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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Biden’s Historic Pick For Census Director Says Bureau Needs To Build Public Trust
“…Robert Santos, President Biden’s nominee for director of the U.S. Census Bureau, is a step closer to a potential political appointment for the history books after testifying before Congress on Thursday.
If confirmed, Santos, who is Latinx and one of the country’s leading statisticians, would be the first person of color to become a permanent director of the bureau. The agency produces the nation’s most comprehensive public data on race, ethnicity and other demographic characteristics used to redraw voting maps, guide federal funding and enforce civil rights protections. In 1998, James F. Holmes, who is African American, temporarily headed the bureau as its acting director…”
Chilemonos Offers its Entire Lineup Online, For Free, to Latin American Animation Fans
“This year’s official festival sections include both international and Latin American short film competitions, international and Latin American student short competitions, a Latin American series competition and a Latin America-Spain animated feature competition. Three features fill out 2021’s feature film competition: Celia Catunda and Kiko Mistrorigo’s “Tarsilinha” from Brazil, Toni García’s “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds” from Spain, and Leopoldo Aguilar’s Mexican feature “Monster Zone.”
Charades
Supplementing the festival’s competition sections, Chilemonos will also host several public conversations and conferences as well as masterclasses and workshops hosted by established industry professionals from around..”
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey (a comparison of employment rates by ethnicity)
Seven Latino heritage sites in need of protection
“WASHINGTON, DC – A new report, Place, Story and Culture: An Inclusive Approach to Protecting Latino Heritage Sites, released today by the Latino Heritage Scholars, an initiative of the Hispanic Access Foundation, emphasizes the need for the protection of seven Latino heritage sites that embody the architectural, cultural and deep historical roots of the Latino community currently in need of preservation. The scholars are a group of young Latino professionals focused on historic preservation and ensuring that Latino history is protected, shared, and celebrated as part of the U.S. narrative…”
https://patch.com/michigan/farmington-mi/new-report-highlights
US journalist tangles with AMLO over his crime, coronavirus record
“President López Obrador and United States-based Mexican journalist Jorge Ramos engaged in a robust verbal duel on Monday morning as the latter challenged the former on his record in reducing violent crime and managing the coronavirus pandemic.
Ramos, a reporter for the U.S.-based Spanish language television network Univision, appeared at López Obrador’s morning press conference — the mañanera — at the National Palace in Mexico City, and didn’t hold back when given the opportunity to probe the president…”
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-journalist-tangles-with-amlo-over-his-crime-coronavirus-record/
Latino groups push for confirmation of voting rights expert Myrna Pérez as federal judge
“National Latino leaders are pushing the Senate to quickly confirm voting rights expert Myrna Pérez as a justice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. If confirmed, she would be the only Latina on the bench of that federal appeals court and the first since Sonia Sotomayor moved from it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
President Joe Biden nominated Perez last week for the appeals court, which serves New York, Connecticut and Vermont…”
Lupita Infante Among 2700+ New Members Diversifying The Recording Academy
‘Regional Mexican star Lupita Infante is among the 2,710 new members that were invited to join the Recording Academy this year. The institution that hosts the Grammys every year wanted to diversify the membership who votes for the awards. Among the new invitees, 13 percent identified as Latino or Hispanic…”
https://wearemitu.com/latidomusic/recording-academy-new-members-lupita-infante/
Fresno-area college criticized over hiring white chancellor.
“As West Hills Community College looks to fill two president positions at its campuses, western Fresno County leaders are urging the district to appoint leaders who represent the population — a majority of whom are Mexican and Mexican American.
In a letter to West Hills board members, Huron Mayor Rey Leon expressed disappointment at the April 20 appointment of Kristin Clark as the new chancellor of the district.
UC Board of Regents votes to end affiliation with restrictive healthcare institutions
“University of California Board of Regents voted on a proposed amendment Wednesday to end the UC’s affiliations with hospitals and healthcare institutions that do not follow the University’s non-discriminatory policy by 2023.
The amendment, written by UC Board of Regents Chair John Pérez, stated the UC should only affiliate with organizations that offer non-discriminatory care and refrain from entering into new affiliations with institutions with discriminatory guidelines. The amendment also protects the freedom of UC personnel working in affiliate facilities to provide care without being prohibited by any discriminatory or religious restrictions and plans to terminate any affiliations with organizations unwilling to comply with the UC’s non-discriminatory policy by Dec. 31, 2023…”
Reimagining Regional Governance in Latin America
“…Latin America is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its recent history as it confronts three overlapping crises: the coronavirus pandemic, a steep economic contraction, and high levels of political polarization and democratic erosion. No region has been more impacted by COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, than Latin America, both in human and economic terms.1 As of April 30, 2021, Latin America had a total of 28 million confirmed cases (out of a world total of 150 million) and just over 900,000 deaths (out of a world total of just over 3 million). With around 8 percent of the world’s population, the region has almost 19 percent of confirmed cases and 28 percent of total deaths. Also, as of April 30, Latin America had administered only 8 percent of the total vaccines.2..
https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/06/24/reimagining-regional-governance-in-latin-america-pub-84813
Mexican tech sector looks to benefit from improved business scenario with US
“Mexico’s ICT sector could benefit from increased business with the US thanks to geopolitical tensions with China, cloud software demand from US corporates and scarcity of skilled professionals north of the border.
