User talk:Migdiachinea

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[edit] Welcome!

Hello, Migdiachinea, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

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[edit] Talk page

[edit] "Merry Christmas to everybody and a Happy New Year to all the world!" -- Charles Dickens Happy New Year!! Joyeux Noël. Feliz año nuevo!

[edit] Migdia Chinea

I've decided to start the year by writing on my page (I'm so proud of my page!). I dedicate this page to my son, Frankie, my puppies Zoe & Cicero, my nephews Charles Anthony and Christian Tyler Flynn, my brother Carlos Antonio (Charles) and his wife Jonna, my mamy Violeta Ebby (Mimó), my papy José Antonio (Toñito), my step-dad Michael, my grandparents, all of my relatives and ancestors, all of my friends, and most particularly, my Great-great grandmother Eusebia (Ebby) Ávalos (Béthencourt) Blanco de Suárez Lillo and, of course, Wikipedia.

My mom and I sat in her kitchen at Christmas 2006 where she recounted to me all sorts of interesting and colorful anecdotal stories about my family history, which I would like to record here.

This is a work in progress.

I'm Cuban-American. However, my family comes from all over the world. My Great-great grandfather, Santos Suárez de Lillo, was born into a well-to-do family in Lillo-Felechosa, Asturias, in the Northern part of Spain also known as La Coruña. This is located above Galicia and Portugal. Santos' father was a medical doctor.

The only official language in Asturias is Spanish. The Asturian language is also spoken, and is protected by law. In the western part of Asturias, Eonavian is also spoken. Whether Eonavian is a dialect continuum or a variety of Galician language, however, is a subject of debate, and its use in the Asturian Administration is minor compared to the use of the Asturian language. There is an ongoing process to change all place names in Asturias into traditional Asturian and Eonavian ones.

Unlike Cuba, the geography of Asturias appears to be a geological explosion towards the sky. Above all, it is a vertical land of imposing mountains, such as the Picos de Europa, where rivers flow towards its irregular coastline. Roman and Medieval ruins, protected by UNESCO, are still in existence. Later on in Iberian history, the centuries-long Moorish occupation left few scars on the Spanish Principality.

The cuisine in Asturias is rich with fabada (a slow cooked fava bean stew) and cheeses washed down with local sidra (cider). Cubans owe much to Asturias in their cuisine.

At the end of the 19th century, when Santos was 15-years-old, he stowed away on a ship en route to Cuba, based on news that Cuba was gorgeous and the place for an independent young man to be. When Santos arrived in Havana, he stayed with Don Jaime Cervera, a well-heeled Peninsular (Spaniard) who was was a close and estimed Suárez family friend. Don Jaime lived along the famous Paseo del Prado which ran for a mile or so, from the Malecón, the seaside boulevard, to a little ways past the Capitol building. Filled with theaters and dance halls, the street was filled with music from passing carriages to the sidewalk cafes. You could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the sea wall, and would end up hectic, with scores of people jostling for a "quitrin" or "volante" (two-wheeled horse-driven carriages of Cuban origin used much throughout the island) in the shadow of the Capitol dome.

Here's an excerpt taken from my original screenplay "Old Havana and The Great Pimp of Saint Ysidro," which takes place in 1910 La Habana (an approximate time period as it relates to Santos' story).

HAVANA

"A sea of people. Parasols, high collared blouses, beaded dresses, white-linen suits, crisp "guayaberas," and Panama hats.

WE MOVE along the wide boulevards as horse-pulled carriages compete in traffic with clunky, noisy motor cars and electric trains.

Havana is lived fortissimo.

The city is bustling with activity: hundreds of cafes, casinos, clubs, bars and billiard rooms, hooting ferries and mailboats, church bells ringing throughout the day, the grinding rumble of heavy wagons, violins and guitars scraping in all directions, soldiers in gold and white presidential garb stomping boots and blaring trumpets, carriages clattering at top speed through the cobblestone streets--and all the incessant prattling and shouting.

PUBLIC SQUARE

A white-bearded preacher from the countryside with a wild look in his eyes stands in the park's glorieta, where concerts are held. He proclaims he was sent by God -- shouts, waving a hand-lettered sign -- and shouting --

I'm God's messenger! Repent, ye sinners!

But no one is listening --

Prosperous-looking Criollos (Caucasians born in Cuba) and Peninsulares (native Spaniards), merchants, prostitutes out on the town, and properly-chaperoned women--they all stand at a street corner, waiting to cross.

