This letter is for all the readers of the Morgan Hill Times and from the Daniels family - Dave, Luz, Teresa and Maria. First, we want to thank the firefighters who did all that was possible to try to save our home Aug. 30, but the fire was too big and the fire won.
Then we want to thank the Red Cross that came to our aid with words of encouragement and finances, too. Thank you to all our friends and neighbors. They were right there with us. Thank you, too, to the two or three people that helped with the rescue of my dog from the deck. We wish to know who you are. Thank you to my daughter's friends from Live Oak High School for their moral support and to the family of Shana Claret that kept my dog Wrinkles for 10 days at their house in San Martin. Thanks to Dave Rudd and wife Laurel and Maria Cummins who kept an eye on my cat Shay Shay. She ran away when the fire broke out and they and other neighbors fed my cat, until the ninth day when Maria caught Shay Shay and we were finally reunited.
We wish we could name everybody that came to our aid with moral support. We really appreciated all your words of encouragement. Thank you to all our firends that kept calling to find out about how we were doing. Thank you to Judy Kenney, I really appreciated seeing you. Thank you to Chase Printing and thank you to Wise Medical Supply. Thank you South Valley Internet and last, but not least, thank you to (this is Luz) all my friends from bingo, to the players and to the people that run Live Oak bingo and San Martin Lions bingo.
And one more thanks to the young kids at Church Street in Morgan Hill. They knew about the fire and they gave some money. One said he was going to pay for my house. And thank you Morgan Hill Times.
The Daniels Family: Dave, Luz, Teresa and Maria, Morgan Hill
Don't ban steer tailing
Dear Editor,
The Mexican and Mexican American Charro community firmly repudiates the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors decision to continue raping and condemning our family-oriented, centuries-old equestrian tradition of the charrer'a.
Despite our persistent efforts to provide the public servants with relevant information pertaining to existing animal welfare laws, copies of our own Competition Rules & Regulations Rulebook, and the charro's Code of Ethics, they accepted on Sept. 9, a sixth-month "study" that calls for the "development of an ordinance" that bans in unincorporated areas of the county the most Mexican suerte del charro or charro event of all: colas, tailing the bull or steer wrestling.
It is clear that the supervisors' arbitrary and prejudiced anti-Mexican attack has not changed since Feb. 12, when they adopted a plan that called for a "study to reiterate" state law prohibiting cruelty to animals. Disturbingly, though, it only targeted the charro events.
From its original intent -banning rodeos and circuses in unincorporated areas- the initiative was narrowed down before the audience to basically just finding Mexican charreadas questionable.
Every charro, adelita, horsewoman, and charreada aficionado thought it was a very unfair, unfounded and discriminatory attitude, particularly because even animal rights activists, like Mr. Eric Mills, from Action for Animals, based in Oakland, made it clear that "calf roping is harder on the animals than either manganas (catching wild mares by the front legs) or colas."
"In the past 30 years I've spent many hours at all three of these questionable 'entertainments,' " he said publicly. "Charreadas certainly have their problems (e.g., steer tailing and horse tripping). But I've seen far worse abuses in both circuses and rodeos. These two inherently cruel industries should not get a pass from the Board. It's highly unfair to criticize only the Mexican rodeos."
For us, this is extremely serious, because it certainly tells us how little or nothing the supervisors know about our Mexican American cultural heritage, which century after century has had the same mission: taking proper care of animals and promoting family unity and camaraderie. Another major fact they are overlooking is that, thanks to the charro, vaquero, ranchero and cowboy, neither the cattle or equine population are on the verge of extinction. And it is thanks to horses and bovines that the cowboy, ranchero, vaquero and charro exist.
The Mexican and Mexican American Charro community, then, firmly repudiates the supervisors disposition to continue raping and condemning our family-oriented, centuries old equestrian tradition of the charrer'a.
Guillermo Gracia Duarte, Lindsay
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