Connect with us

Utah

‘A minority among minorities’: Utah’s tiny Paraguayan community hosting independence festivities

Published

on

‘A minority among minorities’: Utah’s tiny Paraguayan community hosting independence festivities


OREM — As Latin American countries go, small landlocked Paraguay doesn’t always register top on the radar screen of Americans.

“We are a very small country in South America, so many people don’t know about us,” said Viviana Figueredo, originally from Asunción, the Paraguayan capital, and now living in American Fork.

A small contingent from the country now calls Utah home, though, and in a bid to bolster the community’s profile, Paraguayans in Utah — made up of expatriates from the country — is holding a public festival Saturday to mark the country’s independence from Spain. The event, open to the public, goes from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday and will be held at City Center Park at Center Street and 300 East in Orem.

“We’re trying to get people to know more about us and what we’re doing,” said Figueredo, a leader in the group.

Advertisement

Two other events are also planned along the Wasatch Front to highlight the varied cultures in the area:

  • The city of Ogden is hosting a Living Heritage Festival on Friday from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday from noon-8 p.m. at Union Station, 2501 Wall Ave. The aim is to “promote public awareness, understanding and appreciation for the diverse cultural heritage of northern Utah” through dance, food, art, music and vendors, reads the Facebook announcement of the event.
  • Historic Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church of Salt Lake City is hosting an event to collect artifacts, documents and personal remembrances representative of the history of Utah’s Black community. It goes from noon-4 p.m. and will be held at the church, 239 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

‘A minority among minorities’

Though the Paraguayan community is small, it was the focus of a proposed measure in the 2024 legislative session earlier this year, HJR20, to honor those from the country now living in Utah. The resolution passed in the Utah House 71-0 but stalled as the session came to an end.

“Paraguayan pioneers who have chosen Utah as home may be a minority among minorities,” Nicole Laudie Rolón said at a committee hearing on the measure in February. “But they unquestionably play, in my opinion, a unique and indispensable part in preserving and expanding the diversity and good in our state.”

A dancer performing a traditional Paraguayan dance takes part in the 2023 Independence Day celebration for Paraguay, held in South Jordan and organized by Paraguayans in Utah, a group of expatriates from the country.
A dancer performing a traditional Paraguayan dance takes part in the 2023 Independence Day celebration for Paraguay, held in South Jordan and organized by Paraguayans in Utah, a group of expatriates from the country. (Photo: Viviana Figueredo)

Laudie Rolón is co-founder of Paraguayans in Utah and the mother of two Paraguayan American children.

Sebastian Benitez, of Ogden, who moved to Utah from Paraguay in 2000, also addressed HJR20 during the committee hearing, noting his community involvement in Ogden. He has lobbied for sidewalk improvements and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Ogden in 2015.

“I am fighting for my community in Ogden,” he said. “I am grateful to be here in the United States. I am grateful to be American, and we are here to serve this country.”

Benitez estimates around 1,000 people of Paraguayan descent now live in Utah, up from 37 when he moved to the state. U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2022 put the number at 512, among the smallest contingents in the state of all Latin American countries.

Advertisement

Paraguay gained independence from Spain over a two-day period, May 14-15, 1811, and those in the country hold celebrations over the two days. On display at the Orem event on Saturday will be traditional music and dancing, including the bottle dance, which features dancers balancing a bottle on their heads. Traditional Paraguayan food will also be offered — asaditos, similar to kebabs, and yuca (cassava). It must be ordered online ahead of time by Friday, according to Figueredo.

‘Ensuring that our voices and stories are heard’

Saturday’s event to collect items and remembrances related to Utah’s Black history is a follow-up to a similar effort held last March at Hill Air Force Base. The Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation of West Valley City, the Utah Historical Society and the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce, among other groups, are also involved.

“This is a unique opportunity for you to share your stories and contribute to a legacy that will enlighten future generations. Your participation is crucial in ensuring that our voices and stories are heard and remembered,” Daryell Jackson, pastor of the Holy Trinity church in Salt Lake, said in announcing the effort.





Source link

Advertisement

Utah

Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Published

on

Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon


A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.

He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.

MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche

In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.

Advertisement

“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.

A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.

Comment with Bubbles

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

_____

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Utah

911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

Published

on

911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

Advertisement

MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

Advertisement

“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

Advertisement

2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

Advertisement

A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

Advertisement

“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

Advertisement

“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

Advertisement

The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

Advertisement

The investigation remains ongoing.

______



Source link

Continue Reading

Utah

Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

Published

on

Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

Advertisement

Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

Advertisement

“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

Comment with Bubbles

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Advertisement

___



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending