Notes From A Native Daughter

Sita Chay is the only Korean to ever win a Latin Grammy. Fancy that…Since I started this podcast project and on the website, you’ll see that Pan-American voices or Pan-Americanism is what I seek out. Who are we people of color? What is a person of color? Where do we come from? What makes an individual Pan-American? These questions sometimes have clear-cut answers, but as time passes I tend to feel the answers are not so simple. My concerns, interests, and various answers have been informed and are intertwined with W.E.B. Dubois’ Pan-Africanism, The Antillean Confederation of Ramon Emeterio Betances, Bolivar’s Dream, The American Dream, Pan-American Airlines, and Bernardo Ruiz’s La Quinta Raza. When I think of the “America” that I live and experience, hundreds of faces come to mind and heart. How pure blood are we really? And does blood matter? I’m still against the fence on that one but I can honestly say, that in my 28-years of living in North America, Pan-American has come to signify people from all over th

I know Mia García as Marie Rosa first since childhood. Her sister is my sister.  Watching a person become their own is a beautiful thing. I acknowledge then, a young Puerto Rican author writing for young audiences, Mia García. As pre-teen girls do, she had a diary but discovered journaling and writing pen to paper first. Her grandfather believed her when she told him about the monsters in the closet.  Rave and respect for her debut novel Even If The Sky Falls from Katherine Tegen (Harper Collins), about a girl who goes to New Orleans and her life changes forever. Mia is one of a handful of published Latina writers out there and for young audiences. We had a nice conversation about her journey and the business. Her next book The Resolutions is out this fall.

“Brick x Brick is a public art performance that builds human “walls” against misogyny.” Last year we marched in D.C., here's last year’s post. This year, Brick X Brick held simultaneous walls against misogyny beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST, in 12 cities across the nation: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, St. Louis, Nashville, New Orleans, Greensboro, Columbus, Providence, Boston, Montpelier, and New York City. Read More

This episode 82, is a conversation/interview with the great Howard Jordan and Alex Rodríguez, and it was recorded as part of the Hostos50 Oral Collective. I’m still editing and re-editing interviews. The more time passes the more I realize the project is more profound than I ever thought, with more to show than I ever thought. I’ve heard so many incredible stories from people who thought they stood no chance, but alas, the little college that everyone thought would flounder, that so many look down upon for being a community college in the South Bronx, has defied adversity and time in every single way. Testimonies from people coming from some of the most vulnerable communities here in the U.S. and countries abroad, prove wrong the notion pushed by inhumane conservative pundits, that the poor are stealing the resources of the nation. So much repugnant chatter I am dismayed. But I seek inspiration. I seek purpose. So, from where do you draw strength? Have you ever gone around asking and listening to the dr

NFAND Episode 81 | Maria Torres, dancer and choreographer I was a dancer once, so my love and respect for dancers is a bit biased. But so be it, the discipline dancers have is mostly unrecognized and misunderstood. It’s not all games and play at the ballet. Dancers dance. Dancers arrive early for class. Dancers can count, can change the accent of their physical move just to make it fun. Dancers experience life with a sense of physicality, quick wit learning, doer action, and improvisation that blends well with everyday common life. María Torres’ first dance class was at 1-year old in her family living room. The daugher of a conguero, I guess she was born to feel the rhythm and show it. The long story short is that she ended up winning a ballroom dance competition that started her off on a journey that has not stopped since. You have to hear her tell the story. Here is an artist that has gone at it her way without excuses. Here’s a self-realized woman who mentors others with talent and grit who are also go

IN SPANISH Episode 80 - After the storm no Puerto Rican is the same, at least I’m not. I am me, always deep, intense, reflecting, but something is different. A puzzle gets assembled piece by piece. Big stories are made up of pieces of lore. I realized that with Frank, I’m looking to put together something I’m not sure what it is. I think maybe after memories of what Puerto Rico once was or had. Somewhere in there is my movement at the moment. Frank is an old-timer of film and television. He was around and working before Univision was Univision, which he was a part of before it all got built up into the empire it is today. Frank worked with Dad in seven television specials. I remember being a kid in his sets and even having a little part in the children’s television special they made. Maybe this year Dad and Frank can have a conversation about it and we can let the thing play in streaming. Just ideas. Like I said, I’m trying to put something together I’m not sure what it is yet. Frank is a part of the aspect

Who can put a price on memories? Pictures are precious for this very reason I suppose. We hold on to moments of moments. It is one of the ways in which we can capture time. In this is the age of citizen journalism and citizen photography, who and what is the real deal? Amateurs and Pros meet at junctures of action and practice. There is so much to see. How it turns out is that most famous images are credited to men photographers. But as photography experts and buffs know, women photographers have also captured history. This is for them... The article, The Women Who Covered Vietnam by Elizabeth Becker immediately made me think of Verónica Sanchis Bencomo, founder of Foto Féminas, a platform exclusively devoted to showcasing Latin American women photographers. Since its launch, Foto Féminas features one photographer a month. Today, Foto Féminas is a showcase platform and a library. The collection is named after Maria Cristina Orive, a pivotal figure in Latin American photojournalism from Guatemala, who passed

Pride of ancestry comes in the form of poise. Such is Malín Falú. Incredibly poised. A Puerto Rican lady from the town of Santurce who apparently, according to her, came to this world with a bent for conversing with people. She explains that when she was a young adolescent she was asked what she liked to do and her response was, “I like talking to people.” And, she made a career out of it. Malin has been a fixture of Spanish language radio in New York City for over 40 years. She has interviewed countless Latin American figures in the fields of arts and entertainment, politics, human interest, sports, and much more. Her style sealed her reputation as a woman of word and substance years ago. She is beloved and respected by the industry and the community because she is one of those hearts, at the center of community and legacy. Malin is one of the organizers of the SILENT PROCESSION taking place next Sunday, November 19th. Meeting time is 10:00 a.m. at White Park on East 106th Street and the procession begi

Episode 77 - #Poetsforpuertorico was a hit. Willie Perdomo, thank you, thank you, thank you. The room was packed. A historic night for the spoken. Without a doubt. A vitamin room. A space for solidarity and Comedores Sociales de Puerto Rico. Poet Cynthia Dewi Oka is off the charts. Her ode to Puerto Rico was like few I’ve ever met, for anyone or anything. The wound penned to slash the jugular. I feel like the different patches of a knitted quilt. I spoke musician, activist, director, writer, musical theater advocate Local 802, Marlena Fitzpatrick, about her piece for the Huffington Post, More Than Prayers: How the Diaspora Can Help Our Families in Puerto Rico because she ‘admitted’ she wasn’t being objective about her assessment of how best to help the island. This is in short vignettes, the voice of her seeing eyes. The little things do matter. Sol

This is a different time. I know it’s not specific enough, but it’s specific enough for you to understand. The colossal breakdown of morals and decency in government agency looks to me like we’re trapped and on track towards a worldwide holocaust. I said it once before in this Letter to the President, we, the people, we have nowhere else to run…but millions are, we’re moving in circles because the earth is round. The past week has been intense. Puerto Rican families are being displaced, my own included, I welcomed three into my home - the elder, the frail, the women and children, the strong father, the young, an exodus. Blue tarps are needed in Puerto Rico. The island needs over 40,000 blue tarps and they are not getting delivered. The reasons vary. I have gotten news of this need a couple of times a week since the hurricane. The video link is from Friday. The reasons vary, from there isn’t enough humanitarian inventory to FEMA taking too much time inputting inventory clearance. The news here and there tri