March 2021
Volume 17 No. 4
Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Entering a New Phase Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Puerto Rican Heritage Cultural Ambassador Program
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Editorial / Editorial
contents
Podcast 413 Reaches a Milestone
2 Editorial / Editorial Podcast 413 Reaches a Milestone
How time flies. It’s been a year, on January 14, 2020 to be exact, that we aired the first episode of El Sol Latino Podcast 413. The new media project solidified the successful team collaboration that already exists among Natalia Muñoz, News Director of Holyoke Public Media, and Manuel Frau Ramos - Editor of El Sol Latino.
diaspora have been guests in our podcast.
3 Portada / Front Page Save Centro’s Mission and Resources
On our first episode we talked about how this new podcast strives to bring diversity to community media by providing a space for diverse voices and points of view on a variety of topics. During the past 12 months, various members of the Puerto Rican/Latinx community in our area and in the
As Shirley Chisholm very eloquently said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” As we begin our second year, Podcast 413 will continue to provide “seats at the table” for our diverse community.
Our guests had the opportunity to present the Puerto Rican/Latinx perspective on a wide range of topics, including medicine, education, LGBTQ+, women in science, the political status of Puerto Rico, community development, and popular culture.
4 Yarimar Bonilla Named Interim Director of El Centro 5 Holyoke City Councilor Lebrón-Martinez will not seek reelection
6 NYU’s Latinx Project Receives $1 Million Grant to Expand Its Artistic, Educational, and Scholarly Programming Opinión / Opinion EparaTodos Aims to Brings Dreams to Reality for Latinx Entrepreneurs 7 Cultura / Culture Ramón Rivera-Servera Appointed Dean of UT Austin’s College of Fine Arts
*MAYOR’S OFFICE OF CONSUMER INFORMATION
Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice Invites Applications for Mini Grants
Smithsonian Latino Center Announces Expansion of Latino Museum Studies Program
8 MUSA Celebra su Quinto Aniversario 9 Poesía / Poetry Dancing in between the interstices of glass
~A Local Consumer Program of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office~
Tinta Caliente / Hot Ink
CELEBRATES
Medios / Media Anthony V. Hayes Named to the Board of America’s Public Television Stations
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NATIONAL CONSUMER PROTECTION WEEK
10 Educación / Education HCC president featured in ‘HERstory’ exhibition 11 Faced with hardship, Springfield woman finds path to success at STCC 12 Arizona Board of Regents announces José Luis Cruz as Northern Arizona University presidential finalist
FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 6, 2021 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 Política / Politics The Prospect of Statehood for Puerto Rico? Light Years Away
And you should too… Visit the Federal Trade Commission to learn about your consumer rights and ways you can protect yourself from scams, fraud and identity theft
14 Racial Justice Organizations Settle Case on Behalf of Puerto Rican Voters Living in Florida
Founded in 2004
Consumers need to know that scams are on the rise and will continue to be. Crooks are taking advantage of the opportunity as more consumers turn to online shopping, banking and connecting with loved ones. This is why it is utterly important for each and every one of us to get empowered now with knowledge and ways to protect ourselves from falling victim to scams, fraud or identity theft. Simply stated, it is easy to fall victim, but it’s not easy getting out of the mess that the crooks create for us. We must stay ahead of the game and know the ways and means they target us whether it’s by phone, email, text or a pop-up on our computers. Take the necessary time to visit the Federal Trade Commission website to learn more...and do it now…while you’re ahead.
Think before you Click! Scams come to us with a link via text or email. Screen your calls or hang up! Scammers are now using “spoofing” devices to alter their name and telephone number on your Caller ID.
SCAM ALERT: IRS, SSA, COVID-19 Vaccination, Medicare does not call or send emails. They send letters but always verify its authenticity.
*The Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information serves Hampden County and parts of Worcester County. For more information, contact them at (413) 787-6437 or via email @moci@springfieldcityhall.com
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Volume 17, No. 4 n March 2021
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
Editorial Policy
El Sol Latino acepta colaboraciones tanto en español como en inglés. Nos comprometemos a examinarlas, pero no necesariamente a publicarlas. Nos reservamos el derecho de editar los textos y hacer correcciones por razones de espacio y/o estilo. Las colaboraciones pueden ser enviadas a nuestra dirección postal o a través de correo electrónico a: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino welcomes submissions in either English or Spanish. We consider and review all submissions but reserve the right to not publish them. We reserve the right to edit texts and make corrections for reasons of space and/or style. Submissions may be sent to our postal address or via electronic mail to: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino is published monthly by Coquí Media Group. El Sol Latino es publicado mensualmente por Coquí Media Group, P.O Box 572, Amherst, MA 01004-0572.
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino March 2021
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Editor’s Note: A few days after Dr. Edwin Meléndez made public in January of this year his decision to step down as Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) effective June 30, 2021, the petition Save the Integrity, Mission and Resources of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at CUNY started circulating on social media. A copy of the document, with 1,700 signatures, was to be delivered to Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab as well as to CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. On February 26, as we were ready to publish our March digital edition, we received a press release from Hunter College announcing that Dr. Yarimar Bonilla had been named Interim Director of El Centro. We have decided to publish both the petition as well as the press release in order to offer our readers a broad view of this transition period at El Centro.
Save Centro’s Mission and Resources
the search committee should include representatives from Centro, Hunter College, other CUNY institutions and from the Puerto Rican community. The College should also hire a recognized talent recruiter to identify and encourage qualified candidates to apply.
A public petition from Puerto Rican and Latino Studies scholars, members of the Puerto Rican community, and their supporters
*That any financial burden Centro must bear, considering the fiscal constraints the State, City, CUNY and Hunter face, be apportioned equitably and proportionately. We, however, strenuously oppose that Hunter College ameliorates its budget woes at the gratuitous expense of Centro.
