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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Do Bilingual Teachers Hold Key to Latino Students’ Achievement Gap?

In an attempt to close the achievement gap between white and Latino students, the Santa Barbara Unified School District plans to hire more bilingual and bicultural teachers in 2015 and beyond.
The percentage of Hispanic students in Santa Barbara schools is more than double the percentage of Hispanic teachers.
“Our Latinos are…
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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. …
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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.”…
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This Fall TV Season Has Greatest Representation of Latino Actors, Characters

Goodbye summer. Welcome, fall.

This week kicks off the premieres of this year’s fall season shows, and the representation of Latino artists is at an all-time high.

More than 20 shows in all major networks will feature at least one Latino actor or actress in lead or supporting roles in both returning and premiering shows.

One show – “Welcome to the Family” starring Justina Machado and Ricardo Chavira alongside Mike O’Malley and Mary McCormack – has five Latino stars leading the way. The series premiere for the ABC show is Oct. 3 at 8:30 p.m….
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Mexico, US seek to boost student exchanges

MEXICO CITY — Young Americans wanting to study in Latin America have stopped looking so intently at Mexico, which has dropped from first to fourth for U.S. students going to university in the region over the last 10 years. Only about 4,000 U.S. students now study in Mexico, with crime and drug violence being the main deterrent. More go to Costa Rica, Argentina and Brazil…
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Hersey Club Takes Second Place at Annual Chicano College Bowl

John Hersey High School’s LASO (Latin American Student Organization) recently took 2nd Place at the Highland Park High School Hispanos Unidos Club 17th Annual Chicano College Bowl. Senior Kim Roman, juniors Ivett Delgado and Julian Lopez, and freshman Crista Mondragon competed against 11 other area high school teams to capture the award.
A fun and interactive way for students to learn about Mexican-American history, the Chicano College Bowl is based on the 1960s Chicano Movement. It is a knowledge bowl tournament that helps to create a positive cultural identity…
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After Various Close Calls, Lizette Salas Earns First LPGA Win At Kingsmill Championship

Lizette Salas didn’t have to wait long to be tested in her latest attempt at a breakthrough victory on the LPGA Tour.

The challenge came on the first hole Sunday in the Kingsmill Championship, after the Mexican-American was overly cautious with her first putt, leaving it nearly 10 feet short of the cup with a sliding, downhill test to save par.

She made it, the start of a day when she did little wrong on her way to a four-shot victory…
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Latino Director Roberto Orci Signs on With ‘Star Trek 3’ Film; JJ Abrams Will Still Have Limited Role

Mexican-American Roberto Orci will direct the first “Star Trek” not helmed by filmmaker JJ Abrams.

Paramount chose the screenwriter, who got his start writing for “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.” Alex Kurtzman is his longtime writing partner; they co-wrote “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness…
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Ricardo Valverde: Experimental Sights, 1971-1996 (May 17 to Jul 26) – Vincent Price Art Museum

May 17 to July 26, 2014
Opening reception: Saturday, May 17, 4 to 6 p.m.

The late Los Angeles-based photographer and artist Ricardo Valverde (1946-1998) is featured in a career retrospective at VPAM. The exhibition is guest-curated by Cecilia Fajardo-Hill and highlights more than one hundred artworks spanning a twenty-five-year period of production…
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Hispanics Are Forgotten in Civil Rights History

Whenever civil rights has been covered in history class, or when I’ve seen a documentary or read an article concerning such, I have always been very aware of what is missing, and it is something that I am interested in and looking for. As an American of Hispanic descent, I never see any information related to my ethnicity’s cause for civil rights. Where is the plight of Hispanics represented in the civil rights discussion and history of the United States…
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Mexican-American Dreams by Marty Salgado

Complied and Published by the English Graduate …, 2014
83 Mexican-American Dreams Non-Fiction Marty Salgado I had a problem with being Mexican. …
The Albertson’s employees didn’t have ties, but their uniform was a casual short sleeve white
collared shirt, and a blue apron—less professional than Stater Bros., but more modern. …
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Millions of Americans changed their racial or ethnic identity from one census to the next

Millions of Americans counted in the 2000 census changed their race or Hispanic-origin categories when they filled out their 2010 census forms, according to new research presented at the annual Population Association of America meeting last week. Hispanics, Americans of mixed race, American Indians and Pacific Islanders were among those most likely to check different boxes from one census to the next…
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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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