America and Race – Page 5

Radically Reshaping Latina/o America

What’s in a name? The label “Latino” is often used to describe a monolithic interest group or voting bloc. And while criticized as inaccurate because of Latinos’ diverse national, ethnic, and racial manifestations, as an organizing principal the label still conveys significant meaning—a narrative of shared experience—in both Latin America and the United States. Although […]

America and Race, Latin Music, Latinos and Race

Rubén Blades & the Latin-jazz Mix: Never Gets Old

“I’ve known many jazz standards since I was 14,” said Rubén Blades to the well-heeled crowd at the Jazz at Lincoln Center venue Rose Hall. Spontaneously he launched into a histrionic imitation of Sinatra singing “Summer Wind,” then a nasal send-up of Sammy Davis, Jr. “I used to just stand on the streets in Panama […]

America and Race, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Hollywood, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Urban/Global Politics

Queridos Blanquitos: The Hidden Racism of Nuestra América

There is a moment in Dear White People, a film that is drawing a lot of attention for its frank treatment of “post-racial” America–particularly in Ivy League universities–that made me laugh, although I felt not many in the theater got the joke the way I did. It was during a voiceover dialog during which the protagonist […]

America and Race, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Media, Urban/Global Politics

The Koch Brothers’ Latino Front: Libre Initiative

Last June at the Coronado Bay Hotel in San Diego, at a breakfast plenary session for the 2014 conference of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, Cristóbal Alex, head of the liberal nonprofit Latino Victory Project, called out his conservative counterpart. He turned to Libre Intiative president, Daniel Garza, who like Alex, was raised […]

America and Race, Artists in the hood, Latin Music, Latinos in Media, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Rock Music, Urban/Global Politics

Calle 13’s Transformative Space

The sold-out crowd at Times Square’s Best Buy Theatre last Saturday night could not control itself as their hero, René Pérez a/k/a MC Residente of Calle 13 took the stage with his typical buoyant boxing stance, ready to slay the dragon of indifference with lyrics spat and batucada attack. The backing band, now so well-rehearsed […]

America and Race, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Hollywood

The Media is the Mensaje: Alternatives to Hispanic Themed Mediocrity

Hispanic Heritage month is coming in just a couple of weeks, and maybe I’m being unfair, but given the major media’s track record I’m not expecting much from NBC/ Telemundo’s’ “Viva Today” programming. Undoubtedly there will be much huffing and puffing dedicated to just how unthreatening and willing to fit in Hispanics are, and how […]

America and Race, Artists in the hood, Latin Music, Latinos and Race, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Urban/Global Politics

Salsa DJs, Not Fania All-Stars Slam Dancers in Central Park

To be a fan of salsa music in New York during the ‘60s and ‘70s was to witness an explosion—a growing diversity of Latinos came together to create a new kind of Latin music that was no longer dependent on Cuban exports and reflected the gritty reality of living in the city. At the center […]

America and Race, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Urban/Global Politics

Ferguson’s Days of Rage: No Justice, No Sleep

What’s happening in Ferguson, Missouri right now is being called the end of the post-racial era, hopefully, the beginning of a new mass movement, but at the same time it has such disturbing echoes of the past that it feels like we haven’t gotten anywhere at all with this issue. Mike Brown, an unarmed black […]

America and Race, Gentrification of New York, Latinos and Race, New York City Politics, Urban/Global Politics

Redistricting in Upper Manhattan and Rangel vs Espaillat

Originally published at City Limits’s Bronx Bureau site: By Ed Morales The Democratic Party primary held on June 24th for the 13th Congressional District was a contentious one, pitting the Dominican-born challenger Adriano Espaillat against Harlem’s native son, incumbent Charles Rangel, for the second time in two years, and the political fallout was predictably intense […]

America and Race, Artists in the hood, Gentrification of New York, Urban/Global Politics

Kara Walker and the Culture of Decay

Made it over to the last day of viewing for Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety,” the now-famous (or infamous) installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The night before I overheard a heated discussion about it at the Blitz the Ambassador show at the Brooklyn Museum, and of course, it had been a buzz […]