The week, which actually last eleven days, presumably to encompass two weekends, opens today, the 17^th of May, and continues through the 27^th. The year’s theme is: Chicago: A City of Neighborhoods and designated bars will be passing out maps showing where participating venues can be found.

Venues participating include: Pilsen’s Maria’s Packaged Goods, Humbolt Park’s Scofflaw, and Lincoln Square’s Northdown. Hundreds of craft brews, like Victory Brewing’s Golden Monkey, Lagunitas’ Lil’ Sumpin’, and Half Acre’s Daisy Cutter, will be featured at participating bars.

For more information on the event check the website of your favorite local craft beer bar or go to the event’s official website: Chibeerweek.com.  But be warned, as an indicator for the popularity of Craft Beer Week, the website for the event has been crashing continually this morning, displaying a screen saying, “the resource limit” has been reached.

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Dear Abuelitas,

I’m a girl in sixth grade. I’ve known for awhile that I like other girls but it’s something I can’t speak to my parents about. They are very religious but I would like them to know because I have feelings for someone in my class and I’d like to be open about it with them. I don’t think it’s something I should hide. Should I wait to tell them when I’m older? We usually have okay communication but you know how traditions are traditions. I don’t know. What should I do?

Thank you!
Anonymously lost in sixth grade

Querida “Anonymously lost in sixth grade”,

Gracias por tu carta, y por asking las abuelitas for our opinion on this very important decision.

Dejame hacerte un cuento. When I was a little girl, mi mamá y mi papa were very strict y very busy. They never had time to talk to me about my problems, y, muchas veces, decian que my problems eran “cosas de niños” y, for that reason, not very important.

Pero there was one person I could talk to. Mi madrina. Sometimes I needed consejos; sometimes I needed to complain, o gritar, o llorar. My madrina was there for all of it.

You are right, you should not have to hide anything about yourself. But we live en un mundo where some people, sometimes even family, think you should.

Your parents might not be like that, but it sounds like you are afraid they are. So, te digo, take your time. You can tell them whenever you are ready. And, if you are not ready for a long time, that is ok tambien.

In the meantime, si tienes one family member, or friend, or teacher, or anyone you know will love you no matter what, that all you feel from them is love … someone like mi madrina, then tell them. Tell them first. Then, when you decide to tell your parents, you have someone else who has given you strength.

Good luck, mi vida, por siempre.
Marta la Cubana

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Dear Abuelitas,
My brother-in-law has stopped showing up to our family gatherings. My sister has been married to him for about 10 years. He does not make an effort to show up at all. She always has an excuse for his not being there; he is either sick, tired or working when we ask where he is. How do I tell her to stop making excuses for him and that she should force him to attend our family functions? How can I tell her how we feel without hurting her feelings?

Thanks for your advice.

Signed, the concerned sister.

Querida “The Concerned Sister”,

OK. I see what happen here. This is que you’re a little stubborn and she’s a little stubborn también. If anything, blame Mami and Papi for making the DNA so Frank-Sinatra-like, doing it “My Way” y lo que sea. If you both weren’t so asi she probably wouldn’t have married este tal de cual. Pero bueno.

Let me tell you something, este chico is probably over the family thing. And I agree, that’s not good. Family is important and I always tell my family to find time to be together. Pero forcing a man to come to a family function might make what is already a tense thing between him and her worse. And since you’re so family first and all, I think your sister and her happiness is probably most importante here. If you’re giving her the tickity tickity every time she’s over because her sin vergüenza husband doesn’t want to join her then all you’re doing is hurting her two times. One for reminding her you hate her husband and two for reminding her that her husband didn’t want to come to your thing.

No le hagas eso, cha cha. Be better about the whole thing. When your sister is over, love her. This way you build her up. And tambien, over time of feeling that good about being with you and the family who says nice things to her, she might find that maybe she needs a husband that is there with the family. Take it easy y disfruta tu vida mami. Leave tu sister en paz.

