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,”
Read More…
THE MEXICANISATION OF THE PEW HISPANIC CENTER
It is with great pleasure to discover that The Pew Hispanic Center has at last recognized that Mexican Americans like to be referred to as Mexican and not Hispanic. It is also welcome news that they have begun to publish articles about Mexican Americans.
The groundbreaking fact that governmental institutions are referring to Hispanics as Mexicans and specific groups is forward-moving in two ways,
1. Because it gives governmental institutions and other institutions a more accurate reading of the Mexican American community therefore it makes it easier to plan and project and,
2. It provides Mexican Americans and the larger population with recognition and validation for their accomplishments as well as their failures. In California, the Hispanic population is now equal to the white population and Mexican Americans comprise the largest number of Hispanics.
When I was looking for information for my Mexican American Professionals Articles a few years ago, I called the Pew Hispanic Center. I was able to speak with one of their principal writers and I asked him if his center had any information about Mexican American Professionals they could share with me. He informed me, in a very authoritative and abrupt way, that the Pew Hispanic Center did not have any such information. That they only dealt with Hispanics in their research. I said thank you and moved on to the Census Bureau Data.
Since that time, by their own research, they have concluded that “a report based on a nationwide survey” found most Hispanics don’t embrace the term “Hispanic,” and even fewer prefer the term “Latino.” Some light at the end of the tunnel. Gee, they had to do a nationwide survey to conclude that individuals think of themselves as “Guatemaltecos,” “Peruanos,” and even Mexicans.
Of further interest is the newest report released by the Pew Hispanic Center entitled “A Demographic Portrait of Mexican-Origin Hispanic in the United States.” It’s nice to see that we are finally worthy of being looked at as the majority of a minority. By their own admission, The Pew Hispanic Center in their recent publication “A Demographic Portrait of Mexican-Origin Hispanics in the United States” …Mexicans are by far the largest Hispanic-origin population in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds (64%) of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2012”.
I hope that the Pew Hispanic Center will continue to gather and release information pertinent to Mexican Americans with a more in-depth look at women and other variables. In the 2011 American Community Survey, Mexican American Women out earned Bachelor’s degrees by 2%. They also outnumber men in several other professional areas. In so far as other variables are concerned it is surprising to see that Mexican Americans in at least one area are almost equally represented:
The following data is from my article entitled “Results of the American Community Survey…for 2011”:
Industry: Civilian employed population 16 years and older:
• 10.6% of the general population was employed in the professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services in 2010. In 2011, this number only increased by .1% to 10.7%.
• 10.1% of Mexican Americans were employed in the professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services in 2010. In 2011, this percentage remained the same.
This information is of great benefit to those in government or educational institutions that rely on this data to administer resources.
In spite of the limited resource of one, my website mexican-american-proarchive.com has provided annual reports on the results of the American Community Survey since it’s inception. They focus on Mexican American professionals and provide a link between the census data and the ability to read the information in an anecdotal form. I focus on what I think are the most important differences and similarities between Mexican American professionals vs. the overall population. The data is footnoted with It’s sources and when available a URL to the raw data is given.
I can be reached at:
Betohg2012@gmail.com
Tel. 650-738-8584
LUIS RODRIGUEZ OF L.A. TO BECOME FIRST LATINO TO LEAD THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2013 – Los Angeles attorney Luis J. Rodriguez was elected today as president of the State Bar of California for 2013-2014. He will be the first public defender and first Latino to hold the office.
Rodriguez, 46, will be sworn in as the 89th president of the 243,000-member organization at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting in October in San Jose. He currently serves as vice president and ran unopposed in the Board of Trustees election. Craig Holden, 43, a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP of Los Angeles, was elected vice president. Heather Linn Rosing, 41, of Klinedinst PC in San Diego was elected treasurer.
Link to article
Mexican Company Outsourcing Jobs to the United States
by Jennifer Abbey, ABC news,
Within in the next three years, one out of three babies born in the United States will be Hispanic. Hispanic American families have become a force, soon spending $1.5 trillion a year on goods, creating jobs for the companies that jump on the opportunity.
While there has been a lot of talk about jobs being shipped across the border to Mexico, there is one company that is actually sending jobs to the United States.
Link to article
Attitudes of Mexican American Students Towards Learning English as a Second Language in a Structured Immersion Program
DU MARTÍNEZ, JG PÉREZ, DM FERNÁNDEZ – PORTA LINGUARUM, 2013
… pp. 205-221 Attitudes of Mexican American Students Towards … ABSTRACT: This study involves
the examination of the attitudes of a group of Mexican American students towards learning
English as a second language in a struc- tured immersion program. …
Link to article
A Demographic Portrait of Mexican-Origin Hispanics in the United States
A record 33.7 million Hispanics of Mexican origin resided in the United States in 2012, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by Pew Research Center. This estimate includes 11.4 million immigrants born in Mexico and 22.3 million born in the U.S. who self-identified as Hispanics of Mexican origin.
by Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Mark Hugo Lopez
Mexican-Origin Hispanics in the United States
Link to article
Mexican Roots for Majority of Latino Americans
Mexican Latinos make up more than two thirds of all Latinos in the United States, according to a new Pew Hispanic report.
