Barrio Boo Kicks Off Halloween
What do monsters, princesses, hot dogs, raspas, games and dancing all have in common? They were all part of this year’s Barrio Boo in the Plaza Guadalupe!
Organized by the Barrio Network, Barrio Boo hosted children of all ages in the Plaza on Friday, October 28th and included games lik
e Peg Leg Plinko, Pin the Spider in the Web, Skull Bowling, Coffin Dig, Pirates Map and more. There was also a cake walk, face painting and a special performance by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Ballet Folklorico dancers.
The festivities kicked off at 5pm with spooky music and karaoke blasted from speakers courtesy of DJ Spins. The evening was filled with games, ghost stories, mural painting and even a costume contest. The contest had quite a few worthy contenders with costumes like Dumbo, a clown, Dracula, Tigger, a firefighter, Jessie from Toy Story, and a number of superheroes.
The evening ended with a special screening of the new Disney Winnie the Pooh movie in the Guadalupe Theater at 7:10pm.
A big thank you to all the organizations who participated and made this a great kick-off to Halloween:
Alazan-Apache Courts, Avenida Guadalupe Association, Girl Scouts, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Guadalupe Street Coffee House, Inman Christian Center, Inner-City Development, Lanier High School, SA Youth, San Anto, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
Diez y Seis de Septiembre Celebrations a Hit!
Our 30th anniversary of the 16 de Septiembre Parade and Festival was a big hit once again with the San Antonio community. We had over 100 entries in our parade, including floats, marching bands, dancers, mariachis, horses, carriages and even Star Wars characters!
The day kicked off at 8am with the drill team competition along Guadalupe Street. Tom C. Clark High School JROTC took home the prize for best female drill team and John Jay High School JROTC won for best male drill team.
The parade stepped off at 10am and was led by Grand Marshal Gerardo
“Jerry” Diaz, El Charro de Corazon and followed by Lanier High School students who provided clean up for the magnificent horses. The Honorary Grand Marshal title was shared by KCOR-AM’s popular morning show hosts Los Viborones Julian Carvajal and Federico Alarcon. Jorge Nunez of Univision announced each entry as it passed by to cheers and applause from the excited and eager audience.
We also had the unique opportunity, through NOWcastSA, to have our residents use flip cams and camera phones to capture the event and upload it to create a unique video collage and photo gallery (which can be found by clicking here for video and photos).
The festival got off with a bang with an amazing performance by Parade Grand Marshal Jerry Diaz who sang while performing tricks on his horse in the Plaza Guadalupe! He was followed by Austin Academy’s Mariachi Los 
Tigres, Mickey y Sus Carnales and Liberty Band. Despite the brief downpour, the fans stuck around for the closing performance by Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution.
We had over 200 volunteers, a variety of delicious food and a packed kids area which included face painting and performances by Radio Disney.
We had a great time and look forward to another great year in 2012!
Special thanks to each of our sponsors:
BBVA Compass
CPS Energy
Univision
H-E-B
Valero
Alamo Federal Credit Union
La Prensa
Wells Fargo
Radio Disney
San Antonio Spurs
Citibank
Texas Public Radio
Incredible Pizza
NOWcastSA
Kia
Pepsi
KCOR-AM
T&R Consulting
Conexion
Welcome to the Playground!
Nearly 200 volunteers joined together on Wednesday, August 10th to build a new playground in the Plaza Guadalupe. Located just a block from over 700 San Antonio Housing Authority residents and across the street from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, there will be no shortage of children taking advantage of this new play space.
The morning kicked off with the opening ceremony at 8:30am. Representatives from KaBOOM!, Kool-Aid and Avenida, as well as District 5 Councilman David Medina, welcomed volunteers and led them in some stretches to get the blood flowing before heading off to build. Volunteers were sorted into different groups to work on a variety of projects including 
building picnic tables and benches, painting, creating sidewalk games, putting together mosaics, laying sod, building a trellis and gravel path, and of course putting together the components for the playground. We also had the Girl Scouts managing the food area, where we had donations from H-E-B, Kiolbasa and Kool-Aid to fill the hungry stomachs of volunteers for breakfast and lunch. We also had the Westside’s own DJ Rocky to keep things fun with an assortment of music throughout the day.
The build took just over five hours to complete. Volunteers came from Home Depot, H-E-B, Girl Scouts, Valley Hi Optical, Health Collaborative and other organizations as well as many local community residents and kids. Young and old, from different parts of the city and backgrounds, worked together to complete the new playground and make it a unique space for kids to play. We even had visits from the Kool-Aid Man and H-E-Buddy to keep up morale.
The day finished at 2:00pm with words from KaBOOM!, Kool-Aid, Police, the San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce and Avenida, and volunteers circled the new playground to cut the “ribbon” – a colorful paper chain made by local kids. What am amazing project for the community to be involved in, and one which will be enjoyed for years to come. Thank you to all our volunteers for making this a great day!
To see photos, check out our Facebook page.
Students at Northwest Vista College chose to develop a unique, short video about our C.A.R.E.S. Workforce Development Program as well as our Housing Counseling Assistance Program. Check it out!
Countdown to Build Day!
