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…
I’m Mexican American. But the LA City Council audio leak reminded me that I’m Oaxacan too
“…I felt lightheaded as if I’d stood up too quickly as I processed their words. “Tan feos,” she said. So ugly. A prominent Mexican American had invoked stereotypes about a group that, for so long, has been among the most marginalized in Mexico, a country that has long refused to acknowledge systemic colorism and racism.
As shown in a transcript, then-Councilmember Gil Cedillo followed Martinez’s comments by saying, “I’m glad they’re wearing shoes.” Former Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera casually mentioned his mother used to call Oaxacans “Indios,” or Indians, a word often used not as an identifier but spat as an insult.,,”
Millions of Americans have left the country. Where are they going, and why?
“..After the 2004 reelection of George W. Bush, the 2020 election of Joe Biden and the 2016 election of Donald Trump, Google search interest in moving to Canada spiked. It happened again in June, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade. According to recent Gallup polls, as many as 15 percent of Americans say they want to leave the country permanently, and even more say they would consider expatriating under the right circumstances…”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/23/american-emigrants/
Attention Georgia Companies: How NOT to Recruit a Foreign Workforce
“…A recent case involved Mexican engineers who were brought to Georgia on non-immigrant NAFTA Professional (TN) visas by a staffing agency promising them high-level technical jobs. They wound up doing manual labor at parts suppliers for Kia and Hyundai. They could not leave their roles, however, because their legal permission to work in the United States depended on the TN visas sponsored by that employer...
https://www.globalatlanta.com/attention-georgia-companies-how-not-to-recruit-a-foreign-workforce/
Mexico.. Promised Land for American Immigrants
“In contrast to the waves of immigrants drawn by the American El Dorado, 38-year-old Gabriel Zarate has left San Diego and California to live in Tijuana, the Mexican border city.
Like Zarate, an increasing number of Americans are moving to Mexico, where they find life less expensive and smoother, despite the risk of upsetting Mexicans deprived of their purchasing power.
“I’ve been in Tijuana for four years,” says the man who crosses the border to work in San Diego as an English teacher for foreign students and returns in the evening.
“One of the main reasons is the cost of living,” explains this Chilean-American. It is less expensive than California.”
“In San Diego, I lived in a studio for $1,275 a month,” says his colleague Mike Rashval, 36, who also teaches English in San Diego but works remotely from Tijuana. Here I pay about half of the amount.”
“I love Mexicans, and Mexican food,” continues Gabriel Zarate, who lived in Latin America for several years…
https://globeecho.com/politics/mexico-promised-land-for-american-immigrants/
Working in Canada under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement
“The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement allows non-Canadian citizens in the US and Mexico to obtain a work permit in Canada. Explore the four different categories below….”
Business Mexico draws young American professionals working remotely
“…“They love the climate,” she said. “They love the people, the culture, the food, the beauty.”
“Yes, of course, safety can be an issue. … And when I say quality of life, I mean of course, we can’t avoid the fact that your dollar goes a long way in Mexico,” she added.
According to data from the U.S. Department of State, there are over 1.6 million U.S. citizens living in Mexico, but that number only includes people who have applied for legal residency, which some remote workers do not do.
Mexico City’s tourism agency said more than 1.9 million foreigners arrived at the capital city’s international airport during just the first half of this year. They spent almost $2 billion in hotel stays there….”
https://vigourtimes.com/mexico-draws-young-american-professionals-working-remotely/
Key facts about U.S. Latinos for National Hispanic Heritage Month
“…The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.5 million in 2021, up from 50.5 million in 2010. The 19% increase in the Hispanic population was faster than the nation’s 7% growth rate, but slower than the 23% increase in the Asian population. In 2021, Hispanics made up nearly one-in-five people in the U.S. (19%) – the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is up from 16% in 2010 and just 5% in 1970…”
Report: Cuban Doctors Brought to Mexico Work in Slavery Conditions
“…A REPORT by the NGO Prisoners Defenders assured on Thursday that the members of the Cuban medical missions, which include 650 health professionals sent to Mexico, work in conditions of “slavery” and that 80% of their salaries are stolen by the authorities of the regime…”
https://elamerican.com/report-cuban-doctors-brought-to-mexico-work-in-slavery-conditions/
How to come to Canada through CUSMA If you are American or Mexican, you may be eligible for a work permit under CUSMA.
“…American and Mexican citizens do not require a Temporary Resident Visa to enter Canada, so applications for a CUSMA work permit can be done at any Port of Entry or at a Visa office.
There are four categories of temporary work covered under CUSMA:
- CUSMA Professional
- CUSMA Intra-Company transfer
- CUSMA Traders
- CUSMA Investors…”
- https://www.cicnews.com/2022/08/how-to-come-to-canada-through-cusma-0829779.html#gs.9ltsjn
With Lack of Opportunities for Mexican Doctors, Should They Join the Export Revolution?
“The outlook is pretty dim for doctors working in Mexico. The job market offers limited opportunities for health professionals in the country, who believe that only through policy support from the federal government, things will then turn positive.
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador got grilled in early May after announcing the hiring of 500 Cuban health professionals to be enrolled into the ranks of the country’s public health system. López Obrador claimed it as a necessary measure to combat Mexico’s deficit of health specialists, but doctors and universities argued otherwise, pointing to the long lines of unemployed nationals who wait for a shot at working in one of the country’s several public health institutions..”
Mexican American superhero saves Ukrainian civilians in comic book issue
“For the better part of a decade, the Mexican American superhero created by Héctor Rodríguez has helped immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border fight Mexican cartels, corrupt officials and human traffickers.
