "the transition of doodle pequeño." any final thoughts before i let you go? edith: yeah, so we have two student matinees on the 28th and the 29th of march at 11 a.m. if you want to reserve--this is for teachers who want to bring their students to the performance. damian: here's your camera right here. edith: oh okay, cool, so if they want to reserve spots for the student matinees, just make sure to email me directly. my email's edith@teatrovision.org. and i'll be happy to reserve your spots. yeah, so we encourage teachers to bring their students over. damian: awesome. thank you so much, good luck. cristal: thank you. edith: thank you. damian: and up next here on "comunidad del valle," the legendary carlos perez, stay with us.

and culture in mexico city. with me on comunidad del valle are the legendary painter artist carlos perez, and rose mendoza of dulce vida travel. welcome to the show. well, this is pretty awesome. we do have some images that y'all sent us, but tell us where you're taking them and what they're experiencing with your docent here. rose mendoza: yeah, so dulce vida travel,

we offer tours to mexico. we emphasize heritage and culture. so we--i asked--reached out to carlos, who's, you know, mexican, who--to kind of lead the tour 'cause he has a lot of experience within mexico city with all the museums. damian: you're probably jumping at the opportunity, carlos, knowing your knowledge of your craft and knowing the birthplace of where a lot of this craft came. carlos perez: well, it's all a big part of my fabric. i was born in mexico city, it's been part of my life, my career. and i actually have done quite a bit of my own travels to mexico to look at all the art and culture that's there that's been part of my life and my career. damian: and i mean, i saw the itinerary, i mean, you're going to frida, the frida kahlo museum, you're going to-- carlos: yeah, we're actually starting off at the anthropology

museum, the national anthropology museum, because i feel that that's very important for you as a guest of mexico-- damian: let's start at the beginning. carlos: yeah, you start at the beginning. you take them and you identify how rich our culture is pre-columbian. damian: and people don't realize that the original aztec stone is there in the-- carlos: exactly; many, many of the teotihuacan objects that were found in teotihuacan are at the anthropology museum. they also have a good collection of the variety of other groups like the maya and like the olmecs as well, olmecs being the oldest civilization on this continent. damian: so, it'll be a culinary tocombination of visiting ther.a larger museums, visiting the zócalo, going to the fine restaurants that are, you know, part of that. bellas artes, visiting the murals [speaking in foreign language], rivera and so forth.

damian: what fascinated me, and you've probably been there at the palacio nacional, is diego rivera started painting his mural and then he stopped. i think he got mad at the government or whatever, and then he just stopped, and nobody touched it. they kept it unfinished, and it still stands there unfinished. carlos: the other mural of diego rivera is at the palacio de bellas artes. it's this mural that was actually destroyed by the rockefellers in new york. he was painting it in new york and he had a figure of stalin in there, and he did not want to budge on removing it 'cause the rockefellers wanted him to remove-- damian: stubborn, wasn't he? carlos: oh yeah, and so they said--they said, "no, you stop. here's your pay, go, leave." and he went back to mexico, and mexico said, "you're going to paint it here," and he painted it there. it's called el hombre-- damian: we'll figure it out. who should go on this tour do you think?

even people who've been to mexico city. rose: right, so what we love about--we started dulce vida travel specifically to promote mexican heritage and culture. most of the people we target are second, third generation mexicanos, latinos who are familiar with their culture, but have never visited mexico to actually experience it. they'll go to the resorts, cabo, puerto vallarta, which is beautiful, but a city like mexico city was named design capital of the world because of their museums and how well they designed the city. and also unesco, you know, mexican culture is considered a world treasure. so, our culture is loved worldwide. so, here you get to visit the museums, the shopping, artesanías. it's just a one-of-a-kind experience, so we want to invite second, third generation mexicanos to come get to know their culture very intimately.

damian: i've been to mexico city about ten times, and i still haven't seen everything. and even though--even when i go back to the same place twice, you still get chills. carlos: yeah, we're going to be doing a walk through the reforma. it has ton of public art through that corridor. we're going to be going to coyoacán to visit the blue house of frida kahlo's studio. we're going to be going to san angel to visit diego rivera's and frida's studio as well. so there's--every day that we're there is full, and i'm sure that everybody will be exhausted by the end of the day. damian: you're just a little passionate about the-- carlos: yeah, and i love to talk, and i like to really communicate with people. by the way, the piece at the palacio de bellas artes is titled "el hombre cósmico." damian: oh, okay. how excited are you to be able to bring carlos along with you? rose: you know, i've been partnering with carlos for

years now, and he is a world class artist, and i have, you know, a tremendous amount of respect. me and carlos also partnered doing walking tours in downtown san jose called latino art and taco walk, right? because of his extensive knowledge about latino's contribution to san jose. damian: that's awesome; carlos, for those of you don't know, is the one who actually drew the original apple logo. you still get royalties for that, carlos? carlos: oh yeah, i'm working on that. damian: you still get recognized for that, right? ever since you decided to come out and-- carlos: yeah, and you know, recently there was an article, and actually you can look it up, the value--current value of apple, brand value is in the billions, 300-and-something billion dollars in value. damian: you started when it was a couple hundred dollars. carlos: and i was there in 1977 as just a young artist, you know, drawing, being able to have this great gift that i have to be able to draw and paint and--

damian: well, carlos will be your docent if you decide to go on his tour. it is in december, but we want to give you enough time to make sure that you saved up some money because you're going to spend a lot of it in mexico city, speaking from experience. december 3 through the 8th, and there's a web address for more information. thank you so much and good luck. can't wait to hear-- carlos: gracias, damian. damian: and if you'd like to get ahold of us, our contact information is on the screen. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. you can also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. you can also watch us en español, your "comunidad del valle" on telemundo canal 48 every sunday morning, check your local listings. thank you again for watching us, we'll see you again here next week. pase usted, buenas tardes. remember the way we used to do things? hey man... like connect with friends? dig it! or get in shape? or sell a house and pay a real estate agent a big commission. [crash]

at redfin, we charge you a 1% listing fee. and because redfin.com is america's #1 brokerage site our agents get more eyes on your home so you sell for thousands more than the one next door. don't get stuck in the past. sell with a redfin agent.

a powerful system is bearing down on the bay area... and it right now at 4:30 the calm before storm. a powerful system is baring down on the bay area and could lead to some serious flooding. rob mayeda is tracking it all. and talks involving the oakland teacher strike. what both sides are saying this afternoon and what it means for students tomorrow. and we learned new details moments ago about the investigation into the depth of san francisco public defender jeff adachi. the news starts right now. thank you for joining us. i'll vicky >> and i'm terry mcsweeney. the search for clues in the death of jeff adachi. several new developments late this afternoon. >>