Well-mannered ladies raise their long skirts just above the ankle to board the electric train while men watch--expecting, longing for something.

And the CUPOLAS...

Coppery mosaics, gilt-crosses and flesh-colored bell towers that crown the churches--they all glitter in the afternoon sun.

THE WIDE TERRACES

Where washerwomen hang clothes to dry that SNAP in a flutter of whiteness.

BEHIND THE CITY - SUNSET

A view of the sea so overpowering that the fishing boats seem to be sailing above the roofs." Migdia Chinea

Don Jaime loved Santos like a son and since he was a wealthy landowner, he granted Santos a property in Santa Clara, province of Las Villas, Cuba, a place which had been abandoned. He said to him "if you like it, Santos, you can have it." So Santos left for Santa Clara, saw the property, and liked it. So he kept it and fixed it. After a stint in the circus, Santos opened a Nickelodeon on the premises -- this is an early movie theater charging an admission price of five cents, or a nickel. To entertain his patrons, he would perform as a sword swallower and pugilist -- the sort of skilled artistry he learned while working in the circus. When people became got bored with nickelodeon and sword swallowing, Santos built a boxing ring to attract customers, and when that, too, phased out, Santos opened "La Favorita," a furniture store. So he became a furniture dealer and also carried Singer sewing machines and safes. More, jeweler and diamond importer. He amassed a large fortune.

Adventurer that he was, Santos had many love affairs and numerous children everywhere on the island. However, when he decided to marry at age thirty-six, he chose a Cuban girl, Eusebia Ávalos Blanco (nicknamed Ebby) -- aged fourteen -- also from a well-to-do Cuban family who had arrived there in the 18th century. They were in cattle ranching. Eusebia's parents had died when she was a baby, so she was taken in by Ávalos relatives and adopted their surname. Her real last name, however, was Béthencourt, which derives from Islas Canarias and Spain. This is the name (with many German and French variants) of the first conqueror of the Canary Islands (1417), a knight of Norman-French origin. It is also common and widespread in Latin America.

Norman-French is sometimes used to describe not only the modern Norman language, but also the administrative languages of Anglo-Norman and Law French used in England. When Norse invaders arrived in the then province of Neustria and settled the land which became known as Normandy, they adopted the Gallo-Romance speech of the existing populations — much as Norman rulers later adopted in England the speech of the administered people. However in both cases the élites contributed elements of their own language to the newly-enriched languages that developed in the territories. [1]

When Eusebia became pregnant with Santos' first child, he insisted that the baby be born in Lillo, so they embarked on a long journey to Spain. During that trip she was very ill. However, upon arrival to Lillo, she gave birth to a baby girl who was born sickly and died shortly thereafter. While still in Asturias, she became pregnant with my grandfather, Exequiel de la Cruz Pompeyo Suárez De Lillo Ávalos (Santico), and he was born in Lillo. They then returned to Cuba.

Founded in the 15th century, Cuba was an island populated predominantly by Caucasian immigrants from various European countries (especially Spain). Black people were brought into Cuba initially as slaves to work the plantations after the island's native population ceased to exist beyond the 16th. Century. More here. The Chinese arrived in the 19th. Century as freemen to work on the railroads.

The dominant and more numerous white Cuban population was maintained as such by immigration laws aimed at securing a "white-population" majority for fear of a Haitian-like rebellion which had left an estimated 10,000 blacks and 2,000 whites dead and more than 1,000 plantations sacked and razed. Violent conflicts between white colonists and black slaves were common in many islands, most particularly Haiti, then called Saint Domingue (Santo Domingo). Bands of runaway slaves, known as maroons (marrons), entrenched themselves in bastions in the colony's mountains and forests, from which they harried white-owned plantations both to secure provisions and weaponry and to avenge themselves against the inhabitants. The attacks certainly presaged the 1791 slave rebellion, which evolved into the Haitian Revolution, and which finally toppled the colony.

My ancestors' estate in Santa Clara, Province of Las Villas, Cuba, was very large -- and it was located right in the center of town at Villuendas Numéro 6 Norte entre Independencia y Marta Abreu. It had 22 bedrooms and many architectural details typical of seventeenth century Spanish/Italianate/Colonial style. More here. They had a full staff of Spanish and local servants to take care of the property and their personal needs. Santos became well known for his modesty, generosity of heart and for taking in Cuban nationals and Spanish immigrants who arrived on the island –- penniless, disoriented about being in Cuba and/or inexperienced. One such person, José Arias, became a jeweler himself, under Santos' tutelage, and opened a jewelry store in my family's property. Santos was then known as "El Toro de Oro," "The Golden Bull," for his many philanthropic deeds. Eusebia was a plain-spoken, but well-bred, equally-committed lady.

