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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Latin America Roundup: Mexico, Colombia and Cuba press for Pan-American regulatory body
“A frequent post-pandemic theme among Latin American agencies has been coordination and harmonization among regional regulators.
Earlier this year the Mexican government formally backed the creation of a Latin American Medicines Agency, a pan-Latin America body modeled after the European Medicines Agency, that would “lead to health self-sufficiency and guarantee access to quality, safe and effective medicines for the region.” Mexico Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard cited the pandemic as a rationale for the effort, noting that “we do not want to forget the lessons of the pandemic … we risk facing something similar again at any moment.”
The push toward a regional super-agency is being spearheaded by Mexico’s Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), with strong support from Colombia’s National Institute of Food and Drug Monitoring (INVIMA), and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)…”
Student Jasmine Gomez sells designed Slayed Sets to accessorize nails
“Jasmine Gomez’s Slayed Sets is nailing what it means to be a small business.
In August 2021, the fourth-year Chicana and Chicano studies and education and social transformation student launched Slayed Sets, which sells custom ready-to-wear press-on nails. Gomez said she started doing her own nails during her freshman year of college and came up with the idea of Slayed Sets after diving deeper into nail art at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic…”
Latino nominees for the 95th Academy Awards
“Latina nominees for Best Actress
Ana de Armas scored her first Academy Award nomination at the upcoming Oscars 2023 ceremony. Armas is up for Best Actress for her role as the fashion icon Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s Netflix film, ‘Blonde’.
De Armas is running against two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and her role in ‘TÁR’, Michelle Williams, who has been nominated for four career Oscars, this time for starring in ‘The Fabelmans’, Michelle Yeoh for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once’, and ‘To Leslie’ star, Andrea Riseborough…”
https://en.as.com/entertainment/latino-nominees-for-the-95th-academy-awards-n/
Sunday Morning Eva Longoria: “You don’t have to be a politician to be political”
“When Eva Longoria invited “Sunday Morning” over to her Beverly Hills home for lunch, we assumed it was just that, lunch. But she also served up a tasty morsel of culinary history, too. “People think Mexico’s just about tacos and tequila,” she said. “Mexican cuisine is the only cuisine in its entirety protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage treasure – corns, beans, chili, chocolate, vanilla, avocado…”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-desperate-housewives/
Explainer: What is the US-Mexico GM corn dispute about?
“…March 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. has requested formal trade consultations with Mexico over the Latin American country’s plans to restrict imports of genetically modified corn.
The North American neighbors will inch closer to a full-blown trade dispute under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade (USMCA) if there is no resolution during the talks, which Mexico says will last one month.
-old native varieties and has questioned their impact on human health….”
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/what-is-us-mexico-gm-corn-dispute-about-2023-03-08/
Immigrants and children of immigrants make up at least 15% of the 118th Congress
“…Children of immigrants, though, have increased their representation in Congress in recent years. Their share has increased from 10% (or 52 members) in the 115th Congress of 2017-18, when the Center began tracking this biographical information…”
UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion grants awards to student leaders
“…Award recipient Norma Sandoval said that her own experiences as a first-generation student in the sciences led her to support younger students in the field as well.
Sandoval, a molecular, cellular, and integrative physiology doctoral student, was nominated for the EDI Student Leadership Award by her mentor Stephanie Correa, an assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA.
She said it was meaningful to work with people such as Correa, who understands her values and supports the work she’s done, adding that she hopes to fulfill a similar role for other students looking into the field of science…”
This Mexican Activist Is Helping Americans Defy Abortion Bans, Time Magazine Woman of the Year
“For Verónica Cruz Sánchez, the past year has felt like traveling back in time. Since 2000, Cruz’s feminist activist network, Las Libres, has transformed the experience of getting an abortion in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative Mexican state that had criminalized abortion in almost all circumstances. Cruz and her colleagues have worked to distribute misoprostol, a WHO-approved abortion pill, across Guanajuato, helping women feel confident in its safety, and inspiring similar networks in other Mexican states. But north of the border, the mood is more tense. “In the U.S., the women we see are terrified,” Cruz says. “They have very little knowledge about the pills.”…”
U.S. demands formal talks with Mexico over GMO corn dispute
“CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – The United States requested formal trade consultations with Mexico on Monday over U.S. objections to its southern neighbor’s plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the request for technical talks after months of informal discussions with Mexican officials over their plans to ban GMO corn for human consumption failed to satisfy U.S. trade officials…”
Tesla to build new factory in Mexico
“Tesla is planning to build a new factory in Mexico, joining other carmakers bulking up their presence south of the US border.Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the plant for the electric car firm would be in Monterrey, which is about a three-hour drive from Texas…”
The importance and potential role of services in North American supply chains
“Imagine you are a manufacturing firm in the United States considering locating a stage of your manufacturing process in Mexico. What is the full set of activities you would need to provide or procure to ensure that the operation in Mexico successfully integrates with your operations in the U.S.?…”
https://www.brookings.edu/essay/usmca-forward-2023-chapter-4-services/
Letter to the Editor: UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences combats racial inequity
“…The medical school includes the development of a Social Medicine Collab that uses human-centered design to bring integrated mental health and primary care to youth-serving organizations in primarily Latino and Black neighborhoods in South LA, using cultural and athletic events as a platform…”
Biden administration unveils broad asylum restrictions at U.S.-Mexico border
“…Under the new rules, migrants who do not schedule an appointment at a U.S. border port of entry or use humanitarian programs available to certain nationalities would be ineligible for asylum except in certain cases. They must also first seek and be denied protection in countries they pass through to be able to claim asylum once in the United States…”
Politicians say they’ll stop fentanyl smugglers. Experts say new drug war won’t work
“…Even if China and Mexico were willing or able to help fight the cartels, stopping fentanyl smugglers would still be incredibly difficult.
