art. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, dennis. what a wonderful speech. it was before my time, but i remember mayer brown who unveiled this wonderful building, museum to the people of san francisco. so once again he is with us. let's will come mayer brown. -- welcome mayor brown. >> when mayor newsom telephoned me and asked if i would be available to participate in the effort to make sure that all san franciscans assumed collectively the responsibility to put this institution on sound financial grounds, now and going forward, obviously, i could not turn down that request. i suspect every other san

franciscan would do likewise. he told me the city attorney's office would do what would need to be done to make sure that we would have the opportunity to do it. he said there were some people already pledged on the foundation side to be a part of the effort. obviously, it is going to take lots of hard work, but it is, frankly, a joy to be part of maintaining, and hopefully, perpetuating one of the flagship cultural institutions in this city. this city is about culture. this city is about pride in ethnic heritage. this city is about an appreciation of the extraordinary talents of people on the arts side and to have 6000-year-old pieces that you can see no other place in the

world come and to have the collection here -- you understand the brundage collection could have been dropped anywhere in the world. he chose us to be a caretaker of those 17,000 pieces -- whatever the number happens to be. we can do no less than justify that by being successful at raising what dennis tells me this summer in the neighborhood of $25 million. that is a small figure compared to what we have raised with this young museum, what a fisher family gave for the expansions of the museum of modern art, what was raised with the jewish museum. what we're trying to raise for the museum that will reflect the culture of the hispanic world of san francisco and beyond.

all these institutions come together in one fashion or another and makes this part of the most wonderful place on earth in which to live. mr. mayor, i am proud, from your the 10 governorships, if and when it begins -- [laughter] you still want to be a part of this wonderful city. the rest of us are certainly going to welcome you. i know there will be a celebration in the not too distant future. we will do what we do at my church. we burn the mortgage. we are going to burn the mortgage. [applause] thank you, mr. mayor, mr. brown. >> we have had tremendous leadership from the mayor's cabinet, city attorney's office, but also from the board of

supervisors. with us is the president of the board of supervisors david chiu. welcome. >> thank you. first of all, i want to thank all of you for being here at this wonderful announcement. i want to thank all of my colleagues from the public sector world and your leadership for helping to rescue this incredible institution. as mayor brown said -- and i do not need to restate it. this institution is of critical importance to the arts world, to the asian community, to the storytelling of who we are as human beings. i am so honored to be an asian american representative here in san francisco and to have the largest art collection in the western world in our cities

across the street from where i work is truly special. to have the 6000-year history, as depicted in the 17,000 artifacts that are here, i do not think any of us can question our fortune. the work that was done to pull together this complicated negotiation and to get to where we are today, i want to thank the mayor, city attorney, then rosenfield, nadia, my colleagues on the board. i commit to you as the president of the board of supervisors along with my colleagues, that we will do what we need to do to get this done. hopefully, in short order, we can write the financial situation here and get us back on a footing we need to hopefully be an institution that will be around for another 6000 years. thank you for being here. [applause] >> our next speaker will be the

president of the foundation of the asian art museum and the vice chair of the asian arts commission. >> on behalf of the asian art museum foundation, i express our deep gratitude to mayor newsom, mayer brown, city attorney dennis herrerra, controller rosenfield, and other leaders for their leadership and helping us find a solution to the debt. we appreciate the city's assistance and support for assisting us in these difficult economic challenges. the city's support is for a wealthy cause. for nearly 40 years, the asian art museum foundation has provided much-needed financial support for the museum. this support has enabled the museum to successfully fulfill its mission of leading a diverse

global audience in discovering the unique materials, aesthetic and intellectual, achievements of the asian culture. over the years, millions of museum visitors have experienced the museum's world-renowned connection -- collection. truly one of the city's most viable assets as well as for a great array of education. the city's plan for strengthening the museum's financial position will make sure the foundation can continue these efforts for future generations. a successful capital campaign requires leadership, leadership, -- leadership, vision, and a well found gold. the foundation's leadership, led by our chair, has developed a framework of a strategic plan that aims to bolster the museum's commitment to serving our community.

the plan also intends to maintain the organization's financial health to robust fundraising while also making sure the museum uses its resources in the most effective manner. we fully recognize the challenge that lies ahead but oare confident that our members and donors will support us, as they have done in the past. the foundation welcomes the leadership of the city in helping us achieve our goal. also, thanks to the board of supervisors who have shown strong support of the mayor's proposal. thank you very much. [applause] >> let's welcome supervisor carmen chu. [applause] >> good afternoon. thank you for all of the individuals who came today.

