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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Retooling the Ph.D.
For generations, the path of a doctoral candidate in the humanities has been clear: collect your sheepskin and go directly to academia. But a tight job market for those graduates is leading universities across the country to rethink that model. Now, a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will help UC Santa Barbara explore ways to create new post-doctorate options for its humanities students…
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Sarah Robles Wins The First U.S. Weightlifting Medal since 2000
RIO DE JANEIRO – Less than 10 seconds separated Sarah Robles from a personal goal and a historic performance. That was her coach’s message to her heading into her final lift on Sunday at Riocentro – Pavilion 2.
“I said to her, ‘Do you want to be on the medal stand? This is your opportunity,’” said Tim Swords, Robles’ coach. “’This is five seconds against the rest of your life.’ I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ You gotta bring it now, and you gotta go for it. Just five seconds of your life. This is going to change your life. Five seconds.’”
A lift of 160 kg. after five grueling lifts, each one heavier than the last, gave Robles her first Olympic medal, a bronze in the +75 kg. weight class. It was Team’s USA first medal in women’s weightlifting in 16 years.
Robles lifted a combined 286 kg., including 126 kg. in the snatch and 160 kg. in the clean and jerk. She finished 21 kg. behind China’s Suping Meng, who took home the gold medal…
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The Devil is Loose: Drownings, shootings, high-speed accidents, immigrants in labor-the life of a border paramedic
For the paramedics in Laredo, Texas, the only event more concerning than a Dallas Cowboys’ loss is a fight night. Saturday, May 7, the eve of Mother’s Day, was fight night. Throughout the afternoon, the cemeteries were full of people carrying flowers to their mothers’ tombstones, bright tributes laid down in the searing heat. That evening, much of the town gathered around flat screens to watch the Mexican champion Canelo Álvarez and a British contender named Amir Khan slug it out for the middleweight title. Not many were rooting for Khan…
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Without Change, African-American and Latino Families Won’t Match Current Average White Wealth for Centuries
WASHINGTON – If current federal wealth-building policies remain in place, it will take the average African-American family 228 years to amass the same amount of wealth that white families have today and it will take Latino families 84 years to reach that goal, according to a new report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).
The Ever-Growing Gap: Failing to Address the Status Quo Will Drive the Racial Wealth Divide for Centuries to Come shows how the well-documented chasm between white household wealth and African-American and Latino household wealth will play out over a period of decades and even centuries if nothing is done to change the current scenario.
For instance, the report finds that by 2043, when households of color are projected to account for more than half the U.S. population, the racial wealth divide between white households and African- American and Latino households will have doubled from about $500,000 in 2013 to $1 million…
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Reyes appointed director of Southwest Hispanic Research Institute
Bárbara Reyes has been appointed director of the UNM Southwest Hispanic Research Institute (SHRI). Reyes, an associate professor of History, has research interests that include Chicano History, Southwest History, U.S. Immigration History, Gender and Comparative Women’s History, Race, Ethnicity, Cultural Studies. For additional information about her research visit her faculty website.
Reyes has served as interim director of SHRI for the last two years. Earlier this year, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) coordinated an internal, competitive search process with SHRI faculty affiliates. In consultation with the search committee and with feedback from SHRI stakeholders, Reyes was selected as director. She began her two-year term on July 1, 2016…
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Visiting artists celebrate Mexican heritage in West Chicago
Mexican artist Juan Chawuk works with teens from the West Chicago Library’s young adult council on a mobile mural that spells out the words “West Chicago.” Chawuk is one of two artists who were invited to take part in People Made Visible’s artist residency program this summer…
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Jobs Report: Latino Unemployment Rate Falls in July
July surpassed expectations for job growth in the U.S., and although the national unemployment rate stayed the same, the Latino labor force saw gains in job growth.
More than 255,000 jobs were added in July, which surpassed predictions of about 180,000 for the same month. The Latino unemployment rate fell from 5.8 percent to 5.4 percent, according to the National Council of La Raza’s jobs report.
The national unemployment rate stayed constant at 4.9 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
The number of employed Latino workers increased from 25.1 million in June, to 25.3 million. In July. Meanwhile, the number of Latinos available for work or not working dropped by about 100,000.
NCLR speculated Latino workers benefited from the addition of 45,000 hospitality jobs in July…
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Hispanic millennials make less, but save more
Most millennials are trying to save for retirement, but female and Hispanic millennials make less money than their counterparts and are more focused on everyday finances, according to new survey results released Wednesday by Wells Fargo.
The survey focused on how millennials plan for retirement. A $1-million savings goal is supposed to provide enough retirement funds for decades, according to Wells Fargo. While 64 percent of respondents said they don’t think they will ever save enough to hit that mark, nearly 60 percent have started stashing away money anyway…
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Immigration Reform 2016 News – Facebook and Microsoft Say STEM, Immigrants Help U.S. Tech Companies Stay Competitive
Representatives from the country’s most affluent companies challenged the next presidential administration to revise education and immigration programs during a Democratic National Convention forum on Wednesday.
Members of the nonpartisan Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which pushes for scientific and technological advancements, urged lawmakers to reform longstanding immigration laws that limit how long individuals can work or study in the United States. The panelists also said a lack of enthusiasm for STEM – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – education programs among minorities makes it difficult to compete globally…
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2016 Hispanic Heritage Month essay contest now open to Nebraska students
LINCOLN – The Nebraska Latino-American Commission invites Nebraska students to participate in the 10th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest.
The Nebraska Latino-American Commission, a statewide independent government agency serving as a link between the Nebraska State Government and the Latino/a community, is accepting essays in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15…
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Eva Longoria’s powerful speech: ‘My family didn’t cross the border. The border crossed us’
Eva Longoria took the podium at the Democratic National Convention with a powerful speech about her family’s immigrant past.
