HEMISPHERE SEARCHLIGHT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000102840001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: September 22, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT TIEE LATIN AMERICAN TILSS
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/18: CIA-RDP73-00475R000102840001-2
mew LU, mew JUL.
Declassified
SEP 22 1965
IHEMISPHERE SEARCHLIGHT ,
Dy VIRGINIA PREWETT
; New York City has for
? many. years been notable for
? its basic indifference to our
?Latin American neighbors
'and all that pertains to ? ?
!' them. This is a paradox, for,
' New York is the financial
?
capital of the enormous trade ?
i?,and investment interests that
the U.S. maintains in Laitn
America. It is also, curious-'
lv enough.' a city with a very
_Nrge' Spanish-speaking popu."
Iation. , ? ?
t. The way , .New York ex-
presses jts? indifference to
1- things L'itin American is 'to7
!' force them' ? into enclaves.
1.
if Thus U.S. business that is
interested ? in ? Latin America ?
t has its enclave. Several acn
,t.ive yet nevertheless' special-',
ized organ iza lions ? the ?
'Cotincil for the Americas, the
Pan American Socielx, 111C.
':Southern Cross ChM and a ?
; few others ? inierest them-
selves in hemisphere affairs
;
and all things connected with .
: them. They provide excel- ,
lent and very useful links ,
with the New York enclaves!
interested in Latin Ameriea
i'..and with Latin American vis- ,`?
'f.itors and countries. ?
But New York on the .
?. whole is culturally oriented''',
toward ?Europe, from whence
; came the great flow of im.;
migration that has made the ,
1, city the ? gateway ? to tha ?
United States. Unless New ?
:Yorkers have some special .
. business or professional Con-
? nection with Latin,' America,
; they are likely to ignore it.;
This ' is why a two-year-old
.organization called the Corn-
? mittee for the Americas is
'.,unique and its work note-.'
, worthy ?
. The Committee for the ;
? 'Americas is made up .of New
Yorkers ? who somehow or
, other have become interest,.
ed in. Latin America, who are .?
. ? ' ? enthusiastic about 'things Lat-
in American and who give a
,great deal of their spare time .
i to acting as a bridge between
? ? .4 the enclaved world of Latin
. 'American interests and the
general New York public.
?The active group that
'makes up the Committee is
'limited to ten people and they. ?
pay $10 'a year in ? dues ? for .
the privilege of. working for ?
the Americas... A' number of
non-active supporters A r e.
-permitted" to pay slightly,?
larger. sums. .
The Committee was start-,
.ed by Miss Duncan MacDon-
.ald, who has the only inter-"
.view program' on Radio Sta- ?
tion' WQXR. After several'
trips to Latin America, she .
became aware of a gap be-;,1,
tween the special. New York!
world of Latin Americans and;
Latin Americanisls and. thtl
'general' public. approach',
to bridging this gap 'was to
interest people in the corn-'
munications fields in the ideal
'of_ a group effort, on the .prob.),
?lem; ? ,
.. The ' first' effort by the.
ComMittee, for the Americasi
,was to compile a list of sev-.
pral hundred Latin American?
names giving their correct-
spelling and ' their correct
pronunciation.
This was 'distributed on a:
limited scale to local radio!
and television stations and,
.''Io New York newspapers and
journalists. ?
?
The response to this effort;
to remove one barrier be-
' tween Latin Americans and;
New Yorkers ? . confusion.
over the spelling and pronun-..
elation of Latin. American,
? names ? proved its instant
success. The Committee was,
flooded with requests for cop.,.
ics from many U.S. and Euro-
pean cities. 'Business and ed-
ucational organizations all
over Latin America and even:
the Peace Corps ? requested;
hundreds of copies.
The latest contribution by
this dynamic group is a Cal-
endar of Latin American
, Events for 1965 ? which has
been compiled and issued 'to
the communications world. '
The members of the Com-
mittee have listed a formid
able array of events affect-.
.ing Latin America, from Latin
American Independence days
to f ort hcoming cultural
events due to take place in
New York. As nothing else
,could, it will keep calling
. Latin America to the atten.i
tion of busy people in the
newspaper, radio and televl ?
sion i world who otherwise,
would Miss, knowing about,
these events altogether, ,? ? ..c
in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release
@ 50-Yr 2013/12/18 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000102840001-2
?N