Latinidad

Cuando leí sobre el esfuerzo del Departamento de Educación en eliminar las clases de estudios sociales quede consternado en creer que tal cosa fuera posible. El Secretario de Educación Rafael Román Meléndez y subsecretario de Asuntos Académicos Harry Valentín Gonzales incoherentemente aprobaron una carta circular para integrar las clases de español y estudios sociales de […]

Cristela, the little show that could, just ended its first season. However, it is not certain if the recent season finale will in fact be a series finale, and I was inspired to write this article after reading creator and star Cristela Alonzo’s heartbreaking, thoughtful and important blog post about her show and what it […]

A few weeks ago, I was turned on to poetry collection Detrás del Acero (Editorial Trance 2015) by Joseph Carvalko. His book examines life in 20th century America, placing special emphasis on the working class and the evolving relationship racial minorities have had with the greater society over that time. The book is both socially […]

A week after I completed AIT (job-training school you go to after Basic Training), I found myself on a bus listening to three senior NCOs, each one close to retirement, having what seemed to me at the time to be a peculiar and surprising conversation: “I hate when people say we fight for freedom. I […]

My own Selena story started long before she became a legend.

Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, we received from following email. We have decided to share it with all of you. Dear Editor: I’m just a Mom that got up this morning and after breakfast (Mexican with eggs and beans and coffee) we settled in the living room and my husband watched the news like every […]

Editor’s Note: You can read Part I here and Part II here. JM: What are your thoughts on the immigration issue in the United States and how it pertains to Latinos? ND: The immigration debate is important, and it must be continued until everyone —Latinos and other groups— receive the same consideration that was extended […]

Editor’s Note: You can read Part I of the intreview with Nelson Denis here. Part III is here. JM: Do you feel the close ties between the Puerto Rican independence movement and Castro has hurt the cause? ND: Anything that enabled J. Edgar Hoover and Gov. Muñoz Marín to characterize the Nationalist movement as part of […]

Recently, I had the great pleasure of speaking with Nelson Denis, author of War Against All Puerto Ricans. I have long had an interest in the subject of Puerto Rico’s 1950 Revolution and whether you are familiar with this largely suppressed moment in our history or not, Denis offers sharp and exciting insights on mid-century […]

Remember when Gina Rodríguez wowed us all with her speech at the Golden Globes? She did it again at a recent appearance for Jane the Virgin. You can read the whole Vulture piece here, but we share an excerpt about what she said: So the industry says ‘let’s hire a Latino,’ and then the Latinos […]

St. Patrick’s Day is very special in Mexico because it is a time when Mexicans remember the San Patricios, or the Battalion of St. Patrick.

Health and wellness is a touchy subject, and so before I dive into it, I want to make a couple of things clear: This article is meant to analyze how media representation can affect people of different cultures and is my attempt at understanding how those representations embolden misconceptions about healthy living. People who are […]

“What are you?” “Where are you from?” “What kind of name is that?” “You don’t look Puerto Rican.” These are all things you hear a lot when you’re a three-quarter-Rican from The Bronx. I’m used to people being curious about my background, and my hippie-dippie first name, but I’ll never get used to people telling […]

During my travels and with many different endeavors, I have the privilege of meeting several bright and charismatic leaders from across the globe. As someone who has dedicated his life to developing positive, social change in a society where quantifiable progress comes slowly, we as Latinos often become tired of fighting, resisting and advocating for […]

So you’re celebrating carnaval… It may be at a club, it may be a house party, wherever it is and whoever it throwing it, it’s not for me to say, “Don’t go!” The rhythms, the costumes, the melodies, the floats, the skin; the spectacle that is carnaval worldwide, especially the Brazilian version, can be hard […]

Listen on Podbean or iTunes. This month at Intelatin, I was invited to watch Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) by Damián Szifron of Argentina. This film opens on February 20 in New York and Los Angeles. Eric Kohn at Indiewire says the following of the film: “Judging by the movies, Argentinians are itching to take a stand against the country’s backward social […]

I am one of hundreds of East Harlem artists denied housing at Artspace PS109. The Promise In the summer of 2014, 53,000+ people applied to live in 89 affordable apartments at Artspace PS109. This has become an all too common scene in New York City’s housing market. Decades of public subsidies and assistance for luxury development in NYC […]

For the record, we flipping love Al Madrigal, so we have no problem shamelessly promoting his January 22 “Half Like Me” special on Fusion. Here is the trailer. (PS, yeah that’s Lalo Alcaraz and Gustavo Arellano, too) (H/T @hugobalta)

We will never forget what actor and Golden Globe winner Gina Rodríguez said tonight: “This award is so much more than myself. It represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes.” Yeah, we cried. That Gina Rodríguez speech right now? We cried too. #GoldenGlobes — Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) January 12, 2015 And it […]

Most people have heard by now that extremely catchy Enrique Iglesias song “Bailando” that won three Latin Grammy awards in November, including Song of the Year. Its English version has proved to be a very successful crossover hit as well. Perhaps a little behind in my celebration of the song, I only recently made efforts […]

The Late 1800s Arturo Alfonso Schomburg —born in Santurce, Puerto Rico— was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance. He moved to Harlem in 1891 at the young age of 17. Schomburg was a self-proclaimed Afroborinqueño who later helped found the Negro Society for Historical Research. Known today as one of the fathers of what […]