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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The First Latina Senator is Ready to Be “One Hell of a Check and Balance” on Donald Trump
Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto made history on Tuesday night when she became the first Latina to be elected to the Senate in U.S. history — and she’s already making it very clear she’s more than willing to go head-to-head with Donald Trump once she arrives in Washington, DC.
“Our government is built on a system of checks and balances, and I will promise you this: I will be one hell of a check and balance on him,” she said during her victory speech on Wednesday. “Tonight we start our fight together… The diversity here is our strength and we will continue to be strong.”…
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Mixtec Evangelicals
Many miles away from the popular Mexican seaside resort towns of Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas lie the poor, rural villages of Mexico’s Mixtec people, also known as “the People of the Land of the Rain.”
The Mixtecs originally developed communities isolated by the hilly Oaxacan terrain, with many remote villages accessible only on foot. The arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s brought Catholicism to these communities, and it became a major force — both religious…
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Lost and Found
You might say there was something lost in translation when Santa Barbara named a street Canon Perdido. It should have been Cañon Perdido, after a cannon that disappeared on the beach in 1848. Without that Spanish enye Canon Perdido means something entirely different.
That twist of meaning is the theme of “Canon Perdido: XX Colloquium on Mexican Literature,” a three-day conference presented by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UC Santa Barbara. “We are playing with literary canon that is lost,” explained Sara Poot-Herrera, a professor in the department…
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Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program – Title V
The Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program provides grants to assist HSIs to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the attainment of, Hispanic students. These grants also enable HSIs to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability
Applicant Information
Institutions must be designated as an eligible institution of higher education in order to apply for the Title V program and must meet the program-specific requirements to be defined as an HSI.
To be designated as an eligible institution of higher education, an institution must apply for and receive designation through an application process. Please refer to the most recent Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution. You may contact the program office if you have questions regarding eligibility….
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Mexican American Proarchive: Annual Report on Mexican American Professionals
News from the census American Community Survey is generally good for the 2015 year. Mexican American college enrollment was up from 18.7% to 18.9% in the 2014 and 2015 years. Graduate or professional degree attainment was also up from 2.9% to 3.0%. The number of bachelor’s degrees granted to Mexican American students rose from 7.6% in 2014 to 7.8% in 2015.
In spite of these gains, Mexican Americans still remain at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to earning a bachelor’s degree. Even after broadening the group to Latinos or Hispanics, this group still lags behind. According to the Pew Hispanic Center: “As of 2014, among Hispanics ages 25 to 29, just 15% of Hispanics have a bachelor’s degree or higher. By comparison, among the same age group, about 41% of whites have a bachelor’s degree or higher (as do 22% of blacks and 63% of Asians).” Pew reports that the main reasons for this low graduation rate is that Hispanics are less likely “to enroll in a four-year college, attend an academically selective college and enroll full-time.”
Also in the good news column, the University of California will continue to push for a greater number of underrepresented minorities; namely, Chicano/Latino students whose resident freshmen numbers rose from 2.7% to 32.3% of admitted California freshmen. In other good news, the proportion of Chicano/Latino students transferring from community colleges increased to 29.3% from 26.8% for 2015.
Occupations, including those in management, business, science, and art, fared better for Mexican Americans. The number of Mexican Americans filling these occupations rose from 17.4% in 2014 to 17.5% in 2015.
The total number of Hispanics filling these occupations was 16.1% in 2015, a bit lower than Mexican Americans specifically.
The report shows that industrial employment for Mexican Americans remained the same for 2014 and 2015 at 10.2%.
The figures for Hispanic or Latino employment for 2015 and 2016 show a healthy increase.
According to the Pew Hispanic center, “Construction, professional and business services, health services, financial services and food services…showed healthy gains.” Most of the jobs gained by native-born Hispanic workers were in manufacturing, mostly durable goods (82,000 Hispanic workers in this industry), followed by wholesale and retail trade (79,000), publishing, broadcasting, communication and information services (55,000), and construction (54,000).
Foreign-born Hispanics had the most job gains in construction (417,000), followed by business and professional services (179,000). Together, those two industries accounted for almost three-quarters (74%) of all jobs gained by foreign-born Latinos between 2005 and 2006.
The business and professional services sector, which ranges from management and technical services to janitorial, landscaping, and waste management services, is also a key employer for non-Hispanic workers. Of the total increase in employment in 2005-06, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 410,000 employees in the industry, native-born workers 327,000, and foreign-born workers 83,000.
