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 mural integrates Native perspectives in representation of UCLA’s land history
“UCLA professor emeritus and artist Judith Baca’s original mural was unveiled in Ackerman Union on Friday.
Located at the Wescom Student Terrace on level one of Ackerman Union, the mural is titled “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA” and consists of three 26-foot-long panels. The first panel depicts the original Los Angeles River and its original peoples, the second panel highlights influential members of the UCLA community, and the third panel displays a future in which the university recognizes and coexists peacefully with the Native land.
The UCLA Centennial Committee first commissioned the mural in 2019, and it was created in partnership with ASUCLA…”
Report finds Latino, Black students in LA experience higher education inequities
“Latino and Black students in Los Angeles continue to face disparities in enrollment and resource allocation within institutions of higher education, according to a February report.
In the report, The Campaign for College Opportunity, a foundation that seeks to make college education accessible for all students, discussed the issues Latino and Black students face as they seek admission to institutions of higher education with an emphasis on the LA area. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic was a key factor in reducing Latino and Black enrollment in the LA Community College District, as these groups faced more difficulties with housing, health care and other resources because of the pandemic…”
‘Aqux’ explores representations of home, connects identities of Latinx community
“Aqux,” a group exhibition which opened Feb. 19 at The Mistake Room, features 23 Latinx artists and their interpretations of what home means to them. Through the featured works curated by TMR’s executive and artistic director and alumnus César García-Alvarez, the group exhibition explores the connection between the artists’ Latin American roots and the places they call home. Pronounced “aquí” like the Spanish word for “here,” “Aqux’s” spelling represents the debate surrounding the term Latinx, García-Alvarez said.
“Our identity is never static – it is always situational,” García-Alvarez said. “Thinking about home in that way became an interesting mechanism to organize the exhibition, and what you see in this show are various contradicting representations of home. You don’t get a full, solid, agreed-upon perspective on how home should be defined or experienced.”
‘Theater for Social Change’
“At UC Santa Barbara, as at many universities, the early 1970s are remembered as a period of conflict and strife. But something remarkable emerged from that tumultuous time: A new theater company created by Hispanic artists, for Hispanic audiences.
It was called El Teatro de la Esperanza — the Theater of Hope — and for more than a quarter-century, it promoted justice and inclusion through storytelling and music.,,”
Q&A l “I Wanted to Create the School I Would Have Liked to Attend” – Christian Patiño, Coderhouse
“Latin American talent is becoming quite appealing. Increasingly more companies are looking to hire Argentinian, Colombian or Mexican professionals. This is partly because regional unicorns are in need of qualified talent, and partly because tech hubs like the U.S. are facing a talent shortage that LatAm workers are willing and able to fill…”
UCLA course allows students to apply Spanish language skills in real-world setting
“Books in a classroom are often not enough as Latino community members have much to share with Spanish language students, said Carla Suhr, a Spanish linguistics professor and director of the Community Engagement Program. Spanish M165XP: “Taking It to Street: Spanish in Community” takes students out of the classroom, guiding them to apply language skills under real-life circumstances.
One of three classes focusing on the Latino community in the Spanish and Portuguese department’s Community Engagement Program, Spanish M165XP gives students the opportunity to apply cultural and linguistic knowledge from class to the real world by working with Los Angeles communities. The course encourages students to learn by using Spanish in a more realistic context, Suhr said…”
UCSB MCC Race Matters Series – SHAPING THE WAY AMERICA’S CHILDREN ARE EDUCATED: LATINA TEACHERS IN MAJORITY-MINORITY SCHOOLS
“Today, Latina women make up the fastest growing non-white group entering the teaching profession at a time when it is estimated that 20% of all students nationwide now identify as Latina/o and are more likely to attend majority-minority schools. Through ethnographic and participant observation in two underperforming majority-minority schools in Los Angeles, as well as interviews with teachers, parents and staff, Flores examines the complexities stemming from a growing workforce of Latina teachers who work in schools where the majority of parents and children are Latinx, Black and Asian…”
Austin: Design Team for City’s Mexican American Cultural Center Provides Update
“…Austin (Travis County) — The Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) recently held a meeting, in which they detailed the expansion that will nearly double the footprint for Phase II of the city’s Emma S. Barrientos-MACC improvement project…
…Juan Miro said that they envision extending the semicircular cultural center with more classrooms for children and adults, a new gallery and performance space, along with other improvements…”
Center for Mexican Studies seeks to merge academic scholarship, community action
“…Rivera-Salgado is currently helping to lead an initiative that forges a partnership between UCLA and three Mexican universities – the Autonomous University of Querétaro, the Metropolitan Autonomous University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
The initiative, which began in May 2021, works to ensure labor rights are observed in the wake of the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which strengthened protections for workers. Through support from this partnership, each Mexican university plans to develop centers dedicated to the study of labor rights, similar to UCLA’s own Labor Center…”
Chronicler of the Struggle Writer Rubén Martínez to receive Luis Leal Award
“I have known Rubén Martínez for many years, including when he was one of the co-hosts of ‘Life & Times’ that aired on KCET in Los Angeles in the early 1990s,” said Garcia, the organizer of the annual Leal Award. “I was always struck by how astute, articulate and charismatic Ruben was. He has always provided critical observations of U.S. society, culture and politics….”
