History

“I wanted to write my own history, add a piece, and make it from the point of view of a woman, the anonymous woman,” says Manuel Martelli, co-writer and director of ‘Chile ‘76,’ which offers up a slice of bourgeoisie life under the infamous dictator Augusto Pinochet.

The Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago has sent a letter to Congress requesting that at least half of the funds allocated for Puerto Rico’s Nutritional Assistance Program be directed to supporting the island’s farmers and promoting greater self-sufficiency.

Entertainment correspondent Cristina Escobar steps into the host seat for a conversation with actor and comedian John Leguizamo to discuss his passion and activism in Hollywood as well as his new show on MSNBC, ‘Leguizamo Does America.’

The Taco Bell story shows how Latinos can work hard, innovate, play by the rules, and maybe achieve a decent level of success, while a white guy can waltz in, take what he wants, and become a millionaire with minimal effort.

On April 4, ICE agents arrested Roberto Garay Saravia, a second lieutenant in the U.S.-trained Atlacatl Battalion that carried out the 1981 massacre in El Mozote. His deportation trial could shed new evidence on the events, as the massacre trial in El Salvador came to a halt 18 months ago.

Antonia Cereijido interviews former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo about his real-life experience that inspired the Oscar-nominated film ‘Argentina, 1985.’

Julio welcomes Karma Chavez, professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and author of ‘Queer Migration Politics: Activist Rhetoric and Coalitional Possibilities,’ to discuss the current legislative assaults on LGBTQ rights.

Reporter Ezequiel Rodríguez Andino tells the story of merengue’s rise in Puerto Rico, the ripple effects of this “musical war,” and what it all tells us about the relationship between Puerto Rico and the people from its sister island, the Dominican Republic.

In Puerto Rico, March 2 marks the anniversary of when, in 1917, the U.S. Congress granted U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the islands. But for some Puerto Ricans, American Citizenship Day is a grim reminder of their unequal citizenship rights.

Two years ago, U.S. citizens attacked the Capitol, committing a crime against their own government. Sixty-seven years before, Puerto Rican nationalists attacked the same building to denounce a crime —colonialism— committed by a government in which they had no meaningful rights or representation.

The third in a three-part series looking at the attempts made by Pedro Albizu Campos and other local leaders in Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention in 1936—the closest the archipelago has come to breaking free of U.S. colonial rule.

While experts and others do know that it is possible, desirable, and mutually beneficial to maintain U.S. citizenship in any sovereignty option, statehooders keep trying to misinform Puerto Ricans and policymakers in Washington.

On this episode of Latino USA, Mexican chef and cookbook author Margarita Carrillo Arronte talks with host Maria Hinojosa about the rich history of her home country’s cuisine, debunking misconceptions about it, and spending a lifetime cooking, eating, and loving Mexican food. 

Fearing the increasing displays of nationalistic pride sweeping across Puerto Rico in 1936, colonial authorities derailed that year’s constitutional convention movement to establish the Republic of Puerto Rico, thus ensuring U.S. colonialism would endure.

In recent years, the seaside neighborhood of Barrio Logan has gained newfound popularity amongst younger, more affluent outsiders drawn to the neighborhood for its rich history and vibrant culture. But the recent shift has come at a cost, as long-time businesses and residents have been forced out.

The first in a three-part series looking at the attempts made by Pedro Albizu Campos and other local leaders in Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention in 1936—the closest the archipelago has come to breaking free of U.S. colonial rule.

In this episode of Latino USA, we present a conversation between Nadine Córdova and Tim Hernández, two teachers who —almost three decades and more than 400 miles apart— faced the same consequences for teaching Chicano history.

As the fight for African American studies continues in Florida, Latino Rebels Radio host Julio Ricardo Varela welcomes Sean Arce, co-founder of the Mexican American Raza Studies Program in Tucson, to draw parallels between the current battle and Arizona’s ethnic studies battle over a decade ago.

Given the recent controversy surrounding Latino members of the Los Angeles City Council, it is important that we differentiate between Latino representation and Latino political power and define what each one means given the persistent issues facing the city and county.

Hundreds of years ago the Indigenous group, the Nahuas, believed that a hairless dog, the Xoloitzcuintle, was a sacred creature who could guide its deceased master through the underworld. “Xolos,” as they’re known, were the focus of a recent museum exhibition in Mexico City honoring the breed.

Latino Rebels speaks with Chilean filmmaker Christopher Murray, co-writer and director of ‘Sorcery,’ which is set on Chile’s Chiloé Island in 1880 and follows a 13-year-old Huilliche girl, Rosa, as she seeks revenge after a white man kills her father.