Sources
- Census Bureau, Selected Population Profile in the United States: 2015
- Pew Research Center
- University of California
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
2015 Annual Report on Mexican American Professionals
News from the 2015 American Community Service shows good increases in the numbers of Mexican Americans attending college, achieving educational attainment, and holding jobs in industries including science, management, and business.
• Mexican American college enrollment increased from 18.7% to 18.9% between 2014 and 2015
• Graduate or professional degree attainment among Mexican Americans rose from 2.9% to 3.0%
• The number of Mexican Americans achieving bachelor’s degrees rose from 7.6% to 7.8% in 2015
Despite these numbers, Mexican Americans are still near the bottom of college enrollment and educational attainment by race and ethnicity.
The University of California is proactive in pushing for a greater number of underrepresented minorities. The number Chicano/Latino students attending UOC increased by 2.7% since 2014; this group now makes up 32.3% of admitted university freshmen.
In terms of occupations, the number of Mexican Americans making up part of the management, business, science, and art occupations continues to rise, from 16.6% to 17.5% from 2012 to 2015. Mexican Americans have also seen consistent numbers in the professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services occupations, keeping steady at 10.2% of all jobs in these fields held by Mexican Americans.
These numbers represent continuing gains in higher education and professional jobs for Mexican Americans.
Event speaker says Texas’ Hispanic community is an economic powerhouse that will only continue to grow
The Hispanic community is a growing part of the economic engine of Texas, marketing pro Terry Soto said at the annual Hispanic Business Achievers luncheon on Wednesday.
“To market to our community, thinking about a market that used to exist 10 or 20 years ago doesn’t work,” Ms. Soto explained. “We have to evolve our thinking and our approach to this community.”
Ms. Soto, president and CEO of About Marketing, has worked with Fortune 500 organizations including Walgreen’s, ALDI Supermarkets, Verizon Wireless Coca Cola, Citibank, Kraft Foods and Disney, among others. She told a capacity crowd at Harvey Convention Center that the Hispanic community will continue to grow as an economic and demographic force in Tyler and the rest of the nation…
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English graduate student wins Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
Cesar Soto wants to know how the spark of political revolution can transform religious concepts of community and inclusion.
To better understand the issue, he’s turning to the literature of England, Ireland, and Mexico in the late 1700s and early 1800s.César Soto wants to know how the spark of political revolution can transform religious concepts of community and inclusion.
Soto, a Ph.D. candidate in Notre Dame’s Department of English, has been awarded a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship for 2016-17 to support his project.
The fellowships recognize graduate students who have demonstrated superior academic achievement, show promise as future scholars and teachers at a college or university level, and are prepared to use diversity as a resource to enrich the education of all students…
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A community in need: Rate of Latino physicians shrinks, even as Latino population swells
By Almendra Carpizo
Record Staff Writer
Celida Lizarraga doesn’t remember seeing many doctors who looked like her when she had to translate for her parents during medical visits.
The 17-year-old said most doctors didn’t speak Spanish and an official interpreter wasn’t always available. And even when interpreters were there, she said, there was disconnect between her parents and the doctor.
“I was the one who my parents relied on,” Lizarraga said.
The group Latino Physicians of California is emphasizing the need for more Latino physicians in the state, where about 40 percent of the population is Latino, but less than 5 percent of doctors are Latino.
During a media phone conference on Friday,…
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Obama White House Touts Latino Gains in Income, Education, Health
by SUZANNE GAMBOA
WASHINGTON, DC — The White House on Wednesday touted gains Hispanics have made in education, income and health insurance during President Barack Obama’s time in office.
In a report released to mark the closing days of Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Saturday, the White House issued a four-page brief from its Council on Economic Advisers on the Hispanics’ economic progress in the Obama years.
Obama marked the close of Hispanic Heritage month with remarks at a White House reception Wednesday afternoon. Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15 and closes on Saturday.
“Over the last eight years we have made a lot of progress, together for all Americans and nowhere have you been able to see more vividly the progress than in the Hispanic American community,” Obama said at the event…
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USC professor spotlights the significance of Latinos to California’s future
The USC Price School of Public Policy has taken a leading role in training local decision-makers and its partnership with the Latino Caucus demonstrates the inroads it has made.
That’s a thought from USC Price Professor Raphael Bostic.
USC Price hosted more than 20 public officials from the League of California Cities Latino Caucus, who took part in the Bedrosian Center on Governance’s Local Leaders Executive Education Forum on Sept. 22 and 23.
