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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Health

Qualitative description of dental hygiene practices within oral health and dental care perspectives of Mexican-American adults and teenagers

G Maupome, O Aguirre‐Zero, C Westerhold – Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 2014
… of things, discontinuous implementation of treatment plans and of professional recommendations
fitted with … would be accrued by adding the perspectives of dental professionals to interpret … Mexican
American mothers’ initiation and understanding of home oral hygiene for young …
Link to abstract

Is it time for bed? Short sleep duration increases risk for obesity in Mexican American children

SM Martinez, JM Tschann, LC Greenspan, J Deardorff… – Sleep Medicine
… In Mexican American children, shorter sleep duration at baseline was associated with increased
weight status over 24 months. … | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Feedback | About Us | Help |
Contact Us The content on this site is intended for health professionals. …
Link to abstract

The Role of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Explaining the Association Between Acculturation and Obesity Among Mexican-American Adults

R Murillo, SS Albrecht, ML Daviglus, KN Kershaw – American Journal of Health …, 2014
… The Role of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Explaining the Association
Between Acculturation and Obesity Among Mexican-American Adults … Subjects.
Mexican-American NHANES participants aged !20 years (n ¼ 1902). Measures. …
Link to abstract

RISE program at NMSU aims to expand minority participation in STEM fields

LAS CRUCES >> Women don’t belong in science. That’s what Lydia Villa-Komaroff was told growing up. She didn’t listen. Villa-Komaroff, who grew up in Santa Fe, was among the first Mexican-American women to complete a doctorate in cell biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a scientist who made critical breakthroughs in diabetes research. This month, she joined other well-known researchers to encourage hundreds of students at New Mexico State University to pursue careers in STEM fields…
Link to article

Former Marine and Self-Described ‘Proud Mexican American’ Finally Finds His Way to Career of His Dreams

CLAREMONT, Calif., July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Pharmacy is not Antonio Silva’s first career, but he is certain it will be his last. In the past, the 34-year-old Riverside, California, resident has served in the U.S. Marine Corps and owned and operated his own small business. However, he could never forget what he was really passionate about―science, medicine and, most importantly, helping sick people feel better…

Link to article

Breast Cancer Cause Beliefs Chinese, Korean, and Mexican American Breast Cancer Survivors

P Gonzalez, JW Lim, M Wang-Letzkus, KF Flores… – Western Journal of Nursing …, 2014
… Focus groups with Chinese (n = 21), Korean (n = 11), and Mexican American (n = 9) BCS recruited
through community- and hospital-based … experience may influence a survivor’s interpretation and
response to the breast cancer diagnosis, so that health professionals, in turn …
Link to abstract

Arthur J. Ochoa Receives Mexican American Bar Foundation Professional Achievement Award

Newswise — LOS ANGELES (June 17, 2014) – The Mexican American Bar Foundation named Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s senior vice president of Community Relations and Development, the 2014 recipient of the legal organization’s Professional Achievement Award. The award was presented at the Mexican American Bar Foundation’s Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala June 14 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles…
Link to article

Reflections of a Latino in the Social Work Profession

This is a first-person account of seminal events that have helped shape the rich history and cultural heritage of the social work profession. In examining these events, the author has provided some personal history as a Mexican American growing up in South Texas that provides a historical and value context for his participation in these events. He also discusses his leadership experiences in serving on the national staff of NASW and volunteer leadership experiences in a number of professional organizations during critical times for the profession.
Link to abstract

The Experience of Giving Informed Consent in a Mexican-American Older Adult

H Zamora – Sigma Theta Tau International’s 25th International …, 2014
… a complex process that has ethical and legal implications for the health care professionals who
are tasked with obtaining it. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and
describe the experience of giving informed consent in a Mexican American older adult …
Link to abstract

Mexican-American Boys’ Positive Outcomes and Resilience: Importance of Social Support and Individual Attributes

LA Chapin – Journal of Child and Family Studies
… Published online: 27 May 2014. Abstract. Qualitative interviews with 12 Mexican-American
adolescent boys and two adult professionals contributed to … 1. How do Mexican-American boys
define positive outcomes? … Vito. 18. Grad. Mechanical engineer and professional boxer. …
Link to article

Mexican American Medicine: History,Roots and Key Maladies

M Tovar – Multicultural Approaches to Health and Wellness in …, 2014
… Mexican American Medicine 277 According to Western medicine, culture bound syndromes are
not as le- gitimate and often are seen as a set of … field is necessary, especially when treating
individuals that have certain beliefs that are not the same as the health professional. …
Link to chapter

Curanderismo: A Complementary and Alternative Approach to Mexican American Health Psychology

JN Valdez – Multicultural Approaches to Health and Wellness in …, 2014
… On the other hand, these views of curanderos as professional medical providers move on … uses
herbs to help others”(9). Comparisons to biomedical professionals or common … However, to
accurately define Mexican/Mexican American curanderas/os, the range of curanderismo’s …
Link to chapter

The health data that shows Hispanics can’t be lumped into one group

Data looking at diabetes among Hispanics shows what experts have known for some time; the rate of metabolic disease among this growing minority is significantly higher than among non-Hispanic whites.

That being said, the data also shows something else that’s very important–Hispanics cannot be lumped under an umbrella term when it comes to health.

The new information is part of an ongoing large-scale study of Hispanics in the United States entitled “The Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos”, and according to project manager Larissa Avilés-Santa, MD, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the findings are complex when it comes to the health of Hispanics but clearly show there is no single “Hispanic profile.”…
Link to article

Health of Elderly Mexican American Adults and Family Caregiver Distress

Using newly available data on family caregivers from a large epidemiological study of elderly Mexican-origin adults (Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly [HEPESE], 2010/2011), we identify which types of impairment (functional, psychological, and cognitive) in the elderly individual are associated with family caregiver depressive symptoms. Results from ordinary least squares regressions using 626 caregiver–care recipient dyads demonstrate…
Link to abstract

From “Kickeando las malias” (Kicking the Withdrawals) to “Staying clean”: The Impact of Cultural Values on Cessation of Injection Drug Use in Aging Mexican-American

Drug use among older adults is a growing concern, particularly for the burgeoning Hispanic population. Older adults seeking drug treatment will double over the next decade to almost 6 million. Cultural factors influence drug use, and more specifically, Hispanic cultural values influence heroin use. This study explored Mexican-American injection drug users’ adherence to…
Link to abstract

Experiences with Violence in Mexican American and European American High School Dating Relationships

Violence in adolescent dating relationships has become increasingly normative in the United States, with the severity of the consequences increasing into adulthood. Minority youths are at an increased risk for experiencing moderate to severe forms of physical dating violence, yet they are less likely to seek professional services. This comparative study of Mexican American (MA) and European American (EA) youths…
Link to abstract


  

Poem
“…And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while…”

T.S. Eliot
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Mexican American Proarchive Annual Report for 2022

The American Community Survey is an annual survey administered by the federal government to help local officials and community leaders and businesses understand the changes that take place in their communities. It includes percentages of our population’s graduate school attainment and the employment of Mexican Americans in various occupations.  These important factors influence the allocation of federal resources. Mexican American Proarchives uses the data provided by the American Community Survey to better understand how Mexican Americans compare to the general population.

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