as you know, today is a day that we can celebrate a path for for the asian arts museum. i want to take some time to thank the people who have been so crucial in making sure this day is here. mayor gavin newsom and your staff for leading this effort and for all of your attention to this. even over the winter holiday, i know staff was working through this, so a big thank-you to you. dennis and his fine team who have been working diligently to make sure that all the terms are correct, that we have the best deal for the city. thank you to the board president and members of the board who have always supported the asian arts museum. this is a good day for the asian foundation. of course, to the comptroller ben rosenfield and nadia, we would not be here without your hard work. today, i simply want to give two messages. one is just how important the

asian art museum is to san francisco and to our history. san francisco and asian american communities are intricately linked. we have had a huge mystery here. one of the things that this museum represents to me personally is not just an arts museum that shows bali and the shanghai exhibit. it is the history from where my parents came, from where many san franciscans have come. if there is any message i could leave today, for my lincoln high school mustangs out there, communities in the richmond, bayview hunters point, visitation valley -- this is not my museum along. this is your museum, this is your history. please support the museum. please make sure that this can stay here for your generation and for our kids. thank you for the tremendous leadership we have seen today, and thank you in advance to the

community for their support. [applause] thank you -- >> thank you so much supervisor carmen chu. now i think we have all been waiting to hear from our city comptroller ben rosenfield about key points of the proposal to restructure the foundation's bond. [applause] >> that would be the first time that people would be waiting to hear me speak. [laughter] i am just happy to be here today because that means we found a solution to a set of problems that threaten the viability and vitality of this wonderful institution. more than anything, i am pleased that collectively we have gone to that point. i will talk through some of the high points in the deal. fundamentally, this is a

complicated negotiation agreement that involves five different parties, very quickly worked out under challenging circumstances and executed this morning. some are still subsequent to board approval, approval of the founders of the board of directors and others, but the deal is set. what it's fundamentally does -- of the $120 million in outstanding debt that the foundation formally held, lenders have forgiven $21 million. so approaching 20% of the debt has been written off. secondly, $30 million approximately in collateral that the foundation had been required to post with j.p. morgan under the terms of the old financial arrangement. those would be returned to the foundation. the form of that underlie agreement has been ripped up. secondly, so that the amount of

outstanding debt is reduced, what is outstanding his then refinanced under more stable terms. form of financing was a variable rate subject to interest-rate fluctuations that would change the foundation's payments. it has been restructured as a stable, fixed 30-year loan at 4.6%, which is a competitive rate, and is free of some of the other financial bells and whistles that had served to create some of the challenge with the former financing. third, the foundation commits, with the assistance of elected to the leadership, to raise $20 million over the next 20 years to meet the remaining gap on this financing. lastly, the city enters into

this agreement and provides certain assurances for the lenders necessary to make this financing work. in essence, we lead our credit rating to this deal. in the words of the city attorney, it is hard to find such a good deal for all the five parties involved. it would not have happened without the leadership of each. i am here, happy to talk about the leadership before me and look forward to more stable financial footing for the foundation and this wonderful museum in the years ahead. thank you. [applause] >> once again, on behalf of the staff of the asian art museum, i cannot say enough of our gratitude to civic leaders, mayor newsom, the city attorney, and board of supervisors president david chiu, carmen chu, ben

rosenfield, and the public utilities finance director, and the others who have done so much work without being mentioned. and everyone coming together, from the museum to our city, and banking communities coming together to develop this proposal. about the value of the museum, i cannot say it any better any be civic leaders that have said about the wonderful importance of this museum. so we are very motivated to work together, to move the process forward and the at some upon the i would like to acknowledge some of the save members on the museum staff who worked diligently particularly our c.f.o., mark. he is right there. thank you very much. come back to visit us as a body and once again we have

experienced wonderful art from asia and interconnectivity from asia and our city. our leaders here will be available for interviews afterwards for questions. thank you very much for coming.

governor welcome to culturewire. on march 18 the san francisco arts commission hosted the 2010 mayor's artwork. the mayor's arts award was established to honor an

individual artist with a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the art and civic life. this year's award is to none other than carlos santana. before the award ceremony, the director of cultural affairs had a chance to sit down with carlos to ask him a few questions. >> once a year, mayor gavin newsom gets to select one distinguished individual to receive the mayor's arts award. in 2010,á(át that distinguished individual was none other than the legendary musician carlos santana. carlos, it is so great for the city to be able to recognize you. given all of your accomplishments already, from the awards, all of the other distinctions you have received,

what does it mean for you to get the mayor's part award? >> i am very grateful, moved. i always want to be in the company of illuminaries like cesar chavez. people making a difference, but to people's hearts. giving people a sense of tangible hope. one thing is to be famous, it is quite another for people to like you. i am grateful for this award. it is another blessing. i do not take it for granted. this is an incredible city. everywhere i go, i tell everyone that this is the atlantis of today.

