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Author Archives: francisco aviles pino

francisco aviles pino is a Mexican writer whose work has appeared in Vogue, The Intercept, The Nation, Netflix, and HarperCollins. They are alum of the Macondo Writers Workshop, the NALAC Leadership Institute, The Poetry Foundation's Incubator Fellowship, the Center for Cultural Power's Disruptors Fellowship in Screenwriting, and UCLA where they are currently a Senior Fellow for the UCLA Center for Art and Global Health and also teach in the UCLA School of Art.
Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: Raíces, learning my immigrant history saved my life

by francisco aviles pino

It was during a mandatory program I attended during the summer of my junior year that I met Cal State Fullerton Professor of Chicano Studies, Alexandro Jose Gradilla.

Part of his curriculum was to share the history of Latinx/o movements across the century and how it has shaped both the forms of identity-making for our community but also how it has also furthered the liberation and lives of all people of color. It wasn’t until we got to the part about immigrant rights movements, from Prop 187 to the blowouts of 2006 that my ears truly sprang up and where I saw a mirror in my academic journey for the first time.
Growing up, I knew I was an immigrant from Mexico. From hiding when the cops would drive by, to avoiding San Diego or never being able to travel back home to family in Mexico the way my friends were, I knew as I kept getting older that I was different.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: We need bold solutions to fix income inequality in Los Angeles

by francisco aviles pino

In Los Angeles county, the latest countywide Universal Basic Income program just closed its limited applications for foster youth. For three years, recipients of the Breathe program are set to receive $1,000 a month and a supportive caseworker. A similar program that was city wide was Big Leap, which has proven to work for families who were experiencing hardship throughout the pandemic. Both of these programs aren’t set to be renewed and require continued political will to continue.
The Bass administration has shared that there is still an ongoing need to get the word out around social services programs when it comes to housing and economic recovery. We need more than an emergency response to homelessness. Families who rent and even own are still struggling.

Posted inEntertainment

COMMENTARY: I’m a Virgo is for Latinos too

by francisco aviles pino

The issues that impact Black communities in cities like Oakland also impact Latino communities in several different ways. Both communities, which intersect, are affected by various intersecting issues in ways that other populations aren’t together. It’s also been proven that Latinos tend to support policies that support Black people in general. The way I’m A Virgo is able to dissect these trends while having Latinos in several pivotal scenes helps normalize what these forms of alliances and coalitions feel like.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: I’m in this country because of my gay Latino uncles

by francisco aviles pino

That experience of freedom, of support, and patience, however, isn’t common among Latino families. Studies continue to show that Latinos have some of the largest LGBTQ populations in the U.S. and continue to struggle with the effects of homophobia in their families and communities. Latinx LGBT adults are more likely to be unemployed and to experience food insecurity than non-LGBT Latinx adults.