Saturday, May 25, 2013

Mexico’s Growing Economy Paves the Way for New Realities

          Mexico’s growing economic impact is changing the relationship between the U.S. and the Latin American country, as was made evident during President Obama’s visit to the region last week. Mexico had an economic growth of 3.9% last year and it is expected to continue rising this upcoming year.  The growing [...]

Obama Prepares for Mexico

In light of his scheduled trip to Mexico, President Barack Obama met with leaders of Latino groups on Monday. Obama met with leaders from the National Council of La Raza, theNational Hispanic Council on Aging, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the NDN in addition to several other groups. In the meeting, the [...]

Latinos Set to Influence Gun Control Debate

Gun Control Latinos

With the nation-wide policy debate on whether a gun ban should be implemented becoming prominent in the nation’s policy agenda after recent gun massacres, policy analysts believe that Latinos’ perspectives on gun violence might have a significant influence on the gun control debate. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), one of the largest national [...]

Guest Blogger: Joe Ray “Our Holiday Tradiciones”

Joe Ray

Growing up near the Mexican border and having spent a few of my first few Holiday seasons in Sonora as well as Arizona, provided me the opportunity to observe and take part in various Holiday traditions. My family’s personal tradition of devotion was honoring Our Lady (La Virgen) de Guadalupe on December 12. This began [...]

President Obama Named Forbes Magazine Most Powerful Person

Obama Forbes

Forbes magazine released their annual “World’s Most Powerful” list, naming United States President Barack Obama as the World’s Most Powerful Person in 2012. President Obama took the top spot in a list that includes over 71 powerful heads of state, philanthropists, financial tycoons, and entrepreneurs. “U.S. President Barack Obama emerged, unanimously, as the world’s most [...]

Increase in Deferred Action Applications after Obama Re-Election

Deferred Action

With President Obama re-elected into office and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) secure, there has been an increase of interest and applications from undocumented students. “I’ve seen an increase in three ways,” says Jose Peñalosa, an immigration lawyer in Phoenix and a worker for No Dream Deferred. “In my office and through the [...]

Guest Blogger: Robert Valencia “The War Within: How The U.S. War on Drugs Casts a Shadow over Communities of Color”

Robert-Valencia2

When Dr. Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Drug Policy Alliance, took the stage at the San Francisco Freedom Forum on September 28, he shared a staggering figure about a country that leads the world in incarceration rates, with 743 people per 100,000 inhabitants—a rate much higher than China, Russia, or Rwanda—and despite the fact that [...]

How Music Helps Shape Latino Identity

Latino Music

Jorge Andrés Herrera, an adjunct professor at California State University – Fullerton, says that music plays an important role in shaping Latino identity, and can transform and affect Latino culture. Herrera, who teaches Chicano Studies courses and is a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA, studies ethnomusicology, the study of how music influences and affects culture, and [...]

Guest Blogger: Robert Valencia “What Patriotism Means for Latinos in a post 9/11 World”

Robert Valencia

The 9/11 aftermath created a ripple effect in the Hispanic community in both sides of the border. After the September 11 attacks, a seemingly friendlier immigration approach by the Bush administration turned into stricter regulations to grant nonimmigrant visas for students and businessmen, while anti-immigrant groups surged and grew after 9/11. The collapse of the [...]

Undocumented Immigrant Makes History at DNC

Benita Veliz Image

Benita Veliz became the first-ever undocumented immigrant to speak at a national party convention Wednesday night when she introduced talk show host Cristina Saralegui at the Democratic National Convention. Veliz, a 27-year-old who came from Mexico to the United States as a child, spoke during the DNC about her story growing up as an American, [...]