A petition to Save the Integrity, Mission and Resources of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at CUNY
The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (“Centro”) is unquestionably the leading research and policy institution in Puerto Rican Studies in the US and Puerto Rico, and a leading research center in US Ethnic and Colonial Studies. Since its inception in 1973, Puerto Rican, Latino, Latin American and American Studies scholars have depended on its archives, research, education, publications, policy, and outreach missions, as well as its community-building efforts at CUNY and among the Puerto Rican communities in New York City and beyond. Not only is Centro the institutional anchor of Puerto Rican Studies, it is also one of the earliest and most prominent ethnic studies intellectual and exemplary inclusive spaces in the US with a social justice mission and outlook, centered on anti-racist, anti-xenophobic and anti-colonial struggles. Centro is currently the key interdisciplinary voice for Puerto Ricans in the area of public policy. Lawmakers and administrators in Puerto Rico and in states like New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida, and in the Federal government, as well as key leaders in various agencies and nonprofits rely on Centro reports, research and resources to formulate legislation, public policy and support agendas, especially in the aftermath of Maria and the continued multiple crises faced by Puerto Rico in the last fifteen years. A product of Puerto Rican civil rights struggles, and particularly reflective of the challenges and triumphs of New York City’s Puerto Rican communities, Centro belongs to all Puerto Rican New Yorkers, and all who treasure historical archives and the preservation of history in the making. The extraordinary oral history projects sponsored by and archived in Centro have served as data for generations of scholars doing research on themes related to Puerto Ricans, New York City, migration, education, health, arts and culture, and many other fields in the humanities and social sciences. Its work highlighting the status of Puerto Rican communities in the US and the problems faced by Puerto Rico have been another important contribution by Centro. In 1984, Dr. Donna Shalala, then President of Hunter College invited Centro to move to Hunter from John Jay College. Since then, the added value and visibility that Centro has brought to Hunter College has increased manifold. Indeed, knowledge of Hunter College and CUNY for thousands of scholars, students and community people, nationally and internationally, comes from their contact with Centro —its archives, publications, web site, events and community outreach programs. Yet, Centro has faced serious challenges and obstacles for years, preceding the economic crisis we are all facing during the coronavirus pandemic. Having become aware of the precarious situation that Centro is undergoing as reflected in continuous budget cuts (beginning with Governor Pataki’s 1995 “retrenchment” cuts) and still unfilled positions, we urge Hunter College President Jennifer Raab, CUNY Chancellor Dr. Félix Matos Rodríguez, and CUNY’s Board of Trustees to respond to these demands: *That a national search be conducted, starting in the Spring 2021 semester, for a senior scholar with a track history of scholarship in Puerto Rican Studies and institutional leadership. The search should be transparent, and
*The Library/Archives is one of Centro’s, Hunter’s and CUNY’s crown jewels. Yet, the position of Director of the Library and Archives has been vacant for over 3 years. During that period two national searches have been conducted, and qualified candidates selected. Each year, at the end of the search process, the College has failed to fill the position, leaving the position vacant. An immediate search process that culminates in an actual hiring must take place. *A senior librarian retired two years ago, and the position has gone unfilled. Further aggravating the problems faced by the Library/Archives, the senior archivist will retire this academic year. Those two lines must also be filled immediately. Many other positions have been lost in the library, archive and media production work of Centro. *Centro’s initiative to create a nurturing pipeline of junior scholars in the humanities and social sciences is being shut-off. One research associate position has been vacant for 2.5 years and the position has not been allowed to be filled. Two additional research associate positions have become vacant this year and they have also not been allowed to be filled. All three positions must be filled as soon as possible. As it is, even this number represents a historic decline in the resources that Centro has had for research positions. *At the inauguration of the Library and Archives new facilities at the Silberman School of Social Work building in East Harlem President Raab publicly announced that from then on, the cost of archiving Centro’s collection at safe offsite storage facilities would be borne by the College. Three years ago, that promise was reneged on and the cost of almost $100,000 per year was passed to Centro. We ask that President Raab honor her promise or CUNY’s central office to find other sources of funding for this important resource. *Restore all adjunct, part time and college assistance lines. For example, the cutting of the adjunct lines directly threatens the survival of CENTRO Journal and Centro Press as the release time for the editor comes from that budget. Centro is a singularly valuable academic resource to Hunter College and the City University of New York. Protecting and enhancing its institutional integrity must be a leading university goal. Centro’s archives and library, its researchers, its dissemination vehicles (e.g., Centro Journal and Centro Press) as well as its popular engagement programs (e.g., Data Center and the outreach unit) must be preserved and sustained. We call on the university and the college to act on it. Submitted respectfully, Aldo A. Lauria Santiago, Professor Rutgers University, New Brunswick [This petition was drafted and revised by a group of nearly 20 Puerto Rican Studies scholars]
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino March 2021
Yarimar Bonilla Named Interim Director of El Centro NEW YORK, NY | HUNTER COLLEGE | February 26, 2021- Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab today announced the appointment of Professor Yarimar Bonilla as Interim Director of El Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter/CUNY (el Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños). Dr. Bonilla, Professor of Africana & Puerto Rican/Latino Studies in the Anthropology Department, will be the first woman to head Centro in its 48-year-history. She will assume the post following the retirement of longtime director Dr. Edwin Meléndez, which takes effect June 30. Hunter will conduct a national search with a diverse and inclusive search committee for a permanent director for El Centro. President Raab commented: “We are delighted that the highly accomplished Yarimar Bonilla will be building on the legacy of Edwin Meléndez to advance Centro’s mission in support of scholarship and engagement on issues vital to Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican diaspora. “In Yarimar, we welcome a leader who has always combined scholarship and activism in her work. She brings to Centro a deep understanding of Caribbean cultures in general and the Puerto Rican community in particular—and a commitment to research, educating students, utilizing new technologies, and advocating around pressing issues on the island and the mainland.” Continued President Raab: “Edwin Meléndez has made an enormous impact in his 13 years at Centro, leaving an admirable legacy on which Yarimar and the Center can now build. On behalf of the entire college, I want to thank Edwin for his remarkable achievements. We are delighted that, following a well-deserved one-year sabbatical, he will return to Hunter’s Urban Affairs and Planning faculty where he will continue his vital efforts to study economic development and the process of recovery in Puerto Rico.” “I would like also to express special thanks to CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez for his advice and support during this important transition. As a former Centro director himself, the Chancellor has long made the Center a high priority, and we are fortunate to have his leadership and encouragement as we plan for its future.” “I had the privilege of starting my CUNY journey at Centro and know firsthand how unique Centro is and how crucial it is as a research and archival anchor of the Puerto Rican experience in the U.S.,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “I want to thank Edwin for his transformational work over the last 13 years and welcome a scholar of the caliber of Yarimar as interim director. I am as committed to Centro’s future today as I was in 2000 when I became its director and to working with Yarimar and other Centro leadership during this time of transition and opportunity leading to Centro’s exciting 50th anniversary in 2023.” Dr. Bonilla, who joined the faculty in 2018, was born in San Juan and spent part of her childhood in Topeka and Phoenix before returning to Puerto Rico at the age of 12. She received her BA from the University of Puerto Rico, an MA from the University of New Mexico, and a PhD from the University of Chicago. She previously taught at the University of Virginia and Rutgers. In 2018 she was named a Carnegie Fellowship for her research on the social impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
“I look forward to working through this moment of transition with the different constituencies that Centro serves,” said Dr. Bonilla. “I am proud to be part of the everevolving Puerto Rican community of New York and excited to build Centro’s connections with its community roots. Centro’s mission has never been more urgent as Puerto Rico faces the Dr. Yarimar Bonilla – Photo Credit: Hunter College compounding effects of economic, political, and environmental health crises, which in turn reverberate across the diaspora. “Given that my focus has long been on public-facing scholarship that pushes beyond the confines of the academy, I am particularly eager to grow the interdisciplinary scope of Centro. In particular, I want to create more opportunities for artists to use the archives and develop their work in dialogue with the CUNY community. I also want to forge partnerships with our scientific community who have so much to tell us as we navigate a post-disaster and post-pandemic future.” DR. BONILLA is a Professor in Hunter’s Department of Africana & Puerto Rican/Latino Studies, and in the Anthropology Department at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is an award-winning scholar and prominent public intellectual, Dr. Bonilla is a major voice on issues of Caribbean and Latinx politics. She has contributed to the New Yorker, the Nation, and the Washington Post, writes a monthly column called “En Vavién” for Puerto Rico’s newspaper El Nuevo Día, and is frequently heard on National Public Radio and television programs such as Democracy Now. Most recently, she contributed an episode to WNYC’S new bilingual radio series about Puerto Rico, La Brega. She has written for scholarly journals on such subjects as the role of digital protest in the Black Lives Matter movement, post-disaster impacts in contemporary Puerto Rico, and anti-colonial labor struggles in the French Caribbean. She is the author of the books Non-Sovereign Futures: French Caribbean Politics in the Wake of Disenchantment (2015); Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico Before and After the Storm (2019); and the forthcoming Trouillot Remixed (2021). Her digital projects include Visualizing Sovereignty: Animated Video of Caribbean Political History, which she codesigned, and the Puerto Rico Syllabus Project (#PRSyllabus), which she co-created to provide an open access resource for teaching and learning about the socio-economic crises affecting Puerto Rico.
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino March 2021
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Holyoke City Councilor Lebrón-Martinez will not seek reelection HOLYOKE, MA: The following is a statement from Ward 1 City Councilor Gladys Lebrón-Martinez: “It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I will not be seeking reelection to the Holyoke City Council this upcoming election cycle. I’d like to thank Mayor Alex Morse, my colleagues on the Holyoke City Council, the dedicated city staff, and most importantly, my constituents, for their support since I was elected Councilor nearly ten years ago. With this announcement also comes the fact that I will be making a career change from my day job, and entering a new position that will require more of my time in the months to come. I will walk away at the end of my term with a tremendous and valuable experience, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished together. Over the last decade, we have seen record levels of investment in Ward 1, encompassing the Downtown, the Innovation
District, and the Flats. I leave my position knowing that our neighborhoods are stronger today than they were when I arrived at City Hall. From a newly renovated Lyman Terrace, to the restoration of Holyoke Catholic, the CanalWalk, the passenger rail station, and millions invested in new infrastructure and parks, we have a lot to be proud of. But there is more work to do. I look forward to seeing new voices and new people step up to serve our community in the coming months. I will continue to be an active member of our city and intend to stay connected to the many people I have met along the way.” Gladys Lebrón-Martinez was first elected to the Holyoke School Committee in 2003. Following four terms on the School Committee, she was elected to the Council In 2011. She is currently serving her 5th term as the Ward 1 City Councilor. She has also been a member of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority since 2011, and recently announced her departure from the HRA as well.
Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice Invites Applications for Mini Grants SPRINGFIELD, MA | CARLOS VEGA FUND | February 11, 2021 - The Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice is inviting applications for the tenth round of mini grants. For more than forty years, Carlos Vega fought for social justice in the Greater Holyoke area. In 2010, a small group of family and friends started the Fund to support the kind of social justice initiatives that were important to Carlos. Carlos Vega was an ardent activist for civil rights, community-building, education, healthcare, and social justice in Holyoke. The donor designated fund, which is managed by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, was started in 2010 to honor Carlos on his 60th birthday and to continue his forty-year legacy by awarding small grants to nonprofit organizations through an annual competitive process.
The Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice awards small grants, typically ranging from $250 to $1,000, to individuals and non-profit groups for a specific, one-time program or project that focuses on the fundamental primary causes of injustice, fosters change, and promotes selfhelp and empowerment. The purpose of the grants is to support the efforts of those who are addressing issues of poverty and oppression, and involve people who are socially and economically marginalized in Hampden County. Previous mini grants have supported a variety of organizations including: Clinical and Support Options, Enchanted Circle Theater, Girls Inc. of the Valley and Plunge Arts, First Shift Productions, Granby Public Schools, The Gray House, Holyoke Public Schools, Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative, Holyoke Senior Center and Western Mass Elder Care, Home City Development, OneHolyoke CDC, The
Performance Project, Treehouse, Seeds of a Father, and Wistariahurst Museum. The Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice is administered through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and is overseen by an advisory committee. Since 2012, the Fund has awarded $59,402 to forty-one organizations in the greater Holyoke area. Our deadline for applications is March 15, 2021. We expect to award grant funding on May 14, 2021. Grantees are expected to participate in the awards ceremony. For further information and/or to obtain an application, please visit the Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice website at http://www. carlosvegafund.org/ or contact Aaron Vega at carlosvegafund.413@gmail.com or 413-522-0268.
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El Sol Latino March 2021
NYU’s Latinx Project Receives $1 Million Grant to Expand Its Artistic, Educational, and Scholarly Programming NEW YORK CITY, NY | THE LATINX PROJECT at NEW YORK UNIVERSITY | February 16, 2021 – New York University’s Latinx Project has received a $1 million grant to expand its work in artistic and public humanities programming and collaborations. The grant comes at a time of increasing calls for recognizing the significance of Latinx communities in culture, politics, and scholarship and their impact on America’s future. With this new $1 million grant from the Ford Foundation and previous support from the Mellon Foundation, the Latinx Project will be able to grow the Latinx enterprise at NYU, with the aim of becoming internationally recognized as a leading institution shaping the discussion on Latinx art, culture, and scholarship in the United States and globally. Since its founding in 2018, the Latinx Project has hosted three artists-inresidence and organized multiple programs, including five art exhibitions, such as PELEA and Afro-Syncretic, and three national conferences, such as “Latinx Politics: Resistance, Disruption, and Power” and “Digitizing Race: Making Latinx in the 21st Century”. “The Latinx Project was founded to address the lack of spaces focusing on the stories, histories, scholarship, and narratives about U.S. Latinxs,” says Professor Arlene Dávila, founding director of the Latinx Project. “This generous support from the Ford Foundation will aid in bringing greater visibility to Latinx creativity, history, and scholarship at a time when a better understanding of Latinxs’ critical role in U.S. society is most urgently needed.” The Latinx Project, a faculty-driven initiative across academic departments and schools at NYU, reflects the enormous growth of Latinx Studies in the past decade—shown in the rise of national Latino/a/x Studies conferences,
journals, book series, and graduate programs, among other initiatives. The Latinx Project’s focus on the arts serves as a bridge to insert humanistic thinking throughout the disciplines, placing Latinx in a range of cross-disciplinary humanistic conversations. “We’re determined to continue to fill the void in Latinx Studies in higher education and to give a voice to our Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ communities by way of academic and artistic programming,” says Dávila. “This unique support not only validates and legitimizes a field of study that has been long neglected, underfunded, and considered ‘illegitimate,’ but it also recognizes the critical and central role that Latinx Studies has in today’s vexed political, racial, and social climate in the United States,” adds Frances R. Aparicio, professor emerita at Northwestern University and a pioneer in the development of Latinx Studies as an interdisciplinary field. “The Latinx Project is an interdisciplinary initiative and an innovative model of intellectual and artistic collaboration and community building, paving the way for those of us who work at the intersection of Latinx, Ethnic, and Black Studies,” adds Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin, chair of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University. The Latinx Project at NYU explores and promotes U.S. Latinx art, culture and scholarship through creative and interdisciplinary programs that examine and highlight the multitude of Latinx identities. Established in 2018, the Latinx Project has become influential as the first Latinx art and culture focused, interdisciplinary center at an east coast research university. Learn more about the Latinx Project at its latinxproject.nyu.edu.
Opinión / Opinion EparaTodos Aims to Brings Dreams to Reality for Latinx Entrepreneurs by TESSA MURPHY-ROMBOLETTI According to the U.S Chamber of Commerce, 3 out of every 4 new businesses in the nation are started by Latinos. This thriving business community is the backbone of the economic vitality and future growth of many communities. However, even prior to COVID-19’s devastating impacts, many Latinx-owned businesses struggled because entrepreneurs were unfamiliar with the business environment, and there weren’t services offered in their primary language of Spanish. That’s where we come in. EparaTodos is a non-profit organization based in Holyoke that provides Spanish-language programs for new or aspiring entrepreneurs. We believe entrepreneurship can change the lives of local residents and start building wealth for themselves, their employees and the community. Our free program is available in both English and Spanish, and helps individuals get started on their dreams, creating a village so you don’t have to do it alone---through mentorship, education, and providing access to community resources. It can be amazingly powerful to build your village in person, but we’ve been able to make it work virtually, too. Each participant is matched with two or three mentors who are community volunteers with a wide range of experience and expertise to provide support, keeping individuals on track and moving forward. The mentoring experience
can be very rewarding for both the entrepreneur and the mentors, and we could not do what we do without the hundreds of volunteers that support our efforts. Our classes are taught by experienced local experts who help entrepreneurs navigate the many aspects of starting a business. The cohort itself ends up being a supportive community of people all going through the experience together, supporting each other and helping every person get the most out of the program. Cash prizes are awarded to participants who demonstrate growth and commitment to the program and their business goals. If you have an idea for a business or are working on a “side hustle” to help generate additional income for yourself, perhaps EparaTodos is the right place for you. We are now accepting applications online for our programs and are available to answer any questions you may have about what we offer. Perhaps you are reading this and are looking for an interactive and meaningful way to give back to the Latinx community. We are always looking for volunteers and have plenty of ways to get involved depending on your availability and interest. Please visit us online at https://eforall.org/es/ma/holyoke/ or contact us through email: holyoke@eparatodos.org Tessa Murphy-Romboletti is the Executive Director of EforAll & EparaTodos Holyoke. t: (833) 336-7255 x 7016 - m: (413) 519-0564 - e: tessa@eforall.org
Cultura / Culture
El Sol Latino March 2021
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Ramón Rivera-Servera Appointed Dean of UT Austin’s College of Fine Arts AUSTIN, TEXAS | COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN | February 1, 2021 -The University of Texas at Austin has named alumnus Ramón H. Rivera-Servera as the next dean of the College of Fine Arts. His appointment will begin July 1. Rivera-Servera comes to UT Austin from Northwestern University, where he chaired the Department of Performance Studies and the Department of Theatre in the School of Communication. He was the first graduate of the Performance as Public Practice Ph.D. program in UT Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and he will be the first Latino dean of the UT College of Fine Arts. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rivera-Servera is an interdisciplinary scholar with a focus on creative ethnography, new work development in performance and other ephemeral art forms and Black and Latinx arts and cultures in North America and the Caribbean. For more than 20 years, Rivera-Servera’s scholarly work has focused on how the arts contribute to social transformation and how the arts can help us become a more intentionally collaborative and ethical society. His work documents a wide array of performance practices, ranging from theater and concert dance to social dance, fashion and speech. Ramón H. Rivera-Servera / Credit The University of Texas at Austin
“Dean Rivera-Servera is a person of incredible drive, energy, charisma and intellect. His passion is infectious, and I’m excited to see him work with the College of Fine Arts to raise it to even greater heights,” said UT Austin President Jay Hartzell. “We had to compete with other universities to bring Ramón to UT, but like many of our alumni, he knows the Forty Acres is home, a place from which he can change the world.”
