The United We Stand Summit, which is scheduled for September 15, aims to counter the “corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety,” as well as to highlight and address the Biden-Harris Administration’s response to these dangers, and “put forward a shared vision for a more united America,” as stated by the White House.
Author Archives: Brenda Fernanda Verano
Brenda Fernanda Verano is a journalist from South Central LA. At Caló News, Verano covers social justice, health care, and education. She is a senior at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Editor in Chief of the campus newspaper, The Bulletin. Verano is also an intern reporter for EdSource and a two-time award winner in the California College Media Association. Outside of journalism, she enjoys gardening and poetry. If you have questions, concerns or corrections related to this story, please contact brenda@latinomedia.org.
Posted inHealth
L.A. Care Health Plan boosts numbers of Latinx, community-focused physicians
L.A Care Health Plan is the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan available for low-income individuals, and is working to boost the number of physicians in Los Angeles County who are people of color. Today, L.A. Care serves more than 200,000 Medi-Cal recipients.
Posted inHealth
The Sodium Icon Campaign, looking to reduce salt-intake among Latino, low-income communities
In general, Hispanics/Latinos have higher dietary sodium intake, lower dietary potassium intake, and higher rates of obesity compared with non-Hispanic whites. “When we eat meals, we don’t really think about sodium or salt, it’s such a small part of how we plan our meals, but in the long term we can see how this very small thing can have a huge effect on our health, said Mónica Acevedo, Program Manager of Public Health Advocates (PHA), a social justice nonprofit organization in LA.
Posted inPolitics
CAROLINE MENJIVAR, daughter of Salvadorian parents, now a top candidate in State Senate District 20
Menjivar grew up in San Fernanco Valley, where her mother cleaned private homes and her father worked as a waiter at a Studio City country club. Menjivar recalled attending Encino Charter Elementary School, a public school in the high-priced suburb of Encino, CA. She immediately felt out of place, she said. “I was going to an affluent school where my classmate’s homes were big and they had big screen TVs,” Menjivar said. “That’s when I started [wondering] why my classmates had so many cool things, big houses, expensive things and we didn’t? As a kid, you don’t know what all that means. You just know that the inequity doesn’t feel right.”
Posted inEquity
MIRNA MARTINEZ, proud queer bilingual Oaxacan therapist in CA
Martinez likes to refer to herself as a queer Oaxacan, first-generation American, bilingual therapist. At 27, she is also proudly among the approximately 6 percent of Latinos who serve as therapists in the U.S. Martinez credits her Oaxacan culture and the values instilled in her as a driving force for her current career and future goals.
Posted inElections
EUNISSES HERNANDEZ, lifelong District 1 resident will be sworn onto LA City Council in December
Hernandez will be the next representative for District 1 on the Los Angeles City Council and will be one of the women representatives in what is now a male-dominated council. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in City Hall to make Los Angeles a city where all community members can thrive,” she told CALÓ NEWS.
Posted inHealth, Healthcare, Justice, Reproductive Rights
Latinas/x, and health experts spell out what Roe v. Wade reversal means for us
Nearly 8 out of 10 Latina voters agree that pregnant people should be able to have an abortion without fear of arrest or investigation, according to a 2020 nationwide poll sponsored by reproductive justice groups, including The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. CALÓ NEWS interviewed women in LA, health experts and advocates about their thoughts and reactions in light of the reversal of Roe V. Wade.
Posted inBusiness
ADELA RUIZ, turned her Oaxaca roots into a thriving food and imports business in LA
Adela Ruiz, a 54-year-old immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico, was one of the millions of women in the United States who became unemployed because of the pandemic. Today, her family owns and operates La Cocina Oaxaqueña Con Adela in LA.
Posted inPolitics
Attendees of People’s Summit for Democracy share visions for Latinos
LA leaders last week hosted The People’s Summit for Democracy from June 8-10 at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC), which was organized in opposition to the Summit of the Americas. Numerous world leaders, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, boycotted in response to the exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the Summit of the Americas. The People’s Summit was intended to uplift the voices of the working-class people in the Americas and prioritize “people’s democracy first,” as stated on their website. The Biden Administration’s summit did not represent the people of the Americas, according to the organizers of the People’s Summit. “The exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have already made Biden’s summit a political disaster,” organizers stated in a declaration letter.
Posted inCulture
CHARLEY TRUJILLO, Vietnam vet, writer and filmmaker on Caló, Chicano culture
Last month marked 79 years since the Zoot Suit Uprisings in L.A, which involved numerous violent confrontations between young Latinos/as and Chicanos/as against police officers, deputy sheriffs and members of the armed forces, including Marines and sailors, which were most often instigated by the latter. Chicanos like Trujillo had served in the military in high numbers, but many servicemen viewed Pachucos as World War II draft dodgers, according to History.com. Trujillo’s work flips the script and reveals Pachucos for the Latino cultural heroes they are.
Posted inElections
ADRIANA CABRERA, Grew up in South LA, now running to represent District 9
Adriana Cabrera said that she began organizing and getting involved in her South LA community as a 12-year-old after losing a boyfriend, cousin, neighbors and classmates to gang violence. In addition, she believes that her experiences sharing a one-bedroom with family, being a first-generation college graduate and surviving “extreme poverty” make her an ideal candidate to serve the neighbors she grew up with. “Me running has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my community,” she said. “It means the world to me that young people believe in me.”
Posted inCulture
Daniel Villarreal and Danny De La Paz dish on “American Me, Chicano films
Many credit Olmos for the bravery it took to risk his career and reputation on such a violent and dark subject matter. Moreover, the anti-crime and Latino community wake-up call messages behind “American Me,” continue to resound today.