El Sol Latino | April 2022 | 18.5

April 2022

Volume 18 No. 5

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

HOLYOKE ST. PATRICK’S PARADE

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

MARCH 20, 2022

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

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Editorial / Editorial

Warner Bros. Discovery Excludes Latinos on their Board With the recent announcement of their new board, I have realized that when it comes to Warner Bros.

Discovery, their definition of “diversity” doesn’t include Latinos.

While we congratulate these new board members, especially those board members of color, on their appointments, having no Latino representation on the board of the newly combined Warner Bros.

Discovery is unacceptable, period.

Consider this: Latinos make up approximately 40% of the population in California – where Warner Brothers was originally founded – but are the least represented at the executive level and board of director positions.

By failing to bring Latino representation to the boardroom, Warner Bros. Discovery is not only

missing a crucial opportunity to build bridges with our community, but also shortchanging the next generation of Latinx writers, directors and artists in Hollywood and beyond – and also fans around the world.

Latinos have a buying power of $1.7 trillion, and account for 25 percent of movie tickets sold. If companies like Warner Bros. Discovery want our community to keep consuming their content, it’s time to see more of us have a seat at the table.

Yours in the Movement, Statement by Brenda Victoria Castillo President & CEO, National Hispanic Media Coalition March 15, 2022

contents

2 Editorial / Editorial Warner Bros. Discovery Excludes Latinos on their Board 3 Portada / Front Page HOLYOKE ST. PATRICK’S PARADE Sunday, March 20, 2022 5 Ciudad de Historias / City of Stories CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Pays Homage to Storied Archivist Idilio Gracia Peña 7 Estudio de CUNY sobre Empleo e Ingreso de los Dominicanos en los Estados Unidos 8 Opinión/ Opinion Climate Change and Systemic Racism 9 Educación / Education STCC Hosts Roundtable Discussion for Businesses Owned by People of Color 10 STCC Partners with YWCA to Provide Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence Egresada del Departamento de Física y Electrónica de la UPRH contratada por la NASA 11 HCC Lands $147K Grant to buy Mobile Culinary Arts Lab 12 Política / Politics Chelsea City Councilor Judith Garcia Announced her Candidacy for State Representative Medios /Media Elizabeth Román joins NEPM’s newsroom 13 Música / Music Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido

Latinx Journalism Matters Support Publishers of Color The impact of COVID-19 has been especially devastating for communities of color.

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14 Libros / Books The Dissidence of Reinaldo Arenas The Mexican American Experience in Texas

Founded in 2004

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Volume 18, No. 5 n April 2022

Editor Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau Art Director Tennessee Media Design Business Address El Sol Latino P.O Box 572 Amherst, MA 01004-0572

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El Sol Latino acepta colaboraciones tanto en español como en inglés.

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St. Patrick’s PA R A D E

S U N DAY , M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 2 2

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St. Patrick’s PA R A D E

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Ciudad de Historias / City of Stories HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE PUBLIC LIBRARY | March 22, 2022 -The Holyoke History Room of the Holyoke Public Library has received a $15,600 grant from the Expand Mass Stories initiative of Mass Humanities, with funding made possible by the Mass Cultural Council. It is one of 22 organizations across the state to receive a grant under the new program, which supports projects aimed at creating more inclusive histories of the people and ideas that shape the Commonwealth.

The History Room will use the grant to re-design and expand a set of virtual walking tours that it piloted during the pandemic to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Holyoke Public Library. The new set of tours, entitled Ciudad de Historias /City of Stories, aims to combine traditional features of a virtual walking tour—capsule histories of selected historic buildings—with stories from residents of the three selected neighborhoods: The Flats, South Holyoke, and Downtown/Churchill. Each neighborhood walk will feature sites significant in Holyoke’s early history alongside sites and stories related to the local Puerto Rican diaspora.

In preparation for the story-sharing part of the project, the History Room has invited scholar-activist Diana Sierra Becerra of UMass/Amherst to lead an April workshop on community history and resonant listening. The workshop will be open to existing and new participants in the project.

Project Coordinator Alex Santiago, who relocated to Holyoke after Hurricane María and became the first student to graduate from HCC’s Latinx Studies program, will be gathering some of these stories and translating text. She is particularly interested in stories of everyday life and community life in Holyoke.

Anyone interested in finding out more about participating should use the email or contact form listed below.

The History Room is collaborating with Holyoke Media for technical support and with Nueva Esperanza, which also received a MassHumanities grant to further develop its El Corazón/Heart of Holyoke walking tours.

The project will also draw on the Library’s historical collections for images, news items, and family history materials collected during the History Room’s Nuestros Senderos project. The final tours will be viewable on mobile devices and will contain still images, bilingual text, audio, and video. A supplementary grant from Holyoke’s Local Cultural Council will provide for QR code signage for the tours.

Anyone interested in participating or finding out more should use the interest form at: http://www.holyokelibrary.org/historycityofstories.asp or call Alex Santiago or Eileen Crosby at the Holyoke History Room (413) 420-8107 or email ciudadhistorias@holyokelibrary.org

The Ciudad de Historias/City of Stories tours will begin to roll out in the fall of 2022.

Follow the project’s progress on Instagram @ciudadhistoriasholyoke

CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Pays Homage to Storied Archivist Idilio Gracia Peña NEW YORK, NY | CUNY Dominican Studies Institute | February 28, 2022 - In an emotional surprise visit to the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at The City College of New York, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez paid homage to prominent archivist and longtime colleague Idilio Gracia Peña, who is winding down his storied career with his retirement in April.

“His imprint is everywhere,” said Ramona Hernández, CUNY DSI founder and director, who recalled that while he started as a volunteer, Gracia Peña

The legendary New York City historian, who is affectionately known as “Don Idilio,” has been the founding and chief archivist of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute for the past 20 years. That was only his latest service to the community, capping a career in which he also served three decades as the city’s chief archivist, chief public records officer and chief librarian and for seven years as chief archivist at CUNY’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro). Over nearly six decades, he has played a quiet but outsized role in preserving and expanding New York City’s heritage.

During the visit last Thursday, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez toured the voluminous stacks of the CUNY DSI Archives and reminisced with Gracia Peña about the days in the early 2000s, when they worked together at Centro.

“It is impossible to overstate the magnitude of the work that Don Idilio has done to help us understand the history of our city and its communities that had been previously overlooked. He is a master and an inspiration for us all,” said Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. “Don Idilio overcame cultural, educational and racial barriers to elevate the role of the archivist and make his people more visible. His work as director of the Municipal Archives was transformational. He turned an inefficient warehouse for old papers into a first-rate academic institution that provided a more granular understanding of the city and its diversity. Later on, he poured his vast knowledge and skills into the creation and growth of treasured repositories of knowledge of the Puerto Rican and Dominican diaspora.”

