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NEWS ROOM RELEASES
Latinitas' Photo Fiesta Showcases Latina Youth Perspective
Posted on December 03, 2009
AUSTIN, TX - Give a child or a teen a camera and she'll give you perspective you never considered, says Latinitas' Program Coordinator Brooke Maudlin.
Maudlin is one of many program facilitators for Latinitas' (www.latinitasmagazine.org), the first digital magazines made for and by young Latinas, outreach programs in Austin .
Latinitas is hosting a Fiesta Photo Show at Progress Coffee ( 500 San Marcos Street ) at 5pm on Sat., Dec 5th. Student photography generated in Latinitas' dozens of after school clubs will be on display for sale at $5-$10 a pop.
"This is not just a great resource for holiday gifts, but the Hispanic girls and teens in our programs will see their work appreciated by others than themselves," said Maudlin. "The resulting confidence boost is what we aim for in these clubs."
Started over six years ago in a University of Texas media class then-students, now founders Alicia Rascon and Laura Donnelly Gonzalez publish the work of Latina girls, teens and college students online every month on Latinitasmagazine.org and TeenLatinitas.org. They launched their first print edition of the magazine in 2009 and plan a second in 2010. Latinitas has served nearly 10,000 girls with its esteem-boosting after school programming, camps, workshops, media conference, service learning opportunities and a teen reporter internship - outreach models Latinitas are positioning for national expansion. Latinitas magazines' bilingual content is read by girls and teens all over the country as well as in Spain , Mexico and other parts of Latin America .
Latinitas also expanded its program model to El Paso , Texas and Las Cruces , New Mexico for the first time last year.
Latinitas Co-Founder Named National Latina Rising Star by NHLI
Posted on November 06, 2009November 6, 2009- Latinitas, Inc. is delighted to announce the recognition of its co-founder Alicia Rascon by the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI) at the Mujer Awards held Nov. 6th in Albuquerque, NM.
Rascon was one of three recipients chosen nationally to receive the new award, known as the Latina Rising Star Award at the annual conference held by the organization to celebrate the triumphs of Latinas in various areas including politics, media, art, public and private sectors. Rascon was honored in recognition of her efforts in empowering Latina youth as the founder of Latinitas, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the empowerment and advancement of Hispanic girls through media, art, culture and technology, and for publishing LatinitasMagazine.org, the first digital magazine by and for U.S. Latina youth.
The Latina Rising Star Award was created this year "to celebrate the exemplary leadership displayed by Latinas under 30," Evelyn Garcia-Morales, Program Manager for NHLI said. Commitment and service to the Latina/o community were two factors in the award, according to Garcia-Morales, who added that Alicia "has displayed exemplary leadership through the Latinitas Ezine and its programs, her visionary efforts have impacted hundred of girls."
Continuing with the mission to empower the Latina youth through enriching, culturally-focused multimedia projects, Latinitas provides young Latinas with the opportunity to participate in various media-centric activities meant to motivate them and empower them to take an active role in their education, career-ambitions, and communities. Latinitas accomplishes this goal with after-school programs in various schools across Texas, an exclusive social-networking site that gathers Latinas from all over the world at mylatinitas.com, and finally, with LatinitasMagazine.org, an online publication written for and by young Latinas gives them the opportunity to showcase their abilities on a national level.
"I am extremely honored and humbled to receive an award from an organization that does so much for our community and Latinas across the country. Latinitas is a volunteer driven organization, so this is a true recognition of our collective efforts to inspire young Latinas to succeed. This is a testament to our shared abilities and aspirations in continuing to reach young Latinas in positive, empowering ways," Alicia Rascon said.
NHLI is a leadership organization focused on Latina professionals. The organization boasts a mission to "develop Hispanas as ethical leaders through training, professional development, relationship building and community activism."
Rascon joins other first-time awardees including Cindy Benavides, Director Of Community Outreach for the Democratic National Committee, and Idalia Lechuga Tena, Assistant to the Mayor of Albuquerque.
Corpus Native Daughter Empowering Latina Girls and Teens Every Day
Posted on September 01, 2009AUSTIN, TX - Corpus Christi born-Leslie Guererro knows young Latinas health and wellness are threatened daily. Young Latinas face the highest rates of teen pregnancy, school drop out, depression, drug and alcohol abuse and obesity of all their peers. But Guerrero is not discouraged, battling these statistics through her work in youth empowerment, media and technology as the program coordinator at Latinitas (www.latinitasmagazine.org) the first digital magazine made for and by young Latinas.
Started at UT by then-students Laura Donnelly and Alicia Rascon, Latinitas boasts 30,000 readers per month and a sister online issue for teens. The magazine came out in print in Austin and San Antonio for the first time in Feb. 2009 and mines its authentic girl-generated content from over 25 after school programs, a teen reporter intern program, workshops, camps and service-learning internships focused on empowering girls using media and technology in Central and West Texas.
