Legacy, Hispanic Heritage

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Rio Grande de Loiza, Julia de Burgos's poem

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In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), Mamiverse will be quizzing you on the historic Latinas who opened countless doors for all of us. Let us know how you did. Q: Which Puerto Rican poet is the writer behind…
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Not What, But Who I Am: One Latina's Evolution

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In the mid-1990s I was covering a political rally in California with a Latina colleague when a Brown Beret asked a version of the question we’d both heard for years: “We hear you guys in Texas call yourselves Hispanics. What’s up with…
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Mothers Weep in Alabama...Once Again

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How many mothers are weeping in Alabama? That’s what I keep asking myself as I scan the headlines and news stories coming out of the state now known as home to the harshest immigration law in the country. That’s what I keep wondering…
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My Two Worlds: Growing Up A Biracial Latina

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It started when I was in the second grade. It was recess at the end of the day and my mom was picking me up from school. I was on the playground when she drove up. I happily waved goodbye to my friends and jumped in the car. The next morning,…

Fashion's Ode to Hispanic Heritage Month

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It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, so what better time to pay tribute to fashion designers whose work deeply reflects their Latin American roots? These talented visionaries show us that when tradition meets modernity the result can be sheer brilliance.…
Latino Pride and Children

Latino Pride & Children

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When my daughter was born, I was surprised by the overwhelming—fierce, even!—desire I suddenly felt to raise her in the same manner that I was: immersed in nuestra cultura and filled with Latino pride. As someone who had drifted into a very…
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I Wish I'd Learned Spanish #BilingualPlus

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“Agua,” my mother said to me as she held out a glass. She refused to release it from her grip until I relented, but I walked away with a dry mouth rather than say the word “water” in Spanish. I was about 5 years old and quickly learned…
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A Proud Latina: This is What I Am

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It was a four-letter word I had never before heard. But when the kids from down the street hurled it at me with all the fury and filth of a spitball, I immediately knew it was bad. Even in elementary school, I could sense all the ugliness…
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Teaching English, Latina Style

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My tenth-grade students sat in the darkness, their eyes fixed on the grainy black and white photograph magnified on a screen in front of the classroom.They considered the four figures frozen in time: a man with an insouciant grin, a woman…