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,”
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Nursing

Curanderismo: A Complementary and Alternative Approach to Mexican American Health Psychology

JN Valdez – Multicultural Approaches to Health and Wellness in …, 2014
… On the other hand, these views of curanderos as professional medical providers move on … uses
herbs to help others”(9). Comparisons to biomedical professionals or common … However, to
accurately define Mexican/Mexican American curanderas/os, the range of curanderismo’s …
Link to chapter

The health data that shows Hispanics can’t be lumped into one group

Data looking at diabetes among Hispanics shows what experts have known for some time; the rate of metabolic disease among this growing minority is significantly higher than among non-Hispanic whites.

That being said, the data also shows something else that’s very important–Hispanics cannot be lumped under an umbrella term when it comes to health.

The new information is part of an ongoing large-scale study of Hispanics in the United States entitled “The Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos”, and according to project manager Larissa Avilés-Santa, MD, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the findings are complex when it comes to the health of Hispanics but clearly show there is no single “Hispanic profile.”…
Link to article

Health of Elderly Mexican American Adults and Family Caregiver Distress

Using newly available data on family caregivers from a large epidemiological study of elderly Mexican-origin adults (Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly [HEPESE], 2010/2011), we identify which types of impairment (functional, psychological, and cognitive) in the elderly individual are associated with family caregiver depressive symptoms. Results from ordinary least squares regressions using 626 caregiver–care recipient dyads demonstrate…
Link to abstract

From “Kickeando las malias” (Kicking the Withdrawals) to “Staying clean”: The Impact of Cultural Values on Cessation of Injection Drug Use in Aging Mexican-American

Drug use among older adults is a growing concern, particularly for the burgeoning Hispanic population. Older adults seeking drug treatment will double over the next decade to almost 6 million. Cultural factors influence drug use, and more specifically, Hispanic cultural values influence heroin use. This study explored Mexican-American injection drug users’ adherence to…
Link to abstract

Experiences with Violence in Mexican American and European American High School Dating Relationships

Violence in adolescent dating relationships has become increasingly normative in the United States, with the severity of the consequences increasing into adulthood. Minority youths are at an increased risk for experiencing moderate to severe forms of physical dating violence, yet they are less likely to seek professional services. This comparative study of Mexican American (MA) and European American (EA) youths…
Link to abstract

Qualitative Exploration of Adolescent Discrimination: Experiences and Responses of Mexican-American Parents and Teens

The Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children argues that while discrimination and prejudice are normative experiences for ethnic minority children, promoting environments, family factors and adaptive culture may help minority youth develop effective coping strategies to deal with discrimination. Although this model emphasizes the critical role of family
Link to abstract

Mexican American Social Workers’ Perceptions of Doctoral Education and Academia

M Tijerina, AC Deepak – Journal of Social Work Education, 2014
… than the specific Latino ethnicities within, the sample for this study was solely Mexican American. …
responsibilities (ie, no children, no parents to care for), and professional recognition for … Second,
the resulting sample largely comprised very seasoned professionals, who were far …
Link to abstract

Retrospective chart review of obesity and episodic and chronic illness among rural Mexican-American adolescents accessing rural health clinic services

JD Champion, S Pierce, JL Collins – International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2014
… adolescents is essential.[42] A substantial increase in obesity has occurred among men,
Mexican-Americans and those living in southern states.[10] The rapid growth of Mexican-American
populations in … Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Causes and Consequences
Link to abstract

Early Childrearing Practices and Their Relationship to Academic Performance in Mexican American Children

Arevalo, Amanda PT, DSc, PCS; Kolobe, Thubi H.A. PT, PhD, FAPTA; Arnold, Sandra PT, PhD; DeGrace, Beth PhD, OTR/L
Purpose:
To examine whether parenting behaviors and child rearing practices in the first 3 years of life among Mexican American (MA) families predict children’s academic performance at school age
Link to abstract

Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists

MAES was founded in Los Angeles in 1974 to increase the number of Mexican Americans and other Hispanics in the technical and scientific fields.