Don Idilio is stepping down to spend time with his wife Mary, two sons and two grandchildren, but his colleagues at CUNY will sorely miss him, and his contributions will not soon be forgotten.

Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and archivist Idilio Gracia Peña

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino April 2022

CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Pays Homage to Storied Archivist Idilio Gracia Peña oversaw every aspect of the then-fledgling institution. He drew the blueprints for the archives, raised funds for their construction, created disaster emergency plans and built the climate-controlled environment to preserve documents. “Without his advice, I would not have been able to do it,” added Hernández. “I’m just a sociologist!”

He also introduced an inventive work-study program that allowed high school and college students to do some of the archives’ legwork. That program was not only crucial for organizing the collection on a very limited budget, but also formed and inspired generations of would-be archivists through a quiet but intense labor of mentoring. Four of those students paid tribute to their mentor over video chat during the chancellor’s visit and recounted the invaluable experiences they had while working under his guidance.

In 2007, the Dominican Archives were awarded the Debra E. Bernhardt Annual Archives Award for Excellence in Documenting New York’s History, by the Board of Regents and The New York State Archives.

“The first gift that he gave us, to the Dominican people, was that he told me that it was important to archive, to preserve, the legacy not only of those people who were famous or known, or that had created an enormous amount of paper in their life,” Hernández said. “Don Idilio taught us to make space for those less-known people who have contributed to the building of our community, to make us who we are, people whose contributions may be only known to us in the community.”

His Own History of Struggle Don Idilio — whose name somewhat fittingly translates to “idyll” or “love affair,” and first surname means “grace” — was born in the small coastal town of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, in 1939. The son of a homemaker and sharecropper, he briefly studied engineering at the University of Puerto Rico and moved to New York City in 1960 in search of job opportunities. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and was deployed to the Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he was assigned to work in the library. In 1964, back in New York City, he used that experience to find a job at the Municipal Archives and Records Center, then a branch of the New York Public Library, even though he did not have a Library degree.

In the three decades that followed, Gracia Peña would completely overhaul the institution, but not without overcoming steep barriers. He lodged a labor dispute to get his job title re-classified after discovering that he was listed as clerk, a classification that paid a fraction of what “laborers” earned for doing the same work. He was briefly laid off during the municipal budget cuts of the mid-1970s, but months later he was readmitted as “Archivist-inCharge.” By then, he had completed a degree in American history from City College, where he had taken night classes for five years.

This history of struggle may explain Gracia Peña’s legendary resourcefulness: Stories abound of the personal contacts he established with construction contractors, who called him any time they saw documents in danger of being destroyed. Using station wagons and trucks, he personally salvaged troves of priceless records from being dumped in the trash, a practice that won him the nickname “the Lone Ranger.”

Hernández partly attributes this tireless drive to “the fact that Don Idilio is a Black man. Because we have to remember that he is puertorriqueño but also Black, and imagine that in a society 50 years ago. It is not a pretty picture today, and it was way worse then,” she said. Their conversations often touched on the feelings he had when he realized that the archives were meant only for people who had name recognition, and that he felt his people and their experiences were not valued. “I think that his experience helped him develop the discipline and vision he has with regards to disenfranchised people,” Hernández added. “He always saw us from a larger perspective; saw the good in us; and valued us.”

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Drove Expansion of Archives

When Gracia Peña was named director of the Municipal Archives in 1978, they were precariously stored at 23 Park Row over a pizza parlor that once caught fire, jeopardizing the entire collection. In 1983, he moved the archives to their current location in a secure, climate-controlled space in the historical, Beaux Arts style Surrogate’s Court building at 31 Chambers St. Under his tenure, the archives grew multifold from 16,500 to 100,000 cubic feet, incorporating such treasures as 1,500 drawings of the design plans for Central Park and 8,000 architectural records of the Brooklyn Bridge. To do so, he had to lock horns with the Whitney Museum, which held valuable original Brooklyn Bridge drawings on a permanent loan.

The massive expansion heralded a golden age for the archives, which added millions of documents dating back three centuries — from criminal court records to photographic images and real estate documents — and became an invaluable resource for historians. Dr. Mike Wallace, distinguished professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and founder of the Gotham Center for New York City History at the CUNY Graduate Center, once lauded Gracia Peña and his protégé and successor, Kenneth R. Cobb, as “secular civic saints.”

From 1990 to 1995, Don Idilio served as commissioner of the city Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), advising the mayor, City Council and borough presidents on archival matters and library and records management. He was also a member of several state and local government agencies, and served on the boards of numerous academic, professional and community organizations. But he was far from done.

At CUNY for Second Act

After he officially retired from DORIS, ending three decades of service in the city archives, he devoted his accumulated knowledge and expertise to documenting the Caribbean Diaspora. From 1997 to 2004, as project archivist for Hunter College’s Centro, he oversaw the Puerto Rican Migration Processing Project. It was during these years that he worked with Chancellor Matos Rodríguez, who served as the Centro director from 2000 to 2005.

Later on, he transformed the Dominican Archives into reality from a dream.

“I have built several archives…an archive is permanent – the preservation of any group,” Gracia Peña said as he surveyed the legacy of his efforts at CUNY DSI last Thursday. “I do not like to work on something that I know is not going to last. This place took longer than any of the others, took me about 14 years, but I know it’s going to continue.

Among the many honors he has received for his decades of service, former Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed April 6, 2018 as “Idilio Gracia Peña Day” in New York City.

“I don’t think I ever saw him angry,” Hernández said, fondly recalling his rigorous discipline, gentle manners and booming laughter, all of which endeared him to colleagues, students and the donors he personally courted, sometimes greeting them at an improvised table before they had proper facilities.

The CUNY DSI founder likened Gracia Peña to another Puerto Rican Historical figure: Eugenio María de Hostos, who worked for the betterment of his sister nation, the Dominican Republic, while maintaining his own national identity. “There is a history in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and in the whole Latin American area, from the very beginning, of people looking out for the other: A vision of compañerismo, of hermandad,” she said, using the Spanish words for fellowship and brotherhood. “And bringing in Don Idilio to teach us to preserve our history here is linked to that tradition that is not new. We may have forgotten it, but it’s an old tradition.”

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Estudio de CUNY sobre Empleo e Ingreso de los Dominicanos en los Estados Unidos NEW YORK, NY | CUNY Dominican Studies Institute | Marzo 8, 2022 - Los dominicanos en los Estados Unidos han dado un salto sustancial en el progreso socioeconómico en las últimas dos décadas, concluye un nuevo estudio realizado por el Instituto de Estudios Dominicanos de CUNY, con sede el City College of New York.

