The Irresistible Chumash Casino Resort....It’s All About Entertainment!

The Chumash Casino Resort attracts people far and wide -- including some Spanish-speaking Latinos – for one very simple reason: entertainment.

Guests love the mouth-watering cuisine of the Fiesta Mexicana buffet and that heartthrobs like Luis Miguel choose to play not one, but two, concerts at the intimate 1,300-seat Samala Showroom. They appreciate the resort’s unmatched commitment to customer service, and enjoy the opportunity to dine on the scenic patio of the Willows restaurant before settling in on their favorite slot machine or heading off to a heart-pounding boxing match.

There’s something for everyone, and that’s why thousands of people from all over – Spanish-speaking or otherwise – have become Chumash Casino Resort devotees. On a busy holiday weekend, guests can climb to 30,000.

For several years now, executives of the resort have made specific efforts to court the booming Latino market by booking A-list Spanish-music acts like Luis Miguel, Paulina Rubio and Chayanne, as well as offering championship boxing, elegant dining and a full bar at The Willows. The resort provides plenty of Spanish-speaking hosts and bilingual regional maps for tourists..

Like many other casino operators around the nation, the Chumash Casino Resort recognizes the rapidly growing Latino population, and it’s rapidly growing buying power. In Santa Barbara County, Latinos make up more than 35 percent of the population. Nationwide, Latinos have become the largest minority group, numbering 41 million.

“It only makes sense to go after that market. Latinos are the fastest growing population in the state,” said David Brents, the Chumash Casino Resort’s general manager. “Nationwide, Latino buying power is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2008. We’ve focused many efforts on embracing and acknowledging that market.”

Currently, about 30 percent of Club Chumash cardholders are Latino. Being part of the “club” puts gamblers in line for earning members points that can later be used toward prizes and discounts. The card also serves as a tracking device, letting executives know whether marketing campaigns are achieving the desired results.

“We really cherish our Latino guests,” said Frances Snyder, spokeswoman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We are always looking for ways to make their experienceá at the casino the very best it can be.”

El Pilar - On the Border of Belize and Guatemala

Annabel Ford is the noted architect who unknowingly planned on mapping El Pilar as an archaeological project, but instead encountered this vast 2000-acre ruin and successfully lobbied the Belize and Guatemalan governments to declare the site an archaeological relic. Trained at UCSB, she has come back to her alma mater’s hometown to promulgate the awareness of this wonderful place. She is holding an event on October 13th where Jane Goodall and Mesoamerican gardeners from the area will speak to locals about forest conservancy and how exciting this particular site is and will be. She recently sat down with Tinta Latina regarding El Pilar.


Where is El Pilar?
El Pilar is an ancient Mayan city, lost in the Mayan forest, unknown and unmapped until 1983 when I began my archaeological explorations on the border of Belize and Guatemala. Today, El Pilar covers more than 150 acres of temples, plazas, and palaces that stretch across the international boundary separating Belize and Guatemala. It is one cultural and natural resource in two nations, reminding me of this magazine and the two cultures that Tinta Latina represents!


Why is El Pilar important?
El Pilar is an ecological and archaeological destination where visitors explore and discover the ancient monuments under the Maya forest canopy. The Maya have long been known for their grand buildings, astronomy and mathematics, and fabulous art, but they were also superb gardeners who domesticated their tropical landscape to establish cities based on the forest garden. The site of El Pilar honors the legacy of the Maya forest garden. It is home to threatened animals like the Jaguar and the Tapir. In the trees you see howler monkeys, toucans, and parrots. Walking on the trails of El Pilar helps to bring you close to the way the Maya lived.


What is the forest garden?
The Maya of Mesoamerica, modern day Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, cultivated their native landscape with care. These Mayan forest gardens support a great diversity of valuable plants and rare animals that make up the Maya world - past and present. Most of forest plants are useful and are found in the traditional gardens to provide for medicine, food, spices, utensils, construction materials, as well as maintain soil and purify air.

Shade plants like Cacao bushes for chocolate seeds and Vanilla orchids for vanilla beans flourish in their Mayan forest gardens. The sun trilogy of maize, beans, and squash are gifts from the region. Condiments like Allspice are also native to the Mayan forest. Today, traditional farmers continue the Forest Garden practice, nurturing and benefiting from their environment. We have invited three Mayan forest gardeners to our Fiesta El Pilar. There you can meet a Mayan healer, an intellectual Mayan gardener, and a young entrepreneur.


What is the Fiesta El Pilar?
Exploring Solutions Past sponsors an annual celebration of the Maya heritage and how it contributes to our world. Where did the ancient Maya live? How did the Maya tame the tropics? What are we doing to protect the Mayan heritage? How can we learn from the Forest Garden? These are just some of the questions we will be answering at the Fiesta El Pilar – Saturday 13 October from 11-4pm.
For more info check out the following websites:

www.espmaya.org

www.mayaforestgardeners.org

www.marc.ucsb.edu