May 9, 2009
Bishop discusses cultural heritage of Latinos in address to social workers
By Denise MacLachlan
Herald staff
Bishop Jaime Soto speaks to social workers and scientists gathered April 24 at the 19th annual conference of the Latino Social Work Network in Sacramento. Luis Gris/Herald photo
Speaking to social workers and scientists from across the state of California,
Bishop Jaime Soto lauded the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the Latino culture
that reflects her, as an “American image of culture and society”
that “creates a new culture, a mestizo culture, out of the clash and
confusion” in the vast social and economic globalization that is reshaping
North America.
Bishop Soto delivered the keynote address at the 19th annual conference of the Latino Social Work Network on April 24 at the Sierra II Center in Sacramento.
The bishop, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University in New York City, spoke on the topic of the “mestizaje,” the cultural heritage of Latino people.
In his address, titled “The Virgin of Guadalupe and the New Vision of Mestizaje,” Bishop Soto discussed the Latino culture as a reflection of the Virgin.
He noted that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego in what is now Mexico in 1531, when the Spanish had conquered the indigenous people. The indigenous people’s old way of life was passing away, he said, and a new culture was coming into being.
Economic and social globalization in North America, the bishop said, is not too far removed from the radical circumstances surrounding the appearance of the Virgin in 1531.
Just as the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe depicts an indigenous woman as the mother of Jesus, thereby combining native and European traditions, the bishop noted, so is Latino culture a mixture of indigenous and European influences over the centuries. And like the image of the pregnant Virgin of Guadalupe, he said, Latino culture is intrinsically hopeful and transformative.
Citing elements of Latino culture, Bishop Soto noted that Latinos are rooted in a culture of life, aware of the proximity of God, mindful of the importance of relationships, and willing to make sacrifices to care for others.
Latinos are called to be open to cultures today, too, the bishop said, to be mestizo — a mixture. But Latinos must examine the cultures they incorporate, he said, to live them in a way that furthers human dignity.
The bishop’s talk was one of three presentations for a general audience at the conference, which also offered specialized workshops for social workers in clinical practice with individuals, families, organizations and communities.
The Latino Social Work Network presented the conference in collaboration with UC Davis and its School of Medicine, the UC Davis Center for Reducing Disparities, California State University, Sacramento, and several state and county agencies.
Two other speakers on general topics included Rachel Garcia Guerrero, chief of the Office of Multicultural Services in the California Department of Mental Health, and Enrique Morones, the founding director of Border Angels, a non-profit group that brings water and supplies to migrants attempting to cross the desert border between the United States and Mexico.
Guerrero spoke about the need for social workers in county mental health facilities to partner with social workers in non-profit community programs, such as after-school programs and family support services, in order to provide people with emotional and practical support as well as preventative mental health care in the current economic times.
Funding for many such programs and services comes from the Mental Health Services Act, the state tax on personal incomes exceeding $1 million, Guerrero said. That funding stands to be cut after the state’s special election on May, she noted.
Morones spoke about what he termed “the humanitarian crisis” at the United States-Mexico border, explaining that since the construction of the border fence in 1995, migrants have moved deeper into the desert to cross into the United States, resulting in a mortality rate at the border that “increased from one or two deaths each month to one or two each day,” he said.
“More than 10,000 people have died trying to migrate to the U.S. since the wall went up. If you are poor, there is no line to get in. There is no way to enter the U.S.,” he contended.
Morones urged people to work together through humanitarian aid to prevent more deaths.
