Latino USA

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Myriam Gurba Unmasks the Creeps Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist from California. Her most recent work is a collection of essays named “Creep: Accusations and Confessions.” In her book “Creep,” Myriam examines individual creeps, as well as how creeps exist in the larger systems and environments that protect them.

In this episode of Latino USA, we hear author Myriam Gurba read from “Creep: Accusations and Confessions” and talk about why it’s important to unmask the creeps.

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Javier Zamora on the Role of a Writer in Today’s World. Feb 23, 2024

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Javier Zamora is a writer who believes he has a particular responsibility: to understand and also change the world through words. He comes from a tradition of poets in El Salvador who used poetry to denounce injustices, the “Generación Comprometida,” and his personal experience of migrating as a child alone to the United States has shaped his worldview. In his work, Javier has shared some of the most intimate and difficult moments of his own history, first in the award-winning poetry collection “Unaccompanied” and then in the New York Times best-selling memoir “Solito.”

In this intimate conversation, Javier shares what it was like to return to those painful episodes in his writing, the complicated relationship he has with El Salvador, and what he hopes the role of poets and writers could be in these turbulent times.

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How I Made It: Buscabulla Feb 20, 2024

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Buscabulla is a Puerto Rican indie duo formed by wife and husband Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo del Valle. Around 2018, Buscabulla was one of the most beloved Latinx bands in New York City. Raquel and Luis had just released their second EP and confirmed a performance in that year’s Coachella music festival. Around this time of success, Raquel and Luis decided to move back to Puerto Rico. It was a significant life change, but one they were certain they wanted to make... as artists, and as new parents. In this segment of our "How I Made It" series, Raquel and Luis join us from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and they tell us about their debut album "Regresa."

This episode originally aired in October 2020.

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The Matter of Castro Tum Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

In 2018, a young Guatemalan man named Reynaldo Castro Tum was ordered deported even though no one in the U.S. government knew where he was, or how to find him. Now, his unusual journey through the United States' immigration system has sucked another man back into a legal quagmire he thought that he'd escaped. This episode follows both of their stories and the fateful moment they collided.

This episode originally aired in October 2020.

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How I Made It: Las Cafeteras Feb 13, 2024

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Las Cafeteras is a band out of East LA that met while doing community organizing. They began playing at the Eastside Cafe, where they discovered Son Jarocho, traditional Afro-Mexican music from Veracruz. They quickly began to adapt the music to their realities fusing it with hip hop, rock, ska, and spoken word. They are known for their politically charged lyrics, speaking out against injustices within the immigrant community and their experiences as Chicanos in East LA. On today’s How I Made It, we sat down with members of the group to discuss how they got started, and their work to tell and preserve brown stories.

This episode originally aired in November 2020.

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Reclaiming Our Homes Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

On March 14th, 2020, Martha Escudero and her two daughters became the first family to occupy one of over a hundred vacant homes in El Sereno, Los Angeles. Some people call them squatters, but they call themselves the Reclaimers.

The Reclaimers are occupying houses that belong to the California Department of Transportation, who planned to demolish them to build a freeway through this largely Latinx and immigrant neighborhood.
This is the story of one of these houses, and its residents, past and present, who have fought to make it their home.

This episode originally aired in November 2020.

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Finding Legitimacy With Aida Rodriguez Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

If you’ve ever been to an Aida Rodriguez comedy show you’ve probably heard Aida crack jokes about her family, her upbringing, race, politics, everyday life and Latinos. She recently published a memoir called “Legitimate Kid: A Memoir.”

In this episode of Latino USA, we hear Aida Rodriguez talk about, and read from her memoir and we get a front row seat to one of her recent comedy shows in New York City.

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Sec. Xavier Becerra on Health, Immigration and Latino Representation Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees several agencies: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement are just a few of them. But since its founding in 1953, HHS had never been led by a Latino, until now.

Maria Hinojosa sits down with the first Latino to lead the department, Xavier Becerra. They discuss mental health, Latino representation in the Biden-Harris White House, immigration, and more.

Editorial note: This interview was recorded in early December.

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Portrait Of: Sandra Cisneros LIVE in Chicago Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Sandra Cisneros doesn't need an introduction. Her coming-of-age novel, "The House on Mango Street," has sold over six million copies and has turned the Chicago native into a household name. Earlier this year, the Mexican-American author joined Maria Hinojosa for a live conversation at the Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The conversation was part of WBEZ's Podcast Passport series, in partnership with Vocalo Radio. In this live and intimate conversation, Sandra Cisneros reflects on her past, present and the legacy she hopes to leave behind.

This episode originally aired in June of 2019.

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A Conversation With Jeh Johnson Jan 26, 2024

Show notes

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policy have been front and center in public conversation. However, a humanitarian crisis at the border is nothing new. Jeh Johnson was the Secretary of Homeland Security during President Obama’s second term, from late 2013 to 2017. He ran the agency during a tense period—when tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children and families were arriving at the border to claim asylum. Latino USA’s Maria Hinojosa sits down with Jeh Johnson for a candid, and at times tense, conversation about the legacy of immigration policies implemented while he was in office.

This episode originally aired in June of 2019.

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