- Tu Abuelita favorita, Dulce la Dominicana

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Dear Abuelitas,
My aunt is visiting us and has been here for about a month. I notice that she has been gaining a lot of weight since she got here. She waits until everyone is in bed at night and then watches TV and eats her junk food–chocolates and Coke. She is beginning to waddle when she walks and if we go to the corner store.

I want to tell her that she needs to cut back on her junk food because it’s making her unhealthy without hurting her feelings. How do I do that?

Signed,
The concerned niece who loves her Tia!

Querida “Concerned Niece who loves her Tia”:

Pues sí. I like to eat también, y como me encanta la Coca-Cola, muchacha! It’s criminal.
What worries me is that Latinos have the highest rate of Diabetes, mija, and the way your Tia is eating might lead her down that road if she’s not careful. Pero your talking about how she walks funny y como she’s gained weight and that’s the fastest way to a cocotaso with a Latina. I say, talk to her about the amount of sugar and corn syrup y esa basura in the food she’s eating. Tell her that it causes diabetes in Latinos and how difficult it is to live with diabetes and remember that knowledge is power, mamita. Pero please, no le digas que se está poniendo gorda. Because that would make you a mala and I write people out of my Will for things like that. So, piensa eso.

I think it’s beautiful that you’re worried though, cosita linda. Eso es family first mentality and I have a special place in my corazonsito for that kind of thinking.

-Tu Abuelita favorita, Lalita la Venezolana

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Send your questions to Las Abuelitas at DearAbuelitas@extranews.net and look out for one of Las Abuelitas answering your question in EXTRA Newspaper every Friday!

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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQGMTPab9GQ

Let’s all not get too crazy that President Obama now supports gay marriage(he’s been privately supporting gay rights for years).

Ask yourself this:

Will he make it a federal law?

Probably not since the GOP holds more seats in Congress(thanks to voter’s not having faith in the democrats)

Will the President kick the can down the road to make it a state issue?

If that is the case North Carolina will happen in another state.Guess what? it already has in 29 other states.

This is the first time a sitting president has public given support for gay rights. At this point,this is just support not an enacted law.

Stay Tuned.

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Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862.

Each one of the team’s employees’ was wearing sombreros. Before the game, there were several musical acts such as Mariachi Zapopan, Quebradita Dancers, and Joe Rendon Salsa Con Soul.

Carlos Tortolero, the president of the National Museum of Mexican Art threw out the first pitch.

The on field performance was given by Mariachi Zapopan who were accompanied by traditional folkloric Dancers. A folkloric dance ensemble was performed.

Here are some of the sites from the event:

Pre-game warm ups

White Sox Manager Robin Ventura

Right fielder Alex Rios

First baseman Paul Konerko

Mariachi Zapopan

Quebradita Dancers

Grab a sombrero!

Mariachi Zapopan accompanied by traditional folkloric Dancers

Orale!!

I guess people are still tailgating

showing sox fans how its done

Jumbotron

Oh yeah about the game! The game started out with a 19-minute rain delay despite the fact that it had not rained at that point. An estimated crowd of 17,314(that’s less than half, look at the pics) was on hand to watch the White Sox lose to the Cleveland Indians 7-5.

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I know you are watching the fight before you go out the celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Even though it’s not the fight we all want to see (Mayweather vs. Pacquiao) it will do for now.

Here’s the rundown:

What? It’s a world-class championship prizefight!!!

Who?                                    WBC Welterweight Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather

                                            Vs.

                                               WBA (Super) Light Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto

When? Saturday 8pm

Where? MGM Grand Las Vegas, NV or on pay-per-view (formerly known as closed circuit TV)

Who’s on the undercard?  Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. “Sugar” Shane Mosley

Prediction: Mayweather wins by unanimous decision.

