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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The Community Web New book co-edited by UCSB scholar examines the role of digital communications in activism in Latin America
“For many Americans, digital media is a way to share personal news. But some indigenous communities in Latin America have harnessed its potential as a means of survival…”
Hispanic Heritage Month gets justifiable criticism, but it’s still worth celebrating. Here’s why
“It happens like clockwork: At least one corporation ends up apologizing during Hispanic Heritage Month because their campaign intended to celebrate Latinos ends up offending them. This year’s loser is Twitch.
The Amazon-owned live video streaming platform issued an apology within hours of launching its campaign last month after users called them out on Twitter for the design of their Hispanic Heritage Month-themed emotes, which employed stereotypical and racist depictions of what Latinos are like…’
Washington Post managing editor Emilio Garcia-Ruiz named editor in chief of San Francisco Chronicle
“…During Garcia-Ruiz’s tenure, The Post became one of the largest digital-news sites in the world, with monthly traffic regularly exceeding 80 million U.S. visitors and surpassing 100 million during the coronavirus pandemic. Digital-only subscriptions to The Post grew to more than 2.5 million this summer.
Garcia-Ruiz will join the Chronicle, long the San Francisco Bay area’s largest newspaper, next month. He succeeds Audrey Cooper, who left the newspaper this summer after five years leading its newsroom to become editor in chief of WNYC, the public-radio station in New York City…”
Pandemic presents a chance to address continued disparities in health care
“…The COVID-19 pandemic and national demonstrations against the deaths of Black Americans have shed light on the brutal manifestations of systemic racism. Across humanity’s collective history, stories have elevated marginalized voices and breathed life into once broken structures. Through “In My Words,” community members and Daily Bruin staffers share their own experiences with racial identities and perspectives on the current state of race at UCLA and across the nation…”
Commentary: ‘American Dirt’ is what happens when Latinos are shut out of the book industry
“…I’m an immigrant, after all. My family fled by foot and bus to the U.S. in the 1980s as right-wing death squads were killing and torturing thousands across El Salvador, including several of my relatives.
The trauma of those dark days shaped everything about me.
I figured I might recognize some part of my story in Cummins’ book, which follows an immigrant mother and son on their harrowing escape north from Mexico…”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-01-24/american-dirt-book-latino-response
Eduardo Porter’s New Book Explains How Racism Poisons America’s Economy For Everyone
“As the United States grapples with civil unrest, many people are questioning how we arrived in this situation and how the nation can change for the better. In his new book, “American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise,” New York times economics reporter Eduardo Porter presents a comprehensive examination of how discrimination based on race has hurt not just members of marginalized groups, but the nation as a whole. While the U.S. has gutted education systems, healthcare programs, and assistance for the poor, he writes, the nation instead diverted resources to incarcerating people. Porter, who has previously served as economics columnist and editorial writer for the New York Times, joins us to discuss his new book and how it relates to current debate over dismantling systemic racism…”
Ulloa Brothers: Looking Back on Broken Barriers As Broadcasting Execs
“…Today, these brothers can be seen as key figures in a Brown Pride movement that might not readily recognize their names, but their influence on generations of Latinos and Hispanics in legacy media cannot be overstated.
They are pioneers in Spanish-language broadcasting who partly got their start in the Imperial Valley and went on to much success, as few Mexican-Americans have done in the corporate world, becoming major players in traditional media formats of television and radio, creating space for Hispanic/Latino communities to see and voice themselves in the United States…”
Miami-born Cesar Conde named chief of new NBC Universal news division
“Miami native Cesar Conde has been named chief of the newly-formed NBCUniversal News Group, part of a corporate reorganization at NBCUniversal announced Monday.Conde had been chairman of Telemundo and the company’s international business.
Conde will now lead an expanded news division that combines all TV and streaming operations, according to reports published by the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article242496056.html
Mónica Villamizar
“Monica Villamizar is a freelance conflict reporter, recently awarded the EMMY Award for Best Investigative Documentary in Spanish and the Gerald Loeb Award for the investigation “The Source”, about child labor in Mexico’s Nestle coffee farms. In 2016 she was nominated for the prestigious One World Media “Journalist of the Year 2015” Award, which honors the best journalists in the world in all forms of media. Her current clients include PBS Newshour, Al Jazeera English, Vice News, Univision, Telemundo and The Weather Channel. Previously she was the London correspondent for CBS News affiliates. She has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Mali, Mexico, El Salvador and Haiti, at times filming directly on the front lines. She has covered the drug of wars in Colombia and Mexico, gaining exclusive access to cocaine cartels in Medellin and Michoacan. In the Middle East she covered the Arab spring and the advance of ISIS into the Iraqi Kurdistan. More recently she has been dedicated to covering the advance of jihadism in West Africa. In her attempts to tell truthful, hard-hitting stories, she has been targeted by the Egyptian military which raided her office in Cairo and arrested her colleagues, and more recently by the Venezuelan Government who targeted her, labeling her a spy, and issuing an arrest warrant..”
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A New Home
“…The UC Santa Barbara Library and La Casa de la Raza have reached a new accord that signals another milestone in the preservation of local community history.
At a public reception July 11 at La Casa de la Raza, representatives from the library and from La Casa signed an agreement that will ensure the historical records of this community-based organization will be archived, preserved and made accessible in the library’s Special Research Collections.