Among some of the real properties owned by my family, they owned the buildings which housed the Chinese and Hebraic Cultural Colonies and my family, thus, attended all of their functions. In time, Eusebia had two other children in Cuba, Blanca Victorina Suárez de Lillo Miró-Barnet Ávalos and Ramón Aquilino Suárez De Lillo Ávalos.

A woman of very strong character, anachronistic beliefs (she belonged to a more modern age) and lofty ideals, Eusebia used to say that the reason Santos married her was because he never saw her nude. Nudity between spouses was a sign of "disrespect," in her view. For her part, Eusebia contributed money and jewelry to the Cuban struggle against Spanish rule and -- having fought against Spain briefly as a child, she became an informant for the rebel cause, concealed weapons in the family property, and attained the rank of Captain of the Cuban Rebel Army. Eusebia was considered a "Mambisa" i.e., women actively involved against the Spanish rule. Her upper-class social status and her marriage to a prominent Spaniard (who was secretly supportive of Cuba's independence), acted as an excellent cover for Eusebia and her compatriots.

Another name within my great-grandmother's family was that of Magriñat.

The island of Cuba was one of the first pieces of land in the Americas occupied by the Spanish. It would become the colony that Spain fought hardest and longest to keep. Cuba was the proverbial "jewel in the crown" for Spain. Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century -- and after four hundred years in the hands of the Spanish Crown -- Cuba revolted against colonial rule. Despite their paltry military resources, the Cuban rebels were able to keep the well-equipped and experienced Spanish army at bay, thanks largely to the support of the island’s population. The Cuban insurgency spanned more than thirty years, with the tension between Spain and the rebel movement peaking in the Ten Years War (1868–1878) and the War of Independence (1895–1898).

Reporter James O’Kelly, who covered the Cuban rebellion in 1869 for the New York Herald, used the word Mambí to describe to his American readers the territory freed from Spain’s control by the Cuban fighters: “The land of the Mambí is to the world a shadow-land, full of doubts and unrealities. It is a legend, and yet a fact. It is called by many names, yet few know where it begins or ends its frontier. Spaniards call it the manigua, or Los Montes, Americans talk of it as Free Cuba, and those who dwell within its confines, Cuba Libre, or the Mambí-Land.”

Mambí was the name not only of the rebel territory but also of the men -- and women -- who fought there. The origin of the term remains unclear. The most accepted theory assumes that it is a deformation of mbi, a common prefix in Yoruba, the West African language spoken by many Cuban slaves. The Spanish soldiers, unaccustomed to that letter combination, came up with the word Mambí to refer pejoratively to the Cuban rebels. The African-sounding epithet was meant to evoke the ample presence of black fighters among the insurgents.

Adopted as a badge of honor by the rebels, the name was widely used throughout the anticolonial wars. In 1869, at the beginning of the Ten Years War, the Cuban rebels gathered in Guáimaro, a small town in eastern Cuba, to convene the First Constitutional Assembly of the Cuban Republic. Ana Betancourt (Béthencourt), the wife of one of the opposition leaders, asked to speak on behalf of women. Like Abigail Adams, who, on the eve of the American Revolution in 1776, asked her husband John Adams to “remember the ladies” and extend to them the rights of the young republic, Ana Betancourt wanted the leaders of the Cuban rebellion to include the female population in their vision of a free Cuba. The insurrection was attempting to break the chains that class and race had forged, she told the assembly, and she expressed her hope that the war would also help bring down oppression based on gender and “unpin women’s wings.”

Ana Betancourt was one of the many Cuban women -- black and white, rich and poor, rural and urban -- who fought against Spain’s colonial rule on the island. These rebels were known as Mambisas, and they became symbols of Cuba’s struggle for freedom, a symbol so powerful it continues to be heralded today. Early signs of women’s political activity on the island can be found in the actions that female slaves took to fend off their masters’ power, including their participation in slave revolts.

More here. Although opposition to slavery only occasionally reached the level of political articulation and organization a revolt required, historical records are filled with examples of slave women who subverted the social order by running away, complaining to the authorities about the sale of a relative, or refusing to follow the master’s or mistress’ instructions.