“I am honored by the opportunity to return to my alma mater and lead the College of Fine Arts,” said Rivera-Servera. “My education at UT and my participation in Black, Latinx and LGBTQ art communities in the Central Texas region shaped my own vision for the relationship between art and society. It was in poetry readings organized by Joe Jiménez and Sharon Bridgforth at Allgo, at exhibition openings at Mexic-Arte Museum, and in the seminar room of the Winship Building that this queer Latinx migrant, hailing from the longest held colonial territory in the Americas, found his call. I look forward to helping future art makers and art leaders chart their own pathways in the arts under the guidance of our world-class and dedicated faculty and staff.” In his career, Rivera-Servera has worked to advance transformational change in the arts, especially around issues of equity and inclusion. He co-founded the Latinx Theatre and Performance Studies Focus Group at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and created two arts incubation platforms — the Performance in the Borderlands Project at Arizona State University and the Puerto Rican Arts Initiative at Northwestern University — to advance the artistic practices of communities not historically included in the national art scenes of the United States. He serves on the board of the National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, the largest funding and advocacy organization devoted to the support and promotion of Latinx arts in the United States, and the advisory board of OTV, a digital film and media distribution platform invested in developing the work of underrepresented communities. Rivera-Servera is co-editor of the “Triangulations: Gay/Lesbian/Queer Theatre/Drama/ Performance” list at the University of Michigan Press, one of the leading book series on LGBTQ scholarship in theatre, performance and dance. He is the author of “Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics” (University of Michigan Press, 2012). Rivera-Servera will succeed Doug Dempster, who has served as dean since 2007, and he will be the eighth dean of the college since its founding in 1937. For more than 80 years, the college has provided leadership regionally and nationally in the study of visual arts, music, theater, dance, design and arts education.
Smithsonian Latino Center Announces Expansion of Latino Museum Studies Program WASHINGTON DC | THE SMITHSONIAN LATINO CENTER | February 16, 2021- The Smithsonian Latino Center announced plans to expand its internship and fellowship programs, launch a postdoctoral fellowship and consolidate them under its Latino Museum Studies Program (LMSP) brand. A new $2.1 million grant, provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will support the paid undergraduate internships and related components. The Latino Center will fund the graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. “We need to expand our programs if we’re going to develop the next generation of Latino museum professionals,” said Eduardo Díaz, director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. “We’re grateful for the Mellon Foundation’s support; they see the need to diversify museum workforces and understand how our approach addresses that.” LMSP is a pathway program designed to increase hands-on training opportunities for emerging museum professionals with an academic focus and interest in Latino Studies and the U.S. Latino experience. The Latino Center will partner with the National Gallery of Art and five colleges and universities that serve large or significant Latino student populations, most of them Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Through those partnerships, LMSP intends to diversify opportunities into non-curatorial museum studies and practice to include conservation, exhibition design, digital culture and museum education. The Mellon Foundation has committed itself to studying and improving workplace diversity in U.S. art museums, helping them become more
welcoming and accessible spaces. For more than 30 years, the Mellon Foundation has funded a wide range of Smithsonian initiatives. The Smithsonian Latino Center is the corazón of Latinidad at the Smithsonian. It works toward preserving Latino history and culture, engaging Latino communities, and advancing Latino representation in the United States. Since 1997, SLC has successfully ensured that the contributions of the Latino community are celebrated and represented throughout the Smithsonian. The Center works collaboratively with Smithsonian museums and research centers, ensuring that the contributions of the Latino community in the arts, history, national culture and scientific achievement are explored, presented, celebrated and preserved. We support scholarly research, exhibitions, public and educational programs, web-based content and virtual platforms, and collections and archives. We also manage leadership and professional development programs for Latino youth, emerging scholars and museum professionals. In 2022, the Smithsonian Latino Center will open the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the National American History Museum, making the gallery the very first dedicated museum space on the National Mall celebrating the U.S. Latino experience.
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Cultura / Culture
El Sol Latino March 2021
MUSA Celebra su Quinto Aniversario MAYAGÜEZ, PR | UNIVERSIDAD DE PUERTO RICO – MAYAGÜEZ | 11 de diciembre de 2020 – El11 de febrero de 2016 marcó el inicio de una nueva era para las artes y la cultura en la zona oeste de Puerto Rico, abrió sus puertas el MUSA, Museo de Arte del Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR).
Fajardo y Ramón López, así como de artistas contemporáneos de Puebla, México, lo que enaltece y diversifica sus fondos culturales latinoamericanos. Merece especial mención la donación de 64 obras de Macos Irizarry por parte del matrimonio de artistas Aparicio-Gutiérrez, que han enriquecido nuestra colección del artista», narró.
El Museo celebró hoy su quinto aniversario con la conferencia Fernández, Irizarry y Silveira: Gráfica y abstracción geométrica, que dictó la doctora Emilia Quiñones Otal, curadora de la primera exposición virtual del Museo y catedrática del Departamento de Humanidades del RUM.
Explicó que en diciembre del 2018, el MUSA recibió una importante donación de catorce obras procedentes de la colección Peña Biaggi, en la que se encuentran artistas como José Alicea, Alfonso Arana, Luis Maisonet, Carlos Marcial, Néstor Millán, José Rosa, Julio Rosado del Valle y Rafael Tufiño. También figuran en esta donación los destacados artistas cubanos Agustín Fernández y Pedro Pablo Oliva.
