And its actually an opportunity for us to recognize the number one cause of death in our country, which is Heart Disease. A lot of folks dont know about Heart Disease. Actually me, being a latino myself, and my mom having high blood pressure, and having it in our family, a lot of folks dont know about it, so this is actually one month out of the year we all can talk about it and find out what we can do to prevent it. So, thats why we wear red, to pay recognition to really identifying this huge issue in our community which kills a lot of folks in our community. And if it doesnt kill you, it actually provides a lot of opportunities for prevention, to prevent disability, which also is a big risk factor for having Heart Disease and stroke. Damian and you do a lot in helping prevent that, cristal, with a lot of the work that you do. We do have video of some zumba classes. Youll be teaching some zumba on this very important event over at Eastridge Mall in san jose. Cristal yes, yes, i will be there with more instructors are gonna be helping me. And i think this is gonna be, like, somethingits gonna be different because we gonna have zumbathon event. Like, everyoneeverybodys gonna dance. Theyre gonna, like, laugh, enjoy. Like, this is for all the family, so. Damian but at the same time while theyre having fun, and dancing, y que no, theyre helping their health, theyre helping their heart and what not. Cristal yes, of course, yes. If you do cardio, its really help for your health, because, i mean, thissorry damian no, its all right. Because i mean, it helps. When youre doing cardio, it helps pump your heart and it helps mike yes, yes, cardios good for everything. I think a lot of folks forget that cardiothey think cardios such a hard thing to do, right . It doesnt mean you have to run 510 miles. Anything that really gets your blood moving is cardio, really, and you really wanna get that blood moving for a good reason. You wanna bring oxygen throughout all your organs. You wanna feel good. You wanna exercise that muscle you have which is your heart. Again, thats an important muscle to really exercise. So, and thats what i think cristal is really great at doing, to get people to do the dance. I think thats what zumbathons all about is to have fun. Damian cause i think that what zumba has done is it has made exercise fun. I mean, where before some people who maybe thought, well cristal Everybody Loves zumba. Come on, everyone. Damian yeah, and talk about the difference maybe that youve seen in some of the people who youve trained and who have gone through zumba classes. What difference have you seen . Cristal a lot of people feel, like, different because they lose a lot of weight and healthfor their health, because theysometimes, like, a lot of people do exercise just because i wannathey wanna look great, but no, they wanna, like, feel better inside, you know . Damian and this is whatthe event youre having is a health fair . Mike it is and if i could mention, its a threepart event. Its actually pretty big, damian, and im really happy to get support from the consulado, but also from telemundo for helping us out here to promote it. Its at Eastridge Mall. Threepart event. So, were gonna have a health expo, which incorporates health screenings, a zumbathon, and also a big health fair. But we also will have guest speakers sharing sort of educational seminars, from doctors talking about, you know, cardiology, from neurology. Even we have chef anna zulaica, whos gonna be talking about how to eat healthy, you know, on a fast and easy way to go. So, its a bunch of everything all in one, at the Eastridge Mall, and it starts at 10 a. M. And were gonna go until 2 p. M. And again, free for everybody, so i really want everyone to come with your friends, family, visitors from out of town. Its just a great event. And rain or shine, were in the mall, so it doesnt really matter. Damian so, yoga pants, or whats the attire when youre doing zumba, for those of us who may be interested . Cristal yes, definitely you have to wear something comfortable. Tennis shoes for sure, and just put your leggings, and thats it. Damian okay, now, i mean, when we talk about Heart Disease and high blood pressure, im taking meds for high blood pressure, a lot of people do that. Mike a lot of people, yeah. Damian but its important to get checked, and thats why youre gonna have Health Services there and what not. Mike we know that in order to control your high blood pressure, you gotta know your numbers, right . Just like losing weight, you wanna lose weight, you gotta know where youre at, right . You gotta know what numbers youre on high blood pressure. So, in this event, were working with our partner Foothill Community health center. Theyre coming on out. Theyre gonna be providing free blood pressure, free glucose, free cholesterol, free dental checks and appointments. And again, if you dont have any insurance, dont worry. We got you covered. Well get you an appointment with foothill or any other sort of agency that youre at, cause you might not be from the area and you might need help connecting with another organization to get healthcare. So, again, Healthcare Access is so important to controlling your numbers, so we need to help you there too. Damian so, its a zumbathon to get you started there on that morning. There is the information, february 4 at 10 a. M. Is when it starts at Eastridge Mall in san jose. You go in through the 24 hour fitness . Mike entrance, yeah. The 24 hour entrance. You see 24 hour, just park near it and just walk right in. Damian all right, well, good luck and thank you for what youre doing. Mike of course, thank you, damian. Damian and up next here on comunidad del valle, father jon pedigo. Stay with us. Comes to social justice issues. Father jon pedigo is on our show. Hes with the diocese of san jose. Welcome to the show. Father jon pedigo hey, thanks. Damian well, talk about your new role. You have a new title. Youre at the diocese now. Youre moving on up. Jon well, i dont think its moving on up. Moving on out. Im moving into a different kind of position, a different kind of role. So, ill be doing advocacy and justice work fulltime. Damian who was doing that before for the diocese . Jon no one was really doing it. I was doing it parttime here and