Latest news with #Children
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada-Mexico arrangement perfect fit for Pony Corral musician José 'Pepê' Cortes
'I usually do this one later on in the night but since I just had a request for it, here we go, off to Mexico!' It's Saturday evening at the Pony Corral Restaurant & Bar on Pembina Highway. Entertainer José 'Pepê' Cortes launches into a rollicking version of La Bamba, diners on the eatery's spacious riverside patio put down their forks and knives to clap along to the Ritchie Valens hit, which Cortes performs on guitar with the assistance of a pre-recorded backing track. Given his high-spirited delivery, one would never guess that Cortes, a summertime fixture at the Fort Garry hotspot since the mid-2000s, has sung the crowd-pleaser 'oh, about a million times,' over the years. Jose (Pepe) Cortes, who is a one-man show, performs on the riverside patio at the Pony Corral Restaurant & Bar three nights a week. 'The thing I try to remind myself is that there's always going to be somebody here for the first time who has never heard me do La Bamba, which, I suppose because I'm from Mexico, people kind of expect,' Cortes remarks later, during a break between sets. That's fine with him, he continues. His job, he feels, is to make guests forget about whatever might be troubling them, if only for an hour or two. So when he spots somebody beaming and raising their glass during La Bamba or Besamé Mucho, another Mexican standard that's part of his act, he tells himself, 'mission accomplished.' Cortes, 66, was born in Mexico City, the second eldest of five siblings. Growing up, he was a big fan of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, he says, casually dressed in sandals, grey shorts and a pale-blue short-sleeve dress shirt . By the time he was 11, he was teaching himself to play popular songs he heard on the radio, on an acoustic guitar borrowed from a relative. Not that he always understood what he was singing about. 'We did take English in school but no, there were lots of times I didn't have a clue what the lyrics meant, I was mostly just pretending,' he says, mentioning he has answered to the nickname Pepê — even his mother calls him that — for as long as he can remember. Before long his older brother Eduardo, Lalo for short, began accompanying him on drums. Cortes guesses he was 12 or 13 when a sign went up in their neighbourhood, advertising for bands to volunteer their services for an outdoor music festival. After talking a pair of classmates into joining them, the foursome made its official debut as El Dilema, covering rock tunes by American groups such as Grand Funk Railroad, with Cortes handling lead vocals. El Dilema was well-received. Before long the group was getting booked for community dances around town, now billed as Children owing to how young they were. The band eventually expanded to seven members and by the mid-1970s, Children had become a popular nightclub draw, not just in Mexico City but in more touristy destinations, as well. Cortes was 21 in 1979 when Children was booked for a weeklong engagement at the Princess Hotel in Acapulco. Also appearing there was a band called Zig Zag, which got its start in Mexico before relocating to Minneapolis. Following one of Children's performances, the members of Zig Zag told Cortes they were impressed with his voice, especially when he sang falsetto on Bee Gees numbers. Also, would he be interested in going with them when they headed back to the States? It seemed like a great opportunity and after discussing it with his bandmates, he made the difficult decision to leave Mexico. Supplied José 'Pepe' Cortes in Mexico with the band Children 'Zig Zag mostly did classic rock — Boston, Kansas, that kind of stuff — and we used to get standing ovations for our version of Bohemian Rhapsody,' Cortes says with a laugh, adding besides the Twin Cities, they were also getting booked for shows in North and South Dakota, and, later on, in Canada. In August 1984 Zig Zag was hired for a social being held at the Canadian Forces Base in Shilo. In attendance was a pharmaceuticals rep originally from Deloraine who had relocated to Brandon. Cortes struck up a conversation with her between sets. Within a year, they were married and living in Winnipeg. Cortes continued his musical career after moving to the city. He started off with a country-rock outfit called Raven before being introduced in 1987 to Wayne Hlady, founder of the Beatles tribute act Free Ride. For the next 18 years, Cortes-as-George Harrison played guitar and sang with Free Ride. It was a lucrative gig, he says, but because the band was often booked as many as six nights a week, it caused a strain in his marriage. 