Free women also had a tradition of social involvement from which to draw. In her book, "The Social Transformation of Eighteenth-Century Cuba," assistant professor of history and Cuban studies at Florida International University, Sherry Johnson, contributes to a new understanding of colonial Cuban history and challenges existing interpretations of Cuban history by advancing an alternative to the "sugar is forever" thesis. In doing so, Johnson provides answers to fundamental questions regarding Cuban identity in the 19th century in terms of demographics, military spending, as well as social, spatial, and economic change on the island long before sugar became the principal engine of its economy. She also shows how immigration (Mainland European, Eastern European and Middle Eastern) had an impact on the elite and middling ranks, analyzes family life in the city, and explains how the consequences of political reform resonated to the lowest ranks of Cuban society.

Johnson also demonstrates how the island’s position as a military post forced women to take the reins of their households and businesses on the many occasions when the men were on military duty. Especially vocal were the "limosneras" (women seeking alms), a group of several hundred women who demanded from the government the benefits and pensions to which they were entitled as the widows of officers and soldiers who had served the Crown in Florida, before Spain lost it to Britain in 1763.

The transformation of Cuba from an unstable military post in the 1700s to a wealthy plantation society in the early 1800s had a direct impact on women. When families benefited from the more stable rhythm of civilian life and the men no longer needed to rely on their wives’ help to keep their businesses going, women lost whatever legal and economic power that they had enjoyed, if only sporadically. The new ideal of femininity portrayed women as angelic and passive. But this ornamental position had some advantages. With the new affluence came a gradual expansion of women’s educational opportunities,and a greater exposure to attitudes and ideas that celebrated individualism and questioned traditional mores.

The flourishing of the slave system also meant exponential growth in the number of Cubans of African descent. This segment of the population would play a crucial role in helping develop a distinct identity for the island. More here. By the early 1800s, a rift was growing between those who pledged allegiance to Madrid and those who thought Cuba had needs the colonial power could not fulfill. Women contributed to marking this division and strengthening anticolonial sentiment in numerous ways. Throughout the second half of the century, spurred by the vision of a free Cuba, Cuban women’s involvement intensified until, in the 1890s, it reached the level of a mass movement. The wars turned largely uneducated women with limited political experience into savvy and passionate political players. Their collective work was crucial to the survival of the rebel army. They staffed makeshift hospitals and war supply centers; they worked as messengers and undercover agents; they organized fund-raising activities to buy weapons; they joined revolutionary clubs; they wrote pamphlets, hid ammunition, and even shot enemy soldiers and rose through military ranks.

But wars are not fought only on the battlefield. In the home, the square, the street, the country road, the hidden conuco (a small garden or field next to a humble dwelling), thousands of women took a political stand. Within their families and their communities, women created a climate that celebrated Cuban nationalism and helped shape a new society. The Cuban insurgency was as much a battle of ideas as of bullets, its scope reaching far beyond the struggle to put an end to a colonial government.

Throughout the first half of the 1800s, two opposing world views came into conflict: one fought to maintain the hierarchical social order the ancien régime had carved, where monarchies ruled, the church was prominent, and colonies served the interests of their home country; the other embraced liberalism and its defense of democracy, individual autonomy, a free market, secularism, and technological innovations. This tension was present not only in the colonies but also in Spain, where the contest between absolutism and constitutionalism resulted in periodic crises and changes of government. Few voices, however, were heard in Spain, even among the most liberal quarters, that demanded that democratic rights be extended to the colonies, since that would have prevented the country from reaping the economic benefits the colonial relationship provided.

Spain’s defense of the status quo in Cuba was applauded by Cuba’s wealthy classes, particularly by the plantation owners, who feared a slave revolt might follow the defeat of the Spanish army. And yet, these same men realized that slavery was an anachronism and that, if they were going to have an economic future at all, it lay with a capitalist, free-market society.

A parallel ambivalence in regard to slavery existed among the insurgents. When they rose against Spain in 1868, their political vision, similar to that of America’s Founding Fathers in 1776, reconciled both the exaltation of freedom and the acceptance of, or at least tolerance for, slavery. It would take arduous negotiations before the rebel government adopted the abolition of slavery as its cause.

Yet, for all its contradictions, the Cuban insurgency sought to erode the values on which the ancien régime was built, including the practice of enforced labor. For inspiration, the rebels dipped into the rich political culture of their age. They were conversant with the Enlightenment ideals of the American and the French revolutions, yet they relied on the transcendent and emotional rhetoric of the romantics; they adopted the defense of freedom and individualism found in liberalism and shared the concern for justice that characterized the turbulent working-class movement of the 1800's.