there, but right now, so its really deliberate collaborations with labor, deliberate collaborations with community leaders, different projects, and different issues that are coming up and affecting the community. Damian well, lets get right into it. Do you think we need that more than ever now . Jon yes, lets just say that i had a plan, a work plan, for one scenario, and then on november 9, i realized i didnt have an alternative work plan. And so, now its really like everybody else in social action and social justice. Damian now, you were out there with the womens march in san jose and you were very vocal about your thoughts on where this country might be headed. Who do you think stands to lose the most in the next 4 years . Jon well, i think who stands to lose the most as we can see are the poor. The poor, the people that are in the cabinet are all billionaires. Most of them are billionaires. And wevein fact, the collected wealth of the people in the cabinet is more than a good percentage of the population of the united states. So, youre dealing with people that are not dealing, have never dealt with, or perhaps have a very tenuous grasp on the reality of what it takes for a family of 4 to spend 5 a day on food for all those people. Its very, very difficult to deal with that reality and communicate that in terms of policy to this administration. Damian let me play devils advocate and say, its been a week. Give him a chance. Or have you seen enough . Jon well, i think, heres the thing is that, you know, when you look at the candidates and the process in which those candidates are being confirmed, we look at thewe look at his rhetoric, campaign rhetoric, and we look at what happened at the inaugural address, we look at the meetings that have been had between members of his supportive staff and other advocates, and its very, very clear that its not going to be a great day for immigrants, its not gonna be a great day for muslims, its not gonna be a great day for the very poor. Damian i mean, you kinda touched on this, but hethe president now has zero latino members of his cabinet. Jon that is correct, and that is a bit of a deficit in representation. The cabinet does not look like the community, does not look like america. It doesnt reflect the reality of the complexity and diversity of america. Soand it doesnt affect the agenda of concerns, the heart concerns of people in america. So, i think that there are somewe see why we need to prepared. Theres a saying that says, pray for rain, but dig a well. So, were digging a big well. Damian now, theres video that we have of, you know, one of the mayday rallies. Are we gonna be seeing more of these types of rallies up and down the country do you think, especially now . Jon oh yeah, i think youre gonna seeis this the womens rally or the mayday rally . Damian no, this is a mayday rally. Jon oh yeah, i think that were gonna see a real big uptick in social engagement. People ask, you know, how i feel about everything going on, do i feel oppressed, and all that. I tell em, no, i feel great. Why . Because as an organizer, youre trying to agitate people to get them active and get them engaged in a solution. People are already agitated and they want a solution right now, so ive had calls, and people come to visit me, letters, people really want to get engaged and theyre asking to be part of the movement, and i havent had that before. And so, ive seen just, you know, an immense amount of interest, and i think the saturday turnout for the womens march was an indication that thats just kind of like a bellwether, as it were, of things that are happening. Weve had three marches this past week. Those are big events. So, i reallyi do feel that were moving into a whole new age of activism, and its not gonna look like previous ages of activism, but its gonna be looking at bringing latinos together with womens issues, bringing them together with concerns of the African American community, with concerns of students. Youre looking at all sectors of Society Working together, those that have not heard. Theyve been kind of herding into one box. Damian because, i mean, the bishop is very visible in taking photographs and meeting personally with the american muslim community. Jon well, yeah, i was part of that event and we are gonna be having a longterm engagement with the muslim community. And actually, a lot of those ideas came out of the immigrant communitymexican immigrant community. People were asking, what should we do . What should we do . And the response of the immigrantmexican immigrant persons, they said, we firstlets not ask what we should do. Lets ask them what they need. And so, they were very particular, because, you know, they feel that its most important is that we listen to whats happening to these people and listen to where their stories are, what are their concerns, and then respond out of their concerns rather than us coming in with a solution, saying were gonna march or were gonna do that, because i think that there are some security concerns for them and their own families, and so were looking at finding ways to stand in solidarity as a church institution, to find ways to stand in solidarity with existing movements of people that are trying to fight for economic justice, social justice, and representation. Damian all right, well, hes got a new title with the diocese of san jose. It involves a lot of social justice issues. There is the web address for more information. Well be back with father jon pedigo. Stay with us. Of san jose here on comunidad del valle. Father, Miguel Hidalgo y costilla was successful in rallying the mexicans during that day and time in jon yeah, el grito. Damian el grito. So, when people might think, well, hes a man of the cloth, he shouldnt be getting that involved in political issues, but the cloth has been getting involved for a long time, right . Jon in fact, social Justice Movements in this country and in mexico have really been initiated out of the faith community. San cristobal de las casas was a great promoter for indigenous rights in chiapas, and he was strong about, you know, saying that indians do not just have souls but they have actual civil rights as everybody else. And so, he was a great advocate for that. San martin de porres was a great advocate