El estudio es coescrito por la Dra. Ramona Hernández, directora del Instituto de Estudios Dominicanos de City College of New York (CUNY DSI); el Dr. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, de la Universidad de Columbia y Sidie Sisay, investigador asociado del CUNY DSI. Este estudio es el primero en examinar detalladamente a nivel nacional el estatus socioeconómico de los dominicanos hoy en los Estados Unidos. Los autores utilizaron datos recientemente publicados por la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos.

El ingreso promedio por persona de los hogares de dominicanos en 2019, según el estudio, fue un 43 por ciento más alto que en 1999, ajustado en función de la inflación. Esto también causó una fuerte caída de las tasas de pobreza. En 1999, hasta el 27.5 por ciento de todos los dominicanos en los Estados Unidos vivían en la pobreza. Para 2019 ésta había caído a 19 por ciento. Aunque sigue siendo inaceptablemente alta, la disminución de la tasa de pobreza entre los dominicanos en los últimos 20 años es la más alta de cualquiera de los diversos grupos raciales y étnicos en los Estados Unidos.

El gran cambio, según el estudio, se centra en la participación en la fuerza laboral que ha impulsado la tasa de empleo y el aumento en el ingreso anual de los dominicanos a nivel nacional.

“Tanto para hombres como para mujeres, las tasas de participación en la fuerza laboral entre los dominicanos han aumentado rápidamente durante las últimas dos décadas”, dijo Hernández. “En el año 2000, la tasa de participación en la fuerza laboral entre los dominicanos era sustancialmente más baja que la que prevalecía en la población estadounidense en general. Hoy en día, la tasa de la participación laboral de los dominicanos está significativamente por encima de la de la población general de los Estados Unidos”.

Señaló que la proporción de hombres dominicanos en la fuerza laboral en 2019 fue 74.4 % decididamente más alta que la tasa general de participación en la fuerza laboral nacional masculina de 68.6 %. Entre las mujeres dominicanas, el 64.7 % se contabilizaron en el mercado laboral a partir de 2019, por encima de la tasa nacional general para las mujeres de 58.8 %.

“De hecho, las mujeres dominicanas tienen la tasa de participación en la fuerza laboral femenina más alta del país; más alta que el promedio de cualquier otro grupo racial y étnico”, señaló Hernández.

Sin embargo, este avance dominicano en el mercado laboral se vio atenuado por la pandemia de COVID-19 cuyo impacto se magnificó en un grupo ampliamente representado en el sector servicios, que se vio fuertemente afectado por los confinamientos y cierres.

El estudio del CUNY DSI determinó que la tasa de desempleo entre los dominicanos aumentara de un promedio de 6.5 % en 2019 a un dramático 30 % en abril y mayo del 2020 debido a la pandemia. En contraste, la tasa de desempleo general en los Estados Unidos aumentó de 4.5 % en 2019 a 13.8 % en abril y mayo de 2020. Desde entonces, el desempleo ha disminuido gradualmente. Para los dominicanos, la tasa de desempleo cayó de 20.8 % en junio-julio de 2020 a 6.9 por ciento en octubre-noviembre de 2021, mientras que a nivel nacional, durante el mismo período, cayó del 10,8 % al 4,2 %.

La educación ha sido el motor clave en esta historia de éxito dominicana, impulsada por el aumento de la escolaridad de los dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos. Según el estudio, los dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos ahora han superado a la población general de los Estados Unidos en el logro educativo. Para las mujeres, en el período de 20152019, hasta el 34.6 % de los dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos habían recibido un título universitario y el 31.6 % había completado una parte de la educación universitaria (pero no un título universitario), lo que suma el 66.2 % que tenía algún nivel de educación universitaria o más.

Para la población femenina general en los Estados Unidos, las proporciones equivalentes son del 32,5 % para los graduados universitarios y del 23,5 % para aquellos con algún nivel de formación universitaria, lo que suma el 56 por ciento.

Para los hombres dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos, el 23% tenía un título universitario y el 29.2% había completado una parte de la educación universitaria (pero no un título universitario), lo que suma el 52.2 por ciento con algún nivel de educación universitaria o más. Esto es aproximadamente lo mismo que para la población masculina de los Estados Unidos en general, que tenía un 53.2 por ciento con algo de educación universitaria o más.

“El aumento de la educación está íntimamente relacionado con mayores ingresos y menor desempleo”, dijo el coautor del estudio Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz. “La evidencia muestra que la tasa de retorno a la educación, particularmente a una educación universitaria, es alta y aumenta con el tiempo. Para el desarrollo económico y social, invertir en una mayor escolarización es un gran acierto”.

Los dominicanos también están invirtiendo fuertemente en el capital humano de sus jóvenes. Los dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos tienen tasas de inscripción significativamente más altas en la escuela o las universidades que los hispanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos en general y todos los principales subgrupos hispanos, excepto los cubanos.

Otros hallazgos del estudio son que: La población dominicana en los Estados Unidos aumentó de 1,041,910 en 2000 a 2,216,258 en 2020, lo que los convierte en el quinto grupo hispano/ latino más grande de la nación después de los mexicoamericanos/ chicanos, puertorriqueños, salvadoreños y cubanos.

Los dominicanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos ahora representan el 42.2 % de todos los dominicanos en este país.

La mayor concentración de dominicanos continúa estando en el estado de Nueva York, hogar de un estimado de 897,584 dominicanos en 2020.

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Opinión / Opinion

Climate Change and Systemic Racism

by ISABELLA PEREIRA-TOSADO March 13, 2022 • ipereiratosado@smith.edu | Smith College Class of 2025 When I was younger, my family lived in an older home in a primarily Latino neighborhood.

Once it started to get cold, we would have to take some precautionary steps to keep warm. My parents would stand on a step stool and cover the windows with a plastic covering, and my brother and I would blow dry the plastic so it would be taught against the window frame.

Although this activity became less common as winters got warmer, I used to think this was something all families did.

El Sol Latino April 2022

there is not much room for green spaces (grassy areas or trees). The amount of buildings in a small area causes heat to become trapped more easily and temperatures increase. This is known as the “heat island” effect.

Due to this phenomenon, cities are around 1-7℉ warmer than neighboring rural areas and since POC tend to live in these urban areas, they have become more vulnerable to the dangers of global warming.

Along with rising temperatures, climate change is causing natural disasters to become more dangerous. The warmer air caused by global warming, increases wind speeds and creates more rain during storms. As the intensity of a storm increases, so does the likelihood of flooding and property damage. This increase is most significant in low-lying areas, where many low-income communities have been established.

Recently, I was talking to some of my friends and the window coverings had somehow come up in conversation. No one in the group had known about them before then. I began asking around to see if anyone else shared this experience and I found no one. That’s when I realized that this was only familiar to those living in certain communities.