A Mary Carroll High School graduate who grew up on the south side of Corpus Christi,Guerrero is Latinitas first paid manager aside from its founders and has taken its after school program to a new level of efficiency and growth.
“Media is a fun and easy vehicle to deliver important messages to the girls about their culture, their goals and their own self-worth.” said Guerrero, who infuses her own Mexican-American background handed down from her grandparents who moved to Corpus in the late 40s and her parents Efrain and Eva Guererro who have lived in Corpus Christi their whole life (and still do.)
Latinitas has been able to grow its programming to more elementary, middle and high school campuses thanks to Guerrero and also hosted its first annual Latina Icon fashion show in Spring 2009, where girls and teens had to research notable Latinas such as political icon Eva Peron, activist Dolores Huerta, artist Frida Kahlo, celebrity Salma Hayek and vocalist Celia Cruz and not only reproduce each icons’ look for the runway, but had to learn her significance to Latina history. Girls and teens were also employed as the show’s photographers, videographers and production assistants.
A self-proclaimed band-nerd Leslie Guerrero is considered cool by many girls and teens in Austin and El Paso, Texas for her dedication to improving Latina’s lives. She has lended her language arts skills earned at the University of Texas at Austin’s English department to Latinitas by developing new cultural and media activities for the clubs and has lent herself as a role model to hundreds of girls facing issues as serious as deportation, as well as day to day challenges of adolescence.
Leslie Guerrero is also a massage therapist (http://absolutelyrelaxedaustin.health.officelive.com/default.aspx) and is getting married to fellow Corpus native Tim Collins in October of this year.
Helping Community Business and Charities, Revitalized ME Television Program
“Sonido Boombox” Is More Than Just a TV Show
Posted on September 01, 2009Over a year ago, Austin’s own music station, ME Television, had ceased local programming. LA transplant Paul Saucido’s Rock en Espanol segment titled, “Sonido Boombox,” was shelved indefinitely. Recently, Saucido was able to resuscitate the show and with it, a spirit for community involvement. Each week, Saucido is producing the Sonido Boombox Reversa music show featuring local favorites Brownout, Kalua and Kanko and out of town visiting acts in live broadcasts from Sazon restaurant on South Lamar, revitalizing his show and community support of local charities.
Not only is the show bringing back Austin’s long-emerging Latino music scene, but is focusing once a month on fundraising for area non-profits. Next week’s Los Bad Apples show featuring Peligrosa All-Stars, on Sept 23, 2009, 7-10pm, will also host a raffle benefitting Latinitas, (www.latinitasmagazine.org) a non-profit magazine and agency that empowers young Latinas using media and technology.
“Paul is successfully melding a night of live music with raising awareness for charitable organizations,” says Latinitas co-founder Laura Donnelly Gonzalez.
The event also brings a bigger-than-usual crowd to Sazon.
“The economic downturn has hurt a lot of great local business. We wanted to create a strategic measure to bring more business to an independent business like Sazon, whose Mexican interior cuisine with a twist of fusion is not to be missed.” said Saucido.
Saucido’s Boombox airs at 8pm on Fridays.
Latina Youth Organization Celebrates Mother’s Day and Latina Beauty
Latinitas Magazine Holds First Fashion Show at MACC on Friday, May 8th
Posted on September 01, 2009AUSTIN, TX – Fashion magazines and shows have no lack of Caucasian beauties modeling. Endless covers feature Scarlet Johanssen, Reese Witherspoon and Anne Hathaway, but where are the reflections of Latina beauty that America’s largest minority population is looking for? Where are women with glowing brown skin and beautiful brown eyes? Aside from Latina, what are essentially dozens of women’s magazines saying – Latina beauty is a myth?
Latinitas boldly goes where the mainstream doesn’t. The first digital magazine made for and by young Latinas is hosting its first fashion show honoring cultural, as well as beauty icons in the Latina community on Friday, May 8th from 7-9 pm in the theater at Austin’s Mexican American Cultural Center (600 River St.). Latinitas Latina Icons Fashion Show will be employing Latina girls and teens from the magazines 25 after school programs to be models, stylists, directors, designers and more. UT Design majors and others are volunteering to help style their younger peers. Two-days before Mother’s Day, the show will also feature raffles and a silent auction that includes mommy-friendly prizes from Austin merchants such as El Interior, The Spa at the Plaza Cortez, Bradz Salon and Mi Casa furniture store.
“Latinas have been setting fashion trends long before J-Lo – we want to high-light that history and also the female personalities who originated them,” states Latinitas’ program coordinator, Leslie Guerrero.
The fashion show will be drawing style inspiration from Argentine diva Eva Peron, United Farm Workers founder Dolores Huerta, Music phenomenon Celia Cruz, artistic icon, Frida Kahlo and pop icon and activist Salma Hayek. Latinitas Latina Icons Fashion Show will feature multi-media presentations by Latinitas program participants plus the music of girl-led Latin fusion band Zappasinatra.