Posted inOpinion

COLUMN: Raíces, Finding family in Mexico

I went to Mexico to look for relatives of my great grandfather, who left there in 1890. My grandfather was a cowboy who rode cattle from Texas to the Midwest. I told a woman, who could have been a cousin, how my mom was born in Carrizo Springs, Texas and grew up in a migrant worker family. They picked cotton in Texas and beets in the Midwest and then wound up on a tomato farm outside Chicago. My mom’s sisters convinced the family to move to the city where they could make more money working in factories. My mom was the youngest, so she was allowed to go to high school if she got an after-school job. She found a job in a department store. My mom and dad, also a migrant from Texas, met in the high school cafeteria. They married and had five children, all who went on to graduate from college.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: As a Latina, why I never saw myself in Barbie

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Barbie. She was blonde, thin, tall, the Americanized standard of beauty. As a young woman growing up in the early 1970s, Barbie made me feel ugly. I was nothing like her idealized beauty as a Brown, curvy, petite woman. I kinda hated Barbie because I knew I would never look like her. It took me into my 20s to see in myself that Brown is beautiful too.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: I’m not a flag waver

I agree with the James Baldwin quote: “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

I struggle to reconcile all the conflicts in our country such as police brutality and political violence against immigrants. I struggle to celebrate our independence.

Posted inOpinion

Latino journalists honored by Los Angeles Press Club

Fernández left broadcast news for a period and started her own company. In 2018, she came back to Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles.
Fernández anchors the morning news and is host and executive producer of “LA Stories with Giselle Fernández.” This fall John Leguizamo is hosting a three-part documentary on PBS called “American Historia.” Cultural segments will feature visits to historical sites and interviews with notable historians and Latino cultural figures.

Posted inEspañol

COMENTARIO: No soy una abanderada

En mi escuela primaria católica yo recitaba el Juramento a la Bandera todos los días. Lo hice obedientemente. Si no lo hubiera hecho, ciertamente habría sido castigada por las monjas. Este Cuatro de Julio, muchos estadounidenses ondearán la bandera o la vestirán en sus camisetas y pantalones cortos. Como adulto, nunca he sido una abanderada. […]

Posted inOpinion

COLUMN: Stop the attacks on drag queens and the LGBTQ+ community

The Dodgers controversy happened as many states are moving to ban or restrict drag shows.

Tennessee was the first state in the country to ban drag performances in public spaces and anywhere in the presence of someone under 18 years old. The law was set to take effect April 1 and now is tied up in the courts. A dozen other states have proposed similar legislation against drag performances, including Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: WRITERS STRIKE IS A CALL FOR MORE REPRESENTATION IN HOLLYWOOD

The strike underscores that Latinos, who make up 19% of the U.S. population,
are already severely underrepresented not just as writers but in all roles in Hollywood.

U.S. Latino representation in Hollywood went down for the last quarter of 2022 to 2019 levels.
Only 2.6% of lead actors in shows, 1.4% of showrunners, and 1.5% of directors were Latino in 2022, according to the Latino Data Collaborative Think Tank.
The think tank is the research branch of the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) and they released the 2022 Full-Year LDC U.S. Latinos in Media Report this month.

Posted inOpinion

COLUMN: I’m not a mother but I mother

So this Mother’s Day I want to acknowledge all the women who technically aren’t mothers but who mother. They are hermanas, tías and amigas. Some of them like me wanted children but weren’t able to have them. Others have chosen not to have them. Let’s honor their choices too and their right to make that choice.