Latino USA

This week, Latino USA rings in the new year with a little variety. Host Maria Hinojosa expresses some reasons for optimism. We remember the Zapatista uprising which began twenty years ago this week in Chiapas, Mexico. We hear about a Mayan dancer who now runs a company in New York City. We visit Brooks County, Texas to hear two stories about migration, and revisit Matamoros, Mexico to explore what the deported experience upon returning. Reporter Alex Schmidt takes us on a hunt for the Chicano Rock “Bigfoot.” And a perfumer tells us about her appetizing scents.

We wrap up the year with bittersweet stories. Journalist Oscar Martinez tells us about riding the rails with Central American migrants heading to the United States and Mexico. A bilingual radio station celebrates forty years on the air. The STEM sisters check back in with Maria Hinojosa about starting their science careers. We hear about environmental concerns from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico. A “Banned Book Club” celebrates a year of spreading forbidden Latino-centric literature. And musician Eugene Hutz visits for a performance chat.

Latino USA’s Christmas edition runs the gamut of holiday emotions, from the difficulty of putting up with your family to stories of growing up with the name Jesús. Photojournalist Donna DeCesare helps us to remember the less fortunate—victims of war and gang violence. We visit with The King: El Vez, of course, and take a listen to a Latin Christmas mixtape. Producer Daisy Rosario tells us millenials are doing just fine in our regular News or Noise feature, and our Dearly Deported series continues, with a story from Mexico City.

From Puerto Rico to the Bay Area, Latino USA examines questions of money. Marlon Bishop tells us Puerto Rico could soon default on its public debt. We examine the potential economic impact of immigration reform, a democratic system to spend public money in New York, and helping the unbanked in Oakland. We’ll hear about the debt-incurring cost of quinceañeras. We hear from two Latino tech leaders. And our series on the Dearly Deported continues.

In this week's show, we focus on how Latinas think about themselves as sexual beings, and the constraints on their decisions about sex and reproduction. We hear from one woman whose decision to end a pregnancy brings up memories of a history of control of women of color's fertility. We also examine how changes in funding of public health clinics in Texas have affected the choices of tens of thousands of women in the state. And we tell you the stories of some of the

From the depths of Puerto Rico to the mountains of Colorado, we’re taking you along with us for a few adventures this week. Join a reporter for an adventure in the kitchen. Hear the profile of a man who just put out his first album—at 80 years old. Come along with host Maria Hinojosa as she trains for her first race. Learn about “Narco Cultura,” and the social impact of drug cartels in Mexico and the Southwest. And laugh along with Al Madrigal and Lalo Alcaraz.

This week, Latino USA examines conditions for two categories of workers left out of many federal work protections: carnival workers and domestic workers. One group of carnival workers from the Mexican town of Tlapacoyan have brought a case against their employer for back wages and overtime. And domestic workers in California are now offered some protections under a new statewide Bill of Rights. We also get the organized labor perspective on immigration reform.

This week, Latino USA focuses on literal and metaphorical cages, from education programs and art within prison walls to kidnapping in Mexico. We’ll hear how one former inmate helps people transition to life on the outside. Also: one performance artist’s take on being paralyzed, a Cuban blogger, and life in a boxcar settlement. All this, and fighting police harassment with Facebook.

Latino USA brings the summer tunes, with interviews and music from tropicalia band Os Mutantes, global music guru Sergent Garcia, and more.

This week, we go to California to find out how agricultural workers are protecting themselves from deadly heat. Then, we learn about how residents of Albuquerque are measuring pollution in the air. We explore what we mean when we discuss bias in the news media. And we hear from immigrants to the US who don’t want to become citizens.

Latino USA returns to the Latin Alternative Music conference, a showcase of the latest and greatest tunes from across Latin America. Guest host Nadia Reiman digs through the best new music and talks to artists both old and new about what advice they could use, what advice they can give, and why Chile is going through a pop renaissance.

Latino USA spends this week on the U.S.-Mexico border. We’ll hear deported parents trying to bring their child back from the United States, a Mexican village along a re-opening border, and hear reviews of border crossings from Yelp.

This week, Latino USA takes a look at the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and what it means for immigrant same-sex couples. Then, we explore the identity of people who are both Muslim and Latino. We’ll take a trip to Brazil to hear the accordion dance music known as forró. And Host Maria Hinojosa takes an Independence Day look at Lady Liberty’s immigration status.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decides on crucial cases for Latinos.  For “News or Noise?” we talk about unpaid internships and their effects on journalism. Then, visit a dual language program in Florida, the state where bilingual education began. Finally, ten years after the U.S Navy ceased its practice range bombings in Vieques, artists get together to raise money for a radio station that will help Viequenses cope with new challenges. 

This week, we bring you a report on the GOP’s Congressional split over how to fix immigration, and a roundtable discussion on the severed Latino/Republican relationship. Then, words of encouragement for the Mexican-American boy who sang the national anthem at the NBA finals Mariachi style who later received a wave of racist remarks. We also take you to Woodburn, a town in Oregon whose Latino population is the highest in the state, 60%. Finally, we pay tribute to Arturo Vega, the so-called fifth member of the punk band The Ramones, who died earlier this month.