‘Fake Urbanity: That’s What This Rag, Even With Budget Cuts, Is All About’
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COUNSELING THE CONSUL
Having worked closely with the Mexican consulate in the past, it’s really sad and incredible how much all that work has fallen apart. Thank you, OC Weekly, for making this story known [Daffodil J. Altan’s “The Man Who Isn’t There,” Feb. 20].
The firing of those consulate workers is shameful. Knowing them personally and having worked with them on numerous occasions . . . it’s such a loss.
But our community is strong. If the Mexican consulate will not continue to be a community resource, and if its consul wants to just sit in his guarded office (who is he being guarded from?), then we’ll move on. If the current consul can be ousted in the process, then that’s just gravy!
Dre Dawg, via ocweekly.com
While the consulate of any country is present to serve the needs of the homeland, it also has the responsibility to be the face of that country in the community and to interact with citizens of the host country.
I remember well the cordial attention I received at the SanTana branch of the Republic of México under the leadership of prior consuls there—particularly Señor Ortiz Haro, who went to bat for me, a native Californian, when confronted by self-appointed bureaucrats on the frontera. I also recall seeing him sitting at a table in the sun, assisting Mexican citizens at one of the mobile-consulate activities.
I was more than a little surprised by how much things have changed under the new consul. I think el señor presidente Calderón needs to take a good look at this and answer Mexican citizens and expatriates in Orange County. They have legitimate questions that deserve answers.
El Gringo, GuadaLaHabra, via ocweekly.com
Who cares about this story? OC Weekly, you’re losing touch.
WASP, Garden Grove, via ocweekly.com
As an American living in Greece, over the years, I’ve seen many rude people with attitudes working at the U.S. Embassy, and some of them were U.S. diplomats. Does this mean I can ask the country of Greece to intervene and make the American embassy behave?
I think this is silly. If you have a problem with the Mexican consulate or Mexican embassy, I would think you should contact the Mexican government in Mexico for assistance.
Unless, of course, [state Senator Lou] Correa is just assisting to make it easier, then that’s nice of him.
I wonder if I can see if a Greek parliament member will make the cashier at the U.S. Embassy smile a bit more; it’s been bothering me every time I renew my passport.
American in Athens, Greece, via ocweekly.com
Ms. Altan was very successful in letting us know that Orange County has lost a dedicated, enthusiastic, valuable Mexican consul in Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro. And thanks to the usual bureaucratic process, we received Carlos Rodriguez y Quezada. Who, in less than two years, has demonstrated his inaccessibility, elitist attitude and lack of interest in the community. Among the new consul’s crowning “achievements” is the discharge of longtime, committed staff who have created and nurtured many valuable consulate programs that are now weakened and drifting away.
Dr. Socorro Sarmiento (pictured in the article), a well-known anthropologist and community specialist, resigned her position with reluctance. Her expertise and commitment would have been unusually difficult, if not impossible, to replace. But, oh, well; “se dice que.” Now you can get your passport processed in half an hour!
Anonymous, Newport Beach, via e-mail
FEMALE IMPERSONATOR
I did a double-take when I saw Skitch [Hitchcock] on the cover [Vickie Chang’s “A Skitch In Time,” Jan. 16]. I thought it was Catherine Hardwicke, the producer of the second Lords of Dogtown. Then I looked closer and saw it wasn’t. Strong resemblance though.
Alan, Fullerton, via e-mail
A CLASSIC LETTER
Vickie Chang [“Long, Strange Trip,” Feb. 20] made a brief, derisive comment about an upcoming “family-friendly” stage version of The Odyssey, managing to dis the play without having seen it, then proceeds to attack the readers by presuming they might not know anything about the original.
“The story begins immediately after the fall of Troy (as documented in Homer’s Iliad, which you might better know as that Brad Pitt movie in which he’s shirtless, armor-clad and angry).”
The Iliad covers a few weeks in the ninth year of the war—starting with Achilles being really pissed at Agamemnon (you know, the guy played by Brian Cox, who was way too old for the part?) and ending with Achilles killing Hector and giving his body back to Priam, king of Troy. That’s it. As far The Odyssey goes, its storyline does not begin immediately after the war, but rather in the 10th year of Odysseus’ wanderings, with his now-grown son looking for him. The adventures are mostly told as a story within the story by Odysseus himself.
