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As Latinos, one of our key issues is education. Although we’re doing better, this continues to be one of the challenges for our community as a whole. Education affects all of us — our sisters, brothers, children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, cousins — even ourselves! And education is more than what is formally taught in schools; …

Efrain’s Secret: A Novel by Sofia Quintero (Knopf)
Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse by Annette Fuentes (Verso)

One of the things I like the most of our gastronomic heritage is the wonderful array of desserts that make our lives so sweet and delightful. As is the case with many dishes and ingredients in Peru, they were brought by the Spanish and by everybody else who came to the New World bringing the …

Jessica Lagunas was born in Nicaragua and raised in Guatemala, where she studied graphic design. Currently living in New York, her work has been exhibited internationally and delivers a strong feminist message. Through video performances and installations, Jessica explores women’s obsession with body image, beauty and sexuality. For Hispanic Heritage Month, Jessica talks about her …

I remember growing up in the late 80s and listening to my older cousins talk about pending trips to Haiti to attend Carnival. My younger cousins and I couldn’t wait until we were old enough to go. Our cousins would return full of stories and a restored appreciation for their roots and culture. Carnival, pronounced …

It’s another semester at City College and I look around the table. Out of the thirteen writers, I am the only Latina in the Fiction Workshop. As a Creative Writing graduate student, this class is supposed to represent my peers, but I am uncertain. My grad school experience at City College is so different than …

As an artist, the trans Latina who goes by “voz” paints, sculpts, weaves – and is in the process of building her own house. She has overcome intense hardship and truly embodies what it means to be a Powerful Latina. While still a girl growing up in San Antonio, Texas, voz was fascinated with the …

In the last post, we discussed fashion and visual art.  But there are many other places that Latino art has performed cultural transformation.  Let’s take a look… MUSIC: SALSA Salsa music, a mixture of Cuban-derived genres, including son, was so named in the 1970’s and exploded in New York with artists such as the Fania …

In much of Latino art, because of our history of struggle and resistance in this country, is a message of social change. Artwork can be a creative outlet for simple enjoyment and to beautify our surroundings, but it can also have a larger significance. For Latinos, “counter-culture” movements often have ways of playing with meanings …

Coquito is a spiced eggnog-like alcoholic beverage traditionally served in Puerto Rico around the holiday season. Other Caribbean countries (including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago) have similar drinks, but coquito is most often associated with Puerto Rico. I spoke with Deborah Quiñones of New York City, founder of Coquito Masters, to find out …