Day 29: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 29 – Are Latinos Black?

Yes. I believe Latin@s can identify as an racial classification. If you disagree think about allllllll the anti-Black racism Latin@s support, uphold, reinforce, encourage, promote, and pick up anew each day.

Think about how often we are discussed when folks talk about Latin@s. How many of the Latin@ events and publications at your school for Latin@ Heritage Month discussed us? We were included throughout or just featured for one event?

How do you see lighter-skinned Latin@s standing in solidarity with us, with mestiz@s too because there’s also a ton of anti-Indio and anti-Mestiz@ isms in our communities. How may you as a lighter-skinned Latin@ challenge the anti-Black and anti-Mestiz@ racism in the community when you witness it and participate?

Do you have “connections” with publications and media outlets that need to feature the work being done by the amazing LatiNegr@s Project crew? Perhaps now is a good time to stand in solidarity.

Day 28: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 28 – Are Latinos Queer?

This question is timely as it falls on National Coming Out Day. Of course there are queer communities in our societies and all over the world. They existed long before the US was formed, long before borders were constructed, exploration and conquest. They have always existed and this is what I believe. 

We have always existed. We are not some “new” manifestation. 

What may be new is the language we use to speak about our experiences. Or the ways in which we choose to engage with one another, share our victories, and celebrate our culture or create media. The oppression we experience is not new either. Much at the hands of our own community members. 

Day 27: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 27 – Favorite Latino Author

I dont know. I do know who I don’t sweat or love, and those are considered “unpopular” b/c so many folks love and adore them. I can have a list from the top of my head and LatiNegras would start it such as:

Mayra Santos-Febres

Erika Lopez

Sofia Quintero aka Black Artemis

Aida Hurtado

Sandra Cisneros

Piri Thomas

Larry La Fountain Stokes

Charles Rice-Gonzalez

Miguel Piñero

These are just a few but they are the folks that I also use when I teach. I’ve had Sofia’s books be required texts in my classes focusing on gender, race, class, women, art, etc. Mayra Santos-Febres has an amazing erotic story called Fe en disfraz/Faith in Disguise. 

Day 26: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 26 – Favorite Latino Actor or Actress

Hmm, I'm feeling Wanda De Jesus these days b/c I've been wondering if I should stick out watching Sons of Anarchy. Her performance on the show is one of the ONLY reasons I'm still watching. She's a #CatMama if ever there was one!

Her and Jimmy Smitts are booed up and I think they make a stunning couple. She's so fly I wish she got more work. I appreciate some LatiNegr@ directors casting her in their films such as Illegal Tender and The Ministers. That's all I'mma say about that. 

DAY 25: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 25 - Post a picture about your familia and explain its significance

here's brown baby jesus aka my nephew (we called him that b/c my sisters refused to tell us the name they chose for him until his birth) writing in my bday card for this year. He's everythang to our family. My sisters tried for almost a year to get pregnant. They went the artificial insemination route and listening to them come to a decision to find a donor they both liked (and then finding out that donor was no longer available) and then having to look for another is stressful but so exciting for them to share. 

he's 20 lbs at 6 mo. he's starting to get some teeth in and he's starting to make lots of sounds. my sisters have done a great job of raising a son who is not scared. he is so curious and interested and only cries when tired or hungry. seriously, this is the only time homeboy cries!

He was hanging w/my cornpops, his abuelo, yesterday and my papi and him are so sweet together. papi said this is "his first boy" and he's so happy. my papi has a full beard that's now grey and he was not afraid of the hair! he reached out for it and had it near him and touched it. often kids are scared of papi's beard, but not our sebastian.

he smiles at everything and everyone. he's realizing how to get folks attention when he wants it, he got tricks up his sleeves already! he's going to be nice and brown when they get him in the sun b/c my sister in law is nice and dark brown. 

i whisper in his ear lyrics to "young gifted and black" b/c that's what he's got to hear right now so it's socialized into his brain cells that his Blackness is a gift from his ancestors! his hair is going to curl b/c when i met him at 10min old it was all wavy. it's only a matter of time.

Day 24: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 24 – Should USA lift the embargo on Cuba?

Well, in my opinion, it is not an embargo, it’s a fucking BLOCKADE! And yes I think it needs to be lifted like 50+ years ago. 

Ok, so a small country (although the largest in the Caribbean) embarrassed some “developed” (read exploitative) and “major” countries on an international platform. Get over that shit. I mean that’s what those “developed” (read exploitative) countries tell “others” to do too: trans-atlantic slave trade, taking other countries after/during war as booty and now calling them “territories”, etc.

