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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Some GOP candidates want to use force against Mexico to stop fentanyl. Experts say that won’t work
“MIAMI — Ron DeSantis wants suspected drug smugglers at the U.S.-Mexico border to be shot dead. Nikki Haley promises to send American special forces into Mexico. Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Mexico’s leader of treating drug cartels as his “sugar daddy” and says that if he is elected president, “there will be a new daddy in town.”
Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2024 nomination and long the person who has shaped his party’s rhetoric on the border, has often blamed Mexico for problems in the United States and promises new uses of military force and covert action if he returns to the White House…”
https://www.wlrn.org/americas/2023-10-10/latin-america-mexico-fentanyl-opioid-gop
Review: Who are Mexican Americans? ‘American Homeboy’ at Portland Film Festival offers perspective
“Making use of 50 hours of illuminating restored archival footage, the film elicits an array of perspectives from Mexican American historians, scholars, artists, activists, a retired law enforcement officer, and cholos — members of a subculture associated with street gangs — to help viewers understand the origins and import of pachuco and cholo culture and Xicano experience…”
Gene Block and administrators discuss equity and diversity, campus expansion and more
“…The university has also increased diversity throughout Block’s tenure, but there is still a long way to go, he said. In 2008 – the first incoming class Block oversaw as chancellor – Black students made up 5% of the incoming class of freshmen, with Chicano/Latino students making up 16% and Native American students less than 1%. The fall 2022 incoming class was made up of 8% Black students, 22% Hispanic students and 1% Native students…”
Hernan Diaz (writer)
“…Diaz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he was two, his family moved to Sweden.[4] His family returned to Argentina after democracy was restored. After obtaining a BA in Literature (Licenciatura en Letras) in the University of Buenos Aires, he moved to London to study for an MA degree at King’s College.[5]
Diaz moved to New York in 1999. He received his PhD from New York University advised by Avital Ronell and Sylvia Molloy, and filed a dissertation on a topic that straddles comparative literature, Latin American literature, and philosophy.[6][7][8]…”
Hispanic unemployment dips to 4.6% in September
“Cid Wilson, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility CEO, joins ‘Closing Bell Overtime’ to talk Hispanic employment rates in the U.S. jobs report.”
Marissa Pérez discusses artistic background, evolution of styling
“Through her eclectic background in the arts, Marissa Pérez is tailoring her own trends.
Previously an event producer and managing director of the Student Committee for the Arts at UCLA, the alumnus currently works as a wardrobe stylist in the fashion industry. Pérez has assisted in dressing a number of different celebrities, including actresses Laverne Cox, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Zendaya.
Pérez spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Sanjana Chadive about the evolution of her interest in styling and how her background in other artistic mediums has informed her career…”
https://dailybruin.com/2023/10/01/qrez-discusses-artistic-background-evolution-of-styling
First-generation students discuss experiences, resources at UCLA
“There’s just a lot of fear of reaching out or asking a ‘dumb question,’” said Williams, who studies at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies and taught a university studies class geared toward first-generation students. “It’s just that lack of confidence because you haven’t had these experiences or know anyone that’s had these experiences.”
First-generation students can also feel a lack of belonging compared to other students depending on their socioeconomic background.
According to the Brookings Institution, about 51% of students from low-income families go to college compared to about 89% of students from well-off families…”
https://dailybruin.com/2023/09/21/first-generation-students-discuss-experiences-resources-at-ucla
Consul General of Mexico in Raleigh addresses crowded Phyfer Auditorium
“It was standing room only when Claudia Velasco, Consul General of Mexico in Raleigh, N.C., addressed students, faculty, staff and visitors on Thursday, September 21 in Phyfer Auditorium. Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, Velasco was sponsored by the Association of Latino Professionals for America – Clemson University Student Chapter, the Department of Management at the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business and the Consulate General of Mexico in Raleigh, N.C…”
https://news.clemson.edu/consul-general-of-mexico-in-raleigh-addresses-crowded-phyfer-auditorium/
The Multifaceted Latine Community and What Managers Can Learn
“I grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in Chicago raised by Mexican-born parents who worked to afford an annual trip to Mexico to visit family. I recognize that the act of traveling to Mexico was a privilege for my family because so many immigrants left their homes without the option to travel back until they were able to obtain legal status. I also recognize that Chicago is home to a diverse Latine community that makes up 33% of the city’s population….
In contrast to how I self-identify, there are Latine professionals who prefer not to be labeled as part of a group and instead lead with other professional experiences or personal interests…”
https://www.adweek.com/agencies/retain-bipoc-talent-latine-managers/
What book inventories reveal about shifting cultural identities in New Spain
“Colonizers were known to carry books in their luggage. In the early 1500s, books began to arrive in America by the thousands, destined for the capital of New Spain, Mexico City, and other urban hubs in Spain’s territories. A century later, Catholic monarchs in Spain learned of crypto-Jewish books across the Atlantic Ocean. They ordered all bookstores to submit detailed inventories to the Mexican Inquisition — an extension of the Spanish Inquisition — freezing in time a record of the reading materials that circulated among New Spain’s intellectual class…”
Latinos’ Views of and Experiences With the Spanish Language
“Most U.S. Latinos speak Spanish: 75% say they are able to carry on a conversation in Spanish pretty well or very well. And most Latinos (85%) say it is at least somewhat important for future generations of Latinos in the United States to speak Spanish….”