«Nos sentimos honrados de que en estos cinco años hemos tenido un gran impacto, tanto dentro del Recinto, como en la comunidad. En nuestras salas principales, se han exhibido ocho exposiciones variadas con una gran acogida del público. Esto sin contar las muestras más breves en nuestras salas de proyectos especiales que han incluido temas desde la robótica hasta la inteligencia emocional. Asimismo, nuestro edificio y áreas aledañas han albergado innumerables conferencias, conciertos, espectáculos de baile y encuentros de arte, entre otras actividades. Han sido cinco años de producción artística creativa y de enaltecer los grandes maestros del arte puertorriqueño y latinoamericano», indicó la doctora Zorali De Feria Álvarez, directora del Museo de Arte del RUM. MUSA, una imponente joya arquitectónica, es el hogar de las colecciones más extensas de Marcos Irizarry y Agustín Stahl. «Nuestra colección tuvo su origen hacia finales de la década de 1960, con la adquisición de obras de artistas latinoamericanos como Rogelio Polesello, Antonio Seguí, Carlos Poveda y Enrique Tábara, así como de los maestros puertorriqueños Julio Rosado del Valle, Carlos Irizarry, Domingo López y Luis Hernández Cruz, entre otros. Asimismo, la adquisición de obras de reconocidos escultores de la talla de Rafael Ferrer, Julio Plaza y José Buscaglia dio origen al Jardín Escultórico que engalana a nuestro Recinto», detalló. De Feria Álvarez destacó que la colección del RUM se enriqueció con la donación de 583 estudios botánicos del médico y científico puertorriqueño Agustín Stahl, por parte del doctor José A. Nolla, en 1976. Mientras, la colección Marcos Irizarry comenzó a conformarse durante la década de 1990 y tras su fallecimiento, la Fundación Marcos Irizarry donó al RUM unas 183 obras y 593 planchas de grabado. En la entrada de la edificación, que también alberga el Senado Académico del Recinto, se puede apreciar la escultura Isla recreada, donada por Bacardí Corporation. «Durante el primer año de operaciones (2016), el RUM recibió a través de MUSA la donación de 89 obras para la colección permanente de la autoría de prominentes artistas puertorriqueños, tales como: Noemí Ruiz, Carlos
Por otra parte, la colección de arte caribeño se amplió gracias a la donación realizada por el Dr. Efraín Barradas, con una obra del maestro dominicano Silvano Lora. «La colección de esculturas también se ha beneficiado gracias a la donación de la sucesión de Francisco Vázquez Díaz “Compostela” y Margot Arce de Vázquez, de 13 esculturas del artista de la serie Pingüinos muy pertinente a los currículos académicos de esta institución. La relación del Recinto de Mayagüez con “Compostela” se remonta al 1961, cuando el artista realizó el busto de José de Diego que se expone a la entrada del campus. Se añaden también en el 2018 dos obras de la escultora española Isabel Martínez. Todas estas adiciones enriquecen nuestra colección del arte del siglo XX», puntualizó la Directora del MUSA. Como parte del plan educativo de la entidad, y en el contexto actual, el Museo inició este año un proyecto educativo denominado Cápsulas de Historia del Arte con el doctor Luis E. Bacó Rodríguez. Se trata en un paseo virtual por las creaciones artísticas más importantes del mundo y las colecciones del RUM, en voz del catedrático jubilado del Departamento de Humanidades, quien es historiador de arte y conservador. El proyecto, disponible en https://www.uprm.edu/musa/historia-del-arte/, arrancó con dos cápsulas. Una, dedicada a Miguel Ángel, arquitecto, escultor y pintor italiano renacentista, considerado como uno de los más grandes artistas de la historia, tanto por sus esculturas como por sus pinturas y obra arquitectónica; la Basílica de San Pedro. La siguiente, a Gian Lorenzo Bernini, escultor, arquitecto y pintor italiano denominado “el gran genio del barroco y heredero de la fuerza escultórica de Miguel Ángel”. Los interesados en visitar la exposición virtual Fernández, Irizarry y Silveira: Gráfica y abstracción geométrica, subvencionada por la Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades y el National Endowment for the Arts, pueden acceder a: https://www.uprm.edu/musa/expgraficayabstracciongeometrica/.
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Poesía / Poetry
Dancing in between the interstices of glass by Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría
If you add an A to CoVIDA it would manifest two, together and alive. Covid(A) The manifestation that you have not left that you were always mine and still are. Co means a composition of two and VIDA MEANS LIFE. “Dancing in between the interstices/los pliégues of glass.” I see you through the glass and we remember each other dancing, And feeling the sunshine through the glass on our face. I remember the days when we would walk to the seashore just to embrace, to get a kiss, where infinity would be, ourselves. I remember how the ocean glass floor would mirror the sparkle in our eyes. How sweet it was, and is, to hold my stare looking at your glistened face. It is so beautiful to have you now, looking at you through the glass, here, face-to-face, In solace, reading your memories, as I know you are reading mine. It is another day, and I see you through the glass and we take a walk through the valley looking at the sun and seeing its twinkling metals moved by the air. The water, the water, manifests itself to join the ocean, in its most fervent moment.— —you are my beloved. It is, and has been, so soft to have you in my arms and seeing you through the glass I can feel how your hand touches mine
Medios / Media
El Sol Latino March 2021
9
Anthony V. Hayes Named to the Board of America’s Public Television Stations SPRINGFIELD. MA | NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA | February 12, 2021 – New England Public Media’s Chief Operating Officer & General Manager, Anthony V. Hayes, has been elected to serve as a board member of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS). APTS announced the election of its new board leaders and board members on Thursday. The newly-elected officers and trustees will begin their terms on Monday, February 22, 2021. America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people.
Anthony V. Hayes
“We congratulate Anthony on his election to the board of America’s Public Television Stations,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler. “We are honored to welcome Anthony to the board, and look forward to his leadership and strategic guidance in furthering public television’s missions of education, public safety and civic leadership.” As General Manager of WGBY, Hayes played an instrumental role in joining his TV operations with New England Public Radio to create New England Public Media in 2019. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, NEPM serves as a trusted public media voice across the western New England region. The new partnership has created an integrated, innovative organization that provides audiences with a broad array of locally-produced programs and educational resources across all media — TV, radio, online and mobile.
As I stand here, the misty dawn stands still receiving the moist of my, your, tears on glass; and inner body starts to tremble. I feel cold and I begin to look for you. I need to rest, Let me put the pillow under your head, our heads, once again.
Through his leadership at WGBY and now NEPM, Hayes guides the strategic direction of the organization and all of its internal operations, functions and policies, always with a focus on diversity and inclusion. He’s been actively engaged in the community as an ambassador for the mission of public media with civic leaders, national elected officials, and businesses, gaining support for NEPM to continually advance its services for audiences.
I will hold your, our, place until your air changes; And you, we, become still! And dance above the multilayer even prisms everlasting movements.
Before joining WGBY, Hayes served as Senior Vice President for Engagement at Connecticut Public in Hartford, which includes CPTV and WNPR, where he guided fundraising and sponsorship initiatives to develop new strategic opportunities and growth. Prior to that he was at WAMU-FM, American University Radio, where he oversaw the sponsorship sales division and designed and implemented integrated fundraising, communications and outreach strategies, locally and nationally, that increased stakeholder engagement. Earlier in his career he was with WETA, public TV and radio in Arlington, VA, where he managed corporate marketing and developed non-traditional revenue initiatives.
ALVILDA SOPHIA ANAYA-ALEGRÍA - Contemporary, Abstract Expressionism and Installation Visual Artist was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. She holds a MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. She earned her degree as a fellow of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department.
In Holyoke, … OT who will be the TINTNAT E H INK next Boricua CALIE AU RA MOS FR por MANUEL political leader? Ward 1 City Councilor Gladys LebrónMartinez recently announced that she will not be seeking reelection to the Holyoke City Council this upcoming election cycle. This will leave a void in the Latinx political landscape in the city. Important to note that over the years, the number of Latinx city councilors in Holyoke has been decreasing. We are wondering who will come forward and become the new Boricua political leader in the city.
A native of Queens, New York, Hayes holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts in Media Entrepreneurship from American University. “It is my sincere privilege to join the other APTS Board members and APTS leadership, along with my station colleagues, in the critical efforts to highlight our value, and advance the funding and recognition for the work we all do on behalf of our communities and audiences,” said Hayes. In addition to Hayes, APTS announced the following appointments to its board: Andrew Russell, President and CEO of PBS SoCal and KCET in Los Angeles, California, has been elected Chair; Susi Elkins, Director of Broadcasting and General Manager of WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, has been elected Professional Vice Chair; and David Steward II, Immediate Past Board Chair of Nine PBS in St. Louis, Missouri, has been elected Lay Vice Chair.
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Educación / Education
El Sol Latino March 2021
HCC president featured in ‘HERstory’ exhibition BOSTON | OFFICE OF SENATE PRESIDENT KAREN E. SPILKA | February 9, 2021 – Holyoke Community College president Christina Royal is among the Massachusetts women featured in a photo exhibition and story project in the State House unveiled today by Senate President Karen E. Spilka. The photo exhibition on display in the Senate President’s office suite celebrates the often-unsung stories of women of color throughout Massachusetts’ history. “HERstory: Volume II” is the second installment of photos in the President’s suite to acknowledge the accomplishments of women with connections to Massachusetts.
HCC president Christina Royal
“Every day I go to work in the State House, I am surrounded by paintings and photos of prominent men from Massachusetts’ history,” said Spilka, the third woman elected president of the Massachusetts State Senate. “The stories of the many, many incredible women who have contributed to this great Commonwealth—and our great nation—have too often been lost to history. It is therefore my great honor and privilege to help to tell their stories, and to make the faces that we see in the State House more representative of the rich diversity that make our state great.”