In Mexico, the industry is looking to satisfy demand for tech talent from the trillion-dollar US software market…”
Survey reveals Latin America’s cybercrime map
“…Countries with large populations which are intensely digitized, such as Brazil and Argentina, are ‘fertile ground’ for these two types of attacks. Mexico also fits these criteria, but, in Vieira’s view, most Mexican digital gangs prefer to focus their efforts on the US and not on other Latin American countries.
“This explains why Mexico does not stand out in the list of countries that most attack our region,” he said.
Experts from F5 Labs and Effluxio also analyzed the incidence of attacks focused on web pages.
“We tend to think that the Internet and the Web are the same thing – they aren’t. The Internet represents the way where IP traffic will pass. The web, heavily dependent on the browser, servers, the URL and the way in which the page was developed, is the platform that uses Internet routes,” said Vieira…”
https://www.intelligentcio.com/latam/2021/06/18/survey-reveals-latin-americas-cybercrime-map/
The “Diabetes Garage” Is Coming To El Paso
“…Over the next two years, organizers of UTEP’s Diabetes Garage, a diabetes self-management program for men, will offer health care organizations and providers including physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and dietitians a $1,100 grant to become certified in Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) services. UTEP will cover the $100 cost to existing programs that want to add an educational site…”
NEA Announces 2021 National Heritage Fellowship Winners
“…Several musicians and groups were inducted among this year’s honorees. The best-known are the Mexican-American band Los Lobos, from Los Angeles, who are cited for having “the East Los Angeles sonic landscape for nearly a half century,” and the Irish-American flute and whistle player Joanie Madden from Yonkers, N.Y., who is the founder of the group Cherish the Ladies…”
‘It’s just too much’: Why students are abandoning community colleges in droves With first-time enrollment down 21 percent, two-year colleges face an existential question: Will students return?
“…Community colleges have traditionally been a refuge where recent high school graduates — and adults of all ages — could pick up credits and develop new skills during a poor job market. Enrollment at two-year schools swelled during the downturn a decade ago. Many expected a similar rush during the pandemic.
That didn’t happen. Fall enrollment at community colleges was down 10 percent from a year earlier, according to National Student Clearinghouse data from mid-December. That was a much steeper decline than the roughly 1 percent drop-off in undergraduates at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions, despite predictions that more students might opt for colleges closer to home before transferring to four-year schools. The decline in first-time enrollment at community colleges was a staggering 21 percent. Black, Hispanic and Native American first-year students showed even steeper drops in a November report, between 28 and 29 percent…”
German CureVac Vaccine Protocol, Success of Public and Private Collaboration | Tec Review
“…Clinical trials of the German Curevac vaccine carried out jointly by private institutions such as TecSalud and the Mexican government have set the pattern to follow: synergy between public and private is necessary.
Guillermo Torre, rector of TecSalud and vice president of Research at Tecnológico de Monterrey, agrees.
During the Research Rounds virtual forum, where advances in the Herald protocol for the Curevac vaccine were discussed, Torre explained that the way in which the current pandemic has been dealt with has put the importance of the health sector in Latin American countries under the scrutiny of public opinion…”
Harris avoids optics of vaccine-for-immigration quid pro quo with Mexico
“Vice President Kamala Harris headed back to the U.S. after two days of high-level meetings in Guatemala and Mexico about corruption, human trafficking and migration, but one subject was only briefly touched upon: coronavirus vaccines…”
https://news.yahoo.com/harris-avoids-optics-vaccine-immigration-005249667.html
UCSB Young Artists String Quartet (YASQ): Spring 2021 Recital
“…Anthony Navarro, Violin
Anthony Navarro is a first year master’s student studying violin performance with Professor Ertan Torgul. Making music is his passion and he loves the collaborative aspects of classical music one finds in chamber music, orchestral music, opera and ballet…”
El laberinto del fauno
“…Firmly set in the harsh reality of Franco’s iron-clad dictatorship in Spain, El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) uses fantasy to take flight from the horrors of the real world and into the mystery of the fantastical one. Kickass Mexican director Guillermo del Toro uses the classic fairy tale format with a fresh spin to tell the story of a Spanish girl and the three wishes granted her when she meets the mythical Pan. Del Toro is a big believer in and master of the fantasy format, something hard to do well and believably, but his incredible visual style, uncanny CGI world, and gift for a particular style of …”
https://remezcla.com/lists/film/streaming-sci-fi-fantasy-films/
I left my home in Mexico to work as a farm veterinarian in America. But it was a trick.
“…But not all uncertainty is exciting or acceptable. While working at a dairy farm in Texas in 2019, I got a glimpse of how employers are profiting from the hopes and aspirations of Mexican veterinarians like me. U.S. farmers are luring Mexican animal scientists into exploitative jobs with the promise of professional development…”