Eddie Jauregui Shares How His Hispanic Heritage Has Been A Strength in His Legal Career
“…In this video, Hispanic National Bar Association member Eddie Jauregui, a partner in our Los Angeles office, shares how drawing from his Mexican heritage has been a strength in his legal career. He also discusses the importance of never losing sight of your Hispanic culture…”
Mexican president defends inclusion of Russian military contingent in Independence parade
“MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president on Monday defended the participation of a contingent of Russian soldiers in a military parade over the weekend.
The presence of the Russian contingent in the Independence parade Saturday drew criticism because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mexico has condemned the invasion but has adopted a policy of neutrality and has refused to participate in sanctions as it continues to buy 2020-vintage COVID vaccines from Russia…”
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-russia-soldiers-military-parade-6eb8345ba6827282ec40bf33891d6f22
UTRGV Mexican-American professor guides next generation of STEM professionals
“EDINBURG — Cristina Villalobos’ life is a mathematical statement: to get an answer you have to follow necessary steps, but her equation is far from over and she does it all while guiding Hispanic students in their own equations of life.
Villalobos is a Myles and Slyvia Aaronson endowed professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the founding director of the Center of Excellence in STEM…”
OPINION Mexico outpaces U.S. in women’s rights September 15, 2023 at 12:00 a.m.
“The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice decision decriminalizing abortion last week is a landmark ruling in a country that has historically outlawed the procedure with harsh penalties for the women who sought it and the healthcare professionals who provided it.
The ruling, which governs federal law in a nation of states, makes abortion legal in federal health institutions and requires the public health service to offer it. The decision does not automatically make abortion legal in all of Mexico (the way that the Roe vs. Wade decision had made abortion legal in all of the United States). But it could speed up a movement by Mexican states to legalize the procedure. Currently, 12 out of 32 states have decriminalized abortion…”
https://www.eldoradonews.com/news/2023/sep/15/mexico-outpaces-us-in-womens-rights/
Mexico’s Olympic hopefuls forced to raise own funds for Pan American Games
“Olympic hopefuls from Mexico say they’ve been forced to personally raise funds to cover the costs of competing in the Pan American Games, which help determine who competes in Paris next year.
State of play: The Mexican artistic swimming team, the current world champions in the technical competition, has had to depend on strangers to help pay for uniforms, airfare and other needed expenses in their quest to extend their winning streak at the games, which start next month in Chile…”
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/14/olympics-2024-paris-mexico-atheletes-funding
There are too few Latino doctors in the US, study finds
“…Rather than treating the category of Latino as a monolith, researchers also looked at subgroups in the U.S. health workforce. They found that Mexican Americans make up 10.7% of the U.S. workforce but only 1.7% of physicians…”
https://www.witf.org/2023/09/13/there-are-too-few-latino-doctors-in-the-us-study-finds/
Editorial: Mexico decriminalizes abortion while U.S. states want to criminalize it
“The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice decision decriminalizing abortion last week is a landmark ruling in a country that has historically outlawed the procedure with harsh penalties for the women who sought it and the healthcare professionals who provided it.
The ruling, which governs federal law in a nation of states, makes abortion legal in federal health institutions and requires the public health service to offer it. The decision does not automatically make abortion legal in all of Mexico (the way that the Roe vs. Wade decision had made abortion legal in all of the United States). But it could speed up a movement by Mexican states to legalize the procedure. Currently, 12 out of 32 states have decriminalized abortion…”
Opinion | Stepping into the world of investigative journalism as a Mexican American reporter came with challenges, but also many rewards
“I was destined to toil in the soil — even if my 10-year-old self would have rejected the idea. As a kid, I was determined to escape after-school and weekend weeding and raking alongside my father, a gardener who landscaped homes in Santa Barbara, California, where I was born and raised.
“Study and go to college,” my no-nonsense mom would say whenever I complained about getting up at dawn on Saturdays to work.
Mom worked as a housekeeper, and my sisters and I were expected to pitch in on both of my parents’ jobs. All I wanted was to bury my head in books. My favorite teacher, years later, recalled how he’d arrive at school in the morning to find my fifth-grade self patiently sitting outside the library waiting to check out another pile of books…”
This Mexican American artist crafts paintings and furniture out of plaster Boh caroline biggs By Caroline Biggs
“Monica Curiel’s work is rooted in self-exploration, and more specifically, her Mexican ancestry. Drawing inspiration from art, music, architecture, design and fashion, the Denver-based artist aims to interpret—and discern—her place in the world at-large. “My work is a celebration of Mexican heritage and every sacrifice made in pursuit of a better life,” she tells Business of Home…”
https://businessofhome.com/articles/monica-curiel-mexican-american-artist-paintings-and-furniture
