Reppin’ La Patria for Hispanic Heritage Month

By Samantha Paradiso AUSTIN, Tx.—The Latinx and Hispanic community have faced much discrimination in the U.S., from the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots to inhumane conditions in detention centers. In América Latina, it’s not much different, there’s femicide in Mexico, the subway protests of Chile, protests in Panama for constitutional reform, Puerto Rico’s protests for Ricardo…

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MONOGEM releases track in ode to her abuelita

HARLINGEN, Tx.—L.A.-based Mexican-American musician MONOGEM, also known as Jen Hirsh, grew up in a family that not only loved music but celebrated it. Specifically, Hirsh’s abuelita would play the timeless bolero track “Bésame Mucho” by Consuelo Velázquez on repeat throughout the house.    “I have the most beautiful memories of my abuelita singing and admiring the…

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Talks With Annette Chavez Macias About “Big Chicas Don’t Cry” and Her Journey as a Mexican-American Author

I had the pleasure of speaking with Annette Chavez Macias, author of “Big Chicas Don’t Cry,” a novel about four Mexican-American cousins in Southern California who navigate the trials and tribulations of being a Latina woman in the United States. For reference, I was able to read “Big Chicas Don’t Cry” in October and wrote…

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