Either way, this is a ridonkeylously long lunch room brawl from generations ago. Not every country is going to do what the US wants it to do and that’s how independence works! And if there was such a “beef” with Cuba give up Guantanmo too, why keep it? Don’t answer, I know why the US keeps it (and wasn’t it supposed to be closed POTUS Obama?)

And wtf with this imaginary border in the ocean? really? 

Anyway, when one overly exploitative country isolates another forcing it to find resources and partnerships and then that space thrives sans the overly exploitative country; it’s a reminder that the exploitative country has fucked up and will continue to do so. 

day 23: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 23: Hispanic or Latino? Which do you prefer?

I prefer neither. I’m Puerto Rican. I think many folks when we are asked our preference may prefer our country of origin or where our ethnic and cultural background connects. I did not grow up in a Hispanic or in a Latin@ home. I grew up in a Puerto Rican one.

If you want to lump me with folks of a particular group it would be Caribbean folks. I have realized I have so much more in common with folks from the Caribbean, and not just Cuba and Dominican Republic, but also the islands such as St. Martin/Marteen, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Kitts, Haiti, Monserrat, Dominca, etc. Our histories def connect in certain ways, but our traditions, rituals and cultural belief systems are ones I find home in as well.

I have more in common and (and sometimes in solidarity) with those in the Caribbean than I find I do with countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, and other South and Central American Countries. I find more “home” with those that share the coast with us i.e. Panama, Belize, Guyana, Suriname, Yucatan, etc. 

So if I had to pick from a group and ethnic identifier for me it would be Caribbean, but since we are lumped together in the US by our history of exploration and conquest I would opt for Latin@ which recognizes the complexities of gender, is open to wordplay hence LatiNegr@ (a term I also adore for numerous reasons which I’ll prob discuss later this week). 

Hispanic is a term I find a bit too static. I don’t like the term or how it sounds. The “his” at the beginning and it not being open to wordplay (i.e. “herpanic” is more like herpes than anything else to me, and yes this may just be my own creativity getting in my own way, but that’s where it is). and the “panic” part, really? We area already isolated, feared, violated, why put more “panic” into our self identifiers (and remember this is more on the wordplay tip than anything else). what can i say? I like the idea that language evolves, that I”m part of that evolution and that I get to witness that evolution and transformation. I also want words to work for me and me not have to do too much work for the words.

not sure any of this is making sense but that’s where i’m at now. 

Day 22: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 22 – Blogueros y Blogeras - Are Latinos on the ‘Nets Relevant?

of course we are relevant! I think we have a LONG way to go when it comes to creating and sustaining our own forms of media. Let’s start first with understanding and knowing where we stand when it comes to Net Neutrality(If you haven’t heard of this go read that link to an article I wrote a few years ago).

it kind of scares me when i hear youth not know what Net Neutrality is because it impacts them so profoundly. It is the issue of their generation I believe.

I also think that we on the internets need to really think about what it means to have this access, what it means for new laws (i.e. sexting), new forms of colonization, and new forms of violence. How are we replicating the same bs we do in our everyday offline lives on the internet? i.e. excluding trans women, isolating undocumented folks, sending wrong information about sexuality and reproductive justice? 

I also think about what does it mean to continue to write and create and center our media making from a media justice perspective. Now folks with all kinds of access can be media makers, what responsibility does that mean we have (if any?)? 

Day 21: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 21 - Post an Image that Represents (Afr@)Latinidad and explain why

This is the first image i remember seeing in my family’s home of a Black Puerto Rican. Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican revolutionary, scholar, lawyer, activist whose life work centered liberating our homeland of Puerto Rico. His position argued that the constitution of Spain had already granted Puerto Rico (and all other territories) autonomy prior to them “giving” the territories to the US to squash the war. He was all about liberation

He died (was murdered) in 1965 because of radiation experiments conducted by the US government on Puerto Rican prisoners. 

Day 20: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 20 Latin@ Superheros

I was really excited when back in 2004ish I heard Marvel would have their first Latina Superheroine named Araña. 

I got all of the issues and even used part of the first editions to use as a teaching tool w/my students. One set featured Araña’s quest for finding a superheroine outfit, and all the ways and reasons she chose not to go with flimsy and revealing costuming. She ended up choosing big goggles, combat boots, and a form fitting sporty outfit that covered her for the most part.