Thus, women (like Eusebia) undermined traditional forms of authority and thus helped foster a revolutionary climate. Scholars of nationalism like to stress that nations are the product of a determined group of people who successfully create a sense of collective identity. The nineteenth century was a time for Cuba to imagine itself as an entity separate from Spain, a time for Cubans to both highlight existing social practices and create new ones that differentiated them from the colonial power.

Nineteenth-century Cuban women’s determined support for the rebel cause contributed to solidifying the notion that stepping outside the legal system was not only acceptable but heroic. They were instrumental in the creation of ideas that directly or indirectly challenged the status quo. As transmitters and producers of values, as keepers of tradition, Cuban women played a significant role in building a Cuban sense of identity. In the rebels’ iconography, women occupied a prominent place, their courage often invoked to inspire the fighters.

More here

It is said that Santos buried diamonds, jewel movements for pocket watches, coins and gold bars in a secret place in my grandfather's house. Threfore, I'm probably a multimillionaire if I could ever get to the hidden treasure. However, everything my family owned was confiscated during the Castro dictatorship and the building is now a government office. My family, who lost everything, now lives in the United States and Spain. However, I know where the diamonds are buried, a task left to my grandmother, Lutgarda Gómez Suárez de Lillo Ruiz, who was a language arts country school teacher by profession and devotion. Despite my current struggles as a screenwriter, and much to my chagrin, I may never get to unearth my family's hidden wealth. Boo hoo!

That's it for now.

More to come about my illustrious, and rather notorious in one particular way, father's side of the family, also from Las Villas Province in Cuba.

Historical background here:

Having watched PBS Rick Steves' tour of the Hillside towns of Italy -- Tuscany and Umbria -- which go back to Etruscan times or 2700 BC. My father's family name has its origin in Umbria -- a fortification called Todi, where many of its citizens are surnamed Chinea.

This is a work in progress.

Todi [2] Origins and History of Todi

"The name Todi perhaps means "border" (tutere) or "fortified hilltop" (tutus), however, exactly how Todi was founded is unknown. Legend has it that Tutero, chief of the people of the valley of the Tiber, decided to build a village near the river. One day the future Tuderti (inhabitants of Todi) were sitting on a picnic cloth eating, when suddenly an eagle seized the cloth, soared into the sky and then dropped it onto the top of the nearby hill. People considered this to be an omen of the gods and built the town of Todi on top of that hill."

"History suggests that Todi was founded by the Umbrians in about 2700 BC. Both the Etruscans and then the Romans left traces of their civilization. On pre-Roman coins the city is called Tutere. The Romans called it Tuder or Tudertum. It was sacked by Crassus in the Civil War (83 B.C.) and Augustus established a colony here. During the war of the Goths, it withstood Totila during a long and severe siege. The Lombards failed to capture it. Todi and Perugia remained the two chief fortresses defending the passage through the duchy from Rome to the Exarchate. It was included in Pepin's donation to the Holy See.[3] In the 11 C Todi was a republic, and in 1340 its municipal statutes were drawn up by Bartolo. In the Middle Ages, Todi was almost always Ghibelline, and was in constant conflict with Perugia. Boniface IX gave the city to the Malatesta of Rimini, but soon took it back. During the 15 C, Todi often changed rulers - Biondo Michelotti, Pandolfo Malatesta, Francisco Sforza (1434), Piccinino, Gabriello Catalani (Guelph), who was treacherously slain (1475). The city fell into the hands of Giordano Orsini, who was expelled by Cardinal Gillian della Rover (Julius II). In 1503 the Orsini were again expelled, on which occasion the fortress of Gregory IX, reputed impregnable, was destroyed."

"The Middle Ages marked the beginning of the notorious struggle between Todi and the town of Orvieto and in the 12 C Todi became a free city-state with a much enhanced territory."

"In 1500, after a long period of decay, the old splendor returned with the artistic forces of Renaissance, a magnificent witness to which is the Temple of the Consolation. Bishop Angelo Cesi promoted this process by patronizing numerous beautiful architectural works."

Here's an excerpt from their phone book: Spina Chinea Gaudenzi Roseto per i non Vedenti della Città di Todi - Pg. Chinea Annalisa Recaito Telefonico Tele3482814110 758942225 09 - 12 My great-grandmother Sofia on my father's side was Maimó-Beiro.

