Editorial:

Easter week is the greatest week for Christians. It is a time for atonement, redemption, for sacrifice, and re-birth. Today is Good Friday the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross. This is a somber day. This is a day that Jesus died for our sins. Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the fulfillment of the Christian faith.

Easter is also about re-birth, it is about new birth. Easter is about Spring time, and of course, it is about the Easter Bunny and the Easter egg hunt.

Easter is about faith, family, and fun, it is indeed a great day.

Easter also offers a fresh outlook for the rest of the year. Easter is a time where we can take stock of our lives, and be thankful, as we look forward to the future.

For the Hispanic community there is much to look forward to, we can consider it a re-birth… sort of. This community has gone through several births. One can consider the union movement lead by Cesar Chavez and development of the UFW as a beginning of self-realization and growth. Also the Chicano movement galvanized a large segment of the Mexican-American community into a political action community that created change and self-awareness. The vestiges of the Chicano movement still resonate today.

Following the Chicano movement, we foreword to the Decade of the Hispanic. The Decade of the Hispanic was more of an inspiration and recognition of the quickly growing Hispanic community with the promise that this would transform into political power. The Decade of the Hispanic never truly developed but it did serve as a wake up call of the growing political base of the Hispanic community.

Today Immigration has been the focus of another re-birth as immigrants, advocates, and the Hispanic community, continue to rally behind the effort for a fair immigration policy that will create a path to citizenship.

The immigration reform movement has been constant and shows no sign of letting up which has President Obama on the defensive, in particular over his record of deportations. Republicans are divided on their positions regarding immigration, and the Democratic Party has been ineffective in moving forward a policy, tending to rely on blaming Republicans for their unwillingness to move on a vote.

In San Diego, during the mayoral special election, there was an excitement within the Hispanic community that to-date had never been experienced. There was enthusiasm and participation before never seen within the community as they rallied behind the campaign of David Alvarez.

Hopes reached new highs with the Alvarez campaign but reality did not meet those hopes. As we take a look back at what went right, as the Chicano Democratic Association recently did, it is important to be realistic and critical in our reflections. It is also important to acknowledge what was done right and that the community continues to build upon that.

Now is the time to take that enthusiasm and turn it into organizing and developing a base that will sustain throughout the year and into the next. As Carmen Lopez of the Registered of Voters pointed out during the CDA meeting, we need to educate the community on voting. Enthusiasm loses its momentum over time, but an organized effort continues on.