Archive for May, 2009
Hispanic Panic Parte Dos Coming Next Week
11:18 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Events|GLBT|literature|New York City · 1 Comment
18 May 2009
I had so much fun at the first Hispanic Panic and the event was such a success that it’s happening again. I hope that those in the NYC area can come through and support the amazing work of Latino writers/artists.
NOWHERE and Charlie Vázquez present: HISPANIC PANIC!
An evening with six Latino LGBT/feminist writers, poets and activists.
Wednesday, May 27th 2009 , 8PM sharp, 21+, FreeNew York City’s only ongoing monthly queer reading series gets frisky in May, with HISPANIC PANIC! Host Charlie Vázquez has gathered a brazen roster of Latino/a literary talent, and with an LGBT/feminist slant that is sure to shock and reveal. Join him and literary ninjas Karen Jaime, Charles Rice-González, Cristina Izaguirre, Maegan ‘La Mamita Mala’ Ortiz and special guest, scholar and writer Larry La Fountain, who will be joining us from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to promote his new book Blue Fingernails. These six writers will be presenting writing chronicling the politics and desire of contemporary New York City queerness and much, much more.
NOWHERE is located at 322 E 14h St (btwn 1st/2nd Aves)
Remesa Reversal
9:34 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Dominican Republic|Dominicans|economy|Money · 1 Comment
18 May 2009
The current economy has had an impact on all communities, but especially Latinos, who were already feeling the pinch. This has caused a reduction in the amount of money that immigrant communities are sending to their home countries, and anti-immigrant scapegoating has a role to play as well. Pero here’s a very interesting development, as reported by Feet in 2 Worlds, remesas have started to change their usual traveling direction, with money coming from Latin America to the United States.
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of money transfers made from the D.R. to the U.S.,” confirmed Reny Pena, supervisor of customer services and transfers at the company’s office [La Nacional] in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights.
Pena said that the volume of transfers from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. grew from between 80 and 120 monthly transfers in 2006 to the current rate of about 150 transfers a day. The increase has prompted the agency to expand the department that deals with U.S.-bound remittances from one to five employees.
I was very saddened to learn that one of my favorite Latin American writers, Uruguyan Mario Benedetti, passed away yesterday. A poeta of love and revolutions, Benedetti’s writing led him into exile during Uruguay’s military dictatorship. He later returned to his birthplace. He wrote over 80 books, including la Tregua , which is required Latin American reading in my opinion. Benedetti’s writings have even been turned into films, and I have to admit that my favorite pop culture moment involving him is in the film El Lado Oscuro del Corazon.
“An intellectual’s weapon is writing, but sometimes people react as if it were a firearm. A writer can do a lot to change the situation, but as far as I know, no dictatorship has fallen because of a sonnet,” he said at a conference in 1997.
Hasta siempre…
Via / The Latin Americanist, Reuters
New York State’s Most Vulnerable Immigrants Even More So Now
5:58 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|New York · Comments Off
18 May 2009
The line coming from the anti-migrants is that they aren’t against all immigrants, just the “illegal” ones but a New York State Court of Appeals decision takes a blow at some legal immigrants and their access to aid when they are elderly and or disabled.
Thousands of impoverished elderly, disabled or blind legal residents of New York State, including refugees, will be limited to $352 a month in public aid — about half of what lower courts have said they should get — under a decision by the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
The 5-to-2 decision, rendered on Tuesday, overturned the rulings of two lower courts, which had held that under the state and federal Constitutions, such legal residents could not be denied a higher level of benefits simply because they were not citizens. On narrower grounds, the high court held that the state had no duty to fill in for a federal program that had stopped benefits to most disabled legal immigrants in 1996
See the benefits of waiting in line and being a “good” immigrant? Too bad many of those legal immigrants who were plaintiffs in this case died.
Via / NYT
Immigrant Mujeres : New Poll Helps Fill in the Picture Pero is it the Same Old Imagen?
