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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TRAMBLEY, ESTELA PORTILLO
(1926–1998). Estela Portillo Trambley, teacher and feminist author of books, poems, essays, and plays, was born on January 16, 1926, in El Paso, Texas. She was the oldest child of Francisco Portillo and Delphina (Fierro) Portillo. Her father was a mechanic, and her mother was a piano teacher, but Estela spent a considerable amount of her childhood with her grandparents, Julian and Luz Fierro, who were listed in a neighboring household on the 1930 census. Her grandfather was the proprietor of a store in the barrio. She maintained a positive attitude regarding the poverty that she witnessed as a child and later stated that “la pobreza nunca derriba el espiritu” (poverty never defeats the spirit). Growing up, Estela Portillo had a love for literature and was an avid reader. During her formative years, her diverse reading materials included English and American classics, poetry, and philosophy. She attended El Paso High School…
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IFE MORA: A Musical Experience of Detroit Soul Rock
Ifé Mora, a Detroit Native, weaves her African American and Mexican roots for creating a gritty mix, guitar-driven sonic vision of blending Rock, Blues, Soul and Bluegrass genres. Ifé is a Singer and Musician who reimagines the origins and future of Black American rock. As one of the founding bands of the AfroPunk movement in New York City, Ifé Mora has Punk Rock in her roots, and has remained in the forefront of women of color creating and performing Rock and Roll. This concert is being presented with the UC Consortium for Black Studies in California. $5 for UCSB students and youth under 12; $15 for general admission…
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Young returnees start over in Mexico after growing up in U.S.
Even before recent raids by the Department of Homeland Security, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants have been deported annually. And those who grew up in the U.S. have found themselves living in what feels like a foreign country. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro talks to some young people who are starting over and feeling culture shock after having to leave the U.S…
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Graduate student incorporates Spanish romance into self-composed song
Guillermo Ojeda began writing his three-minute romantic guitar solo with just seven notes.
Ojeda, a graduate student in social welfare, submitted his song “Soledad” to “7 Notes Experiment,” a global contest that encourages musicians from across the world to compose a song of any genre from a given set of seven notes. Ojeda is one of 100 finalists who were selected out of thousands of entries from across the world. The contest accepted entries until Dec. 15, and will announce its winner at an unspecified date.
Ojeda heard about the competition from a notification on his Facebook feed in the middle of his fall quarter finals at UCLA. And with just five days to submit his piece, he took on the challenge of composing a new song in under a week…
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Data: Latinos in Iowa City faced worst US bias in home loans
IOWA CTY, Iowa (AP) — Latinos seeking conventional home loans in the Iowa City area were nearly four times more likely to be denied than non-Hispanic whites in 2016, the widest disparity in the nation, a new analysis of federal data shows.
The findings suggest racial inequality in the mortgage market in the progressive college town and appear driven by a high rate of rejections for prospective Latino borrowers reported by a single financial institution, Hills Bank, according to the analysis of millions of records by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. The analysis controlled for factors such as applicants’ income, loan amount, neighborhood that could affect the likelihood of denial…
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Smithsonian Latino Center Accepting Applications for 2018 Young Ambassadors Program
The Smithsonian Latino Center is now accepting applications for the 2018 Young Ambassadors Program June 24 through Aug. 2. The application deadline April 9. The Young Ambassadors Program is a national program for graduating high school seniors that fosters the next generation of Latino leaders in the arts, sciences and humanities through an intensive training and internship program at the Smithsonian. The program receives major and continued support from Ford Motor Company Fund…
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Little-known history of Hispanics must be found
Hispanics, mostly Mexicans, came into the Platte Valley throughout the early 1900s.
The essay titled “Latinos Along the Platte: The Hispanic Experience in Central Nebraska,” by Roger Davis of the University of Nebraska at Kearney, gives a glimpse of the impact the Hispanic immigrants brought to our area.
I have a direct connection to the first-known Hispanics who came into Nebraska, although it would be many years before there would be a more permanent settling of Hispanics in the state…
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Graduate students interpret “Romeo and Juliet” with modern, inclusive twist
Romeo leaped over a fence and climbed onto a balcony to reunite with his Julio in a new short film adaptation of the classic play.
In “Romeo and Julio,” Oscar Emmanuel Fabela and two fellow graduate students directed and filmed adaptations of several scenes from Shakespeare’s original play “Romeo and Juliet” to tell an inclusive story featuring the love between a white man, Romeo, and a Latino man, Julio. The short will screen at a yet-to-be-announced date this quarter…
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LOS CAMBALACHE – Constelacion de Sonidos. Songs and Stories of Love, Migration, Displacement and Resistance.
Cambalache, meaning exchange, is a chicanx/jarochx ensemble based in LA. We will be playing traditional son jarocho music, while bringing our Chicanx experiences and soundscape through verse and dance. In the spirit of the fandango, a traditional celebration of music and dance, Cambalache engages its audience through participatory performances. Cambalache is active in the dialogue between Chicanos in the U.S. and Jarochos in Veracruz, thus strengthening decades of social and cultural exchange of the Chicano-Jarocho network…
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CSUF’s Latino Communications Institute connects students to media careers
When Cal State Fullerton alum Shaira Arias was a student in a school program formerly known as the Latino Communications Initiative (LCI), she met the executive producer of the Spanish-language television network she would someday work for.