The idea to establish a professional society for Mexican American engineers originated with Robert Von Hatten, an aerospace electronics engineer with TRW Defense Space Systems in Redondo Beach, California. Mr. Von Hatten had for several years served as volunteer for programs directed at combating the alarming number of high school dropouts. He envisioned a national organization that would serve as a source for role models, address of the needs of its members, and become a resource for industry
Link to article

PSYCHOSOCIAL INFLUENCES OF ACCULTURATION AND ACCULTURATIVE STRESS ON LEPTIN, ADIPONECTIN, AND GESTATIONAL DIABETES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY

SE Muñoz – 2014
… LEPTIN, ADIPONECTIN, AND GESTATIONAL DIABETES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN
DURING PREGNANCY Committee: … STRESS ON LEPTIN, ADIPONECTIN, AND GESTATIONAL
DIABETES IN MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY by …
Link to dissertation

Reduction of Non-adherent Behaviour in a Mexican-American Adolescent with Type 2 Diabetes

E Piven, R Duran – Occupational Therapy International, 2014
… In addition, fatalismo (a Mexican-American fatalistic belief about God’s control over oneself) may
pose challenges to the development of an … Seeking help from a professional has been viewed
as an outward demonstration of weakness that challenged machismo and…
Link to abstract

HIV RISKS AND RISK REDUCTION READINESS IN HARD-TO-REACH, DRUG-USING AFRICAN AMERICAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

HIV RISKS, RIN HARD-TO-REACH
… risky HIV behaviors, We developed the AIDS Survival Kit (ASK) program, which targeted both
African American and Mexican American men and … Making such changes will involve the
collaborative efforts of health and social service professionals who understand the issues …
Link to article

Beliefs, Practices, and Experiences Of Postpartum Mexican American Women: An Ethnonursing Study

VA Hascup – Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal …, 2014
… University, Union, NJ. Discipline: Childbearing (CB), Professional Issues (PI), Women’s
Health (WH). Learning Objectives: Desribe the values that are most important to
Mexican American women during the childbirth continuum. …
Link to abstract

Acculturation and Religious Coping as Moderators of the Association Between Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Mexican-American Vocational Students

A Fernandez, A Loukas – Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2013
… population, because of limited eco- nomic resources and access to other forms of coping, such
as professional counseling [2 … Although religious involvement is important to the Mexican-American
population, the amount of literature examining religiousness and its influence on …
Link to abstract

Mexican-American Children’s Perspectives: Neighborhood Characteristics and Physical Activity in Texas-Mexico Border Colonias

N Mier, LEE CHANAM, ML Smith, W XIAOHUI… – Journal of environmental …, 2013
… Ten focus groups were conducted with 67 Mexican-American colonia children ages 8 to 13 living
in one of the poorest border … Findings may inform policy makers and public health professionals
about ways to promote PA among underserved children through urban planning …
Link to abstract

Dimensions of Protective Parent-Adolescent Dyads as Defined by Mexican American Sons

CM Dudzinski – 2013
… 5-2013 Dimensions of Protective Parent-Adolescent Dyads as Defined by Mexican American Sons
Clare M. Dudzinski St. … Recommended Citation Dudzinski, Clare M., “Dimensions of Protective
Parent-Adolescent Dyads as Defined by Mexican American Sons” (2013). …
Link to thesis


  

Poem
“…And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while…”

T.S. Eliot
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Mexican American Proarchive Annual Report for 2022

The American Community Survey is an annual survey administered by the federal government to help local officials and community leaders and businesses understand the changes that take place in their communities. It includes percentages of our population’s graduate school attainment and the employment of Mexican Americans in various occupations.  These important factors influence the allocation of federal resources. Mexican American Proarchives uses the data provided by the American Community Survey to better understand how Mexican Americans compare to the general population.

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