Posted on: Thursday, May 5, 2005

ISLAND LIFE SHORTS
HawaiiSlam looks to nationals

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Kealoha, founder of HawaiiSlam and First Thursdays, is vying for a spot in the nationals. Mariah Dodson

HawaiiSlam is sending a quartet of spoken-word masters to the National Poetry Slam for a second year straight. Watch tonight as a dozen of the best poets from First Thursdays' last year of monthly slams compete for a spot on the team, which will travel to the National Poetry Slam in Albuquerque, N.M., in August to throw down against the country's best.

The words begin to flow at the Ala Moana Hotel's Hawaiian Hut at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit www.hawaiislam.com or call 387-9664.

Money raised will help pay for HawaiiSlam's trip to the competition.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates proud Mexican heritage

Today marks the Mexican army's victory over French invaders at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In the United States, the day for celebrating the triumph, Cinco de Mayo, is an occasion for recognizing Mexican heritage and culture. Some figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, in honor of the Mexican celebration:

• 25.3 million: number of U.S. residents of Mexican origin in 2003. These residents constituted 9 percent of the nation's total population.
• 297: number of U.S. tortilla manufacturing establishments in 2002. These establishments employed 12,000 people and had an annual payroll of $296 million. Tortillas, the principal food of the Aztecs, are known as the "bread of Mexico."
• $266.6 billion: the value of goods traded between the United States and Mexico in 2004. Mexico is our nation's second-leading trading partner, after Canada.
• 10 million: number of foreign-born residents from Mexico in the United States. That's about 30 percent of the foreign-born population in this country.