Of the 51.9 million Latinos living in the United States in 2011, more than 33.5 million trace their family back to Mexico.
The report looked at demographic data collected from the 2011 American Community Survey. The report also examined U.S. citizenship, education levels and median income among U.S. Hispanics.
Link to article
Journalist Alfredo Corchado says it’s ‘Midnight in Mexico’
By Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times
June 14, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
Journalist Alfredo Corchado has had a front seat to many of the most important events of recent Mexican history. In the 1980s he covered the protests in Northern Mexico that foreshadowed the end of one-party rule, and he was later a Mexico City correspondent for the Dallas Morning News. In 2000, he conducted the first interview with President-elect Vicente Fox, the opposition candidate…
Link to article
Northrop Grumman engineer named Woman of the Year by Mexican American group
Ana Luisa Ramirez, a system engineering manager in the Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting Systems Division at Northrop Grumman in Linthicum, has been named Woman of the Year by the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.
She received the honor in recognition of her professional achievements and service to the Hispanic community. At Northrop Grumman, Ramirez leads the systems engineering integration and test function for an international program.
Link to article
Do Peers Contribute to the Achievement Gap between Vietnamese-American and Mexican-American Adolescents?
MT Duong, D Schwartz, CA McCarty – Social Development, 2013
… We recruited participants from a middle school with sizeable numbers of Mexican-American and
Vietnamese-American students in order to identify a … fathers (96.0 percent) and 75.4 percent of
mothers were employed outside the home, with most working at non-professional jobs …
Link to abstract
Mexican professionals adjust to new lives in US
By Thalia Longoria \ EL PASO TIMES
Posted: 09/06/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT
Eva Luna was a successful manager at an auto dealership in Juárez for almost 20 years.
Her position at Touché Motors in Juárez allowed her to live in comfort without any financial concerns. She owned a three-bedroom home and, once in a while, enjoyed some luxuries.
That lifestyle ended unexpectedly…
Link to article
Health Behavior Changes following Breast Cancer Treatment: A Qualitative Comparison among Chinese American, Korean American, and Mexican American Survivors
J Lim, P Gonzalez, MF Wang-Letzkus, O Baik… – … of Health Care for the Poor …, 2013
… and ethnically appropriate strategies for promoting healthy behaviors for Chinese American,
Korean American, and Mexican American BCS, who … in the health behavior changes among ethnic
minorities will assist both ethnic minorities and health care professionals to effectively …
Link to abstract
A Qualitative Study of the Day-to-Day Lives of Obese Mexican-American Adolescent Females
SA Taylor, BH Garland, BE Sanchez-Fournier, KF Allen… – Pediatrics, 2013
… Interview content was developed from empirical research, clinical experience, and consultation
with Mexican-American researchers and adolescents to … Interviews conducted in English were
transcribed by a professional tran- scription service and reviewed and corrected by a …
Link to abstract
Mexican American integration slow, education stalled, study finds
UCLA report charts Chicano experience over four decades
By Letisia Marquez March 20, 2008
Second-, third- and fourth-generation Mexican Americans speak English fluently, and most prefer American music. They are increasingly Protestant, and some may even vote for a Republican candidate…
Link to article
Adapting the Distress Thermometer for Cross-Cultural Research: A Method Enhanced by Mexican American Undergraduate Research Assistants
JN Wells – Hispanic Health Care International, 2013
… Perceived mood, health and burden in female Mexican American family cancer caregivers.
Health Care for Women International, 30(7), 627–652. … Retrieved from http://www.nccn
.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp Northouse, L. (2005). …
Link to abstract
Parent and child fluency in a common language: Implications for the parent–child relationship and later academic success in Mexican American families.
T Schofield, K Beaumont, K Widaman, R Jochem… – Journal of Family …, 2012
… journal cover Parent and Child Fluency in a Common Language: Implications for the
Parent–Child Relationship and Later Academic Success in Mexican American Families. … Parents
and children in Mexican American families often gain fluency in English at different rates. …
Link to abstract
Viewing globalization in transnational, Mexican American Spaces
GAM Esparza
… Nine primary diary keepers – including one second and one third generation Mexican-American
(born in the US) – lived by themselves. … His professional background is in journalism, which he
practiced for 13 years in different news outlets in Mexico, including Siglo 21 in his …
Link to Article
The Perceptions of Successful and Unsuccessful Mexican American Students on the Public School System
L Arreola – 2012
… schools, and professional schools. Hispanic A Hispanic person is of Latin-American descent
living in the United States; especially: one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin. Latino A
Latino is a person of Latin-American origin living in the United States. Mexican American …
Link to thesis
RESULTS OF THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY FOR 2011: a comparison of the results for the years 2010 and 2011 contrasting the total population of the United States and Mexican American professionals
By HUMBERTO (TITO) GUTIERREZ
Edited by Corrie Cripps
Mexican American women have been making slow but steady gains in business, science and art management jobs over the past few years, according to statistics from the 2011 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, Mexican American professionals continue to be underrepresented among the total U.S. professional population. This brief identifies areas of interest in the 2011 American Community Survey to Mexican American professionals.
