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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New UCLA Library program will begin digitizing cultural items for preservation
“A new conservation initiative at UCLA Library will help digitize at-risk cultural items and share them on a UCLA-hosted website.UCLA Library announced Oct. 9 the creation of Documenting Global Voices, a program that aims to preserve endangered symbolic materials of cultures. DGV will identify, fund and collaborate with international organizations that lack the necessary infrastructure and resources to preserve cultural heritage objects. UCLA Library will receive digital copies and upload them onto the DGV website to make them available to students, faculty and people around the world…”
“…DGV was developed from the International Digital Ephemera Project in 2011, which digitized rare manuscripts held by St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt and other facilities worldwide including Cuba, Iran and South Africa…”
As Latin America Shuts Down to Fight Virus, Brazil and Mexico Are Holdouts
“The leaders of the region’s two largest nations — Mexico and Brazil — have largely dismissed the dangers and have resisted calls for a lockdown…”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/world/americas/coronavirus-brasil-mexico.html
Mexico Likely To Keep Making The World’s Biggest Oil Hedge
“The Mexican oil hedge, or the Hacienda Hedge, is considered the biggest hedging bet on Wall Street as well as perhaps the most secretive. It has earned Mexico—and a few large investment banks—billions of U.S. dollars. Mexico buys put options from investment banks and typically hedges a whopping 200-300 million barrels of oil a year. With the put options, it has the right, but not the obligation, to sell oil at a previously set price and timing. But will this tradition continue under the newly elected administration?Throughout his campaign, Mexico’s now president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador kept the oil industry on edge with comments and promises that he would review the landmark 2013 energy reform of outgoing President Enrique Peña Nieto that ended seven decades of oil monopoly in the country…”
White House Seeks To Lower Farmworker Pay To Help Agriculture Industry
“…Last month, the U.S. State Department said it will start processing more applicants seeking H-2A temporary guest worker visas to ensure U.S. farmers have foreign workers in time for spring planting.The most recent push to lower wage rates for workers on H-2A visas has drawn pushback from some strange bedfellows: immigrant-rights advocates and immigration hard-liners usually aligned with Trump.Erik Nicholson, national vice president for the United Farm Workers, says people who have worked in agriculture for decades are concerned they are going to lose their jobs. And he said vulnerable guest workers are not being provided proper hand-washing facilities and still being forced to live in cramped housing…”
U.S. Latinos among hardest hit by pay cuts, job losses due to coronavirus
“Hispanics are more likely than Americans overall to say they or someone in their household has experienced a pay cut or lost their job because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 19-24…”
International doctors can help the US fight COVID-19. But can they get here?
“…Many are on visas, often working in poor or rural areas that may soon be the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.“We’re at risk for getting the infection, like the doctors in Italy and China,” said Vara Ponnada, an Indian doctor on an H1-B visa in Waterloo, Iowa, where several people have tested positive for COVID-19…”
US arrests 600 Mexican cartel members in one of the largest ever raids
“…The cartel is active in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, the agencies said. The DOJ and DEA also announced a superseding indictment on charges against Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” the leader of CJNG, for allegedly continuing criminal enterprise…”
Mexico’s coronavirus-skeptical president is setting up his country for a health crisis
“…As Mexico fast approaches what’s highly likely to be a large coronavirus outbreak, the country’s leadership — mainly its president — mostly insists that everything is fineIn speech after speech, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known by his nickname AMLO, tells Mexicans they shouldn’t fear Covid-19, even as hundreds of thousands of people have confirmed infections worldwide. Despite warnings from global health officials, he continues to hold political rallies, kiss supporters, and request that Mexicans go out shopping to prop up the country’s sputtering economy during a global slowdown.“Live life as usual,” he said in a video posted to Facebook on March 22, showing him outside at a restaurant. “If you’re able and have the means to do so, continue taking your family out to eat … because that strengthens the economy.”…”
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/26/21193823/coronavirus-mexico-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-health-care
Coronavirus layoffs disproportionately hurt black and Latino workers: ‘It’s almost like doomsday is coming’
“People at an economic disadvantage are “already not doing so great in a good day, let alone in a rainy day,’’ he said.Jose Ricardo is already bracing to dip into his savings to pay next month’s bills for his mobile home in Chula Vista, California. Ricardo, a waiter at a Japanese restaurant in San Diego, is working only 16 hours a week, down from the usual 32 hours two weeks ago.“I’m really nervous,’’ said Ricardo, 61. “We are used to working hard.”With new restrictions on restaurants to serve takeout only, Richardo no longer has the extra income from tips. He makes $12 an hour.“People pay tips because they get a service. We’re taking care of them,’’ he said. “Now, with takeout, they pick it up and bye-bye.”
Ricardo, who lives with his wife, mother-in-law and two children, said he’s anxiously waiting to see how lawmakers will help him and other workers.