'We had two kids, a boy and girl. I was Mr. Mom during the day, cooking the meals and seeing them off to school, but the minute my wife got home, I'd be out the door,' he says. Free Ride definitely helped pay the bills, he goes on, but still, his wife desired a normal life, one that would enable them to socialize with family and friends on the weekend, instead of him always appearing at this bar or that. He understood her point — he even tried his hand at a 'real' job working for a local landscaping firm — but in the end they had grown too far apart. Following his divorce in 2005, Cortes made the decision to part ways with Free Ride. For a while he'd been writing songs of his own, but because Free Ride was all-Beatles, all-the-time, he knew there would never be an opportunity for him to perform his compositions in front of a live audience. One of the first places that hired him after he struck out on his own was the Pembina Highway Pony Corral. There he was encouraged to mix in original tunes alongside time-tested favourites such as Under the Boardwalk, Imagine and Brown Eyed Girl. He also returned to his roots, by sprinkling in Spanish-style songs popularized by the likes of the Gipsy Kings and Santana. By 2011, Cortes, who did three sets a night, Wednesday through Saturday, had developed a loyal following. That summer he was on Facebook when he spotted a message from a person he'd gone to school with in Mexico City. He remembered she used to be pals with his first girlfriend. Out of curiousity he asked if the two of them were still in touch. They were, she replied. SUPPLIED Free Ride as The Rolling Stones. Jose 'Pepe' Cortes is Keith Richards,, front Five minutes later, he received a second message, this time from his ex, a woman named Gabriela. 'She was like 'hi, how are you.' She told me she was living in Tequisquiapan, about three hours from Mexico City. After messaging back and forth a bit more, she said I should come for a visit, which I ended up doing that winter.' Cortes fell in love with both Gabriela and the town, notable for its quaint cobblestone streets and rustic houses. On the flight back to Winnipeg he thought if he could land a gig there, he'd probably move. Four years later he was preparing to do just that. Ahead of his imminent departure, Peter Ginakes, owner of the Pony Corral, proposed they stage a 'Farewell Pepê' concert in his honour, on the patio. That night the place was jam-packed, with lineups stretching into the parking lot. As Cortes was putting away his guitar for what he thought would be the last time at that locale, Ginakes approached him to say, 'You know, there isn't any reason we can't do this every summer.' Cortes, who has dual citizenship, refers to his current situation, which sees him living and performing in Tequisquiapan for nine months of the years, and spending June through August in Lorette with his daughter Sam and her husband, as the 'best of both worlds.' Not only does he get to see his two adult children as well as a pair of grandchildren, ages five and nine, when he's here he holds down a Las Vegas-style residency at the Pony Corral three nights a week, Thursday to Saturday. Added bonus: his son Matthew occasionally supports him on bongo drums. 'It's funny because couples who used to come see me at the Pony 20 years ago, back when they were dating, now show up with their kids to catch the show,' he says. 'The other night my own grandkids were here and the oldest one spent the whole time in one of the Tiki huts, banging away on the table like he was playing drums.' Cortes, who has recorded four CDs of original material, figures he currently has close to 150 songs in his repertoire, including what he refers to as the calypso medley, which he put the finishing touches to in Mexico, this past winter. Jose (Pepe) Cortes on the patio at the riverside Pony Corral Restaurant & Bar (Pier7) at 1700 Pembina Hwy. 'For that one, I kick off things off with Lionel Richie's All Night Long, then switch to Kokomo by the Beach Boys, September by Earth, Wind and Fire and finally Hot Hot Hot (by Buster Poindexter). If that doesn't get people tapping their toes, nothing will.' And although Gabriela has only come with him to Winnipeg once — she found it too chilly, even in June, he says with a wink — he intends to make the annual trip north for as long as Ginakes and the Pony Corral will have him. 'The only tough part is I'm not as young as I used to be,' he says, polishing off the last of his coffee. 'Lots of times customers will go, 'Pepê, it's so good to see you,' and offer to buy me a drink. I have to tell them thanks, but no thanks… or at least to wait till Saturday night, when I don't have to work the next day.' Monthly What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Advance used unblurred footage of minors taken from education organisations without consent in new ad