When storms hit these areas and create massive property damage or catastrophic flooding, many cannot afford to repair their homes. A study conducted by Rice University and the University of Pittsburgh found that when a storm created over $10 billion in damages, primarily white counties saw a $126,000 wealth increase while primarily black counties saw a $27,000 wealth decrease.

In neighborhoods where home values are low or decreasing, any repairs, such as insulating windows, are very costly and not accessible. Families have to compensate by going out of their way to do other things, such as putting up plastic window coverings in the winter.

Not only do POC have a much more difficult time trying to afford damage repairs, but even before the storm hits, many POC cannot get to safety.

During Hurricane Katrina, 30% of POC living in New Orleans didn’t own personal transportation, making it very difficult to evacuate.

Unfortunately, neighborhoods that are predominantly people of color are where these extra steps are most commonly needed.

Also, along with the intensity of storms increasing the risk of flooding, ocean levels rising and the consequent overflow of rivers can create disastrous flooding in those same low-lying areas.

Whether a family has to put up window covers or conversely, cannot afford air conditioning, people of color are frequently placed in a position where they disproportionately feel climate change’s effects.

The movement of racial equity now also includes fighting against climate change.

One of the most significant contributors to why POC are more greatly affected by climate change is the racial wealth gap. This gap is caused by unequal pay and decrease in financial opportunities for POC created by systemic racism. According to the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, white families had about five times the amount of wealth as Hispanic families and eight times the amount of wealth as black families.

Although climate change affects us all, the combination of increased dangerous conditions from climate change and the already dangerous conditions forced upon POC by systemic racism has caused them disproportionate suffering. However, this does not mean that POC should be at the forefront of climate change solutions but, this means that we all need to work together to save the planet and create racial equity.

It is much more difficult for POC to combat the consequences of climate change if they do not have the proper resources to do so.

During heat waves it is usually advised to stay inside to avoid exposure to dangerous conditions, but if people cannot afford climate control, they will be stuck inside a home that could be potentially hotter than the outside conditions. In 2020, about three fifths of Southern Los Angeles households did not have access to air conditioning and nationwide, one fifth of households below the poverty line did not have access to air conditioning.

The inaccessibility of climate control has become even more dangerous in recent years with the emergence of Coronavirus. Before the pandemic, going to air conditioned public spaces or public pools was a good option for those who did not have climate control in their homes. Since then, these spaces have either become inaccessible due to social distancing guidelines or they are just a risk that many are not willing to take.

Temperature increase or global warming, is most often associated with climate change. Global warming is mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuels which releases heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere, which is also known as the greenhouse effect. Since 1981 the temperature has increased by 0.32℉ (0.18℃) each decade which is over twice as high than the previous rate of 0.14℉ (0.08℃) per decade.

However, this increase in temperature is much more intense in neighborhoods that are primarily POC. Low-income communities, often overlapping with communities of color, are usually structured in a way where buildings are placed close together and

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Educación / Education

El Sol Latino April 2022

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STCC Hosts Roundtable Discussion for Businesses Owned by People of Color SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | March 15, 2022 – Springfield Technical Community College welcomed state Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, who hosted a roundtable discussion that put a spotlight on local businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).

Gomez, a lifelong resident of Western Massachusetts and former small business owner, moderated the event with Dr. Shai Butler, interim vice president of Advancement and External Affairs at STCC. They spoke to an audience composed of business owners and representatives, most of whom identify as BIPOC. Butler highlighted the resources for businesses available at STCC, including internships, workforce training programs and technical assistance.

Gomez noted that in addition to STCC, other local resources that advocate for BIPOC businesses include the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce, with a location in Springfield, and the community organization Black and Brown Wall Street.

“A long time ago, Springfield used to have a lot of men’s clothing stores, and they all disappeared like in every other city,” Desardouin said. “I’m here to stay, and I need all kinds of support from the city to keep me here. For the past two years, we have had a lot of issues – a lot of problems – with the business. I do my best to keep the business running. I put all my effort into the business but I do need some help from the city.”

Gilberto Amador, president and CEO of Amador Foundation Inc., said the forum opened his eyes to STCC resources for business owners such as mentorship, training and professional development.

“As a small business owner and consultant, it was important for me to be part of the conversation taking place between STCC, the community and local government,” he said. “STCC has been a vital partner and pillar in our community as it pertains to academic resources and opportunities for lifelong learners. This meeting opens the lines of communication that need to take place between academia and government to create access for our community. More of these kinds of events need to take place.

Jose Claudio, CEO of New North Citizen’s Council Inc., said he was excited to hear what STCC is doing to help businesses. “I learned about the businesses that are helping other businesses and the start of the Latino Chamber,” said Claudio.

Gomez noted that STCC itself is an important resource for businesses. He spoke about how the college helped him and called STCC “the lifeblood for Springfield for a very long time.”

“STCC has been a place where I learned how to become an entrepreneur and got a couple of skills from different programs that STCC offered. I’m happy to be here in a place I call home.,” he said.

The roundtable discussion offered Dr. Butler a chance to ask Gomez questions. But the senator also asked questions about how STCC can offer technical assistance. STCC – the only technical community college in the Commonwealth – is the most affordable higher education institution in Springfield and is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution.

State Senator Adam Gómez, third from left, gathers with business owners and representatives.

The event, held on March 11 in the Forum of the Student Learning Commons, drew about 30 people. Dr. John B. Cook, president of STCC, welcomed Gomez and guests to the historic Learning Commons, also known as Building 19. The 160-year-old building was renovated and reopened in 2018.

“We were only in it for a year before the pandemic hit,” Cook said. “We are thrilled to be back and be a host for this important forum where we can talk about business, and in particular, the businesses of communities of color.”

While the discussion covered a range of issues facing BIPOC businesses, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic underscored much of the discussion.

Gomez noted Springfield – and the nation itself – shut down almost exactly two years ago in March 2020 when the pandemic was declared.

Butler said the college offers a number of professional development opportunities. The Workforce Development Center, for example, provides a range of courses and classes for small businesses. Some programs offer short-term training opportunities for employees and owners.

“We have a history of helping entrepreneurs,” she said.

In addition, STCC offers free virtual programs to help with leadership development. The college brings in national experts to speak on a range of topics, including leadership, women in leadership and issues that are important to BIPOC communities, Butler said.

Butler also highlighted an online tool called Career Coach, which helps connect job seekers with employers.

One attendee, Dr. Lomax R. Campbell, traveled from Rochester, N.Y., for the discussion. Campbell, the founding President and CEO of Third Eye Network, LLC, an innovative multicultural strategy consortium serving a diverse multi-sector clientele, spoke to STCC faculty and staff in January as part of a professional development day.