Note: The statistics in this brief refer to the population who reported themselves as Mexican Americans on the American Community Survey.
According to the Survey, the total population of the U.S. is 311,591,919.
The Mexican American population is 33,557,922, roughly 10.8% of the total U.S. population.
College and/or Graduate School Enrollment
- 28.3% of the total population was enrolled in college or graduate school in 2010. In 2011, this number increased to 28.7%.
- 16.8% of the Mexican American population was enrolled in college or graduate school in 2010. In 2011, this number increased to 17.6%.
Charts: Total population enrolled in college and/or graduate school, Total U.S. population vs. Total Mexican American population
Educational Attainment:
- 17.7% of the total population earned bachelor degrees in 2010. In 2011, this number increased to 17.9%.
- 6.7% of the Mexican American population earned bachelor degrees in 2010. In 2011, this number increased to 6.9%.
- 10.4% of the total population earned graduate and professional degrees in 2010. In 2011, this number increased to 10.6%.
- 2.6% of the Mexican American population earned graduate and professional degrees in 2010, and this percentage remained the same in 2011.
Table: Educational attainment, bachelor degrees or higher
Note: In the following chart, each statistic stands for itself, i.e. do not add the male percentage to the female percentage to get a total.
Persons with a bachelor’s degree or higher are those who have received a bachelor’s degree from a college or university, or a master’s, professional, or doctorate degree.
| 2010 | 2011 | |||
| Total Population | Mexican American | Total Population | Mexican American | |
| Graduate or professional degree | 10.4% | 2.6% | 10.6% | 2.6% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 28.3% | 16.8% | 28.7% | 17.6% |
| Males with bachelor’s degree or higher | 28.5% | 8.4% | 28.7% | 8.6% |
| Females with bachelor’s degree or higher | 27.9% | 10.4% | 28.3% | 10.6% |
OCCUPATIONS
Note: this data in this section includes only persons 25 years of age and older. The percentages are obtained by dividing the counts of graduates by the total number of persons 25 years old and over.
Occupations: Female employed civilians, age 25 and older:
- 39.4% of the total population of women in 2011 were employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations. Mexican American women represent 22.1% of the Mexican Americans employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations.
- Between 2007 and 2011, there has been a 1.7% increase (20.4% to 22.1%) in the number of Mexican American women employed in management professional and related occupations. In this area, the female general population figure has increased from 37.9% in 2007 to 39.5% in 2011, a 1.6% increase.
Occupations: Male employed civilians, age 25 and older:
- Between 2007 and 2011, there has been a 1.7% increase in the number of Mexican-American males in management and professional occupations.
Table: Occupations, Civilian employed population, age 25 and older
| 2010 | 2011 | |||
| Total Population | Mexican American | Total Population | Mexican American | |
| Management, business, science, and arts occupations | 35.9% | 16.2% | 36.0% | 16.4% |
| Males in management, business, science, and arts occupations | 32.8% | 12.4% | 32.7% | 12.5% |
| Females in management, business, science and arts occupations | 39.4% | 21.7% | 39.5% | 22.1% |
Industry: Civilian employed population 16 years and older:
- 10.6% of the general population was employed in the professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services in 2010. In 2011, this number only increased by .1% to 10.7%.
- 10.1% of Mexican Americans were employed in the professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services in 2010. In 2011, this percentage remained the same.
Public Administration:
- In 2010, the total population was 5.2% in public administration and 3.5% for Mexican Americans.
- In 2011, the total population was 5.1% in public administration and 3.4% for Mexican Americans. As with the Industry statistics, there was virtually no change from 2010 to 2011 in this area.
SUMMARY
Comparison of the 2010 and 2011 ratios of professionals in the general population and in the Mexican American population shows little change. In general, graduate and professional degrees among the total population are more than triple when compared with Mexican Americans who have earned graduate or professional degrees. On the bright side, there is at least one area where the ratio is almost equal; women have, again, gained ground in business, science and art management.
Reference Documents from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
- Census Bureau, Selected Population Profile in the United States: 2011 (a PDF file)
- United States S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States (search page)
Population Group: Mexican
Data Set: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (for years 2007, 2010, and 2011) - United States S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States (search page)
Population Group: Total Population
Data Set: American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (for years 2007, 2010, and 2011)
Associations Between Adolescents’ Perceived Discrimination and Prosocial Tendencies: The Mediating Role of Mexican American Values
AS Brittian, M O’Donnell, GP Knight, G Carlo… – Journal of Youth and …, 2012
… at least 40 h of training, which included information on the project’s goals, characteristics of the
target population, professional conduct, and … Sample items included, ”How often have kids at school
called you names because you are Mexican American?” and ”How often have you …
Link to abstract
Value of Education as Perceived by Mexican Immigrants and Caucasian American Citizens Employed in Agriculture in Louisiana
R Johnson, J Kotrlik
… A panel of extension aquaculture professionals examined the instrument for face and construct
validity. Two pilot tests were conducted. … doi:10.1111/j.1365- 2206.2010.00682.x Batalova, J.,
& Lowell, B. (2007). Immigrant professionals in the United States. …
Link to article
