Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
Read More…
Why do kids outperform their parents in this rural California town? A sociologist looks for answers.
“The Union Pacific Railroad runs through the heart of Dixon, California, a small town among the agricultural plains between San Francisco and Sacramento. Like in many rural towns its size, some neighborhoods are better off than others. But surprisingly in Dixon, from a certain point of view, there is no wrong side of those tracks.
The teenagers of Dixon generally do better than their parents. This upward mobility, as it’s called, doesn’t grab the attention of sociologists and economists as often as the more depressing statistics associated with small towns plagued by poorer outcomes…”
New Lydia Mendoza Graduate Scholarship Launched by CUNY Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman College
“The funds will provide students with financial support to complete a master’s degree in New York, as well as personalized tutoring, internships, and the opportunity to be part of a large community of professionals connected with NYC’s Mexican dimension,” said Dr. Miguel Reyes, CEO of CFE International, the U.S. arm of Mexico’s energy utility.
A key part of the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute’s mission is to highlight the impact of the Mexican community on New York City through academic training, research on Mexico and the Mexican diaspora in New York and the U.S., and the promotion of culture and education…”
https://www.lehman.cuny.edu/news/2024/New-Lydia-Mendoza-Scholarship-Launched-.php
Mayra Puente receives AERA award for ‘Platicando y Mapeando’ educational research methodology
“…Puente and Velez together developed the “Platicando y Mapeando” (talking and mapping) methodology in educational research, using Chicana/Latina feminist pláticas (conversations) methodology and geographic information systems (GIS) software and maps, along with U.S. Census quantitative secondary data to track the experiences of rural Latinx youth in pursuing higher education…”
Opening doors: Cuca Acosta’s journey from Santa Barbara High to college admissions leadership
“…Once she has the mic, Acosta is direct, practiced and enthusiastic. She describes the kinds of students who thrive in a University of California environment and which factors — academic and extracurricular — are considered in an admissions decision. And then she smiles, adding a gentle reminder that it’s a key time for them.
“Your GPA is going to come from sophomore and junior year. That’s right now — so no pressure.”…”
Choir School of Delaware set to celebrate Mexican-American culture with Chicana Collaborative
“…Embracing and celebrating Latinx culture, this free event will include authentic Mexican cuisine, selections from a new Cuban-led musical, Aztec dancing, poetry written by Chicana poets and a panel discussion centered around what it means to be Chicana in the United States…”
Community college bachelor’s degree programs positively affect Latino community
“…A key finding of the issue brief was that 64% of Latino students in CCB programs graduated and received bachelor’s degrees within two years, which is a similar graduation rate to non-Latinos in CCB programs…”
Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies Receives $1.2M to Advance Graduate Study
“Federal de Electricidad, has awarded $1.2 million to the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American and Latino Studies (CMALS).
The funds will go to the Lydia Mendoza Graduate Fellowship Program and be used to help recruit and retain graduate students interested in studying the experience of Mexican Americans and Latinos in the U.S. All students studying in any field are eligible for up to two years of funding. The program began recruitment Feb. 1 for the first fellowship year, 2024-2025…”
https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2024/february/02192024-cmals-award-graduate-studies
Immigration: USC experts available to discuss America’s most polarizing topic
“There’s a dichotomy in the visibility of Latinos, being hyper-visible in some aspects while remaining invisible in other dimensions of our society,” said Natalia Molina, distinguished professor of American studies and ethnicity at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
“The influence of Latino culture is widespread, exemplified by a recent Pew Foundation study indicating that approximately 1 in 10 U.S. restaurants serve Mexican food. This study emphasizes the active role of Latinos in shaping American culture, not merely being shaped by it,” she said….”
https://today.usc.edu/immigration-usc-experts-available-to-discuss-americas-most-polarizing-topic/
The Mexican American
“I had gone through school from the first grade through law school speaking English, learning at an early age that Spanish was not to be used in school. Then, as I started my law practice, my first clients were Spanish speaking. I had to try and relearn the language we had spoken at home when I was an infant. Soon, young Chicano teachers and students challenged the Los Angeles District’s racist tactics of stripping children of their heritage, language, and culture. The accusation and the public debate that followed caused many of us to ask “What am I?”…”
https://www.languagemagazine.com/2024/01/16/the-mexican-american/
SWE’s Second Virtual Event in Mexico: Fostering Women’s Professional Development
“SWE Mexico held a “Strengthening the Network” virtual event series which took place on 14, 21, and 28 Sept. 2023, consisting of two-hour sessions each day. A testament to the growth of networking in Mexico, there were 577 registrants from industries all over Latin America.
Five companies participated in the event: Cummins, PepsiCo, John Deere, Honeywell, and ABB. Two leading universities, La Salle University and UACJ (Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez), also participated. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about SWE, create connections, acquire significant knowledge and share experiences across various STEM fields with fellow Spanish-speaking participants…”
https://alltogether.swe.org/2024/01/swe-mexico-virtual-event/
A Philly dance group is helping Mexican American children connect to their roots
“Andrea Garcia was a professional folklore dancer in her native Mexico. But, after moving to Philly in 2016, she became a domestic worker. As a way to help her three kids connect with their Mexican identity and take a break from electronics, she cocreated Ñuuxakun in 2021. The dance group offers a bilingual and bicultural experience for kids in South Philadelphia, and has developed a following over the last year, with several forthcoming holiday performances…”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philadelphia-dance-group-nuuxakun-20231216.html
Compendium on Chicano poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera strikes gold
“For fans of Juan Felipe Herrera, the praise rings true — the famed Chicano writer and poet laureate is as versatile and experimental as he is resourceful and prolific. Despite his popularity and renown, however, an anthology of critical essays on the significance of his work had yet to exist.