The exhibition features the photos of 91 women, ranging from 17th century tribal leader Weetamoo and Black landowner Zipporah Potter Atkins to living pioneers Justice Fernande Duffly, the first Asian American to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth Carter, poet Amanda Gordon, and HCC president Christina Royal. In 2017, Royal became HCC’s fourth president and the first woman to hold the position.
“I want to thank Senate President Spilka for creating the HERstory initiative,” said Royal. “This is a time for us to recognize that the lived experiences of women in the Commonwealth matter, and that we are a diverse group of women of different races, ethnicities, social classes, abilities, educational levels, gender expressions, and sexual orientations. I am proud to share my story as a multiracial, queer woman so that girls and young women can see representation of themselves in society, and grow up believing in their limitless potential.” Since the State House is currently closed to the public, a website containing photos and short biographies of each of the honorees can be found on the Mass.gov HERstory page: malegislature.gov/StateHouse/HERStory (President Royal is No. 38.) “I feel honored to have been selected by Senate President Spilka for inclusion in this remarkable display of women,” said Elaine Weddington Steward, vice president and club counsel of the Boston Red Sox. “My hope is that this project will inspire women and girls to follow and achieve their dreams.” Senate President Spilka, together with members of the Senate and staff, chose honorees based on their close ties to Massachusetts, ability to inspire the youth of today to work for a better world, and acknowledgement of being a trailblazer in their given field. Honorees include abolitionists, poets, entrepreneurs, educators, politicians, musicians, community activists and scientists, among others. “It is an honor to be selected to be part of President Spilka’s HERstory project as a Community Development leader,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “While it highlights my work, it really highlights the work of mothers, daughters, sisters and friends who work in big and small ways to make the Commonwealth’s communities strong and vibrant. I look forward to reading the stories of the other women in the project.” Further, related events will be scheduled later in February to celebrate Black History Month, and in March for Women’s History Month. The photos and biographies will also become part of a dedicated lesson plan, currently being developed, to distribute to teachers in the Commonwealth. The HERstory: Volume II project is the second time Senate President Spilka has featured the stories of remarkable women in the President’s suite. She unveiled the photos of 88 women during Women’s History Month in March 2019, and they remained in her office suite until this month, when they were replaced with the current photo exhibition.
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“I am honored to be part of HERstory on behalf of countless brilliant and driven women who shaped our history, but whose own stories have not been told,” said Pardis Sabeti, head of the Sabeti Lab, which is part of the FAS Center for Systems Biology at Harvard University. “Together, we honor and remember them, while striving to elevate the voices of the many women who are still silenced throughout the world today.” “This project helps create lasting impact and change by amplifying the whispered stories and leadership of women of color across Massachusetts into a roar,” said Lisa Wong, former Fitchburg Mayor and current town manager of Winchester. . “Women, throughout history, have contributed to the development of society—through scientific discoveries, pioneering adventures, advocacy, and entrepreneurship,” said Yari Golden-Castaño, a systems engineer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and one of 100 candidates from around the world for the Mars One Project, the first human settlement of Mars. “It should be normal by now for young girls to grow up with women like them in positions of expertise and authority, showing girls they really can follow their dreams.” “Senate President Spilka has created a wonderful way to celebrate the many ways women have contributed to our rich history, and I am excited to be a part of it,” said Fernande R.V. Duffly, associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Educación / Education
El Sol Latino March 2021
11
Faced with hardship, Springfield woman finds path to success at STCC SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | February 11, 2021 – Jenary Merced remains passionate about inspiring people who are considering becoming a student at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC).
personalized onboarding events for Springfield Public Schools students and helps to eliminate barriers to increase student success.
An admissions counselor, Merced knows that applying to STCC is a lifechanging decision for many people. It’s especially true for those who might be the first in their family to go to college or wonder how they can juggle being a parent and studying for exams.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do here because I wanted to come back to STCC to support the community that I live in. My children are born and raised here. They go to public schools. My daughter started at STCC this spring semester.”
Merced sees herself in many of the people she meets – and wants them to know they can be as successful as she was. But her journey to graduation wasn’t always easy. “I was a first generation student,” Merced said. “I wanted to go to college, but it wasn’t an easy transition for me.” She first enrolled at STCC in 2004, when her daughter was a month old. She dropped out three times before coming back to STCC as a single mother and domestic abuse survivor. Merced found the campus community to be welcoming and willing to help each time she returned. Merced said she would not have been successful without a support network she found at STCC.
Recognizing her leadership skills and can-do spirit, Dress for Success in January asked Merced to join its board of directors. Dress for Success Western Jenary Merced Massachusetts is part of a worldwide organization that offers women the tools to gain economic independence.
“I have a bright future, and I owe it all to my experiences here at STCC,” she said.
“We are honored to have Jenary on our board of directors to provide both leadership and oversight so we can continue delivering exceptional programs and services to women in Western Massachusetts,” said Margaret Tantillo, executive director of the Western Massachusetts affiliate.
Merced also found support from one of STCC’s community partners, Dress For Success Western Massachusetts, an organization that offers women professional clothing, shoes and accessories so they can look and feel their best at job interviews. Dress for Success also helps women create resumes, write cover letters and offers tips on how to shine at interviews.
STCC Professor Denise “Daisy” Flaim said she was excited to hear that her former student was named to the board. “This is so great. Dress for Success is such an important program, and Jenary is a perfect match. She’ll bring her drive and her optimism and her fierce commitment to equity. Go, Jenary!”
“I was an adult, but I didn’t know how to dress for an interview. I didn’t know a lot of things,” Merced said. “They helped me pick out a blouse, a blazer, some pants, some shoes and I even got a little purse to wear,” she said. “I got tips on how to wear hair, what nail polish to use, how to do your makeup and how that affects your interview. I walked out of there feeling like a million bucks.”
Merced cites Flaim as one of her influences at STCC, a professor who changed her life. “Professor Flaim made every student feel like he or she was the smartest person in the room,” Merced said.
After studying at STCC, she went on to earn a bachelor’s from American International College and then a master’s degree from Fitchburg State University.
One of the most important tips Merced offers to prospective students is to be “a self-advocate.”
Today, she works at STCC as an admissions counselor. As part of her job, she participates in “Facebook Live” enrollment events and speaks to prospective students and answers questions. Merced also co-facilitates the “Roadmap to STCC” initiative (stcc.edu/apply/roadmap) with colleague Maria Fonseca, coordinator of Student Assessment. This initiative provides
Students need to hear positive feedback from their instructors, Merced said. A kind word of support helps build their confidence and gives them hope.
“You need to advocate for yourself and have confidence,” she said. “You need to ask questions and find out what you need to do to be successful. You will find out that the faculty and staff at STCC want to help you be a success. They will do what they can to make STCC work for you.” 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 March 2021
Arizona Board of Regents announces José Luis Cruz as Northern Arizona University presidential finalist PHOENIX, AZ | ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS | February 18, 2021 – The Arizona Board of Regents announced today that José Luis Cruz, Ph.D. is the finalist for the position of the 17th president of Northern Arizona University. “Dr. Cruz has an extraordinary record of academic leadership, and I am confident he is the right leader to build on NAU’s success and ensure a bold and boundless future for this beloved and historic university,” said ABOR Chair Larry E. Penley. “He is a proven innovator in higher education who keenly understands the enormous opportunities that NAU offers as well as the challenges facing higher education. His unsurpassed commitment to diversity, equity and José Luis Cruz (NAU News - Northern Arizona University inclusion, coupled with a long track record as a leading national advocate to improve educational outcomes for all students — especially those who have historically been underserved — will serve Arizona and NAU well. I am personally honored that he has accepted the opportunity to be the next president of NAU and offer my sincere congratulations.” Dr. Cruz is currently the executive vice chancellor and university provost at The City University of New York. Previously, Cruz served as provost of California State University, Fullerton. He is a former vice president of higher
education policy and practice at The Education Trust in Washington, D.C. and a former chief student affairs officer for the University of Puerto Rico system. He began his career as a faculty member in engineering at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, rising through the ranks and serving as chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and dean of Academic Affairs. “I am honored that the Arizona Board of Regents has selected me as the finalist for the position of president of Northern Arizona University,” said Dr. Cruz. “Rima and I are very much looking forward to joining the proud Lumberjack family, serving the Flagstaff community, and the peoples of the great state of Arizona. We truly believe a bold and boundless future is within reach.” The selection of Dr. Cruz as the finalist for NAU president comes after the board conducted an extensive nationwide search, appointed co-chairs and members of the ABOR NAU Presidential Search Advisory Committee and chose an executive search firm to assist with the search. Throughout the search process, input from NAU stakeholders and members of the public was solicited to inform the search process. The board approved leadership characteristics necessary for the next president to lead NAU through the myriad of opportunities and challenges facing the university and the current higher education landscape as a visionary, dynamic, accountable and innovative president and chief executive for NAU. The board will take action to approve contract terms and appoint Dr. Cruz as the new NAU president at a subsequent meeting.