for rights, Racial Justice and rights for all people. So, it goes all the way through the different individuals, you know, oscar romero, cesar chavez more locally. He came out of a church movement, the cursillo movement, and saw the tie between people. Dr. King out of a religious movement. So, all these movements have always had religious figures and institutional religion has always been part of these liberation movements. If nothing, were not the instigators, but theyre certainly the promoters. And the whole Abolition Movement for slavery was out of the church movements. Damian is it visionary of the diocese to implement this new position, this new title . Jon im not sure if its visionary. I think it was something that they thought was needed. They thought it was needed. They thought that they could, you know, place me in a place that i would do some good. I mean, im, you know, kind ofim actually down in the basement of the diocese. Damian you gotta work your way up, father jon. Jon like mulder and scully, i have this poster that says, i want to believe with a ufo in the back, which has a lot of level of meaning, but it is rather funny. I am down in the basement, but im in there, and im working, and i have different folks, laypeople that are working on the team, supporters that are making this happen. And im going out to different churches and going out beyond the institutional catholic church, but also working with agencies and other faiths to bring us together to look at these issues on a deeper level. Damian every time i interview daca students, undocumented students, theres never a dry eye when were doing the interview. Youve probably heard a lot more than ive heard in confidence. How worried are you about the daca students . Jon to be honest, im actuallyi am worried. I dont know if theres anything about, you know, deporting those kids or not, but i am worried about work authorization, that many of these daca students are the primary breadwinners for their family. They have the college degrees, high school degrees, theyre out there working the workforce, they have a good job, many of them are in management positions, many of them are working in our movement, hired by other agencies and organizations. So, theyre doing integral work in this valley, and if you were to take away that work authorization, it will behave a serious effect, obviously on their economic wellbeing, but certainly on the movement as well. What do we do with all these students that california has, onethird of the Daca Recipients in the nation . You know, tens of thousands if not a hundred thousand are in this region, so it is gonna have a very big effect. Damian you were pastor at the our lady of guadalupe parish, and we know thats where cesar attended mass. And now, you were instrumental also in having Mcdonnell Hall, the old guadalupe church, being enshrined into a national monument. Your thoughts on the fact that its gone that far . Jon well, i think thats its really important, first of all damian or landmark, i should say. Jon well, you know, i think that historic landmark is important because what it is is its basically saying that we were here. Our story happened and our story will continue to be told generations from now. Much of san jose has been paved over, demolished. A lot of the storythe places where events happened for latinos, those buildings and those places have disappeared. Mcdonnell halls central and important because it was a gathering space for the initial Labor Rights Movement in Santa Clara County for people of color and especially the very poor in that area, the east side, which was unincorporated at that time. It was important that cesar chavez received some kind of i call a divine inspiration at that particular church to engage and to leave his life of working with his hands to become a person working in organization and working with people, to organize them, to talk about their rights. It was at that place in that building where he received what i call as a divine call to serve humanity. And his life and that call changed not just himself but changed the entire way of doing business, you know, between farm workers and the patrones or the owners. I think it created a certain dream of equity, a certain dream of collaboration, rather than exploitation. And so, he changed all of that, and it happened, you know, at that one place where he was in prayer, involved with a certain amount ofcertain types of folks, and Mcdonnell Hall represents that movement and the seed of a Movement Based in the life of a particular individual who has had an amazing effect worldwide. Damian should he be a saint . Jon well, i believe that cesar chavez has a lot of qualities of sainthood, and i have actually been part of a group that have been exploring trying to make that happen, and we believe thatat least the group of us that have been gathering together, and the late sal alvarez was part of that, we believe that there is something that we should be looking at, and that we should look, not just because of what he did, but who he was as a human being. Damian well, you have a progressive pope at the vatican, so maybe he will jon well, well see what happens, but the cause for sainthood takes many, many, many years. In some cases, centuries. Damian well, again, father jon pedigo, a new role at the diocese of san jose. And theres the web address for more information. Thank you, father jon, for your work, and continue doing that in the way that youre doing it, cause its inspiring a lot of people. Does this absolve me of mass for the next month i think . Jon no, it doesnt. There was no collection envelope. Damian ha ha ha thank you, father. Up next here on comunidad del valle, los guys. Stay with us. Comunidad on que pasa. [music] [music] [music] damian and our saludos for those celebrating a special day, felicidades. [music] damian and here is our contact information. You can follow me on twitter. My handle is newsdamian. 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 espanol on Telemundo Canal 48. Your comunidad del valle every sunday, one hour from now. Every sunday at 11 a. M. On Telemundo Canal 48. Thank you for sharing a part of your sunday with us. We leave you now with los guys. Buenos dias. 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