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Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: Bar Flores celebrates community

by francisco aviles pino

In what has become one of the most popular bars in Los Angeles and likely the Southwest, is a story about an immigrant family whose legacy is celebrated so deliberately and yet so subtly. Off of the sunset strip, before the Dodger Stadium, is a warm red-beige building whose entrance looks like an entrance to any older restaurant in Mexico. Go up the stairs, you may hear Thee Sacred Souls or a Pedro Infante track, or even Beyonce’s COZY, but as much as the music encompasses this geography and sonic space, it also encompasses the founder whose eclectic taste making created what is my favorite bar in Los Angeles, Bar Flores in Echo Park.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: Latino consumers are the 200% Generation

by Ariela Nerubay

The contemporary Latino consumer epitomizes cultural diversity and multilingualism, embodying what is often referred to as the 200% Generation. Whether born in the U.S. or brought here as children (Dreamers), we seamlessly straddle two worlds: the American lifestyle when we step outside, and our roots, food, culture, and parents’ mother tongue when we return home.
As part of this 200% Generation, we cherish our complete identity. We proudly embrace being 100% Latino and 100% American. We indulge in hamburgers and hotdogs as much as we delight in tacos and pupusas.

It’s crucial for major brands in the U.S. to grasp the intricate and nuanced characteristics of today’s Latinos. A significant majority of us are fully bilingual, effortlessly dreaming and thinking in both languages simultaneously.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: Latino strides made in 2023

by Clariza Ruiz De Castilla

September is for salsa (both music and food), Spanish, sabor (taste), salud (health), and símbolo (symbol).
Well, September 15 (specifically the second half of the month) kicks off Latino Heritage Month. It runs from September 15 to October 15. The logic for starting in the middle of this month is that certain countries (like Mexico, Chile, and other Latin American nations) celebrate their independence in mid-September through mid-October.
As we begin to prepare our Latino heritage celebrations, it’s worth noting that 2023 is uniquely different. Why? Because our culture has had a remarkable year thus far.

Posted inCulture

ANTONIA SEVILLA, a passionate Mexican folkloric dancer pushing young adults to embrace their roots

by Annais Garcia

Antonia Sevilla and the Mexican folkloric ballet Grupo La Rosa performed for over 400 people in Santa Monica, California, this past June 17, to celebrate their 25 years career in music and dance. 

Although Sevilla founded and named Grupo La Rosa in 1997 after the passing of her mother, Rosa Sevilla, she has been practicing Mexican folkloric ballet in Los Angeles for over 50 years.

Posted inOpinion

COLUMN: I’m not a mother but I mother

by Teresa Puente

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.

Posted inRepresentation

CLAIRE RISOLI, owner of Pocha LA, merges Mexican and American cuisine and culture

by Serena Sanchez

On the corner of Branch Street and York Boulevard, snuggled nicely into the brightly colored homes surrounding it, lies one of Highland Park’s top restaurants, Pocha Los Angeles. A modern Mexicana restaurant rooted in tradition and Angelina Pride, Pocha LA merges Mexican and American cultures while maintaining respect for both in a healthy and vegan-friendly way. Although the restaurant was launched three years ago, the idea sprouted incidentally in January 2019 when Risoli, founder and owner of Pocha LA, added a printed-out “Pocha,” a derogatory term used by native-born Mexicans against US-born Mexican Americans who don’t speak Spanish well, to her vision board.