The participants, many of whom are mayors or council members of cities across California, heard presentations from USC Price faculty on leadership, public ethics and housing policy, among other topics.
Professor Frank Zerunyan, director of executive education at the Bedrosian Center, led the program, which was the product of an agreement that USC Price and the Bedrosian Center signed with the Latino Caucus in 2014 to provide training aimed at enhancing the leadership capacity of public officials statewide…
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Daniel Torres Hispanic Center urges young Latinos to vote
Kyle Edelman
The presidential election is straight out of a soap opera: Twitter fights, mudslinging and personal attacks are flying between the front-runners. It does make for some great drama. Although the United States is predominantly white, 31 percent of eligible voters in the 2016 election are minorities, according to pewresearch.org…
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Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States
There were 55.3 million Hispanics in the United States in 2014, comprising 17.3% of the total U.S. population. In 1980, with a population of 14.8 million, Hispanics made up just 6.5% of the total U.S. population. Read the accompanying report, “The Nation’s Latino Population Is Defined by Its Youth.”…
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Raciolinguistics” How Language Shapes our Ideas about Race
AF Ball – 2016
… Gordon, University of Arizona 3. From Mock Spanish to Inverted Spanglish: Language Ideologies
and the Racialization of Mexican and Puerto … University of South Carolina 5.“Suddenly Faced
with a Chinese Village”: The Linguistic Racialization of Asian Americans 97 adrienne …
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4 Academic Agency in Ya Novels by Mexican American Women Authors
V Canales – Gender (ed) Identities: Critical Readings of Gender …, 2016 – books.google.com
The theme of academic achievement intention in contemporary young adult literature (YAL)
by Mexican American women authors demonstrates seizing power previously denied to
Mexican American youth and adolescents. A century ago, children of Mexican origin in the …
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NMSU observes National Hispanic-Serving Institution Week, Elba Serrano to speak
LAS CRUCES — New Mexico State University joins the nation in celebrating National Hispanic-Serving Institution Week Sept. 12-18.
NMSU Regents Professor Elba Serrano is the keynote speaker Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. at Domenici Hall in the Yates Theater. Serrano will talk about the importance of NMSU’s HSI designation and how it positively impacts research funding. The event is open to the public…
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Annual New Mexico Hispanic Fiesta Draws Native American Ire
It’s a week-long event that draws together generations of northern New Mexico Hispanic residents, some who can trace their roots to the 1600s.
For centuries, northern New Mexico Hispanic residents have held an elaborate festival in Santa Fe to honor Spanish conquistador Don Diego De Vargas, who reclaimed the city following an American Indian revolt. There is music, dancing, a parade and the reenactment of De Vargas’s “peaceful reoccupation” of what is now New Mexico’s capital…
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Center for Mexican-American studies welcomes new director
The College of Liberal Arts’ UT Center for Mexican American Studies has selected professor John Morán González as its new director.
González previously had a courtesy appointment with the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. He teaches courses in Latina/o cultural studies, Mexican American literature and late 19th-century U.S. literature. He has published in journals such as American Literature, Aztlán and Nineteenth-Century Contexts. González also edited The Cambridge Companion to Latina/o American Literature, published in 2016. This publication is the first critical reference anthology devoted to Latin literature…
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4 Academic Agency in Ya Novels by Mexican American Women Authors
V Canales – Gender (ed) Identities: Critical Readings of Gender …, 2016 – books.google.com
The theme of academic achievement intention in contemporary young adult literature (YAL)
by Mexican American women authors demonstrates seizing power previously denied to
Mexican American youth and adolescents. A century ago, children of Mexican origin in the …
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Nationally Recognized Scholar of Latino Politics to Speak at CSU, Chico for Constitution Day 2016
Dr. Gary Segura of Stanford University will make the California State University, Chico Constitution Day keynote address, “The Future is Ours: How Demographic Change and Latino Voters Are Changing American Politics in 2016 and Beyond.” The event is on Tuesday, September 20 at 6 p.m. in the Bell Memorial Union auditorium. It is a free, public event open to all students, faculty and community members.
Gary Segura is the Morris M. Doyle Centennial Professor of Public Policy at Stanford University. He is the director of the Stanford Institute on the Politics of Inequality, Race and Ethnicity, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His work focuses on issues of political representation and social cleavages, the domestic politics of wartime public opinion, and the politics of America’s growing Latino population…
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