2:09 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · children|Immigration|Media|media justice|Women · 3 Comments
16 May 2009
While anti-immigrant actions and speech are facing a serious pushback, the face of immigration continues to be read as male. Immigrant women are rarely mentioned or discussed, except in the context of being breeders, bearers of anchor babies, victims, dangerous, deceptive. Immigrant women aren’t painted in the full colors of their lives as mothers and activists, artists.
Earlier this week New America Media (NAM) released the results of a poll of 1,102 immigrant women. And while the information isn’t surprising, as they reflect what immigrant women have been saying for years about their lives, pero there are those who get hung up on numbers. So what do the numbers say?
82% of Latin American women found discrimination against immigrants
to be a major problem for their family, compared to 17% for women from
African or Arab countries, and only 13% for those from China. Still, 90% of
the Latin American women said they want to become US citizens.
40% of immigrant women from Latin America and significant
percentages from other regions do not have health insurance. A clear
majority of women immigrants without health insurance are unaware of public
health programs that could help their children receive medical assistance.
The poll also found that immigrant women felt discrimination in the United States, especially immigrants from Latin America. Along the same thread, immigrant women were concerned about immigration raids and their possible impact on the family.
Pero is the image of immigrant women presented in the poll really three dimensional or does it play up old stereotypes?
Felicidades to Mi Sanctuary Gente on Winning NAM Journalism Award
9:42 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Immigration|Internet|Media|media justice · 1 Comment
16 May 2009
Some of the most important work I have done in the past year has been working with other people on building movement through justice media. And while it is done out great love, not to become famous or even recognized as an “important voice” in a careerist sense, it’s nice to be recognized.
The Sanctuary (ProMigrant.Org) will be receiving an award that, in 2006, Hillary Rodham Clinton described as “the equivalent of the “Pulitzer Prize” for journalism (including New Media of course) in ethnic media!
Felicidades to the entire Sanctuary – Promigrant.org team y pa’lante siempre.
Peruvians Can Say “Stop! In the Name of the Law!”
4:39 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · crime|Latin America|Peru|society · Comments Off
15 May 2009
Citizen’s arrests always have sounded pretty silly to me and I wonder if anyone really does them the way they are done in movies: “This is a citizen’s arrest, sir, put your hands behind your back…” Well in Peru, authorities apparently believe that they will be affective in fighting growing street crime, and are making citizen’s arrest part of their official policy. Spain’s 20 Minutos reports:
Starting July 1st, any Peruvian will be able to arrest a criminal, as long as [the criminal] is found carrying a “flagrant crime” and as long as the citizen immediately turns him in to the police, according to a new law approved Thursday in the Peruvian congress.“Flagrant crime” is defined by the new law as: “When the criminal act is current the perpetrator is discovered, chased and captured immediately.”
According to Living in Peru, citizen’s arrests have been effective in hundreds of cases and “have taken place without any reports of abuse.”
I wonder if this could apply to politicians, too?
Via / 20 Minutos
New Hampshire Governor to Make Gay Marriage a Reality
12:58 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · GLBT|Justice|New Hampshire|society|States · 1 Comment
15 May 2009After a landmark decision in New Hampshire’s legislature late last month which would make gay marriage legal in the New England state, this dream is coming closer to becoming a reality as the governor said today that he will sign the bill when it comes across his desk — with a few modifications.
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch says that when a new draft of the bill comes his way — one which will allow churches to refuse to marry gay couples if this goes against their beliefs — he will indeed sign the bill into law. This would also apply to wedding service providers (think caterers, florists) as well, who will not be able to be sued for discrimination if they refuse to provide their services. Legislators have agreed with the changes and will provide churches “protection” from having to perform same-sex ceremonies if their traditions don’t allow it.