Now Mexico’s refusal to criticize Russia or support Ukraine has prompted the comic book creator to send “El Peso Hero” to war-torn Ukraine…”
Can Mexico turbocharge pandemic nearshoring by US firms?
“…Encourage more US firms to move businesses they have offshored to China and Southeast Asia closer to home.“Some of our members have been successfully nearshoring to Mexico for several years,” Aburto told Al Jazeera. “About 5 percent of our members had taken up nearshoring prior to the pandemic.”
Activists push for Mexico’s GM corn ban to include imports
Citigroup’s Mexico exit sparks fears over fate of art collection
Avocado toast? US suspends imports from key region in Mexico
US-Mexico avocado spat is already causing shortages
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/18/an-mexico-turbocharge-pandemic-nearshoring-by-us-firms
NPPC voices concerns over swine industry visa decisions
“…Created under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the TN visa allows Canadian and Mexican professionals to temporarily fill specific job openings in the United States. It is used widely in the swine industry as a way to source qualified and competent labor for farm jobs.
NPPC has received reports that eligible applicants have been denied entry into the country for no cause and cannot appeal such decisions. Other evidence suggests applicants have been rejected because of subjective interpretations of having “sufficient ties” to their home country and about their intent to return to it. The NPPC reports that in one case, a veterinarian with a clinic in Mexico was denied a TN visa and told the decision was final…”
https://www.thepigsite.com/news/2021/10/nppc-voices-concerns-over-swine-industry-visa-decisions
Texas now more demographically diverse, 2020 Census count shows
“A majority of the Texas population is now made up of people identifying as racial and ethnic groups other than white, according to information released Aug. 12 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The information is based on the 2020 Census count and will be used by state legislators to draw up new political districts this fall.
A 15.9 percent increase in population netted Texas two additional members in Congress. The areas they will represent will be determined during a fall special session of the Texas Legislature.
The total population in Texas is now 29,145,505. According to the 2020 Census, the population is split into the follow percentages among racial and ethnic groups:
- White (non-Hispanic) — 39.8 percent, 11,584,597, up 187,252 from 2010
- Hispanic — 39.3 percent, 11,441,717, which is 1,980,796 more than in 2010
- Black or African American — 11.8 percent, 3,444,712, an increase of 557,887 from 2010
- Asian — 5.4 percent, 1,561,518, an increase of 613,092 from 2010…
- https://www.dailytrib.com/2021/08/13/texas-now-more-demographically-diverse-2020-census-count-shows/
‘Appreciation for one’s roots’: Latino professionals honor family heritage on social media
“Bismarck Lepe’s earliest memories of spending time with his parents riding in the family’s Ford Granada in the early 1980s as they went from Mexico to Southern California to pick lemons and strawberries, then to the Central Valley to pick apricots, peaches and nectarines, then to northern Washington to pick apples — and then back to Mexico.
In Gridley, California, especially, he remembered how the “brutally cold” mornings would become warm by noon. It became a kind of “Groundhog Day” routine as he followed his parents’ field work, occasionally sharing housing with other migrant workers along the West Coast and knowing just…”
The new Latino landscape The swift growth of U.S. Latinos is reshaping big states and small towns. Meet the faces of a new era.
‘In New Hampshire, a Roman Catholic church where Irish and French Canadian immigrants used to worship now has the state’s largest Latino congregation. In the Deep South, a county in Georgia is one of the nation’s top 10 in diversity. Hispanics accounted for over half of the nation’s population growth in the last decade. This is not just reflected in larger cities, but in mountain towns, Southern neighborhoods and Midwestern prairies. “The Latino population has been dispersing across the United States for years — a reflection of where the nation’s population is moving and where opportunities are located,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center…”
Latin American leaders divided on OAS at regional meeting
“…Lopez Obrador has suggested the OAS is interventionist and a tool of the United States. But he did not formally propose leaving the organization. Rather, he opposed any kind of sanctions and said questions of human rights and democracy should only be considered if a country accused of violations requests that…(?)
The new Latino landscape The swift growth of U.S. Latinos is reshaping big states and small towns. Meet the faces of a new era.
“…Hispanics accounted for over half of the nation’s population growth in the last decade. This is not just reflected in larger cities, but in mountain towns, Southern neighborhoods and Midwestern prairies. “The Latino population has been dispersing across the United States for years — a reflection of where the nation’s population is moving and where opportunities are located,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center…”
Most Latinos say U.S. immigration system needs big changes
“Latinos broadly agree that the U.S. immigration system needs an overhaul, with large shares saying it requires major changes (53%) or needs to be completely rebuilt (29%). Only 17% say the immigration system needs no or only minor changes, according to a new national Pew Research Center survey of Hispanic adults conducted in March.,,”
Mexicans judge the USMCA trade deal’s first year a success
“…One thing Mexicans do agree on is that the USMCA has proved a success in its first year, albeit not always for the reasons they imagined. Business is happy that the deal’s detailed strictures on regulation and governance provide a layer of protection against López Obrador’s more radical ideas. The president and his supporters like the deal’s role as a job creator, as well as its labor provisions. These help improve wages for Mexicans and have enabled moves against a union closely tied to an opposing political party.
Above all, the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of manufacturing close to home, providing a reason for U.S. businesses already in Mexico to consider expanding operations, even when the overall business climate under López Obrador is far from ideal…”
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/analysis/mexicans-judge-the-usmca-trade-deals-first-year-a-success/