Our Playground Build Day is only 13 days away! And just under the wire, H-E-B has enthusiastically jumped on board as a co-sponsor of the event with Kool-Aid to build this new playground into the he
art of San Antonio’s Westside!
We have over 150 volunteers signed up from H-E-B, Home Depot, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, Kiolbasa, Community First, NALCAB and the San Antonio Children’s Shelter not to mention individuals from around the city, local churches and residents of the Westside.
There will be lots of activites for kids, youth and adults. Pain
ting, cleaning, recycling, preparing food and putting equipment together are just some of the many tasks we’ll need help with on Build Day.
If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still room so be sure to secure your spot at this festive fun family build.
The event kicks off at 8:30am with a short opening ceremony featuring District 5 Councilman David Medina as well as reps from Kool-Aid, KaBOOM! and H-E-B. We’ll conclude around 2:30pm with a closing ceremony and a special ribbon cutting as well as a few words from the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
Want to make a difference in the lives of thousands of San Antonio kids? Join us on Build Day! Call 210-223-3151 for more info and to sign up. It won’t be the same without you!
11 First-Time Homebuyers Receive Essential Training
If you’ve ever purchased a home, then you know how overwhelming and confusing the process can be. Maybe you’ve been lucky and had things fall easily into place, but for a lot of people the paperwork, the jargon and the hoops to jump through can be an emotional rollercoaster and a financial burden, not to mention ju
st plain frustrating. It is because of these sentiments that Avenida has committed to offering a monthly, free and HUD-approved education class to first-time homebuyers to empower them to navigate the process with realistic expectations and a clear understanding of the process.
Our most recent class was held on Saturday, July 23rd and taught 11 new homeowners the education, knowledge, and information needed to make informed decisions throughout the home buying process. All aspects of purchasing a home including qualifying for a mortgage, locating a house, addressing credit problems, budgeting, identifying types of mortgage loans, closing loans, obtaining homeowner insurance, and understanding property taxes and home maintenance were all covered in the course. Upon completion of the course, the participants received a certificate that enables them to request down payment assistance. One-on-one counseling is also available to each of the participants to further assist them in the lengthy and overwhelming process of purchasing their first home.
During the class, participants get the unique opportunity to speak to a lender, home inspector, realtor and even a credit union to address any of their questions. Presentations cover each step in the process, with real-world experts lending their experience to the discussion.
Think you missed your chance to get the information you’ve been looking for? Our next class will be August 20th at 1313 Guadalupe Street.
Avenida’s President/CEO Selected for NCLR Panel
Avenida Guadalupe Association (Avenida) President/CEO J. Oscar Ramirez has been selected to speak on July 25 on a panel at the upcoming National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Annual Conference in Washington, DC where President Barack Obama will offer a keynote address. Mr. Ramirez currently acts as one of two Texas Affiliate Council members, and the panel discussion next week will cover the affiliates’ role in expanding Latino engagement and participation in the 2012 elections.
For more than 30 years, the NCLR Annual Conference has represented the largest gathering of the nation’s most influential individuals, organizations, institutions and companies working with the Hispanic community. Participants learn about ongoing and emerging issues in the Hispanic community, connect with key community leaders and generate partnerships with Latino-serving community-based organizations.
“This is a significant opportunity to share on a national stage the work being done locally by the Avenida,” said Ramirez. “Specifically, I will have the opportunity to discuss our community empowerment efforts such as registering over 500 new Latino voters last year.”
Ramirez was elected to his position on the Affiliate Council in May 2010 and selected for the role of Secretary for the Affiliate Council in March 2011. The Affiliate Council is designed to serve as the voice for the NCLR Affiliates and acts in an advisory capacity to the NCLR Staff and Board. Ramirez serves as a representative of NCLR’s Texas region, strengthening the partnership among the Affiliates in the state.
NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States and works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. NCLR is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC with regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, and San Antonio.
NCLR will host the 2011 NCLR National Conference and the National Latino Family Expo in Washington, DC July 23-26 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.
Playground Build Day is Just Around the Corner!
Do you remember heading to the local playground, zooming down the slide and jetting high on the swings with your family or friends? We want the kids of the Avenida neighborhood to have those same great memories! That’s why we’ve partnered with KaBOOM! and Kool-Aid to build a brand new playground in the Plaza Guadalupe in just a few weeks.
On Wednesday, August 10th, we will host over 200 volunteers in the Plaza and spend just six hours putting together this new playscape so the neighborhood kids can have a fun and safe place to head to after school or church or just because they need a place to play nearby.
What makes this build even more unique? We let the kids design it! That’s right – in June we invited area kids to come out for a few ho
urs with their parents, and draw their ideal playgrounds. Sure, we got a few kids who were eager to put underwater sea monsters and even a petting zoo as part of the plans, but even these lofty ideas were helpful in figuring out this is a creative bunch and the playground needs to reflect such outside-the-box thinking.
The design team with KaBOOM! put together a few sample playgrounds and let the kids vote on them. This truly is a playground designed by kids and meant for their own play.
If you are interested in volunteering, we want you! There will be food and music and it will be an exciting, fast-paced day. Call us at 210-223-3151 or email at info@avenidaguadalupe.org for more info!