Freshmen help women’s golf achieve 4th-place finish in season’s opening match
“…Canales wasn’t the only underclassman who finished in the top 20, as freshman Zoe Antoinette Campos posted her second-best score of the season, finishing 2-over 146 and tying for 17th overall…”
University of Southern California: USC Gould receives scholarship endowment to support Latino students
”For USC Gould alumni Elizabeth E. Atlee (JD 1993), and Steve Atlee (JD 1990), giving back has always been a shared goal. The couple achieved that aim in a personally meaningful way in March 2021 by establishing the Elizabeth and Steve Atlee Endowed Scholarship, an endowed fund that supports Latino students at USC Gould.
Liz, the senior vice president, deputy general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer at commercial real estate firm CBRE, comes from a line of lawyers in both Mexico and the U.S. — “It’s kind of the family business,” she says.
In 2019 she was recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas by the Association of Latino Professionals for America in collaboration with Fortune magazine. She also received the professional achievement award from the Mexican American Bar Foundation the same year. In addition, she is a member of USC Gould’s Board of Councilors…”
A Look at Degree Attainment Among Hispanic Women and Men and How COVID-19 Could Deepen Racial and Gender Divides
“…According to recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse, Hispanic enrollment in higher education fell by 5.4 percentage points last fall amid the pandemic. When we look at differences by sector and level, those declines become even more dismaying. While enrollment at public four-year colleges fell nearly two percentage points, enrollment at community colleges fell 10.6 percentage points overall and nearly 17 percentage points among Latinos, versus a decline of 6.2 percentage points for Latinas. These declines are particularly troubling, since over 52% of Hispanic higher-education students attend community colleges. The decline in first-time enrollment among Hispanic students — which sank nearly 20 percentage points across all sectors — should,,,”
Graduate School Realities and College Evolution of Latinas in the U.S. by Gustavo A. Mellander
“…Percentage of latinas with a master’s degree
Latinas have the lowest percentage of graduate degrees compared to all women of other non-Hispanic racial groups combined. In 2013, just 4 percent of Latinas had completed a Master’s degree or higher by age 29 compared to nearly 5 percent of black, 11 percent of white, and 22 percent of Asian women.27 A decade earlier less than 2 percent of Latinas held a graduate degree, so this represents more than a doubling of graduate degree holders. However, as with bachelor’s degrees, this progress has not been sufficient to close the significant gaps between Latinas and other women…
https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/graduate-school-realities
College Enrollment & Student Demographic Statistics
“…As a percentage of the entire student population, the White or Caucasian demographic has decreased by 34.5% since 1976.
- 19.5% of the college student population is Hispanic or Latino, a 441.7% increase since 1976.
- 65.4% of students in this demographic attend public institutions; 34.6% enroll in 2-year colleges.
- 4.3 million college students are Hispanic or Latin….”
- https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
Report discusses representation, issues faced by Latinx students in California
“Latinx students are graduating high school and enrolling in higher education at historically high rates, but they continue to experience barriers enrolling in and graduating from four-year colleges, according to a recent report about California’s Latinx student population…”
UCLA student takes dance moves to national level in commercial
“Alejandra Rodríguez has found her rhythm.
The third-year dance and political science student performed in a commercial for Fox Deportes, a division of Fox Sports broadcast in Spanish, that aired Oct. 26. The commercial celebrates the 25th anniversary of the network with newscasters and dancers moving to the song “Fuego” by Bomba Estéreo. This was her first appearance on a large national network and one of her first dance jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“There was a time where we couldn’t do what we love the most,” Rodríguez said. “To get work off of something that you love and is your passion – it’s a complete blessing.”…”https://dailybruin.com/2021/11/10/ucla-student-takes-dance-moves-to-national-level-in-commercial
UCLA organization brings awareness to HIV/AIDS in Latino community at holiday event
“By Breanna Diaz
Oct. 28, 2021 6:22 p.m.
Art and community wellness are merging together for downtown Los Angeles’ Día de los Muertos celebration.
Marking the holiday observed from Nov. 1 to Nov. 2, Grand Park will host its ninth annual Downtown Día de los Muertos event. As part of the 12-day celebration, park-goers can visit art installations, altars and community workshops at the park. One altar featured in the park, operated by The Music Center in LA, was created by the UCLA organization the Los Angeles Family AIDS Network with the Latino Outreach Understanding Division. Their altar, which highlights the impact of HIV and AIDS on women and Latinos, is meant to create a discussion about HIV and AIDS, alumnus and director of the LAFAN Natalie Sanchez said…”
UCLA announces new efforts to be designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution
“…The university plans to create 15 new faculty lines for faculty whose work has ties to Latinx experiences, the Sept. 24 announcement said. Deans have the option to match these appointments, totaling 30 additional faculty. UCLA will also fund 20 postdoctoral fellowships for work on Latinx issues, the email said.
Over the next five years, the university also plans to allocate $1.25 million in grants for research that focuses on Latino populations, the announcement said. UCLA also plans to fund eight full-time positions and one part-time staff position to support Latinx student life and scholarship on campus over the next five years…”
SC campaign highlights culture, traditions of Hispanic Heritage
“Every day during Hispanic Heritage Month, an SC agency is sharing details about food, music, historical figures, and yearly festivities from Latin American countries…”
