Latino USA

A group of "dreamer" activists is sending some of their cohort into immigrant detention centers on purpose to point out the contradictions between Obama policies on deportation and the reality in detention centers. But is this tactic fair game? Big city carwash workers often work long hours for little pay and few protections. What is the city government doing to stop this? We explore these questions in this week’s podcast. We also bring you a profile on French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux and we take you through East Harlem and share the sounds of the festival for Santiago Apóstol de Loiza.

Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the US after cigarette smoking, and Latinos are especially hard hit by obesity related health problems. In this week’s podcast, as part of a year-long series examining health issues facing Latinos, we explore this crisis in Santa Ana, California, one of the epicenters of the problem. We also tackle the idea of food deserts and ask whether having access to more fruits and vegetables can fix the obesity problem. And performance artist Robert Karimi tells us what makes the classic jicama so mighty.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona is on trial now in a federal court in Phoenix, charged with civil rights violations. We visit this unorthodox jail and talk to its inmates and to the Sheriff himself. We also  hear from Jasmine Garsd as she covers the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington DC and explores how immigration laws may hinder undocumented immigrants from seeking diagnosis or treatment. Later, Emily Wilson takes us to see Luis Alfaro's play “Bruja,” which sets Medea in San Francisco’s Mission District, and La Casa Azul Bookstore owner Aurora Anaya shares her summer read pick for kids.

Everyone talks about the Latino vote, but how important is it really? While the Latino population keeps increasing, many are non-citizens, very young and in parts of the country that are not contested. We explore the questions around where Latino votes are and their potential influence. We also hear from Olympic gymnast John Orozco just in time before the London Olympics. Our friends at Alt.Latino share their favorite Latin Alternative Music Conference moments, and Matt Armendariz, food photographer extraordinaire, tells us how to take a delectable photo of delicious dishes.

This week on Latino USA the competition among media companies for the Latino market heats up, the show inaugurates a new series of conversations called “Somos: What’s in a Name?” looking at issues of identity and how the names Latinos call themselves matter, plus a report on the battle over migrant housing in rural Michigan.

The time is nearing for the 2012 London Paralympics, and Damian Lopez Alfonso, a Cuban cyclist who suffered a debilitating accident as a child, has recently qualified. This week, we revisit his story, we hear from StoryCorps and learn about two teachers who deeply affected their students' lives, and we take respite from the heat and go skiing in Colorado with 13-year-old Emily Garcia.

As the Supreme Court recently delivered a mixed ruling on Arizona’s controversial immigration law SB1070, Latino groups throughout the nation have many questions left unanswered. We explore what this law could mean not just for Latinos but for all Americans, we speak to ACLU director Anthony Romero about the details of the ruling and why he considers it racial profiling, and then we visit a garden in LA’s Jordan Downs housing project. Host Maria Hinojosa also shares her fears—and hopes—about the SB1070 ruling.

On June 15th President Obama surprised the country with an executive order that would allow some young undocumented people to stay and work in the U.S. legally. No one was more surprised than the people who call themselves “DREAMers,” a name referencing the DREAM Act. This week, we talk to some DREAMers about their hopes and fears and analyze how this executive order will be put into action. We also bring you a profile of a Puerto Rican trans woman who became a crime fighter, and we share your comments on last week’s show. 

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is the nation’s first elected Latina governor—and a rising Republican star. In this episode, we explore her potential to be at the front of a new generation of Latino leaders. We also hear about a new generation of Mexican cinema that draws its inspiration from the drug trade, we hear about the music of Panama, and in a very personal way, our host Maria Hinojosa shares what it’s like to live with a father with Alzheimer’s.

On May 11, students at a private university in Mexico City protested a talk by presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto and were accused of being agitators for hire by media outlets. One hundred and thirty one of the students involved posted videos that sparked a series of large protests against, amongst other things, media influence on elections. This week, we speak to journalist Luisa Ortiz Perez about this movement’s off-campus impact. We also hear a commentary on Mexican elections from an expat returning to his parents’ homeland, we go fishing with a family near LA, and in our latest Know Your Pro segment, a Mexican baker shares her secret for perfectly flaky croissants.

This week, Florida is purging hundreds of thousands of voters from the rolls, claiming many are non-citizens. But could changing the rules so close to elections result in barring eligible voters? A riot at an immigrant detention center in Mississippi that resulted in one dead and 20 injured shines a light on conditions in these privately run facilities. We also get an invitation to the 84th birthday party of legendary Cuban trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros. And we profile a group of community health care workers in Brownsville, Texas, who are improving their neighbors’ health using an idea borrowed from Latin America. 

Every year, hundreds of children cross the border undocumented and alone, most in search of their parents in the US.  This year, their numbers almost doubled. To find out why, we speak to Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Sonia Nazario who has been following this situation closely. We also take you to the Upper East Side of Manhattan on a dog walk led by Brazilian dog walkers, we hear from a master kite flyer and we remember author Carlos Fuentes in his own words about love.

In this week’s show, we begin a series looking at how political ads aim to attract Latino voters. A new era of outreach, or old-fashioned pandering? We examine one ad from the Democrats in Arizona that asked young Latinos to express their political outrage by texting for a chance to win concert tickets. We also speak with Dr. America Bracho, a health hero battling diabetes and obesity in Orange County, California, visit women who stitch their deepest secrets into quilts, and find out how those New Yorker cartoons are dreamt up.

What exactly was going on in the Mexican-American studies classes eliminated by the Tucson, Arizona, school district? A new documentary tells us. Then we learn what life is like for lesbians in Cuba, and visit a green haven in San Francisco’s tough Tenderloin District. And we speak to the Mexican jockey who won the Kentucky Derby, turning Cinco de Mayo into Cinco de Derby. 

This week on Latino USA-- we give you our take on Cinco de Mayo with a story about a Haitian charro who’s winning the hearts of Mexican New Yorkers. And we check in with our friends at Alt.Latino and hear some of the Cinco de Mayo tunes that are on their playlist.  We also visit Lahinaluna (LAH.HI.nuh.LOO.nuh) High School, a public boarding school on Maui where students  reconnect with their agricultural past.