Image source: Netflix At the start of the movie The Two Popes, the protagonist, Cardinal Bergoglio, gives a sermon to an impoverished community in Buenos Aires. Recounting the ministry of St. Francis of Asisi, he narrates how the saint hears God’s voice instructing him to “repair my Church.” Bergoglio (played by Jonathan Pryce) continues explaining […]
Illustration: Peter Naktin The news was shocking to architects all around the United States: President Donald Trump plans to make all federal buildings “neoclassical” again. Trump’s administration has drafted an executive order to ensure “the classical architectural style shall be the preferred and default style” for government buildings nationwide, according to the Architectural Record. This […]
Illustration Credit: Sana Kewalramani When I introduce myself to others as Mexican, a common response is to question whether my national background is true. “You are Mexican? You don’t look like one,” people tend to say. I am always put off by these comments, and I wonder, how is a Mexican supposed to look like […]
Illustration Credit: Eva DiNino “ I love him! ” That’s what I exclaimed to my friends as I finished expressing my feelings for my roommate during the summer. Yet immediately I turned around to look at other people’s reaction in the room. What would they say about me? I became ashamed because the comment could […]
Illustration credit: Vy Le “It was the goblins”, my Mexican great-grandma used to reply as someone in the household thought an item went missing. “Let’s pray to St. Claire to find it!” As we walked in my hometown of Puebla, my dad also had intriguing statements about the paranormal. “They say a demon lives in […]
Puerto Ricans celebrate at the Puerto Rican Pride Parade in NYC. Image source: Medium “We have not given justice to the Spanish Pioneers…simply because we have been misled,” wrote Native American activist Charles Lummis in 1893. To him, the Hispanics “made a record unparalleled; but our textbooks have not recognized that fact.” Almost 130 years […]
Illustration Credit: Eva DiNino On the night of September 15th, Mexico bursts with joy and color as people flood into the streets and public squares to celebrate their country’s independence. Decorations and lights of green, white and red dress every building in sight as their residents and owners seek to pay homage to their national […]
While I consider myself a Mexican since I was born and spent my childhood in that country, in reality I became who I am in a midwest town in Indiana called Terre Haute. I spent all my teenage years there, enjoying and learning from the people who gave me and my family a warm welcome […]
Painting “The Arrival of Cortes at Veracruz and the Reception by Moctezuma’s Ambassadors”, Library of Congress. 2019 marks the 500-year anniversary of the arrival of the Spaniards to modern Mexican territory, and the observance of the so-called “conquest Mexico” has triggered a debate in the county of whether the people of Mexico should commemorate the […]
PROMPT: Have you ever had to say no to something you wanted to do because of a cultural tradition/restriction? Religious? Moral? Health-related? Political? Have you ever had a friend say no to something for a similar reason? How did you feel on the other side? During our weekly content meetings, we encourage our writers to […]
Spring break came and went, and with it the stories of people traveling home or spending a great time with their family and friends somewhere in the world. For me, this free week offer the much needed time to relax after a long period of stress and anxiety. However, I still wished to go home. […]
On March 6, 2019, the Italian government returned to the Mexican people part of their historical heritage. Almost 600 church paintings that had been illegally taken out of the country finally found their way back home after an Italian art collector began buying them from the black market more than 50 years ago. The artworks […]
Not long after its release, people distinguished Alfonso Cuaron’s movie Roma as a masterpiece. All over social media, people raved about the movie and encouraged others to watch and support it. Contrary to the stereotypical image of my culture in the American mainstream media, Roma conveyed a nuanced perspective on Mexican culture and history through […]
My family and I thought that Christmas Eve morning of 2018 would be like any other.. As usual, we headed to downtown Puebla, Mexico, to walk around, pray at church, and liven up our Christmas spirits. I especially enjoy this yearly tradition because I only get to spend a limited amount of time at home […]
To read in English, click here. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pHw5Z0pzOg Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2vHAmR0fRLX4LSOhQZdZFq Creciendo, mi familia constantemente me presentaba refranes para cada ocasión. Hoy, al encontrarme lejos de casa estudiando en Estados Unidos, a menudo recuerdo esos tiempos más sencillos, recordando la tierna voz de mi mamá pronunciando lo que se ha convertido en el dicho más relevante […]
Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí. Youtube: https://youtu.be/g-6oPZ-QAqA Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2vHAmR0fRLX4LSOhQZdZFq Growing up, my Mexican family constantly introduced me to sayings for every occasion. Today, as I find myself far from home studying in the United States, I often think back to simpler times , recalling my mom’s tender voice enunciating what has now […]
To view this article in English, click here No somos ajenos a la inmigración ni a los problemas que surgen de ella. En la sociedad globalizada de hoy en día, es común saber de personas que se cambian de un país a otro y llegar a conocer a muchas otras que son descendientes de estos […]
Today, unlike other time periods in history, we have more of an opportunity to expose ourselves to cultures foreign to us. We no longer interact solely with people who practice a similar lifestyle or who hold the same beliefs. Thanks to globalization, we are more aware of how people on the other side of the […]
Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí. We are no strangers to immigration and to the issues that arise from it. In today’s globalized society it is common to hear about people moving from one country to another and to meet individuals who are descendants from immigrants. In the United States especially, stories […]
The morning of October 8, 2018 the inhabitants of South Philadelphia woke up to discover that someone had vandalized the entrance to the city’s Italian Immigration Museum. On the institution’s doorsteps, graffitied words denounced anti-Columbus sentiments shared by many Native American rights advocates. As a result, the words “racism,” “genocide,” “rape,” and “slavery” were again […]