Mig 19:41, 1 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 18:32, 3 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 20:14, 10 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 08:33, 12 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 17:32, 12 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 01:55, 17 January 2007, (UTC) Mig 17:17, 22 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 02:20, 31 January 2007 (UTC)Mig 01:39, 12 February 2007 (UTC)Mig 02:24, 17 February 2007 (UTC)Mig 20:08, 10 May 2007 (UTC)Mig 03:52, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] your image question

Replied at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. Calliopejen1 03:25, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] El Super

OK, I see what you meant. I've restored El Super and built it into a useful article. No problem! Dlh-stablelights 22:31, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

I thank you, sir or madam. Life is tough for women filmmakers because, for instance, all the things I've done for the guys have never been returned in kind -- on the contrary, they've tried to destroy me. But I get my rewards from other sources -- that's how Karmic Law works. Mig 15:16, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Orlando Jiménez-Leal

A tag has been placed on Orlando Jiménez-Leal, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a very short article providing no content to the reader. Please note that external links, "See also" section, book reference, category tag, template tag, interwiki link, rephrasing of the title, or an attempt to contact the subject of the article don't count as content. Please see Wikipedia:Stub for our minimum information standards for short articles. Also please note that articles must be on notable subjects and should provide references to reliable sources that verify their content.

Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself. If you plan to expand the article, you can request that administrators wait a while for you to add contextual material. To do this, affix the template {{hangon}} to the page and state your intention on the article's talk page. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Dlh-stablelights 20:19, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

SorryMig 22:16, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comments in the ES Wikipedia

Discussion of "Búsqueda".

Do you mean that you cant find the article of you? Thats because there isnt any. Else I dont know what you mean. Canislupusarctos 16:34, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Congratulations

An article about you now appears in the French Wikipedia: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migdia_Chinea-Varela -- Rob C. alias Alarob 23:37, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Thank you, Rob -- I sent you a message to your page. Mig 16:52, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Your comments on my username's frontpage.

I have expressed my views on the subject before to, please, keep the Cuban Americans page because at the very least, it helps with research -- which is what Wikipedia is all about. I started doing research on a poet listed on this page based on the fact that it was there -- as prior to that I never even knew she'd existed. Mig 15:56, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Greetings, friend, you commented this on my username's frontpage which I haven't started on yet. I think you are trying to comment on this page about AfD for "List of Cuban Americans" Please post there on their petition board about keeping the List of Cuban Americans category not my username's frontpage. If you want to talk to me or discuss other things with me, then use my talk board not my front page:

User talk:Pilot expert

Thank you! --Pilot expert 05:49, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why?

You could have cut down parts of the 2nd and 3rd sections on this.Kfc1864 talk _{my edits} 13:39, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

What are sections 2nd and 3rd? Not the historical component, I hope. Mig 13:41, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

Mig, Kfc1864 has nominated your userpage for deletion; please see here: Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:Migdiachinea. Please comment if you wish. In the meanwhile, I have restored an earlier version of your page because of copyright concerns and because Wikipedia is not an archive service or a web hosting facility. Please review guidelines for userpages. Please understand that userpages still belong to Wikipedia and are only made available to editors to assist them in their work on the project and to facilitate communication with other editors, and it really is not appropriate to use Wikipedia as a free web-hosting and archiving facility. If you require a free web-hosting facility, we can recommend some free webspace providers where you would be free to archive all of this information, the letters and notes and such as you wish. If the material is related to your work on Wikipedia, you could place a link on your userpage to your webspace, but it is not appropriate to try to host it all on Wikipedia. I hope you understand this, so we can close the request to delete your userpage. Thanks, Sarah 16:45, 4 October 2007 (UTC

Okay, Sarah -- I wasn't using it as a host page. Just informational. I don't have any such pages. This is My Talk. This is okay, right?

Now it's OK. Your userpage and talk page are safe for now.Kfc1864 talk _{my edits} 04:54, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Ok, thanx -- please let me know (in a simple way) what is allowed and what isn't. Kindest regards -- Mig 12:35, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The LAUSD comments

I linked to the article at WorldNet Daily :) WhisperToMe (talk) 00:22, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

By the way, here is a nice article about a teacher who taught at Berendo MS in LAUSD for awhile: [4] - this was in the 1990s, but I doubt much has changed. Geib was never severely attacked, but he felt like a failure even with his efforts and eventually quit. WhisperToMe (talk) 09:23, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spanish Wikipedia

