THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: HAPPY JULY 4TH AND DÍA DE LOS REFUGIOS! RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT WITH CELIA ÁLVAREZ MUÑOZ AND MAURO MURILLO AND REMEMBERING DYLCIA PAGAN.
We’re hoping you are all celebrating Independence Day and we would remind you that while in most circle July 4th means Independence Day, for those who celebrate Saint’s Days, July 4th is also the Saint’s day for anyone named Refugio. Check out poet and narrative author Alberto “Tito” Rios as he explains what July 4th inevitably meant for him. Next fourth, you’ll have to think of the “Refugios.”
This week Dr. Ricardo Romo salutes small venue art centers in San Antonio who are showcasing great Latino art, such as that made by artists Celia Ålvarez Muñoz and Mauro Murillo. Once again Ricardo brings insight into the great art going on in Texas!
And this week Latinopia is saddened by the loss of a legendary television producer and vociferous defender of the rights of the Puerto Rican people, Dylcia Pagan. A lifelong nationalist who understood the history of the United States occupation of Puerto Rico which ultimately led to the island’s current bizarre status as a de facto colony of the United States. Dylcia was motivated to take an active role in what she saw as the liberation struggle of her country by leaving her successful job as a New York and Boston-based television producer and instead joining the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional (FALN) whose goal was an independent Puerto Rico. Dylcia spent almost twenty years in prison for her activities which the government labeled as seditious. She passed on June 30, 2024 having received clemency in 1999. We post here a tribute by fellow television producer Eduardo Aguiar.
We hope you have a peaceful celebration of the 4th.
Tia Tenopia