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I’d received one of the station’s emails which discussed volunteer  opportunities. I almost wet my pants when I saw there was a chance to help out for Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me one of my favorite broadcasts. Eeek! It turns out the only days available were times I already had plans. Grrr! Then I saw the information on GAX and decided to sign up to help out. They confirmed with a 9:00AM call time for Saturday. I felt kind of cool and geeky all at the same time.

It was a drizzly, windy and cold Saturday morning so of course my hair arrived to the Forum first. Don was the first person I met and he turned out to be our enthusiastic and fearless leader. It was a small group of us and we were all on the same page, looking forward to the morning’s routine. We were given a really cool t-shirt which we wore to help people identify us for questions from the organizations and food vendors.

We were assigned the big room with dozens of tables, in place, and ready to be taken over by global activists. We were then given a responsibility and mine was helping at the loading dock, which didn’t really have a dock, just a door to the back entrance of the auditorium. It was cold. So, so cold and windy but this gave us even more energy… probably because we liked running back into the warmth of the building. Brrr!

I was one of two girls in our group. Her name is Jeanette and she’s a mom who enjoys volunteering, especially for WBEZ. She’s a fan of the station and so were the rest of us. It was nice to be able to connect that way. So we kept going back and forth helping the activists bring in their materials, learning a bit about their mission, and constantly checking our paper maps for table locations. It was fast and fun.

One of my favorite moments was helping the guys from Intelligentsia. Yes. Oh, yes. I got to carry their sign! What? Yes! Intelligentsia. Repeat it. Go ahead. Ohhh. And even though they made us suffer for a long, long, long time while they created perfection, when I finally took that first sip of heaven, I almost passed out. Good lord! Shivers.

After a few hours of pushing dollies and carrying all sorts of bags and boxes and signs, things looked about ready to rock. There was a quick reminder of the day’s plans and we were assigned new tasks. I helped out with the photo booth, letting people know it was there and to take advantage. Some people were a little hesitant but most took advantage of the free publicity, especially when I offered to watch over their table so they could be photographed. They were happy and that made me happy.

As I walked throughout the area I began to learn more about each organization. There was so much information, so much need and so much work being done. It was really empowering. There was also a live Skype session with children in India and they played a quick round of Simon Says with children here. Technology, yo! Oh, and the live music portion was outstanding, as only WBEZ knows how. I also ran into Jesse Menendez, host of The Music Vox on Vocalo and Silvia Rivera, managing director.

There were so much to learn, so many ideas to support. As my time to leave approached I wished I would have had more time to spare and stay. It was a great event and a great opportunity to help in whatever way I could. I encourage you, as well, if you are willing and able, to take some time to volunteer… if you don’t do so already.

See you at next year’s Global Activism Expo!

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Chicago Bears pick Temple University Tight End Evan Rodriguez in the fourth round of NFL Draft on Saturday. The Bronx, New York native is a  6-foot-2, 244-pounder who was the Owls’ top receiver last season with 35 receptions for 479 yards and two touchdowns. Rodriguez also played H-back for Temple, lining up all over the backfield. He was also used as a fullback on running plays.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Rodriguez ran a 4.58 40-yard dash, posted 18 reps in the bench press, with a 9-11 broad jump, 36-inch vertical jump, 4.28 short shuttle and a 6.94 three-cone.

Rodriguez’s NFL Draft report from Pro Football Weekly doesn’t mince words on the type of player the Bears drafted:

 Positives: Very athletic. Flexible hips and fluid movement skills. Very good balance and body control. Catches easily and has a wide catching radius. Effective move blocker — fits on linebackers and is able to adjust to moving targets.

Negatives: Not tough or physical — could stand to get stronger and become more of a finisher. Gets outmuscled in line. Too reliant on athletic ability — not a savvy route runner. Limited elusiveness and tackle-breaking ability. Is immature and does not know what it means to be a pro. Character and dependability need to be investigated.

So…let’s see how this goes!! Well I hope.

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