Conservative lobby group Advance is under fire for repurposing footage of identifiable children without obtaining consent in a new ad attacking Welcome to Country ceremonies. When contacted by ABC NEWS Verify, many of the schools, child education centres, and organisations that had videos taken for use in the ad, said permission was not granted to use the footage, and they want the ad taken down. Advance started advertising with the ad, titled "Welcome To Your Own Country", on June 15 on Meta platforms. It uploaded the video on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube — where, combined, it has been viewed more than 230,000 times. The ad shows minors taking part in Acknowledgement of Country activities at education facilities — with some of the children clearly identifiable. A face blur has only been used on some of the children. Some adult educators can also be identified. ABC NEWS Verify has chosen not to name any of the education facilities involved. Below are stills of the ad, but the images have been blurred, so children and adults can't be identified. ABC NEWS Verify has analysed the video and, using basic open-source techniques, was able to identify footage taken from the public social media accounts of four childcare and/or early learning centres, one playgroup organisation, two primary schools, and one prep to year 12 school. Footage featuring children filmed by not-for-profit group Reconciliation Australia was also used — as well as a clip featuring children from ABC programming. ABC NEWS Verify contacted the above organisations to ask if permission had been sought by Advance to use the footage in its ad. All but one replied by deadline confirming permission had not been sought. "The ad has been sourced from material publicly available on the internet," a spokesperson for Advance said. Some of the schools referred the inquiry to their respective education departments. "No permission has been granted by the ACT Education Directorate [or the primary school] for the use of this video. No consent has been granted by the parents of the children in the video for it to be used in this way," one said. "We object to footage of our students being used in this way, even more so without their knowledge and without the consent of their parents," it said. The Queensland Education Department said neither it, nor the school featured in the ad, were approached for permission to use the video. "The department is currently supporting the school to report the unauthorised use of footage to YouTube," it said. Reconciliation Australia also provided a statement. "Advance has not sought our permission to use the images contained in their ad," it said. "Written release forms were signed by all parents and guardians giving permission for Reconciliation Australia to use images of the children featured in the original video. "We are very concerned that Advance appears to have used images of minors with no attempt to de-identify many of the children nor to acquire consent from their parents or guardians, and without permission from Reconciliation Australia," it said. At least seven adult educators feature in the video — some have their faces blurred, but a number do not. A staff member from a playgroup organisation is prominently featured at the start of the ad. That organisation's chief executive told ABC NEWS Verify it had lodged an official complaint with YouTube and was seeking advice from the eSafety Commissioner on what to do if the video isn't removed. "I am deeply concerned to learn that footage originating from our official YouTube channel has been used without our consent in a political advertising campaign," they said. "We unequivocally condemn Advance Australia's unauthorised use of [the] material." It is understood the ABC was also unaware of its footage being used in the ad. ABC NEWS Verify contacted Advance and informed them that several organisations had said they would like their footage removed from the ad. In response, Advance said that it had not received any complaints. "We have not been contacted by any individual or organisations with the concerns you refer to in your questions," it said. "In fact, the response to the ad has been overwhelmingly positive." Technology and privacy legal expert James Patto from Scildan Legal said "it's at least arguable" that Advance has breached the Privacy Act in repurposing the footage. But he said it depends on whether the footage is considered "personal information" or "sensitive information" under the act. "If it's personal information — say the children are identifiable but there's no sensitive characteristics — then Advance Australia wouldn't necessarily need consent to collect it," he told ABC NEWS Verify. "But that doesn't mean they're off the hook. "They'd also need to notify individuals, unless that wasn't reasonably practicable. "It's important to remember that just because something's online doesn't mean it's fair game under privacy law." He said it's a different story if the footage is determined to be "sensitive information". "If the footage includes sensitive information, like racial or ethnic origin or biometric features, then consent is required to collect and use it," Mr Patto said. "That consent has to be specific to Advance and for the political purpose. Consent given to a school or film crew wouldn't likely cut it. "I think it's at least arguable that some of the footage could reveal sensitive information, like race and ethnic origin," he said. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is the country's privacy regulator. It was contacted but failed to respond directly to questions concerning the ad.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Dozens injured, including children, in Russian attack on Kharkiv