He’s holding out hope. “We will recover for sure,” he said…”
Everyone benefits from an inclusive work culture
:..Maria J. Martinez is president/CEO of Border FCU, Del Rio, Texas. She’s a founding member of the Network of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals, the 2012 Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Woman of the Year, a 2015 Woman of Distinction of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, Cornerstone Credit Union League’s 2016 Professional of the Year, and a 2017 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement winner. She has been in the credit union industry for almost 32 years…”
https://news.cuna.org/articles/117431-everyone-benefits-from-an-inclusive-work-culture
Escuelitas, Literacy, and Imaginary Dual Citizenship
“… Reading, Writing, and Revolution escuelitas and the emergence
of a mexican american identity in texas PHILIS M. BARRAGÁN GOETZ
University of Texas Press austin … | Mexican American…”
Coronavirus research: Menlo Park lab using robots, AI to find COVID-19 medication, Peter Madrid, PhD, senior director of applied biosciences
“MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) — As the number of cases of COVID-19 increases, so does the pressure to develop an anti-viral to treat its symptoms. A lab on the Peninsula appears to have developed the right process at the right time to speed up that process.”We’re hoping to be able to take the full discovery of a candidate drug from roughly two years down to six months,” said Peter Madrid, senior director of applied biosciences at SRI Biosciences in Menlo Park…”
NALEO: Nearly 4 Million Latino Voters in California Expected to Cast Ballots in 2020 Election
“WASHINGTON, D.C. — One week before Latinos will make a decisive impact on the outcome of the California Democratic primary on Super Tuesday (March 3, 2020), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund released its profile of the California Latino electorate and key Congressional races to watch in the state in 2020.According to NALEO Educational Fund analysis, more than 4 million Latino voters will make their voices heard at the ballot box in 2020. Latino voter turnout in California more than doubled from 1,597,000 in 2000, to 3,345,000 in 2016, an increase of 109 percent…”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. hopes to make familia proud, aims to inspire future Latino players
Freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. has Mexican heritage on his father’s side and spent time competing with Team Mexico at the Pan American Games in the summer of 2019. The Camarillo, California, native said he strives every day to inspire the Hispanic community of Southern California with his work on the court..”
Singing Our Way To Freedom
“…Cup of Culture presents Singing Our Way to Freedom, a multilayered look at the life of San Diego Chicano musician, composer and community activist, Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez. Borrowing from musical traditions on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Chunky uses music and humor as powerful weapons in the fight for social justice. This character-driven film reminds us that the battle for freedom has to be fought anew by every generation…”
Latino voters favor raising minimum wage, government involvement in health care, stricter gun laws
Most Latino registered voters say they want government to be more involved in solving the nation’s problems, a view that is reflected in their broad support for raising the minimum wage, government involvement in health care and stricter gun laws, according to a national Pew Research Center survey of Latino adults conducted in December.
A record 32 million Latinos are…”
USC makes tuition free to students of families making $80,000 or less
“Feb. 20 (UPI) — The University of Southern California said Thursday tuition will be free to students whose families make $80,000 or less.The announcement was part of a financial aid expansion to benefit low- and middle-income families, a university statement said. Along with offering tuition free to students whose families have an annual income of $80,000 or less, owning a home will not be counted in determination of a student’s financial need…”
Netflix’s ‘Gentefied’: How young Latinx professionals are gentrifying Boyle Heights
“The Netflix series “Gentefied” (pronounced HEN-teh-fied) is set in Boyle Heights and follows a family — three cousins and their immigrant grandfather — who try to save the family’s taqueria as gentrification creeps in…”
Young Latino Professionals of Kansas City
“Young Latino Professionals (YLP) is a network of more than 350 passionate individuals from all backgrounds and various industries who come together to shape their communities while developing as leaders. YLP provides opportunities for young leaders to engage with like-minded peers through social and professional networking, philanthropic outreach and professional development. Our organization recognizes that Greater Kansas City’s professional community is constantly growing and so are we!…
Oscars Nominations Lack Diversity as Jennifer Lopez, Lupita Nyong’o and Awkwafina Are Snubbed
“After a promising kickoff to awards season, there was a notable lack of diversity in the 2020 Oscar nominations.The nominees were announced early Monday morning by Issa Rae and John Cho, and the first major snubbed came right away.After garnering several nominations, including at Golden Globe and SAG Awards nods, Jennifer Lopez was shockingly left out of the Best Supporting Actress category for Hustlers. She would’ve been only the eighth Latin-American ever nominated in the category, with Rita Moreno in 1961 and Lupita Nyong’o in 2013 picking up the only wins.Nyong’o, a Kenyan-Mexican actress born in Mexico, also missed out on a nomination for Best Actress for Us…