Have you tried writing an article about yourself in the Spanish Wikipedia? No, I simply posted a letter in Spanish in my User's or Discussion Page. Oh, I missed your question -- should I write one? I don't have a Spanish-language program. For my published letter to our President, I had to make some creative incredible hulkess moves to get the appropriate accents on top of vowels. Mig 17:28, 2 December 2007 (UTC)Mig 04:44, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

You may want to try a magnet school or a school in an exclusive area such as Pacific Palisades HS, Sherman Oaks CES, Los Angeles CES, etc. WhisperToMe 20:12, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

BTW, on your qestion above -- LAUSD wants to finish me off. Mig 08:37, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Your talk page

Anyone may edit any comments in the talk page, just like in an article talk page. Of course, you are free to revert messages in it too. Just make sure that nobody edits what you say, and you should be fine. Check out Wikipedia:Talk pages and Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines, which give guidelines on the use of talk pages :) WhisperToMe (talk) 04:05, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for responding so quickly. Mig 04:20, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Well, if you know Spanish, it would be nice to have an article written in Spanish :) - Regarding entering diacritics, you may use the Windows "Character Map" to input them - I know there are keyboard shortcuts, but I am not sure about how to use them. WhisperToMe (talk) 15:36, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanx, Whispertome, for the diacritic tips -- that's a $50.00 word, fer sure. I know most of the Spanish grammatical rules just from reading in Spanish and applying. I will try to handle the task when I'm feeling better. Regards on the first day of Chanukah Mig 16:14, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Happy New Year to All

Mig 00:15, 31 December 2007 (UTC)Mig 02:56, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

Dear WhisperToMe (talk): I consider my being on Wikipedia a privilege for which I'm honored. That being said, if I have something to say on any subject, I say so in an article somewhere and I sign my name to it. Whatever small edits I have done here and there, I also sign my name. I was, thus, wondering if within your high-tech level of WP knowledge, you may be able to tell which computer the LAUSD comments came from? I have never discussed my password with anyone at all, in fact, I have since the incident changed my password. I am, however, concerned that someone with a high level of computer sophistication may be watching me closely and hacking my password at whim. And that this spammer, in question, may use me as a tool to further his/her cause, whatever that may be. Please, let me know. In the meantime have a very Happy New First Day of 2008.Mig 21:21, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Figuring out where the LAUSD comments came from

Mrs. Chinea, you will have to ask a Wikipedia:Developer that question - Regular users and sysops alone cannot determine the IP address of a registered user (including yourself and the person who pretended to be you).

Anyhow, I would suggest avoiding using your account while on public computers and checking your own computer for keyloggers. Wikipedia has a technique to disable "brute force" password crackers (The "repeat the words in this image" trick), so if someone repeatedly finds your passwords, it could be due to a keylogger. WhisperToMe (talk) 00:08, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanx, WhisperToMe for your response and I will take appropriate measures to see if I learn more about what happened and how to identify the hacker. I used my account here while I was working at LAUSD, but have never used a "public" computer. I wonder if the problem comes from LAUSD, given the rage I've seen and the subject matter. Oh, BTW, I'm "Ms." because Chinea is my dad's family name. Thanx for addressing me so respectfully, however. Mig 01:48, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Your recent edits

Hi there. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, you should sign your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) at the end of your comment. On many keyboards, the tilde is entered by holding the Shift key, and pressing the key with the tilde pictured. You may also click on the signature button located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your name and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. Thank you! --SineBot (talk) 17:52, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Vandals

Ah, my school in HISD had some holiday thieves - they weren't as outrageous as the ones in the article, and they seemed pretty stupid. They stole a laptop for a handicapped girl and an older computer but they didn't take a newer computer. WhisperToMe (talk) 03:51, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Gee, a handicapped girl. But taking an old computer instead of the newer one tells me that they're totally illiterate, as well as dishonest, about these things. Figures. Mig 05:12, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Hmm, think of whether it's a legitimate phone message or some prankster who wants a laugh. From my understand I suspect the latter... I don't personally know you nor do I know your situation. Anyhow, if you feel that the warnings are legitimate, then I would contact a police agency - Which one, I don't know. WhisperToMe (talk) 15:52, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Deleted info -- --Mig 03:03, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the ED link - I referenced it here - School violence WhisperToMe (talk) 20:39, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Ok, WhisperToMe (talk) Gosh, thanx -- here are some websites you may already know about that have 2005 information. http://nces.ed.gov/index.asp http://www.laspd.com/newcrimebyschool.asp http://www.cahro.org/html/lausd_procedures.html I didn't know any of this. Did you see my WND interview? --Mig 22:23, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