To fill that void, UC Santa Barbara Professor Emeritus Francisco Lomelí and Osiris Aníbal Gómez, PhD ’20, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, co-edited a wide-ranging book on Herrera’s 50 year career. Their effort, “Juan Felipe Herrera: Migrant, Activist, Poet Laureate” (University of Arizona Press, 2023) recently won an International Latino Book Awards gold medal…”
https://news.ucsb.edu/2023/021277/compendium-chicano-poet-laureate-juan-felipe-herrera-strikes-gold
Thunderbird at ASU announces regional Center of Excellence in Mexico
“November 29, 2023
In a move that signaled a significant step forward in its commitment to fostering innovation and global, digital leadership in Latin America, the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, in partnership with Cintana Education and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG), has announced a new regional Center of Excellence in Mexico…”
UCLA Spanish course explores culture through sensory experience
“…Cohen, a continuing lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said he created the course Spanish M172XP: “Topics in Community Engagement: Cine Vivo: Community-Engaged Sensory Ethnography” to teach students about topics in community engagement, specifically within the field of sensory ethnography.
Sensory ethnography is the study of cultural and social interactions often through visual media to capture sensory data including sight, touch, smell, taste and sound. Throughout the quarter, students form groups to create a film project capturing the images and sounds of the human experience in Latino communities in Los Angeles…”
https://dailybruin.com/2023/11/24/ucla-spanish-course-explores-culture-through-sensory-experience
UK DMA student elevating opportunities for Mexican, Mexican American compose
“LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 21, 2023) — Juan Saldivar Jr., D.M.A. student in the University of Kentucky School of Music, is elevating opportunities for Mexican and Mexican American composers through a new initiative.
Saldivar, a native of border town Laredo, Texas, co-founded the trombone duo, Border Bones, with friend Alex Lopez Velarde, principal trombonist of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico. Through Border Bones, Saldivar and Velarde aim to increase trombone duet repertoire from rising marginalized and underrepresented composers…”
A Mexican American professor who struggled with impostor phenomenon helps others overcome it
“…Like many people of similar backgrounds who she meets through her research, Gutiérrez suffers from the affliction commonly known asimpostor phenomenon, a condition that Gutiérrez refers to as “impostorization.” It’s the uneasy, ever-present sensation that you’re a fraud, your successes aren’t deserved, and it’s only a matter of time before you’re unmasked as the failure you truly are.
Typically, and ironically, it tends to afflict high achievers. In the United States, impostorization also tends disproportionately to affect women, people of color and immigrants or their offspring…”
CWC Global: Corazón Azul
“Science-fiction drama Corazón Azul (2021) immerses viewers in an alternate reality where Fidel Castro—one of the foremost leaders of the Cuban Revolution and long-time President of the post-revolutionary Cuban state—uses genetic engineering to build a new kind of man and save his socialist utopia. Castro’s brazen experiment, however, eventually fails as these new beings prove to be highly intelligent but also cruel and uncontrollable. Rejected by their creators, a group of these engineered outcasts organizes a series of terrorist actions and sows chaos across the island. Along the way, one of its members, Elena (Lynn Cruz), traces the origin of her genes and begins a journey to try to discover her humanity.”
Undocu Open House highlights support systems for students without legal status
“…“For a lot of undocumented students, the biggest concern in terms of pursuing higher education has to do with financial aid and funding,” Moreno said. “Even though we have the California DREAM Act and AB 540 legislation, there are still a lot of students who are left out.”
According to the California Student Aid Commission, the California DREAM Act allows eligible students, including students without legal status, to pay in-state tuition at any public college in California and receive certain types of financial aid. Under California law Assembly Bill 540, eligible nonresident students who meet certain criteria can be exempt from paying nonresident supplemental tuition, according to the UC admissions website…”
t News to Share? Send 2 FREE Releases ↓ NATIVE AMERICAN/HISPANIC STUDENTS & PROFESSIONALS SHINE-SACNAS 2023 NATIONAL DIVERSITY IN STEM CONFERENCE #2023NDiSTEM
“Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science holds nation’s first, all-Native American/Indigenous session focused on mathematics.
We’re investing in the current and future workforce. We want to help lead change at the highest level.”
— Juan Amador, FASAE, CAE, SACNAS Executive Director
PORTLAND, OR, USA, October 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) will continue its National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference at Oregon’s Portland Convention Center on Saturday. Friday’s highlights included the nation’s first-ever all-Native American/Indigenous session focused on mathematics, Indigenous Perspectives in…”
From the archives: UCSB Library showcases community art collection
“An exhibit of groundbreaking prints dating back to the inception of California’s Chicano Civil Rights Movement opens on Oct. 25 at UC Santa Barbara Library.
The event, “Cultura Cura: 50 Years of Self Help Graphics in East LA,” highlights the library’s Special Research Collections extensive archive of art, records and related ephemera from Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG), an intergenerational Los Angeles-based nonprofit that has been facilitating and promoting printmaking and other art media by Chicano/a, Latinx and other BIPOC artists since 1970. SHG was founded by artists Carlos Bueno, Antonio Ibañez, Frank Hernandez and Sister Karen Boccalero…”