Approximately 50 community residents, elected officials and represent…”
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The Washington Post’s Carlos Lozada wins the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
“…Washington Post Nonfiction Book Critic Carlos Lozada has won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his ambitious and innovative essays that range across politics, presidential history, immigrant memories, national security reporting and feminist analysis to probe national dilemmas.
“The frenzied presidency of Donald Trump has upended countless norms of political and national life. Understanding it requires a critic who can sift through the clashing ideas and agendas, pushing through the noise to find the signal underneath. Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post’s nonfiction book critic, is the interpreter we need. Rather than remain hostage to the publishing industry with weekly reviews of one-off books, Lozada gathers armfuls of new or related volumes and grasps the themes, arguments and urgency pulsing through them,” wrote Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, in his letter of support.
Lozada’s writing has explored the role of identity in political and cultural life, how anti-Trump conservatives contributed to the destruction of the…”
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Student captures candid moments through creative videography for Shawn Mendes tour
“Connor Brashier made arrangements to take one of his final exams while in Germany.
The second-year psychology student will miss finals week because he is currently shooting videos for Shawn Mendes’ self-titled world tour, which kicked off March 7 in Amsterdam. His role involves editing and sharing clips with Mendes for the singer’s social media accounts. Brashier got his start in lifestyle videography working with brands like PacSun and Pura Vida Bracelets, but has taken to filming DJs and musicians like Madison Beer in recent years. Filming on tour brings creative challenges with each consecutive show, he said, but it ultimately allows him to better incorporate music into videos.
“Having a video team on the road has been so important to giving my fans constant content and helps me to connect with them,” Mendes said in an email statement. “(Brashier) has an amazing way of capturing really special and intimate moments at shows and backstage, and has just an incredible energy.”
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A journalist’s journey, guided by curiosity for her father’s illness
“…Now the story of a daughter who grew up on the border between the United States and Mexico. She searches for herself, while also coming to grips with her father’s mental illness.
Amna Nawaz has the latest selection from the “NewsHour” Bookshelf…”
Link to transcript
Brands Utilizing Hispanic Baseball Stars In New Ad Campaigns
What: Hispanic players, which make up nearly a third of opening day rosters, are starting to be used in national campaigns, even for non-sports brands.
Why it matters: Brands may be catching up to the crossover appeal of the sport’s top Latino stars.
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Among U.S. Latinos, the internet now rivals television as a source for news
On a typical weekday, three-quarters of U.S. Latinos get their news from internet sources, nearly equal to the share who do so from television, according to a 2016 survey of Latino adults by Pew Research Center…
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Savoring the Spanish of My Youth, as the Language Marches On
ALBUQUERQUE — Something about the languages we speak fascinates me.
Roaming around Latin America as a correspondent for more than a decade, I wrote about Palenquero, a Creole language kept alive by descendants of runaway slaves in northern Colombia; Sranan Tongo, Suriname’s lingua franca; Papiamentu, the vibrant language of Curaçao; and even learned how to say “Mba’éichapa?” — How are you? — in Guaraní, the indigenous language that holds sway in Paraguay.
When I returned to the United States in July, I wondered what it would be like to live in a country where the Spanish language is so politicized that some speakers are facing new hostility. I was puzzled as to why Spanish seemed so threatening in an English-speaking superpower. I asked myself, what does the future hold for Spanish in the United States and around the world?…
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Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown’ Takes a Deep Look at Los Angeles’ Mexican Food Scene
Anthony Bourdain took his love of food, culture, and conversation back to Los Angeles for season nine of CNN’s Parts Unknown. Over the course of several shows, Bourdain has done more than a few episodes in the City of Angels, but this time he focuses his lens on Latinos.
“What if we look at LA from the point of view of the largely unphotographed – the 47 percent of Angelenos who don’t show up so much on idiot sitcoms and superhero films?” Bourdain asked in voiceover. The former chef/current TV host gorged on Tacos Indiana 2 Taco Stand‘s pastor and lengua offerings, mole at Gish Bac Restaurant, camarones borrachos at Mariscos Chente, and Cielito Lindo‘s famous taquitos…
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RANKING: Top 10 Video Platforms Preferred by US Hispanics
Which video platforms do US Hispanic users prefer? What types of content do they provide? Does gender play a role in audiovisual content preference? Read on for the answers to these questions, drawn from comScore’s February 2016 ranking…
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News Programs Need To Make Latino Representation A Priority
The Latino population is growing at the second-fastest rate in the country, meaning that the United States of the future will be increasingly Hispanic. But for television news, 2016 was a year in which Latinos were underrepresented — even in conversations about Latinos — misidentified, or simply not included.
In 2015, the number of Latinos in the United States grew to 57 million, and yet, during 2016, television news continued the disturbing pattern from previous years of marginalizing Latino voices in cable news discussions. This creates a blindspot in news media and marginalizes Latinos from discussions on the American experience. Latinos were even underrepresented or altogether ignored in discussions of stories that intimately affected the Hispanic community…
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Mitú Partners With Snapchat To Create Content For Latino Youth
mitú, a digital network for Latino millennials, announced Monday the launch of its channel on Snapchat Discover. The new partnership will help Snap become a leader in delivering English language content with a Latino lens on Snapchat Discover…
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