“We’re in a position where we are trying to figure out how to commingle with COVID-19,” Gomez said. “We’re trying to coexist.”

In his work, he assists businesses in smaller towns and cities create a community-based approach to economic development. He is expanding his consulting work into Western Massachusetts.

Gomez said holding a roundtable discussion was important to find out how he and his fellow legislators can help businesses throughout the Commonwealth. He said he wants to understand “what’s happening on the grassroots level.”

“The senator gets it,” Campbell said. “He realizes we do need to shift how resources flow, how information flows, and who we strategically and intentionally target for support.”

The forum drew a diverse group of business owners within the BIPOC community. One businesswoman brought her team which includes people from shelters, those who were formerly incarcerated and “given second chances.”

Audrin Desardouin, owner of the men’s clothing store L&A Fine Men’s Shop, came to the forum to find out how businesses like his can get support during difficult times. He talked about some of the struggles he has faced during the pandemic.

“I thought it was important having the juxtaposition of Dr. Butler and Sen. Gomez because of the role that the community college plays in local economic development,” he said.

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

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Educación / Education

El Sol Latino April 2022

STCC Partners with YWCA to Provide Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | March 15, 2022 – Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) is working with the YWCA of Western Massachusetts to provide free counseling services for students and employees who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Dugana Celestin, STCC-YWCA campus advocate, works as part of the Safety and Advocacy for Everyone (SAFE) Project and the STCC Community Coordinated Response Team (CCRT). The SAFE Project is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW).

The STCC CCRT is a multidisciplinary team of campus and community partners working to reduce sexual assault, dating/ domestic violence and stalking through prevention, education and responsive support.

Dugana Celestin, STCC-YWCA campus advocate.

Celestin is available to offer counseling services and offer referrals if people need other services. She will also assist in raising awareness about sexual and relationship violence.

STCC will collaborate with Celestin to host events in April, which is recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. April events include a self-defense program on the campus green in partnership with the LEAD Leadership and Mentoring Program at STCC and an engaging-men event in partnership with the Office of Multicultural Affairs at STCC. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work with STCC as a campus advocate,” Celestin said. “Many students at STCC might not know that we provide these services. We have created a safe space for students to come forward.”

Cynthia Breunig, SAFE Project Director, said Celestin and the YWCA play a critical role in efforts around prevention and responding to students and

employees experiencing dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

“These issues are widespread. This is not about STCC per se,” Breunig said. “It impacts all communities and colleges and universities. Our goal is to create a campus-wide, trauma-informed response. Our campus will provide victims and survivors counseling with the option of being confidential.”

Celestin counsels people facing a range of domestic violence-related issues.

“When people think of DV, they tend to think of physical abuse, but it’s a spectrum. Sometimes it’s verbal or emotional abuse,” she said. “A lot of people don’t pay attention to the mental and emotional aspects of DV.” Celestin can relate to victims, as she has experienced abuse in her past. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she came to the United States at the age of two. Her family moved around during her childhood. At 22, she left her abusive home and was briefly homeless but managed to get back on her feet.

She worked in a teen shelter with at-risk homeless youth for a few years. In April of 2021, she started work at the YWCA of Western Massachusetts as a domestic violence counselor. Over the past year, she has worked with clients and learned more about domestic violence and the range of issues victims and survivors face.

Celestin works on the STCC campus on Mondays from noon to 5 p.m. to provide services virtually or in person. She is also flexible to counsel clients during other days and times during the week.

Anyone who needs advocacy or counseling services, or knows someone in need of help, can contact Celestin at advocate@stcc.edu or leave a confidential message at (413) 319-2368. In an emergency, call 911. To speak with someone after hours, call the YWCA Hotline at (413) 733-7100.

To find out more information, visit the STCC’s Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Resources page at stcc.io/dv. Learn more about events on the #STCCWeCan page. Visit stcc.edu/resources/stccwecan. #STCCWeCan is an initiative of the STCC Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Program grant that seeks to engage the campus community in the shared work of preventing sexual and relationship violence.

Egresada del Departamento de Física y Electrónica de la UPRH contratada por la NASA HUMACAO, PR | UNIVERSADAD DE PUERTO RICO - HUMACAO | Marzo 15, 2022— Shamir Maldonado Rivera, egresada del Departamento de Física y Electrónica de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao (UPRH) fue contratada por la Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y el Espacio (NASA, en inglés) para trabajar en el área de ingeniería electrónica, enfocada en la investigación y el desarrollo de tecnología aeroespacial.

“La aportación que hacen nuestros egresados a Puerto Rico y al mundo se evidencia con noticias como esta. Es un gran orgullo, como rectora, profesora y exalumna de la URPH conocer estas historias de éxito pues se valida lo relevante que es la educación que se ofrece en la universidad pública del país. En la UPRH seguimos comprometidos con ofrecer experiencias académicas de calidad que enriquecen el desarrollo académico de los estudiantes. Verlos lograr sus metas personales y profesionales es motivo de celebración. ¡Enhorabuena a Shamir Maldonado y al equipo de facultativos y personal de la UPRH que fueron parte de su logro!”, indicó la doctora Aida I. Rodríguez Roig, rectora de la institución.

Shamir Maldonado llegó a la UPRH como estudiante de escuela superior desde Ponce, para realizar su proyecto de feria científica bajo la mentoría del Prof.

Nicholas J. Pinto. Eventualmente, se unió al Departamento de Física y Electrónica para cursar su grado de bachillerato donde participó en investigación

subgraduada, asistió a conferencias y varios internados, incluyendo Penn State University y el National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). También, presidió la Asociación de Estudiantes de Física y Electrónica.

Luego de graduarse en el 2019, se unió a la industria de aeroespacial y defensa en el área metropolitana de Washington, DC. En la actualidad, trabaja en proyectos de fabricación de dispositivos electrónicos y sistemas inteligentes para aeronaves y ambientes extremos en el Centro de Investigación John H. Glenn de NASA. Su aspiración es brindar su esencia en posiciones de liderazgo, expandir sus conocimientos en diversas áreas y también convertirse en directora de vuelo de la misma agencia.

“Ha sido un sueño hecho realidad y jamás pensé que sucedería tan pronto. Y le exhorto a cualquier estudiante a ser perseverante, pero sobre todo paciente.

No comparar tu trayectoria con la de otros, y cuando no existan oportunidades, crearlas. Atreverse a conectar con mentores y/o profesionales que puedan aconsejarte y siempre estar dispuesto a aprender cosas nuevas”, aconsejó Shamir Maldonado.