The U.S. is actually seizing record amounts of fentanyl in drug busts, but the drug is so cheap to manufacture, the cartels just make more.
That doesn’t mean the fentanyl crisis is hopeless. According to Trone, a more promising strategy is to focus on reducing American hunger for drugs.
“That’s the only chance we’ve got,” he said. “Without the Mexican government’s help, without the Chinese government’s help, we can’t win [against the smugglers]. So we have to go on the demand side, work on all the things with education, work on treatment, work on prevention.”…”
Bárbara Hernández Huerta
“Bárbara Hernández Huerta completed the 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan Island in 7 hours 59 minutes to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming and an unprecedented 7.5 km high-altitude swim across Chungará Lake in the Andes Mountains in 10°C water in 2 hours 11 minutes at 4,517 meters in altitude, and a new 9.5 km course across the Beagle Channel in 1 hour 55 minutes in 7.8°C water, and won the 30-39 age group on the International Winter Swimming Association World Cup…”
https://www.openwaterswimming.com/contestants/barbara-hernandez-huerta/
Stark warning Britain may be on brink of becoming a ZOMBIELAND: Experts fear explosion of fentanyl — a drug 50 times stronger than heroin which has ravaged America — as Mexican cartels seek to reap billions from an untapped European market
“Britain faces being gripped by its own fentanyl epidemic, according to experts who fear that the devastating zombie-esque scenes plaguing US cities are coming soon to a high street near you.
EU drug enforcement chiefs believe that Mexican cartels are seeking to expand their billion-dollar empire beyond American shores, putting Europe’s untapped market in their crosshairs…”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11727627/Is-UK-brink-fentanyl-crisis.html
‘Really proud of our dad’: Family of SSgt Patrick Aguilar presented flag flown over Texas Capitol
“…The veteran was trained as a radio operator. He was transported to England and earned a ribbon as a rifle sharpshooter and carbine expert.
SSgt Aguilar was one of two Mexican Americans in his squadron. He said he never felt any discrimination from his comrades and that they all got along.
That camaraderie was needed in Cherbourg, where the Ninth Air Force was tasked to build an airfield and set up command near the peninsula’s west side. SSgt Aguilar delivered support services to aid squadrons across Europe…”
Restaurant review: Mexican, American, Indian? Sabores has you covered
“Can’t decide what you’re in the mood for?
Burrito? Tacos? Burger? Hot dog? Pasta? BBQ ribs? Salmon? Po’ boy? Gumbo? Curry?
Eduardo Garduno, who for 17 years was the chef at the former Dobhan and Chautara restaurants, makes all of that and more at Sabores Fusion Grill on State Street, which he opened in August.
During two recent visits, my favorite thing was the smash burger ($10.99). I didn’t expect two patties, and they were particularly juicy and flavorful. The bun held up to the substantial amount of meat plus cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and white onion. The menu mentioned special sauce, but it was hard to detect…”
Accounting Firms Have Begun to See Mexico As a Goldmine for Accounting and Finance Talent, Says Guy
“…The U.S. isn’t the only country in the world with talent. For example, our neighbor to the south is rife with bright, bilingual individuals often with the same (if not better) qualifications as their U.S. counterparts. As of the second quarter of 2022, there were more than 466,000 accountants and auditors in Mexico while the U.S., despite having more than double the population, has just over 665,000 actively licensed CPAs. With a shared border, strong cultural familiarity and other benefits, I’ve noticed many multinational accounting firms have begun to see Mexico as a goldmine for accounting and finance talent…”
UCLA alumnus’ friends, family urge release from wrongful detainment in Venezuela
“…Eyvin Hernandez, a double alumnus and a Los Angeles County public defender, went missing in late March 2022 following a vacation in Colombia after he accompanied a friend to the Venezuelan border, according to the LA Times. Martinez said Hernandez had no intentions of entering the country, but in April, he was confirmed to be arrested, charged with criminal association and conspiracy, and detained in Venezuela, according to NBC…”