there is no other city in the world -- i have been everywhere. there is nothing like san francisco. in fact, to me, it is not even the united states. you can see how fox network always attacks us. we do not have an inferiority complex. we just do not follow blindly. we question authority. as i said before, a person for person, there are more artists and con artists in the bay area. >> you are someone who has identified so strongly with the bay area. a lot of it reflects the values that you also identify with. i know that you have been promoting an idea for a work of public art that could be

pretty transformative. could you talk about that? >> peace brother is something that i saw, i think in the 1980's there was this lady. she started back there and converted -- she went to the neighborhood and was collecting the guns from some of the gang members. she had it melted and turned into angels. we want to do the same thing and take it to the next level we want to build a boom box by his feet, he will be 7 feet tall. this will be made up of military guns. the boom box will be playing some great songs. marvin gaye. john legenlennon. bob marley. sam cooke. >> songs that really touch

people deeply. >> i have come to a place where i call it the sound of maternity. bob dylan calls it eternal young. i think there are certain songs that help you live without fear. when you are living in fear, you invest in violence. fear is expensive, just ask president bush. inn love. and what marvin gaye says is true, war is not the answer, only love can conquer hate. these things are not cliches, they are truisms. if we implement them, you will see a transformation in the bay area, richmond, oakland, the

mission. all places where we need to dismantle the violence, the fear, the unnecessary pain that goes on. >> you are a person that has lived a pretty miraculous life. pretty extraordinary what you have accomplished, the range of people you have been able to touch with your music. you chose a beautiful word in spanish for your foundation -- miracle. could you talk about what the foundation has been able to do? >> we are able to empower and give young people a way for them to develop their own decisions. i started with my own vision. there are people like andre agassi who helped finance. desmond tutu.

in essence, in the bay area, like on larkin street, i want to see people invest more in people. i love the giants stadium, but i want to see cumins investing in a humans, instead of expensive. expensive buildings. i love to see the mayor and governor invest more in education than in incarcerations. so i am committed with the music and the platform that i have, if i have to, to give a little spanking to those who need to break up. we spend way too much on weapons. all the money that we spend on tv advertising, gears of war, that is stupidity.

in new zealand, they passed a law that said that you could not sell it. all those games about killing people. they do not want it. to me, i'd equate that with columbine, with war. once you desensitize a human being, you cannot tell the difference between shooting someone in a video game and a real person. some people can be gentle and kind. i can be ghetto when i want to be. i grew up with the black panthers doing peace and freedom benefits for them. so on the one hand i like the softness of spirituel the day, but i also like the energy that you need to be a warrior where you need to be. i love martin luther king, but

also malcolm x, sometimes you have to really hold your ground. compassion, kindness, education. rather than more killing. >> when you graduated in 1965, it was the height of the civil- rights movement. you just alluded to the environment that you were growing up in. as a young musician, what was it like for you in san francisco at the time? >> it was heaven on earth. we would go down to the fillmore and see these great band, the doors, and jimi hendrix, cream, and then go down to the grove to see other music.

you could go to the mission district to hear mexican. everywhere i went there was this multi dimensional color and i felt like it was on necessary for me to do just one. like baskin-robbins, i want all the flavors. you cannot just be a mexican play music. there is a lot of beauty in that, but it was not for me. i was born without arms around my heart that wants to embrace everything. palestine's, israelis. japanese, apaches. i am more concentrated with life and love than flags, nationality, religion. that stuff gets in the way. one gets in the way is me,

myself, my story. for me, that is why music is liberating. when you hear "imagine" anywhere in the world, people sang the lyrics. as soon as you hear the melody -- same thing with a bob marley song. i grew up taking everything from bob dylan, curtis mayfield, the beatles, smokey robinson. mike alma mater was the streets of san francisco. i would dare to go to school. where i really hung out was at the fillmore. that was my university, checking out be the king, and james brown, a cream. finding out how they were able to penetrate people's hearts.

with their music. once you do that, something happens to their eyes. they become brighter. they start crying, they do not know why. they start dancing. it is like when a woman gives birth. =mmfirst, she cries and then she laughs. later on, she dances. and that, to me, is the beauty of what san francisco is about. >> one final question, and we are going to link it to your music today. such a rich legacy that you are giving us. you mentioned to me that you are working on a new album. could you share what is coming up? >> i love to dream when i am awake. kand so i had this dream of workwi