Por su parte, el doctor Rogerio Furlan, director del Departamento de Física y Electrónica, se expresó muy contento con esta noticia. “La historia de Shamir es una de tantas que nos representan con éxito en el campo de las ciencias.

Estamos muy orgullosos de sus logros y que este ejemplo sirva a los futuros jóvenes que están interesados en el mundo de las ciencias, en especial, la física”, indicó el doctor, quien también anunció que este departamento ofrece una nueva concentración menor en Astronomía.

Los estudiantes interesados en solicitar admisión el Departamento de Física y Electrónica, pueden hacerlo a través de la Oficina de Admisiones o comunicarse al 787-850-9301.

Educación / Education

El Sol Latino April 2022

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HCC Lands $147K Grant to buy Mobile Culinary Arts Lab HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | February 28, 2022 – When is a food truck not a food truck? When it’s a mobile culinary arts laboratory.

Holyoke Community College has been awarded a $147,000 Skills Capital Grant to purchase a truck for its culinary arts program that will be used as a mobile kitchen for community outreach and education.

“It’s not our intention to sell food out of the truck as a means to generate revenue,” said HCC professor Warren Leigh, co-chair of the culinary arts program. “We’re not going to set up on the corner and sell tacos and hot dogs.

We are absolutely going to cook in it, but the main purpose is to engage the community. At the same time, our students will gain experience in food truck operations.”

“You have to have a production plan, just like you do in a restaurant, but now it’s even more important because you’re going into a vehicle and driving away from your home base,” said Leigh. “It’s like catering off site. You have to bring everything you need.”

According to statistics, the growth of food trucks outpaced restaurant growth 5.5 percent to 4.3 percent in 2021, spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the research journal IBIS World, the industry was already experiencing rapid growth in the five years before.

“What’s really cool about food trucks is that it allows you to enter the industry much more inexpensively,” said Leigh. “If you’re opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant from scratch, the vent hood alone can cost $20,000 to $50,000, so it’s a much lower bar getting started. It’s a great way to put in a minimal investment and test out your concept without a lot of risk.”

He cites the example of HCC culinary arts alum Nicole Ortiz, who wrote a letter in support of the grant and started her own culinary career with her Crave food truck business. Ortiz now also runs Crave restaurant on High Street in Holyoke.

“Nicole started with that small trailer that she bought with a grant from EforAll (Holyoke SPARK’s Entrepreneurship for All initiative),” said Leigh. “She got going and now she’s in a brick-and-mortar site.”

Leigh said the HCC mobile food lab will have an awning like a food truck and a window pass for food and will also be equipped with cameras in the cooking area and a flat-screen TV on the outside so people can watch what’s going on inside.

“Other organizations, their idea of engaging with the community is pop-up tents and Bunsen burners,” said Leigh. “We’re going to show up, and it’s going to look like a professional operation. It will be a professional operation.”

HCC culinary arts alum Nicole Ortiz wrote a letter in support of HCC’s mobile food lab grant; she started her own culinary career with her Crave food truck. Ortiz now also runs Crave restaurant on High Street in Holyoke.

The funds, from Governor Baker’s Workforce Skills Cabinet, are part of a new $3.3 million package of grants to 20 educational organizations in Massachusetts for updating equipment and expanding student enrollment in career education programs.

According to the award letter, HCC will use the $147,000 to purchase and outfit a “mobile food lab” that will support both credit and noncredit culinary arts programs and also incorporate other areas of study including nutrition, health, business and entrepreneurship. HCC’s grant application notes that residents of Holyoke face a high level of food insecurity and downtown Holyoke has been identified as a “food desert.”

“HCC will deploy the truck to bring food to neighborhoods of downtown Holyoke,” HCC wrote in its application. In addition, HCC plans to connect this project to its downtown Freight Farms initiative with a focus on basic nutrition, local produce and healthy eating.

Leigh envisions using the mobile food lab to engage community partners such as the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club and area food pantries. Students will meet with representatives from area organizations to create menus based on ingredients of their choice or what might be seasonally available.

“We’ll be there with our kitchen on wheels and help them understand that they can take this product XYZ and make it into something interesting, cooked in a fashion they would like,” said Leigh.

Once the truck arrives – sometime later this year – food truck operations will be worked into the current culinary arts curriculum in both credit and non-credit courses such as event planning and line-cook training. Students will have to learn to cook in a much smaller space than they are used to in the kitchens at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute; they’ll also have to learn food truck logistics, such as how to dispose of dirty “grey” water, replenish the kitchen with fresh water, and maintain a stable power source.

¿No sabes qué carrera profesional es mejor para ti?

¡ST CC te puede AYUDAR! Visita nuestro servicio Career Coach.

Consigue detalles sobre las tendencias de empleos y salarios para cientos de trabajos actualmente en demanda en el área de Springfeld y sus alrededores.

Admisiones (413) 755-3333 stcc.edu/career-coach 1-18-22 El Sol Latino 1/4 page: 4.75” x 5.75” Manuel Frau Ramos: manuelfrau@gmail.com Due: 5 days prior to the run month Runs: Feb 2022

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Política / Politics

El Sol Latino April 2022

Chelsea City Councilor Judith Garcia Announced her Candidacy for State Representative CHELSEA, MA | PRESS RELEASE | February 23, 2022 – Chelsea City Councilor Judith Garcia announced her candidacy for state representative in the new 11th Suffolk District of Massachusetts. The daughter of a single, immigrant mother, Judith is a lifelong Chelsea resident whose career in advocacy, activism, and public service have all been anchored to the city she loves.

“I am a daughter of Chelsea,” said Judith.

“This city raised and shaped me; it gave me everything and taught me one lesson above all else: There is nothing more powerful than a community that knows how to fight for itself. For too long, the residents of Chelsea & Everett have been denied a fair place in our state government. Now, this new district gives our communities a once-in-a-life time chance to seize the power that is rightfully ours. To do this, we need a candidate who represents all of us - not one group, one neighborhood, one political ideology or one faith. Unity is our superpower. As your next state representative, I will be a voice for all of us.”

Judith was born and raised in Chelsea by a single mother, who immigrated from her native Honduras with almost nothing. To this day, her mother is an essential worker at a local factory in Chelsea. Judith attended Chelsea Public Schools, where her passion for public and community service developed. After graduating from Wheaton College, she moved back to Chelsea and began work with Health Care for All as a bilingual specialist, helping families secure free and low-cost health insurance.

