THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: TRAGEDY.
Latinopia is in shock and mourning on the events that unfolded this morning in Orlando, Florida. The massacre of fifty human beings is an unspeakable horror and transcendental tragedy. Adding to the grief is the knowledge that so many of the victims of the carnage were members of our extended Latino familia making this even more personal. Latinopia stands strong with the LGBT community nationwide and the many families who lost loved ones and are grieving from this horrific act.
In the wake of the Orlando massacre, we must go on.We cannot allow the depraved hateful to dictate how we live our lives.
In this spirit, Latinopia puts forth yet another week of videos and blogs relevant to the life of our community. We begin with a new video interview with María Elena Vinueza, Vice-President of the celebrated Casa de Las Americas. As relations between the US and Cuba continue to thaw, Americans need to know more about Cuba and it’s institutions. Casa de las Américas is the most revered cultural institutions in Latin America. Its fame derives, apart from its many international programs, from the awarding of the Premio Casa de las Américas, the most prestigious literary prize in all of the Americas. Vineuza tells Latinopia about the many programs the Casa de las Américas sponsors.
Our regular monthly blogger José Umpierrre, el Zocotroco, returns with current news of the latest absurdity in the Puerto Rican debt crisis. What the US Congress is planning is mind-boggling! Please check out this blog, in either Spanish or English.
As many of you know, the national Latino community lost another great leader this week–someone who seldom got headline news, someone who fought and struggled for justice and the betterment of our community on her own terms. This person is Helen Chávez, the wife of Cesar Chávez. We repost a tribute to Helen by long time friend and member of the farmworkers union, Leroy Chatifield. Leroy presented a tribute to Helen while she was still alive in 2002. His words still convey the substance and beauty of her life. Don’t miss this moving tribute.
Ah, and there’s the current national Presidential race and how it impacts Latinos. We have two views on this–one from Luis R. Torres and the other from Salomon Baldenegro. Both have been successful mainstream journalists and bring their professional acumen to bear as they weigh the issues at hand. Torres takes on Donald Trump’s ant-Latino bombast including his most recent attack on Mexican American Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Baldenegro takes a close look at the Clinton versus Trump campaign and comes up with a surprising and what, for some, may be controversial, view.
All told ,this week shows how relevant and al día Latinopia is with the current happenings on the Latino landscape in America
Enjoy,
Tia Tenopia.