The actress was among the various speakers at Monday night’s opening night in Philadelphia. She spoke about her personal experience as a Mexican-American living in the U.S.
“I’m from a small town in South Texas, and if you know your history, Texas used to be part of Mexico,” Longoria, 41, said. “I’m ninth-generation American. My family never crossed the border, the border crossed us.”…
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Mobvious Expands to U.S. with Focus on Bicultural Hispanic Market
Mobvious, a European firm specializing in mobile marketing solutions is entering the U.S. with the support of HiMedia Group and Latam Digital Ventures, Located in Miami, Mobvious’ new office will be co-founded and led by Isabel Rafferty (picture). Rafferty previously worked at Adsmovil. Rafferty tells Portada that Mobvious will also have offices in Los Angeles. The firm already has offices in Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Holland, and Italy.
isabelraffertyMoviousMobvious will provide innovative and interactive formats (including video, audio and social), including programmatic, as well as an exclusive network of high-quality publishers, to develop and implement mobile campaigns for the bicultural millennial Hispanic market. “The experience, vision and relationships Isabel has built during her career are fundamental to lead Mobvious and make it a competitive player in the United States market,” stated Cyril Zimmermann, CEO of HiMedia…
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A Latino Angel Wants To Help You Invest In Tech Startups
For the past two decades, I have been an advisor to many technology startups, and I can tell you this: raising the first million is the hardest.
Even harder: raising the first million if you are Latino/Latina founder.
Last week, DreamFunded – a San Francisco-based company that I’ve written about before — became the first SF-headquartered firm to get approval from FINRA to launch a portal that will enable many people — not just the rich — to invest in technology through crowdfunding. According to DreamFunded, it’s also the first Latino-led equity crowdfunding portal anywhere to get FINRA approval…
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How Hispanic culture is changing America
This article is part of an ongoing Media Life series entitled “Catching the next big wave: Hispanic media.” You can read previous stories by clicking here.
Last month, Univision Deportes Network beat every other cable sports network in primetime among the key demos of adults 18-49 and 18-34.
It finished ahead of Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network, which is an accomplishment of itself.
But it also beat cable sports’ big dogs, ESPN and ESPN2.
UDN carried the Copa America Centenario in June, which explains the big ratings, while the other networks were in a rare summertime lull between major events like NASCAR and the Tour de France.
But still, a Spanish-language network beating a bunch of English-language ones in the major sports demos?
A few years ago, that would have been unthinkable. In fact, five years ago, UDN didn’t even exist…
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Clinton’s Latina political director Amanda Renteria is key to getting the Hispanic community on board with her
WASHINGTON — For Amanda Renteria, 2016 has made the political even more personal.
When she took the job as Hillary Clinton’s political director, making her the highest-ranking Hispanic staffer on the campaign, Renteria knew she’d play a key role in trying to awaken the sleeping giant of the Hispanic vote. She never imagined she’d do it while squaring off against Donald Trump and his anti-Latino xenophobia…
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Number of Hispanic farm operators continues to grow
WENATCHEE, Wash. — From humble beginnings in Mexico, Jesus Limon has spent a lifetime working hard for his slice of the American dream.
As a young man, he picked celery and oranges in California and tree fruit in Washington state. Twenty years ago he became one of the few Hispanic orchard owners in the Wenatchee area.
He and his wife of 40 years, Maria Luisa Limon, helped put their four sons through college and today see retirement in their not-too-distant future.
They now own 150 acres of apple trees and lease 35 acres of cherry and apple trees…
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DPS is hiring more Hispanic state troopers, and Texas’ border surge is a big reason why
AUSTIN — The face of Texas’ border surge is undergoing a makeover, as the security push has helped the state Department of Public Safety hire more Hispanic officers recently.
Over the past 18 months, more than 40 percent of the 450 participants in DPS’ grueling six-month trooper academies identified themselves as Hispanic. A Dallas Morning News analysis shows that it’s the highest such percentage DPS has seen over the last decade — and maybe ever…
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Michael Zajur, President of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
HOW HE HAS SHAPED THE REGION: Zajur, as head of the chamber, has provided a voice for the Hispanic business community during a period in which the Hispanic population in Virginia essentially doubled.
In 2000, the year Zajur founded the chamber, about 4.7 percent of the state’s population was Hispanic or Latino. In 2014, that percentage was up to 9 percent…
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FHSU hopes to open doors with Hispanic College Institute
HAYS — They are thankful for the doors that Fort Hays State University opened for them, and they are excited about giving back to fellow Hispanics.
FHSU graduates Hector Villanueva, of Garden City, and Alma Hidalgo, of Perryton, Texas, were right in the thick of things Wednesday morning as high school students from across Kansas, Colorado and Missouri climbed off buses to participate in Fort Hays State’s first Hispanic College Institute…
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Voto Latino Power Summit Kicks Off To Mobilize Young Latinos
With Hillary Clinton now virtually assured to be the Democratic nominee for President, the Voto Latino Power Summit being held this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada holds particular significance for the growing power of Latino millennials, who make up 44 percent of all Latinos according to recent analysis from Pew Research.
An estimated 3.2 million Latinos will be able to cast their votes for the first time in the upcoming presidential election, and will likely pit Republican frontrunner Donald Trump against Clinton. With Donald Trump poised to get the lowest vote ever among Latinos for a Republican presidential nominee, organizations like Voto Latino will be an important venue for using the attention of the election to connect young Latinos with each other in networking opportunities and getting them motivated to become active citizens…
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