Governor Lynch had some inspiring words today with regard to the legislature’s decision and his own new way of thinking:
Lynch, a Democrat, had loomed as a possible obstacle in New Hampshire. The governor had supported civil unions but consistently opposed gay marriage. But his thinking changed, he said yesterday.“Throughout our history, our society’s views of civil rights have constantly evolved and expanded,” Lynch said in a nearly 600-word statement. He cited New Hampshire’s tradition of landing “on the side of individual liberties and protections,” adding, “That is what I believe we must do today.”
The passage of the gay marriage bill in New Hampshire’s and Maine’s legislatures makes 6 states in the U.S. that allow or will allow same sex marriage. In New England, the only one that still prohibits it is Rhode Island.
Via / Boston Globe
Second Time’s a Charm : Vl’s la Mala on Yo Soy Latino Radio Mañana
8:47 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Media|media justice|radio|VivirLatino|Women · Comments Off
15 May 2009Last week my appearance on Yo Soy Latino show on 810 AM WEUS in Florida was mad short due to technical issues that can happen. Pero, host Jose Miranda was gracious enough to invite me back. That means that mañana, from 12-1 pm EST you can tune in (for non-Orlando area peeps you can listen online) and hear me discuss independent media, blogging, immigration, mami’hood, poetry and organizing and the ways all these intersect.
Jose also wanted me specifically to direct our readers’ attention to the health situation of a 14 year old Latina, Bridget Ayala Torres, who needs the community’s help.
There is a young 14 year old girl by the name of Bridget Ayala Torres, lying in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. She is fighting for her life and she needs our help. She has been told she has less then 3 months to live. Bridget needs to find a compatible bone marrow donor out there somewhere; but more importantly, she needs help with funds to make that fight for her life. Just ask yourself how far would you go to save a loved one, your parents, your brother/sisters, or your child? This child needs us. There will be upcoming events planned for her in Orlando and in Miami stay tuned for dates and times. For more information you can also contact Bridget’s
Aunt Lynette at (407) 538-1336 cell
(321) 558-1869 home
Represent gente!
Guatemala : Accusing a President of Murder and Arresting Twitter Users
7:09 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Guatemala|Internet|Twitter · 4 Comments
15 May 2009The situation in Guatemala is getting heavier by the moment with reports of arrests of street vendors and at least one twitter user A little background. Attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg was killed and a video released posthumously points the finger at President Alvaro Colom.
The video’s release has led to widespread protest, calling for President Colom to step down and face justice. The twittersphere in the Central American country also responded. Twitter user “Jeanfer” was arrested for suggesting in a tweet that people who had money deposited in Banrural should remove those funds, and by doing so, break the control that “corrupt people” have over the state-controlled financial institution. The murdered attorney, who was shot to death this past weekend, represented a finance expert, Khalil Musa, who was said to have refused to participate in corrupt transactions involving Banrural.
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
About | Advertise with us | Contact | Twitter
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup, | VivirLatino: [...] last week’s liveblog of a conversation on cervical cancer and Latin@s, Bianca Laureano s [...]
- Emiliano: thanks for your reviews. i feel like you tell it like you really feel. [...]
- Mr. Caraballo: Yo my brother loves those crazy movies with them suburbanites getting done by ghosts. Put me down f [...]
- BiancaLaureano: @Michael what's your email address? [...]
- Michael Armbruster: Great giveaway, loved the first two. [...]
- Eye on the Florida Primary : Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Most Anti-Immigrant of All?
- Live Blog/Tweet of Obama’s SOTU Address Tonight 8:45 EST
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup,
- VL Pelicula Giveaway!
- Today at 1 pm EST : Conversation on Latinas and Cervical Cancer
- Today in Latin@ History : Birthday of Martha P. Cotera
- Mistaking Immigration Proposals for Policy in an Election Year
- Casa Blanca Camino 2012: DREAMing of Hypocrisy in Iowa
- VivirLatino 2012 : Resolutions, To Dos and To Cover
- 2011 – El Año Que se Va/ The Year that is leaving