“When I saw other students introducing themselves to her at an LCI event, I thought ‘I can do that too,’ because LCI is very encouraging in that way,” Arias said of the program, which aims to build bridges between students and Spanish-bilingual media organizations.
John Leguizamo Says He’s Willing to Give Up Acting to Run for Office
John Leguizamo, creator of the Broadway show Latin History for Morons, has never shied away from using his immense platform to voice his opinions, especially to criticize the polices and actions of President Donald Trump. Now, the actor reveals his willingness to sacrifice his life’s passions — acting and writing — to stand up for his beliefs by launching a political campaign.
Although the 53-year-old continues to add more projects to his plate, the Latino actor admitted that he would give up his decades-long career to thwart the advancement of the new political today: “You know, I love what I do. I would hate to give it up,” Leguizamo told DailyBeast.com. “But if I could I would run for office in Texas. I would run someplace heinous to make a difference.”…
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‘We believe in you;’ How one Oregon high school guides Latino students to graduation
Oregon Education
‘We believe in you;’ How one Oregon high school guides Latino students to graduation
Posted January 28, 2018 at 07:13 AM | Updated January 28, 2018 at 02:05 PM
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Rich Pena Vania Torres.JPG
Beth Nakamura | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Putnam High security guard Rich Peña catches up with former student Vania Torres, now a college student studying to become a nurse. Peña, a Spanish speaking immigrant, is an important part of a schoolwide culture that works hard to say ‘I notice you,’ ‘I’m on your side’ and ‘I know you can do it.’…
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Many state flagship universities leave black and Latino students behind
any of the nation’s best public universities are enrolling disproportionately few African-American and Latino students.
Flagship universities are the jewels in the crown of public higher education systems — they have sought-after faculty, preeminent research facilities, the most resources and often the highest graduation rates, for all races. They also stand as beacons of affordable excellence for the students of their states. But when it comes to equitably serving the state’s residents, whose taxes fund these top-flight universities, many fall far short of their stated missions. Often there are big differences — defined by race — between who’s graduating from a state’s public high schools and who’s getting into its flagship universities…
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There Are Literally No Asians Or Latinos Nominated For Acting Oscars This Year
Headlines touted the nominations as “diverse,” as several black actors received well-deserved recognition. However, no Asian or Latino actors snagged any nods for their acting this year.
Many actors of color and social media users, including Gina Rodriguez and Constance Wu, were not pleased, and called the Academy out on its lack of representation.
This will be the sixth consecutive year that no Latino actors have been nominated for an acting Academy Award. Last year, Dev Patel was the sole actor of Asian descent who received a nod..
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To attract more blacks and Hispanics to STEM, universities must address racial issues on campus
ROY, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was not Tiana Young’s first choice for college, even though Young wants to dual major in aeronautical and mechanical engineering, and the private university is one the top schools in the country for science, technology, math and engineering.
The school had one big drawback: Rensselaer’s student body is more than two-thirds white and Asian, according to federal data. For Young, who is black and whose high school in Spring Valley, New York was almost entirely African-American and Hispanic, “the lack of diversity was a very big concern,” says the freshman…
Colleges Scramble to Help Undocumented Students as Hopes for a DACA Deal Fade
On Wednesday afternoon, after House Democrats met with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, the spirit in Washington was one of stalemate. There was little progress toward a bipartisan deal to protect the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which prevents the deportation of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, in exchange for Democrats’ votes to prevent a government shutdown by January 19.
But across the country in Sacramento, at a press conference held by University of California system president Janet Napolitano, the mood was one of urgency. Flanked by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and two other UC system officials, she urged the system’s 4,000 undocumented students to hurry to take advantage of the recent court ruling that reinstated DACA renewals after the Trump administration ended them last fall—a ruling the Trump administration has already asked the Supreme Court to review. The University of California is waging its own court battle to protect DACA: In September, Napolitano—who carried out the initial implementation of DACA as President Barack Obama’s homeland security secretary—filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the administration announced the program’s repeal…
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New Latino Caucus launches in Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — There’s a new group in the General Assembly. The Latino Caucus held its first meeting Thursday.
The group was formed by Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington).
It’s been a goal of his since he started serving in 2012.
“My dream when I first came to the House of Delegates was, just like the Black Caucus, just like Latino caucuses in other states, we would have a Latino Caucus here in Virginia,” he said.
Lopez said some of the topics the caucus will cover are drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, health care and the Dream Act.
Since nearly one in every 10 Virginians is Latino, Lopez said representation matters…
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Latino Artists Are Taking Over the Stage at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards
Mark your calendars everyone! Latino celebrities are taking over the stage this year at the Grammys which include performances from Cardi B, Bruno Mars, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and more.
On Wednesday, the Grammys list announced the list of artists and Latino were found everywhere. Looks like music’s biggest night will have some extra flavor this year with tunes like Cardi’s Bodak Yellow, Fonsi summer hit Despacito, along with the funky R&B vibes of 24K Magic…
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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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Report examines Latino student success rates
The author of a new report that analyzes success rates of Latino students stresses that there is no “magic bullet” for colleges and universities to use to improve their own metrics, and what works at one school may not be applicable for all. However, institutions that prioritize equity and make efforts to measure their progress usually yield positive results…
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