‘Jose Padilla’s 40-plus years of “lawyering against power” began with a win before a skeptical judge—his father. After graduating from law school at UC Berkeley in 1978, Padilla, ’74, was poised to fulfill a promise he had made to the community leader who wrote him a recommendation for Stanford: He was coming home to the Imperial Valley, an expanse of sun-scorched scrubland snugged between San Diego and the Arizona border and transformed into prime farm country by the waters of the All-American Canal and the sweat of workers like Padilla’s grandparents…”
“On March 11, 36-year-old Gabriel Boric will be sworn into office as the youngest president in Chile’s history. A member of the millennial generation, Boric has garnered media attention with his young age and activist past.
His win signifies what some political scientists have referred to as the “marea rosa” – or pink tide – a trend toward left-wing governments and away from neoliberal economic policies in democratic nations across Latin America..”
“…Austin (Travis County) — The Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) recently held a meeting, in which they detailed the expansion that will nearly double the footprint for Phase II of the city’s Emma S. Barrientos-MACC improvement project…
…Juan Miro said that they envision extending the semicircular cultural center with more classrooms for children and adults, a new gallery and performance space, along with other improvements…”
“On his walk home from work, Dr. Eduardo Peña Dolhun passes people living on the sidewalk along Polk Street and Broadway. He’d made that walk hundreds of times before one evening when on a whim he stopped at a man resting on the sidewalk and said, “Hello sir, I’m a community doctor. Are you homeless?”…
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“A majority of the Texas population is now made up of people identifying as racial and ethnic groups other than white, according to information released Aug. 12 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The information is based on the 2020 Census count and will be used by state legislators to draw up new political districts this fall.
A 15.9 percent increase in population netted Texas two additional members in Congress. The areas they will represent will be determined during a fall special session of the Texas Legislature.
The total population in Texas is now 29,145,505. According to the 2020 Census, the population is split into the follow percentages among racial and ethnic groups:
“…Ana Maria Martinez is the 2021 Mayor’s Hispanic Arts in the Community Award winner. The Grammy Award-winning soprano was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Martinez has 24 albums and an international career that spans the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. Ana Maria is also the first ever Artistic Advisor for the Houston Grand Opera and was recently designated Artist in Residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music…”
‘In New Hampshire, a Roman Catholic church where Irish and French Canadian immigrants used to worship now has the state’s largest Latino congregation. In the Deep South, a county in Georgia is one of the nation’s top 10 in diversity. Hispanics accounted for over half of the nation’s population growth in the last decade. This is not just reflected in larger cities, but in mountain towns, Southern neighborhoods and Midwestern prairies. “The Latino population has been dispersing across the United States for years — a reflection of where the nation’s population is moving and where opportunities are located,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center…”
“…Hispanics accounted for over half of the nation’s population growth in the last decade. This is not just reflected in larger cities, but in mountain towns, Southern neighborhoods and Midwestern prairies. “The Latino population has been dispersing across the United States for years — a reflection of where the nation’s population is moving and where opportunities are located,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center…”
“Every year since 1988, Congress has recognized Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighting the impact of Hispanic Americans on our nation and recognizing five of our Central American neighbors who celebrate their independence in September.PBS Wisconsin pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have enriched American society and culture with these programs airing in September and October on PBS Wisconsin and on the PBS App on your phone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV, other digital TV devices and many Smart TVs…”
https://pbswisconsin.org/article/celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month-with-pbs-wisconsin/
“…Research co-led by Anastasia (Tasha) Quintana(link is external) at UC Santa Barbara and Alfredo Giron-Nava at Stanford University investigated feedback loops for community-based conservation in northwest Mexico. Their results suggest that adaptation, learning and trust within fishing communities contribute to a greater and growing impact — positive feedback loops — for conservation and fisheries management. The paper, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science(link is external), is part of a special issue focusing on the work of early career researchers…”
“…The doll was developed with the guidance of an advisory board made up of historians, educators, curators and other professionals with academic knowledge of the American Southwest, according to the American Doll brand. She lives on a ranch near Santa Fe with her father and three older sisters, wears a braid with a flower, faux leather loafers, a white shirt with short puffed sleeves trimmed with lace and a necklace of crosses that the brand says came from Mexico City.
Josefina aspires to be a curandera, like her godmother Magdalena. She is an idealistic, loving and hopeful character and faithfully believes that “kindness really is the best medicine.”..”
“Being biracial has allowed other people to pick and choose my identity for me.Non-Latinos have always labeled me as white and treated me as such because I am “white-passing.” Latinos have generally viewed me as Mexican and considered me a part of the communityIt has been normal for non-Latinos to ask about my ethnic background and then be surprised that I am of Mexican heritage. “Really?” they would say. “I thought you were Asian or just a white girl.”…”
“Long overdue innovation in addressing the unique dietary needs of our diverse population
DETROIT, MI, USA, January 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — The importance of ethnic diversity in the representation of food and nutrition continues to gain momentum. A recent New York Times article highlights historical inattention to this matter. The article notes that ethnic diets, and diets for health promotion are rarely conjoined, with the exception of the Mediterranean diet. The Times contends that leaders in nutrition science and dietetics “ignore non-Western cuisines, or imply that they are unhealthy.” This matter becomes ever more salient and timely as social justice and equity in multicultural societies emerges as an imperative for many modern nations…”
“Patricia Conde-Brooks is an immigrant, but she wants you to know that’s not the only thing that defines her.Conde-Brooks arrived in the United States in 1975 from Colombia. She was the first in her family to attend college and last year earned a doctoral degree in education. The Woodbury, Minn., woman has three grown sons and works at the University of St. Thomas, where she now helps first-generation students navigate college…”
“In 2020, we experienced the first pandemic in the last century. We saw a new social justice movement ignited. We heard loud calls for structural reform to achieve real equality.
In the Philadelphia region, Latinos, who make up 15 percent of the population, have suffered many losses: their jobs, economic stability, and their health and wellness…”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-camden-latino-achievements-goals-2020-20201230.html
“…Alex Padilla — California’s Secretary of State, a loyal Newsom ally and a Latino in a state that has never had a member of that largest ethnic group serve as senator — was a top pick. Sure enough, as Newsom announced Tuesday, the Democrat from Pacoima is on his way to Washington.
But for many Californians — perhaps the majority — Padilla’s nomination is likely to elicit more curiosity than self-congratulation, less “I knew it” and more “who knew?”
If you’re acquainting yourself with Padilla for the first time, here are a few takeaways from his California CV…
https://calmatters.org/politics/2020/12/california-senator-padilla-harris-replacement/
“It happens like clockwork: At least one corporation ends up apologizing during Hispanic Heritage Month because their campaign intended to celebrate Latinos ends up offending them. This year’s loser is Twitch.
The Amazon-owned live video streaming platform issued an apology within hours of launching its campaign last month after users called them out on Twitter for the design of their Hispanic Heritage Month-themed emotes, which employed stereotypical and racist depictions of what Latinos are like…’
“Not a lot of people have come into a new job as ready as Gerardo Aldana, the new dean of UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies (CCS), the campus’s unique community of self-motivated undergraduate students.
A professor of anthropology and of Chicana and Chicano studies, Aldana was associate dean of CCS from 2014 to 2016 and served two terms on the CCS Faculty Executive Committee. He knows the territory…”
“Jovita Idár, a pioneer of Mexican-American civil rights, is celebrated in today’s Google Doodle, on the anniversary of the week the First Mexican Congress was held, September 14—22, 1911.
Born in the border city of Laredo, Texas, in 1885, Jovita Idár lived at a time when Mexican-Americans faced rampant discrimination…”