At first glance I was intrigued by Matthew Yglesias’s recent post “American Democracy Is Doomed,” since it seemed to critically address the U.S.’s partisan gridlock problem. But a few paragraphs in, anyone with their head not in the sand will have one of those early 21st century WTF moments, when Yglesias quotes an apparent hero […]
Read more
Of Spock and Other Mixed Messages
Leonard Nimoy’s death reminded me of the many hours I spent watching the original Star Trek series (whose production company, Desilu, had a little bit to do with Desi Arnaz, Jr.), and a poem I used to read at the Nuyorican Poets Café: Star Trek #6 So, what’s it like to be Latino? Well it’s just like […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
A View From Puerto Rico on Cuba’s Opening: The Hard Questions of Obam-apertura
Cuba y Puerto Rico son/Cuba and Puerto Rico are De un pájaro dos alas/Two wings of the same bird Reciben flores y balas/They receive flowers and bullets Sobre el mismo corazón/With the same heart –Lola Rodríguez de Tío The “momentous” yet seemingly long-planned announcement that the US and Cuba have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations […]
Read moreIn Memoriam Juan Flores 1943-2014
One of my favorite essays of Juan Flores’s was “La Carreta Made a U-Turn,” which was his postmodern redux of René Marques’s seminal play “La Carreta,” the one that made the case for returning to Puerto Rico from New York as the only sane and moral thing for a Puerto Rican migrant to do. It […]
Read more
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 […]
Read moreThe Elephant in the Room
From a recent op ed published by The Progressive Media Project: In the aftermath of one of the worst midterm election defeats in memory, Democrats need to regain their standing by fulfilling President Obama’s original vision and reasserting a progressive agenda. The election, which saw the Republican Party sweep the Senate, as well as […]
Read moreLila Downs on Borders and La Bestia
Lila Downs is a siren in the darkness, an ethereal range of many octaves seeking to blur borders and return wisdom to the earth. She appeared at The Appel Room at Rose Hall in Lincoln Center on Saturday, showering the audience with gifts from her life journey back and forth across the border between the […]
Read moreThe 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 […]
Read more
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 […]
Read more
ED MORALES 