Dozens injured, including children, in Russian attack on Kharkiv NewsFeed Video shows extensive damage to a residential area of Kharkiv after the latest Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian city. Officials say at least 37 people were injured, including a 28-day-old baby. The attack comes a day after the latest fruitless round of talks between the two sides. Video Duration 00 minutes 26 seconds 00:26 Video Duration 01 minutes 25 seconds 01:25 Video Duration 01 minutes 48 seconds 01:48 Video Duration 01 minutes 10 seconds 01:10 Video Duration 00 minutes 42 seconds 00:42 Video Duration 01 minutes 30 seconds 01:30 Video Duration 01 minutes 31 seconds 01:31
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Measles cases in US over 4.5 times higher than all of last year
Measles cases in the United States are continuing to rise after breaking a decades-long record just two weeks ago. There are now 1,319 confirmed measles cases across 39 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated Wednesday. This is the highest nationwide measles figure seen since 1992. National cases are more than 4.5 times higher than the entirety of last year, which had an estimated 285 cases reported. MORE: Amid growing Texas outbreak, how contagious is measles? So far, two children and one adult have died from the virus this year, the first deaths from measles in a decade. About one to three of every 1,000 children infected with measles die from respiratory and neurologic complications, according to the CDC. An overwhelming majority of this year's cases -- 92% -- are among those who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, CDC data shows. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC Childhood vaccination rates to protect against measles have been declining in recent years, CDC data shows. The rate of kindergarteners receiving state-required vaccinations dropped from 95% in the 2019-2020 school year to less than 93% in the 2023-2024 school year, according to CDC data. A 95% threshold is the ideal level to protect for herd immunity, public health experts note. This leaves about 280,000 U.S. kindergarteners, or 7.3%, without protection from the virus. MORE: Amid growing Texas outbreak, how contagious is measles? A measles vaccine became available in 1963. Prior to that, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years old. It led to an estimated 500 deaths and 48,000 hospitalizations each year before the shot was widely available, according to the CDC. Children in the U.S. are recommended to receive the two-dose measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine with the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says. A booster shot is not typically recommended for adults who already have immunity from the virus through vaccination or prior infection. Solve the daily Crossword
Sky News AU
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Attorney-General prioritising national Working With Children Check system after horrific alleged childcare crimes
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has promised action to unify child safety checks across Australia, following a series of shocking abuse cases in childcare centres. Ms Rowland told Sky News Sunday Agenda that establishing a national Working With Children Check system will be the top priority at the upcoming Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting. 'We've got a pilot that's being established now… what is essential here is twofold,' Ms Rowland said. 'We've got different states and territories with their own schemes for Working With Children Checks and reportable conduct. They do not talk to other states… 'This was actually a recommendation coming out of a 2015 series of responses on the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. 'We're now in 2025. What is important here is that we have action,' she said. The national reform aims to create near real-time reporting, ensure consistent access to data, and bring uniformity across jurisdictions to improve child safety. Ms Rowland acknowledged the reforms will not solve all the challenges in the system but said they will be a significant step forward. The push comes amid growing public concern after disturbing allegations of child sexual abuse in childcare centres. Calls to ban men from working in childcare have also emerged but Education Minister Jason Clare has dismissed such measures. Mr Clare told reporters, 'Just cutting blokes out altogether is not going to be the solution. In none of the reports do they recommend (banning men)'. He has instructed his department to draft legislation allowing the government to withhold public funding from childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards. Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has fast-tracked reforms including a ban on personal devices in childcare centres from September 26. She has also flagged the possible installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to boost child safety. Ms Rowland welcomed the momentum for change. ' We need to be honest. This is not going to resolve everything… but it will be a significant step forward,' she said.