In 2015 Judith was elected to the Chelsea City Council, the first Honduran American ever to serve there, where she has been reelected for four straight terms. On the Council, she has championed issues ranging from affordable housing to access to education and environmental justice. When COVID-19 hit Chelsea hard, Judith led recovery and response efforts in the city, spearheading the creation of $1.5M emergency relief fund for small businesses, securing a $25k relief fund for burial costs for Covid-19 victims, and raised $10k for Chelsea’s food pantry. A rising political star in Massachusetts, she was recently selected by Vice-President Kamala Harris’ National Security team as an advisor for Honduran affairs. She has also served as a high-profile surrogate for Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Congressman Joe Kennedy III. Currently, Judith works at The Neighborhood Developers where she serves as a Communications Manager.

Learn more at https://electjudithgarcia.com

Medios /Media Elizabeth Román joins NEPM’s newsroom SPRINGFIELD, MA | NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA | March 11, 2022 — Elizabeth Román will join New England Public Media’s newsroom as managing editor for news, after reporting for nearly two decades at the Springfield Republican. In recent years, she has also edited El Pueblo Latino, co-founded Colectivo de Medios Latinos, and appeared as a panelist on NEPM’s “The Short List” and “Connecting Point.” In her role at NEPM, she will edit daily news stories, work to expand the diversity of sources in our news coverage and explore ways to create more Spanish-language news content.

“I am thrilled to welcome Liz to the newsroom,” said Sam Hudzik, NEPM news director. “She is a consummate professional with almost two decades of experience covering the stories of our region.”

Elizabeth is a lifelong resident of Springfield and the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who migrated to Massachusetts from the island more than 40 years ago.

She is a graduate of Holyoke Community College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Throughout her career as a print journalist, it has been her objective to provide accurate representation of communities of color in western Massachusetts and she is excited to continue that work at NEPM. New England Public Media is a community-supported, independent non-profit organization based in Springfield, Massachusetts. Through a deep commitment to independent local journalism, trusted educational content, inspired cultural offerings, and civic engagement, NEPM endeavors to share new voices and inspire new conversations. It provides audiences with a broad array of local and national programs across all media —TV, radio, online, and mobile, including PBS and NPR programs as well as locally produced series, podcasts and specials. Its four digital TV channels, and two radio networks present news, jazz and classical music, documentaries, talk, drama, plus cultural and educational programming.

Publish your bilingual ad in El Sol Latino!

Call us today at (413) 320-3826.

Música / Music Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido April 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m., April 9 at 2 p.m.

Rand Theater - Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts at UMass

By Elisa Gonzales Lyrics by Elisa Gonzales Musical Arrangement, Composition, and Additional Lyrics by Moises Vázquez Directed by Sara Guerrero A workshop production presented in partnership with Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble (www.breathoffire.org). Made possible in part by an UMass Amherst Faculty Research Grant /Healey Endowment Grant.

During the Great Depression, over one million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were illegally and unconstitutionally repatriated to México. What they went through has reverberated through successive generations, and among those affected were Professor Elisa Gonzales’ great-grandparents. UMass Theater presents a workshop production of Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido, Gonzales’ compelling new musical about her ancestors’ experiences.

“I owe so much of what I have been able to accomplish because of my family—my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents—I wanted to find a way to honor their stories and their legacy. Olvidados is my love letter to them,” said Gonzales.

This is a workshop production — meaning the piece is a work in progress and likely to undergo further revision — and it is a creative collaboration with Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble. We are thrilled to have Breath of Fire Founding Artistic Director Sara Guerrero as director, and Ensemble

El Sol Latino April 2022

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member Moises Vázquez as the composer and musical director of the piece.

Breath of Fire takes as its mission the support and enrichment of the lives of Latinas in visual & performing arts, working to raise awareness of critical issues in the community and to be a catalyst for personal healing and social justice, a goal which fits beautifully with Gonzales’ work.

The echoes of racial and ethnic scapegoating from 90 years ago sound eerily familiar in this musical, which highlights the corrido as a storytelling form. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States defines the corrido as a verse narrative, a story sung to a musical accompaniment, portraying characters engaged in heroic, often tragic, struggles in real or realistic episodes that reflect the language, experiences, and values of common folk. For approximately two hundred years, corridos have been a cherished part of a traditional heritage in various regions of Mexico and the United States.

“Stories like the Repatriation Drives of the 1930s never make it to our classrooms. Telling this story, at this time, feels even more critical as we are witnessing several states adopting laws and policies that would prohibit and restrict the teaching of anything related to race and racism,” explained Gonzales.

Get your tickets today! - Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Center Box Office or at the door before each performance. Tickets are $15 general admission, $5 youth, students, and seniors, and can be purchased in advance online at the Fine Arts Center Box Office or by calling 1-413-5452511. Content advisory: Use of racial slurs, and discussion of a child’s death.

Patron COVID Safety Policy - Masks no longer required but welcome. The Fine Arts Center requires patrons who wish to attend a performance to be fully vaccinated or to show proof of a negative test result obtained no more than 72 hours prior to the event. For more information please visit the UMass Amherst (https://www.umass.edu/theater/our-patron-covid-safety-policy).

TM & © 2022 Dr. Seuss

Enterprises, L.P. All Righ

ts Reserved.

Hogar del asombroso mundo del Dr. Seuss En los Museos de Springfield, aprender es DIVERTIDO. Embárcate en una aventura que integra alfabetización, STEM, arte e historia, ¡y deja mucho espacio para la IMAGINACIÓN y la CREATIVIDAD!

SpringfieldMuseums.org Síguenos •

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Libros / Books

El Sol Latino April 2022

The Dissidence of Reinaldo Arenas: Queering Literature, Politics, and the Activist Curriculum

by SANDRO R. BARROS, RAFAEL OCASIO, and ANGELA L. WILLIS • Gainesville, FL | UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA PRESS | February 22, 2022 | 292 pages Book’s description Focusing on the didactic nature of the work of Reinaldo Arenas, this book demonstrates the Cuban writer’s influence as public pedagogue, mentor, and social activist whose teaching on resistance to normative ideologies resonates in societies past, present, and future.

Through a multidisciplinary approach bridging educational, historiographic, and literary perspectives, The Dissidence of Reinaldo Arenas illuminates how Arenas’s work remains a cutting-edge source of inspiration for today’s audiences, particularly LGBTQI readers. It shows how Arenas’s aesthetics contain powerful insights for exploring dissensus whether in the context of Cuba, broader Pan-American and Latinx-U.S. queer movements of social justice, or transnational citizenship politics.

Carefully dissecting Arenas’s themes against the backdrop of his political activity, this book presents the writer’s poetry, novels, and plays as a curriculum of dissidence that provides models for socially engaged intellectual activism.

Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Editorial Reviews “A welcome and needed work at a time when academia is reenvisioning its discursive fields. It breathes new life into Reinaldo Arenas’s literary corpus by treating it as a cultural object that may be appreciated by different academic disciplines.”― Carlos Riobó, author of Caught between the Lines: Captives, Frontiers, and National Identity in Argentine Literature and Art “Imagines a thoroughly unique, productively innovative critical and scholarly approach to understanding one of twentieth-century literature’s most misunderstood and misread giants. This book models powerfully alternative ways to think not only about Arenas but also about ourselves, as writers, as teachers, and as activists.”― Ricardo L. Ortiz, author of Latinx Literature Now: Between Evanescence and Event About the Authors SANDRO R. BARROS, assistant professor in the Curriculum, Instruction, and

Teacher Education program at Michigan State University, is the author of Competing Truths in Contemporary Latin American Literature: Narrating Otherness, Marginality, and the Politics of Representation.

Barros’s research interests focus on broad issues connected with multilingual development, culture, and language politics in K-16 curricula. He is interested in how the study of languages other than English (LOTE) shapes the public’s perception of citizenship and belonging within the context of the nation-state. He analyzes the connections between ideologies of language learning and how they support truth regimes that influence multilingual pedagogy discourse.

RAFAEL OCASIO is Charles A. Dana Professor of Spanish at Agnes Scott College. He is the author of A Gay Cuban Activist in Exile: Reinaldo Arenas and Cuba’s Political and Sexual Outlaw: Reinaldo Arenas (University Press of Florida, 2003) and The Making of a Gay Activist (University Press of Florida, 2007). His other books include Latin American Culture and Literature (Greenwood Press, 2004), Afro-Cuban Costumbrismo: From Plantations to the Slums (University Press of Florida, 2012), and The Bristol, Rhode Island and Matanzas, Cuba Slavery Connection: The Diary of George Howe (Lexington Books/ Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). Recently published are his books: Race and Nation in Puerto Rican Folklore: Franz Boas and John Alden Mason in Porto Rico (Rutgers University Press, 2020) and Folk Stories from the Hills of Puerto Rico/ Cuentos folklóricos de las montañas de Puerto Rico (Rutgers University Press, 2021).

ANGELA L. WILLIS is professor of Hispanic studies and Latin American studies at Davidson College. Her scholarship centers on transatlantic, transtemporal intertextualities, specifically between Inquisitorial Spain and Revolutionary Cuba. She is especially fascinated by transgressive texts, by the underdogs and rebels of literature, and by the notion of writing as a means of escape and survival.

The Mexican American Experience in Texas: Citizenship, Segregation, and the Struggle for Equality

by MARTHA MENCHACA • Austin, TX | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS | January 2022 | 432 pages About This Book

For hundreds of years, Mexican Americans in Texas have fought against political oppression and exclusion—in courtrooms, in schools, at the ballot box, and beyond. Through a detailed exploration of this long battle for equality, this book illuminates critical moments of both struggle and triumph in the Mexican American experience.

Martha Menchaca begins with the Spanish settlement of Texas, exploring how Mexican Americans’ racial heritage limited their incorporation into society after the territory’s annexation. She then illustrates their political struggles in the nineteenth century as they tried to assert their legal rights of citizenship and retain possession of their land, and goes on to explore their fight, in the twentieth century, against educational segregation, jury exclusion, and housing covenants. It was only in 1967, she shows, that the collective pressure placed on the state government by Mexican American and African American activists led to the beginning of desegregation. Menchaca concludes with a look at the crucial roles that Mexican Americans have played in national politics, education, philanthropy, and culture, while acknowledging the important work remaining to be done in the struggle for equality.

Reviews

“Martha Menchaca has done what no one has to date. In concise, cogent prose and analysis, she seamlessly synthesizes the vast historical literatures spanning the Spanish colonial period, Mexican era, and US conquest and incorporation, up through the present. Focusing on Texas Mexicans’ contributions to creating a more just world, The Mexican American Experience in Texas provides a fresh, foundational narrative that places Texas Mexicans at the center of Texas’s future.”

Raúl Coronado, University of California, Berkeley, author of A World Not to Come: A History of Latino Writing and Print Culture “The Mexican American Experience in Texas is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand Texas history. With impeccable research and fluid, accessible, and powerful writing, Martha Menchaca weaves together the experiences of African, Indian, and European people as they meet, fight, and settle together.

Laws regarding enslavement form a crucial thread in her exploration of colonization and the making of Texas as we know it today. Indeed, legislating color was as essential to the formation of Texas’s boundaries across the centuries as it is today in relation to creating congressional districts and controlling the movement of US citizens. This book demonstrates that Latinx and Afro-Latinx citizens never stopped fighting for the rights of all Texans.”

Margaret E. Dorsey, University of Richmond, coauthor of Fencing in Democracy: Border Walls, Necrocitizenship and the Security State About the Author

MARTHA MENCHACA is a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Recovering History, Constructing Race: The Indian, Black, and White Roots of Mexican Americans and Naturalizing Mexican Immigrants: A Texas History.

El Sol Latino April 2022

Join us for a book signing with graphic novelist

EDGARDO MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ

friday

may 6, 2022 6:00 pm War memorial

310 Appleton Street Holyoke, MA

for more info: www.la-borinquena.com

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El Sol Latino April 2022

Fine Arts Center

Atracción de Abril 2022

Únase a nosotros para celebrar la apertura de la Temporada 2021-2022 del Fine Arts Center con una serie de eventos virtuales y presenciales que celebran la humanidad presente en todos nosotros..

ARTS.LIVE.HERE. UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Martes, 26 de abril | 7:30 p.m. ET

Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall - Randolph C. Bromery Center for the Performing Arts

Boletos: $70, $65, $30 | Estudiantes de los Five College y jóvenes de 17 años o menos: $30, $25, $20

Celebrando mas de 60 años de incomparable maestría artística, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater nunca deja de recordarnos el poder de la danza para unir a la gente. Los bailarines deslumbran con su característica brillantez técnica, recibiendo calurosas ovaciones del público. La innovadora compañía retorna al escenario con trabajos nuevos y con los clásicos, incluyendo Revelations, la obra maestra del fundador Alvin Ailey, el “Ailey gift that somehow keeps on giving” (The New York Times).

Aviso sobre COVID 19: Aunque no se requiere el uso de mascarillas, fomentamos el uso de las mismas si así lo prefiere. A petición de los artistas, al llegar a la función del Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, todos los asistentes tienen que mostrar evidencia de una de dos cosas: (a) record de vacunación, demostrando que está completamente vacunado contra el COVID-19; o (b) prueba PCR COVID-19 con un resultado negativo, con fecha de colección y time stamp dentro de las pasadas 72 horas del evento. Favor de notar que no se aceptarán resultados de prueba de antígenos de COVID-19.

Para nuestra programación de la temporada completa o boletos de entradallamar al: 413-545-2511 ó al 800-999-UMAS ó en línea fineartscenter.com