Her name is Anya Corazon, her mother, a Chicana, has died and she is being raised by her single father, a Puerto Rican man living in Brooklyn. In the series Araña is in high school. She is recruited into a crime fighting crew/community and her mother’s spirit speaks and guides her on certain missions.

She’s currently known as Spider-Girl (yes, before Spider Man was LatiNegro, there was a Latina Spider-Girl).

Day 19: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 19: Latinos, Police & Prisons: What Say You?

I’d like to know how many folks know how to bail someone out of jail.

How many folks know what a bond is?

How many folks know the difference between a juvenile facility and an adult one.

What’s the “age of consent” for your city/state?

How many folks have been “searched” by the police (not including the TSA at the airport)

Who knows what the 4th, 5th, 6th Amendments offer folks living in the US?

Do you know why “Miranda Rights” are called that? Do you know who Ernesto Miranda was? Why are our “rights” are named after a Latino man?

Do you know that Miranda v Arizona is real!? That this form of corruption in Arizona is not new? There is a legacy of targeting and coercing Latin@s, Natives, and the folks living in that state for generations by US “authority” and “government”? That the person who murdered Miranda has never been found? These are not coincidences.

Here’s a good PBS site about the landmark Supreme Court decision.

Go learn some thangs.

The Court maintained that the defendant’s right against self-incrimination has long been part of Anglo-American law as a means to equalize the vulnerability inherent in being detained. Such a position, unchecked, can often lead to government abuse. For example, the Court cited the continued high incidence of police violence designed to compel confessions from a suspect. This and other forms of intimidation, maintained the Court, deprive criminal suspects of their basic liberties and can lead to false confessions. The defendant’s right to an attorney is an equally fundamental right, because the presence of an attorney in interrogations, according to Chief Justice Warren, enables “the defendant under otherwise compelling circumstances to tell his story without fear, effectively, and in a way that eliminates the evils in the interrogations process.”

Day 18: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 18 – A Poem (original or quoted)

(this poem I included in my dossier from the course I took w/Dr. Patricia Hill Collins called “Critical Theories on Race and Racism.” I was one of the few who earned an A in her class. It was the same semester that would be my last semester because my paternal grandfather passed that year and I took 2 weeks off from school during the semester, and a year off from the phd program)

Born Anew At Each A.M.

by Piri Thomas
Berkeley, California


The street’s got kicks man,
like a bargain shelf,
In fact, cool-breeze, it’s got
love just like anyplace else.


It’s got high-powered salesmen
who push mucho junk,
And hustlers who can swallow
you up in a chunk.


It’s got sewers that swallow
all the street pours down its throat
It’s got hope wearing
an old over-coat.


It’s got lights that shine up
the dark and make the scene like new
It sells what you don’t need
And never lets you forget what you blew.


It’s got our beautiful children
living in all kinds of hell
hoping to survive and making it well
Swinging together in misty darkness
With much love to share
Smiling a Christ-like forgiveness,
That only a ghetto cross can bear.


The streets got life, man,
like a young tender sun,
and gentleness like
long awaited dreams to come.


For children are roses with nary a thorn,
forced to feel the racist’s scorn,
Our children are beauty
with the right to be born.


Born anew at each a.m.
Like a child out of twilight,
flying toward sunlight,
Born anew at each a.m.

Day 17: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 17 – Si No Puede Hablar Español, No Se Pone Latino. Verdad? 

maybe i’m just reading this differently, but isn’t this worded incorrectly? instead of “pone” should it be “eres”? perhaps the point is to have it spelled incorrectly to make a point? 

 Honestly, I’m getting real tired of these daily blog posts b/c some of the topics don’t really apply to me, or I’ve already written about them. I’m tired of folks policing others language. I’ve already written extensively about this topic. Check out my post: Language As Resistance, Media Making, & Media Justice.

This is a good time to revisit the Anzaldúa quote of: “So if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” Let’s be honest, it’s scary for those in and with power when oppressed people and youth take pride in themselves because it represents survival and a revolutionary love for our lives in a way that demands our existance as humans be honored and treated with dignity.

Day 16: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 16 – Latino Art

my papi is an artist. here's what i got this yeah for my birthday. 

click foto for full image

Day 15: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 15 – Latinos in the Film Industry

There are, unfortunately, only a handful of Latin@s in the film industry, especially as directors.  There was a time I appreciated films such as “Illegal Tender” (b/c they centered LatiNegr@s, but also because Wanda de Jesus). However, folks who create those films are less than exceptional folks in general.  