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Política / Politics
El Sol Latino March 2021
13
The Prospect of Statehood for Puerto Rico? Light Years Away by HARRY FRANQUI-RIVERA Originally posted on incoherentthoughtsblog.com - January 29, 2021 and on latinorebels.com - January 30, 2021
I offer this as a historian and political analyst and not seeking to promote whatever solution to the Puerto Rican Status issue. It is decolonization by the way, but when offering an assessment of Puerto Rico’s situation, scholars should go with facts and reality and not talk like the Boricua equivalent of MAGA (and that goes for proponents and champions of statehood, status quo and independence). For the last three decades, the statehood movement in Puerto Rico has grown steadily. Not only has the party with statehood in its platform (PNP) alternated control of the governorship and the legislature with the former dominant party (PPD), but in a series of referendums, statehood has been preferred or emerged victorious. Low participation in some and boycott in others, and their non-binding nature, have put the results of the referendums into question. However, the discussion is academic (or worse yet, ideological) because the main point is that supporters of statehood keep voting for it and their numbers growing- both in PR and among the state-based Puerto Rican communities. • Support for Statehood has grown despite how poorly (embarrassingly so) the PNP manages the questions of cultural identity (as if they were embarrassed of being Puerto Ricans), the concept of the Puerto Rican nation (which it vibrantly exists); its approach to the state-based Puerto Rican community (diaspora), and despite widespread corruption in the PNP and the nefarious effects of Ricky Roselló and Wanda Vazquez’s incompetent administration. • To this day- if there were a congress-sponsored binding referendum between independence and statehood; the latter would get from 80 to 75% of the votes. Hence the PPD blocks any such thing and refuses to participate in them. If I were a PPD strategist- that would be my strategy until I could come up with a redefinition of the Estado libre Asociado. • Between supporters of independence and status quo you may reach 45+ of the electorate. But it seems that statehood would win anyways- even if not with a strong mandate. That poses the problem of a people divided right down the middle when it comes to the political status. Do we want Puerto Rico as a state when about half the population does not want that option? That is something to think about. • The option known as Associated Republic- is a rebranding of the commonwealth. Three small countries in the Pacific have such arrangement with the United States. It would never work in Puerto Rico because the first step for an Associated Republic is that Puerto Ricans renounce their U.S. citizenship. • Retaining U.S. citizenship has even more support than statehood with most of the people voting PPD and status quo (and of course all statehooders) wanting to keep it. So, you can actually bet on 85% of Puerto Ricans wanting to keep their US citizenship. • The Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2020 proposes creating a “status convention” made up of “delegates elected by Puerto Rican voters who would come up with a long-term solution for the island’s territorial status — whether that be statehood, independence, a free association or any option other than the current territorial arrangement.” This is what was done between 1950-52 which led to the creation of the Estado Libre Asociado– Commonwealth formula. Many oppose this in Puerto Rico (in particular statehooders) because it will put the process in the hands of a constituent assembly to decide the “decolonization” formula. PPD (status quo) and the pro-independence coalition favor it because it will amplify their voices in the process. This is Nydia Velazquez and Alexandra Ocasio Cortez’ formula. • There is also support for statehood among the GOP for statehood (at least they give lip service to it)- particularly in states that have received a great number of the recent Puerto Rican exodus. The support is there because both democrats and republicans from Virginia to Florida and from Georgia to Texas understand that there is considerably support for statehood among the newly arrived Puerto Ricans and among third and fourth generation state-side born Puerto Ricans.
Things to consider: • The argument that Puerto Ricans would lose their identity if it became a state is absurd and discriminates against the State-based Puerto Rica population. It has to go. For starters, the United States is culturally diverse, and statehood (just like independence or status quo) is a political, not a cultural process. The cultural argument is always brought “we are going to lose miss Universe, and the national team” to influence a political decision. So, a lot of people rather live in a colony so they can watch a Puerto Rican compete in Miss Universe or see our national baseball and basketball team in international competitions (hint- we get to keep it with independence too). • To talk about losing “our culture” if becoming s state ignores the fact that Puerto Rico has been under U.S. sovereignty for 13 decades now. And here we are. Also, the state-based Puerto Ricans have kept our culture alive. • Some worry about the United States requiring a higher degree of assimilation for statehood to happen. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. i. The only kind of assimilation U.S. law makers want to see is economic and political- that was attained back in 1900 with the Foraker Act. 1. English as the only official language will be raised by racists. It is dead on the water. There is no cultural assimilation requirement that could be included in any statehood bill. The real players worry about economic and to a lesser extent political assimilation- that was accomplished by 1900. What MAGA thinks about statehood or independence for PR is irrelevant because it won’t become law. That being said, statehood is not moving forward either. • Both statehooders, pro-status quo (and associated republic); and proindependence leaders use gross disinformation and scare tactics to forward their goals. • Anti-statehood folks make the case that the poor in Puerto Rico who vote for statehood are either ignorant or want to live of “mantengo” welfare. If it sounds classist and conservative is because it is. This is another argument that has to go. • There exists a branch of statehooders that is actually completely antiDemocratic and down-right fascist. They use the ghost of the Cuban Revolution (and Chavez and Maduro’s Venezuela) to instill fear, so people see as their only option “being protected by the United States”. They are similar to Puerto Rican elites using the fear of the ghost of the Haitian Revolution and a race war to make sure that progressive white criollos, free Blacks, and mulattos didn’t join in rebellion against Spain before 1898. • Finally, independence doesn’t make you part of the left just like supporting statehood doesn’t necessarily puts you in the right. There is much of both on all sides (and a lot of rabid nationalism in the independence movement). • The status question stops Puerto Rico from engaging in real politics and addressing the needs of the people to the point that Puerto Rico doesn’t have a real left unless nationalism counts as that- which it doesn’t. • Sadly, Puerto Rico has a virulent ever-growing right present in all coalitions. It feeds off the division about the status. It is anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black, anti-labor, anti-poor, classist, hypocritical and detrimental to Puerto Ricans here, there, and everywhere. Back to statehood? Governor Pierluisi will push for statehood. But I believe that it will be done perfunctorily and just to please “el corazón del rollo” PNP. I mean, he has to, he lost a primary to Ricky Roselló (to Ricky!) because he was out-statehooded by Ricky in 2016. So, he has to push for statehood so as not to alienate hard core statehooders in the PNP and be primaried in 2024. Thus, I think that Governor Pierluisi see Statehood is as close as it has ever been – light years away. And we don’t have light-year speed available. So… Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera is a professor of history by day, and a public intellectual and blogger by night in cOHERENT Thoughts (incoherentthoughtsblog.com). He is the author of: Soldiers of the Nation: Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, 1868-1952. University of Nebraska Press, 2018. You can find his academic work at: http://www.academia.edu. You can find his most popular works in; Latino Rebels (latinorebels.com), Centro Voices (centropr.hunter. cuny.edu/centrovoices), and 80 Grados (80grados.net). Follow him @hfranqui or email him at, harryfranquirivera@gmail.com
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Política / Politics
El Sol Latino March 2021
