Miss-Delectable
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http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3189132
KARLA QUINONEZ SLEEPS SOUNDLY
as a team of construction workers noisily rips up the road in her quiet neighborhood in south Berkeley.
But, soon after she awakes, she turns the stereo on, rifles through her CD selection for "anything but rock." The 29-year-old painter turns the stereo up full blast, "smashing out the bass" as she feels the vibrations clatter in her ears. She screams at the top of her lungs as she grabs a paint brush and begins a day's work. Noise doesn't bother her, but she still senses the music. Quinonez is deaf.
"Deaf people love music just as much as hearing people do," says Quinonez, who uses sign language to communicate. "They just understand it differently. They can feel it."
Krishna Ferreira, who is also deaf, relishes music. Thehigh school freshman's favorite artist is 50 Cent. Ferreira also writes hip-hop music.
His mother, Cristina Ferreira, relocated to the Bay Area because of the almost nonexistent deaf community in her native Brazil. She says her son can identify the voices of various artists with the help of his hearing aid and he regularly watches them on MTV.
Quinonez and Ferreira are part of a thriving deaf community in the Bay Area — especially in Fremont, which has become a hub for the deaf community in Northern California since the California School for the Deaf moved here in 1980 from its longtime home in Berkeley.
Mark Burke, athletic director at the school for the past four years, is a huge fan of sports and music. He listens to "old tapes" such as AC/DC and says he can understand the differences between the beats.
"We do not do anything differently than hearing people," he says.
The deaf populace regularly holds deaf socials, plays conducted in American Sign Language, deaf sporting events, deaf seminars and workshops, deaf dances and concerts in the East Bay, North Bay and all over San Francisco.
In October, Pleasanton hosted the national DeafNation Expo, which celebrates deaf culture and life. Throughout most of the year, the organization holds monthly events in cities across the nation.
All of this points to a growing acceptance of the deaf community, which includes individuals ranging from profoundly deaf to hard-of-hearing. Together, the deaf community is working to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds.
This doesn't mean, however, that deaf people feel handicapped or disadvantaged. Many celebrate their unique history, culture and language.
Yes, language. Today, American Sign Language is not simply considered a translation of English, but as its own language.
"I don't perceive hearing loss and deafness as a disability, but as a basis of a distinct cultural group," says Bekah Mandel of Richmond, the first in her family to be profoundly deaf. "The whole community is very unique. Everything within it is intertwined with something else."
Nancy McCormick-Kovacich, a stay-at-home mom and science fiction writer in San Francisco who is deaf, explains how dynamic the deaf community is.
"We are humans, we have language, we have stories, we have gifts," McCormick-Kovacich says.
The deaf community has allowed some individuals, like Roy Abueg, who is deaf and works as a deaf counselor, to feel accepted.
Abueg, 28, grew up in a hearing family reading lips and had his first exposure to the deaf community eight years ago.
"It has made me understand who I am," Abueg says. "I'm still learning."
Iva Ikeda, a deaf professor in Berkeley, says there are advantages to being deaf. The list ranges from "blissful sleeping" to the ability to communicate underwater with others while scuba diving.
She believes terms such as "audism," the idea that people should use their voices, continue to create a "negative or oppressive attitude towards deaf people."
"I like the fact that the deaf community is very diverse," Ikeda says. "It doesn't matter what race, religion, age or background people have. There is a natural connection between deaf people."
Quinonez, outspoken with metallic blue fingernails and multiple tattoos covering her petite frame, hopes to have her own gallery one day and to start a family "soon, very soon" with her husband of seven years,
Michael Piotrowski, a screen printer who is hearing.
Ideally, they would like to have both hearing and deaf children to "keep the balance between the deaf and hearing world."
For more information about the DeafNation Expo, visit http://www.deafnation.com. For a calendar of deaf events, visit http://www.deafmall.net/events.
KARLA QUINONEZ SLEEPS SOUNDLY
as a team of construction workers noisily rips up the road in her quiet neighborhood in south Berkeley.
But, soon after she awakes, she turns the stereo on, rifles through her CD selection for "anything but rock." The 29-year-old painter turns the stereo up full blast, "smashing out the bass" as she feels the vibrations clatter in her ears. She screams at the top of her lungs as she grabs a paint brush and begins a day's work. Noise doesn't bother her, but she still senses the music. Quinonez is deaf.
"Deaf people love music just as much as hearing people do," says Quinonez, who uses sign language to communicate. "They just understand it differently. They can feel it."
Krishna Ferreira, who is also deaf, relishes music. Thehigh school freshman's favorite artist is 50 Cent. Ferreira also writes hip-hop music.
His mother, Cristina Ferreira, relocated to the Bay Area because of the almost nonexistent deaf community in her native Brazil. She says her son can identify the voices of various artists with the help of his hearing aid and he regularly watches them on MTV.
Quinonez and Ferreira are part of a thriving deaf community in the Bay Area — especially in Fremont, which has become a hub for the deaf community in Northern California since the California School for the Deaf moved here in 1980 from its longtime home in Berkeley.
Mark Burke, athletic director at the school for the past four years, is a huge fan of sports and music. He listens to "old tapes" such as AC/DC and says he can understand the differences between the beats.
"We do not do anything differently than hearing people," he says.
The deaf populace regularly holds deaf socials, plays conducted in American Sign Language, deaf sporting events, deaf seminars and workshops, deaf dances and concerts in the East Bay, North Bay and all over San Francisco.
In October, Pleasanton hosted the national DeafNation Expo, which celebrates deaf culture and life. Throughout most of the year, the organization holds monthly events in cities across the nation.
All of this points to a growing acceptance of the deaf community, which includes individuals ranging from profoundly deaf to hard-of-hearing. Together, the deaf community is working to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds.
This doesn't mean, however, that deaf people feel handicapped or disadvantaged. Many celebrate their unique history, culture and language.
Yes, language. Today, American Sign Language is not simply considered a translation of English, but as its own language.
"I don't perceive hearing loss and deafness as a disability, but as a basis of a distinct cultural group," says Bekah Mandel of Richmond, the first in her family to be profoundly deaf. "The whole community is very unique. Everything within it is intertwined with something else."
Nancy McCormick-Kovacich, a stay-at-home mom and science fiction writer in San Francisco who is deaf, explains how dynamic the deaf community is.
"We are humans, we have language, we have stories, we have gifts," McCormick-Kovacich says.
The deaf community has allowed some individuals, like Roy Abueg, who is deaf and works as a deaf counselor, to feel accepted.
Abueg, 28, grew up in a hearing family reading lips and had his first exposure to the deaf community eight years ago.
"It has made me understand who I am," Abueg says. "I'm still learning."
Iva Ikeda, a deaf professor in Berkeley, says there are advantages to being deaf. The list ranges from "blissful sleeping" to the ability to communicate underwater with others while scuba diving.
She believes terms such as "audism," the idea that people should use their voices, continue to create a "negative or oppressive attitude towards deaf people."
"I like the fact that the deaf community is very diverse," Ikeda says. "It doesn't matter what race, religion, age or background people have. There is a natural connection between deaf people."
Quinonez, outspoken with metallic blue fingernails and multiple tattoos covering her petite frame, hopes to have her own gallery one day and to start a family "soon, very soon" with her husband of seven years,
Michael Piotrowski, a screen printer who is hearing.
Ideally, they would like to have both hearing and deaf children to "keep the balance between the deaf and hearing world."
For more information about the DeafNation Expo, visit http://www.deafnation.com. For a calendar of deaf events, visit http://www.deafmall.net/events.