Latino USA

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Portrait Of: Rubén Blades Jan 03, 2023

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Rubén Blades is a singer, songwriter, actor, lawyer, and politician. He was born in Panama and became a New Yorker in 1974. After four decades in the public eye and some of the best-selling records in salsa history, his unique storytelling across music styles has kept him relevant to this day.

Latino USA sits down with the author of the popular song “Pedro Navaja” to discuss highlights of his monumental career.

This episode originally aired on October 2018.

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The Diary of an ‘Undesirable’ Dec 30, 2022

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In 1945, 20-year-old Anthony Acevedo was held in captivity with other American soldiers inside a Nazi concentration camp called Berga. There, the soldiers were used as slave laborers, building tunnels for underground fuel factories. It was during this time that the Mexican-American medic kept a secret diary and documented the horrors he witnessed inside the camp.

Acevedo held on to his war diary until 2010, when he donated it to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C. That same year, he registered as a Holocaust survivor with the museum—the first and only Mexican-American to do so.

This episode originally aired in May 2018.

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¡Cómete Ese Miedo! With Maria Hinojosa Dec 27, 2022

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This week on Latino USA we feature this interview with Maria Hinojosa on the Brown Enough podcast. Cómete ese miedo —or eat your fear— is what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa's husband told her to do when imposter syndrome sneaks up on her. But across her decades-long career, she's learned to embrace the pressure. Today, she talks to Christopher Rivas about how her parents' experience in the US shaped how she thinks about this country. Plus, what she hopes for the next generation of Brown journalists. Her new young adult book Once I Was You: Finding My Voice and Passing the Mic is out now.

Subscribe to Brown Enough here.

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Valley of Contrasts Dec 23, 2022

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In most of the country, when someone says they are going to Coachella it means they are going to a music festival. But for many who grew up in the Coachella Valley in California, their experience has nothing to do with music. Coachella is divided into two parts. On the west Side, there are beautiful homes with large front and backyards. On the east side, you find the mobile homes of the mostly immigrant Mexican and Mexican American communities. The differences between the two sides are stark but there is one difference that has a particularly harsh health impact: access to clean water.

This episode originally aired in 2017.

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USA v. García Luna: Episode 2 ‘The Mexican Hoover’ Dec 20, 2022

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From CSI to Donna Summer, García Luna was fascinated by anything American. Several U.S. officials said that García Luna was the person they trusted the most in the Mexican government. They called him "The Mexican Hoover," after John Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s first director. But soon, García Luna was facing accusations of corruption. In this episode, Peniley and Maria tell us exactly how far back those suspicions go as well as his obsessions, his childhood dreams, and how it all led to him heading the Mexican equivalents of the DEA, FBI, NSA and prison systems put together.

To hear more of USA v. García Luna, head to futuroinvestigates.org.

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Rafael Reif on Leading —and Leaving— MIT Dec 16, 2022

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When Rafael Reif steps down as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the end of December 2022, there will no longer be a Latino president at the helm of a top university in the United States. But for Reif, his tenure and the journey that brought him to it, is one that is defined by more than just his identity.

In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Reif reflects on the legacy he wants to leave as MIT president. He talks about how his upbringing in Venezuela shaped his outlook on education, and shares his message for Latino and Latina students pursuing higher education.

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Identity, Language and Community Through Video Games Dec 13, 2022

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After a challenging experience as a computer science major, Samantha fell in love with making video games. But more than the technical aspects of video games, she is interested in storytelling. Now, Samantha works as a game writer and narrative designer to develop the ways a player experiences the story of the game. And she’s bringing her Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage to the video games she creates. Because, for the most part, the stories of people like Samantha have not been told in video games.

In this episode of Latino USA, Samantha shares her journey of finding her way into the video game industry and the joys of bringing her whole self to the games she creates.

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USA v. García Luna: Episode 1 ‘Untouchable’ Dec 09, 2022

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A Mexican-American journalist and a Cuban-Mexican investigative reporter walk into a recording studio with a bottle of tequila, and reveal an investigation where true crime meets telenovela.

“USA v. García Luna” tells the story of Genaro García Luna: The most powerful Mexican government official ever to face trial in the UnitedStates for his alleged ties to infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

It’s the result of a 10-year investigation and a shared journalistic obsession where Pulitzer Prize-winner Maria Hinojosa and Emmy Award-winner Peniley Ramírez tackle how U.S. money funds the drug war.

To hear more of USA v. García Luna, head to futuroinvestigates.org.

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Feeling Like the Other Dec 06, 2022

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In the special presentation of the In The Thick political podcast produced by Futuro Media, Maria and Julio are joined by Daniela Pierre-Bravo, reporter for MSNBC’s Morning Joe, to discuss her new book, “The Other: How to Own Your Power at Work as a Woman of Color.” They talk about overcoming imposter syndrome and biases within our own communities. They also unpack the inequities and systemic issues in workplaces that contribute to feelings of otherness for Black and brown women.

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Death by Policy: Crisis in the Arizona Desert Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

In this year-long investigation from Futuro Investigates, we dig into how the Border Patrol’s decades-long deterrence policies create a deadly funnel, pushing migrants to cross through the Sonora Desert in southern Arizona—one of the deadliest terrains in the country. More than 4,000 remains have been recovered, and many have disappeared here. While the actual death toll is unknown, experts say it is likely much higher. As a result, volunteer organizations go to the most dangerous areas to search for missing people. We question why volunteers have to take on this work, and how this crisis fuels the Border Patrol’s budget.

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