Racial Justice Organizations Settle Case on Behalf of Puerto Rican Voters Living in Florida GAINESVILLE, Fl. | LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF | February 1, 2021- On February 1, voting rights advocates entered into a 10-year agreement with 31 Florida county supervisors of elections to help ensure Spanishdominant voters educated in Puerto Rico can vote effectively. The settlement is a result of the August 2018 lawsuit by civic engagement groups Faith in Florida, Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, UnidosUS, and Vamos4PR, and individual Marta Rivera Madera, a Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking voter living in Alachua County.The plaintiffs are represented by LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Demos, SEIU and Altshuler Berzon LLP. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of all Spanish-dominant, Puerto Rican voters residing in 32 Florida counties, alleged that the counties’ supervisors of Elections held English-only elections that prevented Spanish-speaking voters from Puerto Rico from voting effectively, in violation of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is one of the largest suits ever brought under Section 4(e) “Marta Rivera’s story is that of so many Americans who face barriers the most fundamental means of civic participation: casting a ballot. By ensuring that voters with limited English proficiency can access ballots, vote-by-mail requests, and other materials in Spanish, today’s settlement is one more positive step in the pursuit of a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy,” Stuart Naifeh, Senior Counsel, Demos Now, Plaintiffs have brought this case to a successful resolution by entering into a settlement agreement with 31 of the 32 county Supervisors of Elections whom Plaintiffs alleged were in violation of Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act. The settlement will provide additional assistance for Spanish-speaking voters in these counties beyond that required by the State’s new rules Under the settlement, the 31 Supervisors will provide the following language access services in their counties for the next 10 years:
“Language access has been at the core of our work at LatinoJustice PRLDEF from the moment we started in 1972 and our success in protecting the Latino vote from English-only systems is the heart of what we do,” said Kira Romero-Craft, Managing Attorney for LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “The settlement we reached today in Florida expands access for Latino voters and is exactly what our community demands. We commend our community organizations and stand in gratitude with la Señora Marta Rivera Madera, who bravely gave voice to the hundreds of voters who require Spanish language ballots, election materials and assistance to cast an informed and confidential vote. This settlement agreement brings us one step closer to making true the promises of the Voting Rights Act and the principle of equality for all.” Plaintiff Marta Rivera Madera, came to Florida after losing nearly everything in Hurricane Maria. She left Puerto Rico just two weeks shy of her 70th birthday. Before that, she lived almost all of her life in Puerto Rico, went to school there, married there, had children there, and voted there. But when she tried to vote in Florida, she was faced with a voting process entirely in English, which she was unable to navigate without Spanish-language assistance.
Like Ms.Rivera, an estimated 160,000 Puerto Ricans fled to Florida following Hurricane Maria, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans moved to Florida during the previous decade because of the island’s economic crisis.Ms.Rivera brought this lawsuit to ensure that she, and other Spanish-speaking Florida citizens from Puerto Rico like her, can exercise their fundamental right to vote.The racial justice and civic • Spanish-language official ballots. advocacy organizations that joined her as plaintiff sought those same • Spanish-language polling place materials and assistance. goals, and will continue to fight for Spanish-speaking Floridians to be • Spanish-language vote-by mail ballots and vote-by-mail request forms. able to fully participate in our democracy • Spanish-language secrecy envelopes (including voter’s certificates) and instructions with all Spanish-language vote-by-mail ballots. • Spanish-language translation of the Supervisor’s official website. • A county-specific hotline to assist Spanish-speaking voters during voting periods. • Spanish-language signage at the Supervisor’s main and branch offices informing voters of the availability of Spanish-language election materials and the Spanish-language hotline.
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El Sol Latino March 2021
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Fine Arts Center
PRIMAVERA 2021
Zaccai Curtis Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet Sábado, Marzo 27, 2021 - 7:00 p.m. ET
En Conjunto con el UMass High School Jazz Festival Zaccai Curtis, pianista de jazz, ha sido un presencia fuerte y estable en el mundo del jazz, participando en proyectos reconocidos mundialmente por el pianista Eddie Palmieri, el trompetista Brian Lynch, el percusionista Ralph Peterson, y el saxofonista Donald Harrison. Presenta a renombrados percusionistas en su Afro-Cuban Jazz Quartet en el escenario virtual, junto a su hermano Luques Curtis, en un programa que cubre desde Dizzy Gillespie hasta Machito.
Leonardo & Sam: the Terrible Monster and the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World, Respectively Domingo, Abril 11, 2021 - 3:00 p.m. ET A Manual Cinema Monster Movie
Leonardo es un monstruo terrible. Trata de dar miedo pero…no puede. Entonces Leonardo conoce a Sam, el niño mas asustadizo del mundo. ¿Tendrá ahora Leonardo la oportunidad de asustar a alguien? ¿O comenzará una amistad? Inspirado por los queridos libros para niños de Mo Willems, y realizado a través de proyectores, cinema, música y sonido por los artistas de multi-media de Manual Cinema, Leonardo & Sam cuenta la historia de un monstruo que aspira a dar miedo y las grandes decisiones sobre identidad y empatía que todos debemos hacer. La presentación será seguida por una sesión de Preguntas y Respuestas.
Matt Haimovitz: Bach Listening Room
Domingo, Abril 25, 2021 - 3:00 p.m. ET Presentado en colaboración con el UMass Bach Festival Reconocido como un pionero en el mundo de la música, Matt Haimovitz es aclamado por The New York Times como un “cellista talentoso que trae un sonido y expresión poco común en una variedad de estilos” y por The New Yorker como “un extraordinario virtuoso” cuyas “presentaciones nunca son predecibles.”
The UMass Fine Arts Center is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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El Sol Latino March 2021
Fine Arts Center
PRIMAVERA 2021 - EVENTOS VIRTUALES
Riffing the Reality: Women, Gender and Jazz
Miércoles, Marzo 10 | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. GRATIS Presentado en colaboración con el Valley Jazz Network y el Berklee College of Music’s Jazz and Gender Justice Institute, esta presentación resalta las dinámicas de género en el jazz y las contribuciones históricas y contemporáneas hechas por mujeres. Contará con una discusión de panel y un concierto pre-grabado con Terri Lyne Carringotn, percusionista y compositora ganadora de un premio Grammy.
Bodies at Risk: Rennie Harris and Jon Boogz Sábado, Marzo 13 | 5 p.m. GRATIS
Un evento especial de danza, pelîcula y conversación con dos de los más renombrados artistas de hip-hop en América como parte de la Conferencia “Beyond the Proscenium” del Departamento de Danza de Umass.
Bodies at Risk: Emily Johnson & Alice Sheppard Jueves, Marzo 18 | 7 p.m. GRATIS
Un encuentro artístico y conversación entre dos destacadas bailarinas contemporáneas - Emily Johnson, artista indígena y directora de una compañía, y Alice Sheppard, creógrafa y activista de los derechos de los descapacitados.
Fay Victor Chamber Trio
ARTES VISUALES EN LÍNEA
Jueves, Marzo 25 | 7 p.m. GRATIS. $7 por hogar o dispositivo digital
Considerada “artísticamente completa” (New York Times), Victor perfecciona una visión única para su rol como vocalista de jazz y de música improvisada. HAMPDEN GALLERY
CURRENT | UNDERCURRENT
Co-Curadoras Linda Griggs y M. Charlene Stevens
Febrero 1 a Mayo 14
Los curadores M. Charlene Stevens y Linda Griggs ambos abordan el arte reflexionando en temas de actualidad.
AUGUSTA SAVAGE GALLERY
POV: Out of Body featuring the work from Anchor House of Artists
Febrero 9 a Marzo 9, 2021 Painting by Mary Dunn
UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
MIRROR MIRROR: THE PRINTS OF ALISON SAAR
de las Colecciones de Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation
Febrero a Abril 2021
The UMass Fine Arts Center is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act from the National Endowment for the Arts.
WE ARE FOR FREEDOMS
Curatorial Fellowship Exhibition: Artifacts at the End of a Decade
Febrero a Abril
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