I'll see how I can properly mention his name :) WhisperToMe (talk) 16:34, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

We thank you!! Mig 17:10, 8 February 2008 (UTC)--Mig 17:10, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

It may sound odd, but that is the principal's counter-argument, as stated in the article. A legal court has not ruled on the matter yet. WhisperToMe (talk) 04:32, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, WhisperToMe I saw that. But since the case has not been decided, my benefit of the doubt would fall with the teacher. The district will "write teachers up" for calling security during a melee instead of containing the classroom themselmes, for example. It sucks. Beto seeems like such a creative teacher -- and there are precious few of those left around. Regards -- Mig 14:28, 9 February 2008 (UTC)--Mig 14:28, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] White Hispanic, signature

"bad day".
Yeah, I figured that ... As for your signature, make sure that you're using four tildes and not five; that might be it. Well, good luck. SamEV (talk) 02:34, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Wow, still having signature trouble? Click on "my preferences" and clear the Signature box if there's anything in it; also uncheck the "Raw signature" box, if it's currently checked of course. If that still doesn't do it, ask the experts here. Good luck again. SamEV (talk) 18:10, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

I unchecked the "signature box." Thanx -- why is it always the small things? Mig 01:54, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Marking Castro's Stepping Down From Power - February 19, 2008

Castro steps down.

After 50 years of communist dictatorship, I tend to think that the island will move to the future eventually and in that regard there's much to do. It's the glass half-full. Therefore, I feel bittersweet about the news. The practical Cuban infrastructure (streets, electrical, architecture, plumbing, etc., etc., etc.,), is mostly gone -- whereas a strong government-based legacy of repression and political infrastructure remains. Cuban-exiles, the least understood of all U.S. ethnic minorities, and their Cuban-American offspring everywhere in the world, would be right to respond cautiously to all the rhetoric that will surely follow.

It's probably a good time to get some guava pastries at some local Cuban bakery and have a quiet private celebration -- I'm having half a glass of wine.

Love to all --

Migdia Chinea --

[edit] Image

I it is not possible for you to delete an image but I can do so because I am an administrator. Let me see about the image uploads and see if I can find any redundancies. :) WhisperToMe (talk) 20:42, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

EDIT: It seems like you uploaded both instances to the same location so I don't think there is a need to delete any instances of the image. WhisperToMe (talk) 20:42, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Blacklist

Users are not placed on blacklists - links are.

The blacklist notice should state which link is offending - You can remove it, comment it out (Surround it with  on the second), or put nowiki on it. WhisperToMe (talk) 17:32, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Do you have a screenshot of the error message? WhisperToMe (talk) 22:40, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

The page said that lulu . com was blacklisted. There was no blacklist attempt against you. What happened is that a previous post had lulu.com and that was added to the spam filter. In other words, an edit would not pass UNLESS the edit included a nowiki, a comment out, or removal of the lulu link. WhisperToMe (talk) 01:10, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

You didn't do anything wrong. You weren't intending to spam - See, it just happens that the URL was blacklisted long after you posted it - The thing is that nobody would be able to post on that talk page until the blacklist URL was dealt with. WhisperToMe (talk) 04:44, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Someone added it to a URL blacklist. I forget where it is but I know Wikipedia keeps a list of URLs to blacklist. Regarding small text, I'll have to see. - it's probably due to a <small> without a corresponding </small> WhisperToMe (talk) 18:12, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Lemme see if I can fix the section - In the meantime it's not a good idea to post large chunks of newspaper articles like that, as they are copyrighted. Also, we can only report on the tort letter thing once it becomes a legal case documented in the media. WhisperToMe (talk) 21:03, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Okay. Can you post a link to the article? My letter is not yet in the media, so you're right. I posted it out of anger at their denial, for example, "teaching" Mandarin when the students cannot even write English. Everyone already knows that a huge percentage of students are not graduating at all and will probably rely on criminality and welfare to survive -- all according to news reports world wide. Regards and much love and thanx -- Mig (talk) 21:41, 2 April 2008 (UTC) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-principal13mar13,0,5522349.story -This is the link to the article I was talking about - It has two pages. WhisperToMe (talk) 21:52, 2 April 2008 (UTC) Yes. I know the article and the man himself. That's the school where I was assulted. I warned the District and it ignored me -- like they do everyone. Mig (talk) 22:04, 2 April 2008 (UTC)