My favorite “Latin@” films include: I Like It Like That and Miracle At St. Anna  ”I Like It Like That” is phenomenal! It is a story about a radical woman of color, lisette (lauren velez) (puerto rican mom and jamaican father) coming into her own, an afralatina who is raising three children with a man (chino, john seda) whose mother (rita moreno) is a white supremacist and speaks all that “good hair’ bullshit. lisette character has a trans sister Alexis (jesse borrego) who is a owner of a botanica in the neighborhood. lisette finds her own space and independence with the help of her sister and community.

Miracle at St. Anna is a film by spike lee and stars laz alonso as the main character, hector negron. the film follows 4 US soldiers during WWII who are in Italy. Negron is the one surviving soldier to tell this narrative and we watch as he is struggles with the story and weight of what he survived. when else do we hear the stories of LatiNegr@ soldiers?

Day 14: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 14 - Favorite Latino Musician

too many to pick just one. but i do adore omar sosa. everything he touches and creates is gold to me. his chants. his jazz. his homage to the ocean and god/desses and to the earth. 

they are home to me. and i hope i get to see him again perform.  here’s one of his videos. 

Day 13: 30 Days of Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 13 – What Do I know about indigenous culture (i.e.Tainos)

I know a lot about the Arawak, aka Tainos in Puerto Rico, as it’s part of my culture. I’ve also learned a bit by reading and experience of living among Mayans in Xhualtez, Yucatan (yes Mayans STILL exist so quit with all your “Mayan prophecies” bs where they were annihilated before finishing a calendar). 

I do become suspicious of folks such as anthropologists who do not have any connection to our communities because they are outsiders telling us what our ancestors have left. Who are they? This is something I realized when learning about Mayan and Aztec images and writing. Some of the “leaders” and “experts” on deciphering those writings and images and symbols are racially white folks. Will they really ever be able to understand what those symbols mean? Will they ever truthfully share what they mean? What if the symbols are about their colonial legacy and current oppressive actions, would they cover them up? 

Day 12: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 12 – Latino Politics – What affects you?

If you follow this blog you know what issues I care about and what impacts me. Here's a letter from Barack Obama (staff) that was sent to me at a job I was working at in 2007. For a day about ending smoking we had a "graffiti" wall in the center I was working at and I had to organize activities for the day. 

I decided to have pieces of newsprint for students to write encouraging letters of support encouraging Obama to quit smoking. I had a picture of him and a sentence that read "Barack Obama may be the US first Black president. He smokes, send him a note to encourage him to quit smoking tobacco and why it's important." Many students wrote things like "you need to quit smoking so you can be the president" and "If you stop smoking you are stronger and can lead" and similar things. 

Here's the letter below. The letter arrived after I was "laid off" and the staff held on to it for me and sent it to my home address. I then scanned it and emailed it to my former supervisors. None of them responded. I now have this in my portfolio for when I go on interviews. Some folks are impressed. I'm more proud that there were adults who recognized that youth created something and someone in some kind of power responded. Had I still been employed I would have posted this letter for students to see.

Day 11: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day 11 – Religion

I don’t know what to write about this topic. It’s not a question or a complete sentence. Instead I’ll share a foto, when in doubt share a foto.  

Below is a foto of me with my offering for La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre in Santiago de Cuba (the southwestern part of Cuba) in January 2001. This city has the largest African ancestry as the transatlantic slave trade stopped here. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre is Black, her image in Cuba is Black and folks from all over the island and world come to bring offerings to her.

Offerings folks leave for her (including the Castro’s, which challenges the ideas about how religion was “outlawed” or “illegal” or some other term under Fidel Castro’s regime) all sorts of items from candles, to silver and copper images of the body part they need care and healing for (i.e. feet, hearts, arms, etc.).  

Folks sell these batches of sunflowers on the road towards the site: El Cobre Basilica.  I asked that I be more open to the love that comes my way and recognize it as it arrives. 

Day 10: 30 Day Latin@ Blog Challenge

Day  10 – Afr@Latin@s in the Media

Excuse me while I self promote, again! My homegirl, AfraLatina Puerto Rican and Dominican warrior and media maker Sofia Quintero created HomeGirl.TV, an online space where young folks of Color, especially young women, could ask advice from other women of Color on a range of topics. I was one of the many dope folks included who offered advice. I've posted these before but you can log into HomeGirl.TV to see them all.

Also, here's a video focusing on Afr@Latin@s where I was included talking about The LatiNegr@s Project!