Latino USA

After Texas passed a six-week abortion ban and Roe v. Wade was overturned, many abortion clinics had to close in the Lone Star state. Some providers considered opening clinics in eastern New Mexico, so that they could keep providing services to women from Texas and other states where abortion is banned. But some neighbors in eastern New Mexico were not so welcoming to this idea. In this episode of our continuing series “The Latino Factor: How We Vote,” we travel to eastern New Mexico to meet Latinas and Latinos who have mobilized politically for and against abortion in the region. We also learn about how the anti-abortion movement is trying to revive an obscure law from the 19th Century, the Comstock Act, to stop clinics from opening by passing local ordinances.  You can read more about the episode here. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA shares an episode from the podcast "Imperfect Paradise: Return to Mexico," from LAist. In 2011, Daniel Zamora took a road trip that shattered the course of his life. Lulled to sleep by the drive, he awoke to find that his boyfriend had taken a detour, curious to look at the border wall, and that they were surrounded by Border Patrol. Imperfect Paradise: Return to Mexico tells the story of Daniel Zamora who remade his life after being deported from the U.S. to Mexico. Daniel’s friend and series reporter Lorena Ríos explores Daniel’s journey, from the time he spent as a young teenager without his parents in Río Blanco, to his coming-of-age in Los Angeles and Iowa, to his current life in Ciudad Juárez as a retornado, or returnee. Through an intimate conversation, the series interrogates narratives around deportation as failure, the porous reality of people with lives on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and the alternate lives immigrants leave behind and construct anew. You can listen to the podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mortgage Wall is a special episode by Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA. As housing has become one of the top five concerns for Latino voters for the first time ever this election cycle, we dive into the disparities that make it harder for Latinos and Latinas to overcome mortgage lending barriers and achieve homeownership.You can read more about the episode here. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daymé Arocena is a Cuban singer, songwriter and composer who left the island looking for artistic freedom. Arocena has been described as one of the most explosive and dynamic voices today. In her latest album "Alkemi" she bridges her knowledge of jazz, Afro-Cuban percussion, and even a little 90s R&B. These last few years have been a time of intense transformation for Arocena, so on this episode of Latino USA, the 32-year-old tells us how her upbringing has helped her create music that doesn’t fit easily into a box.Read more about the episode here.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vicente Montalvo's grandparents grew up and fell in love in Palo Verde, one of the neighborhoods that make up a community known as Chavez Ravine. In the early 1950s, the city decided that Chavez Ravine was the perfect site to build public housing. So the residents were forced to sell their homes under the city's use of eminent domain. But the election of a new mayor, would end up canceling those plans, and instead the land would become what many know today as Dodger Stadium.This segment was originally aired in 2017.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alaska is a Mexican-born singer from Spain with one of the most definitive LGBTQ Spanish anthems: "¿A quién le importa?" by the duo Alaska y Dinarama. In the late '70s, Alaska was one of the key figures of La Movida Madrileña, the era post-dictatorship in Spain. In this episode, the singer discusses her music career, how she went from being María Olvido Gara Jova to Alaska, and the message behind one of her most enduring hits.This segment originally aired in 2018.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Vice President Kamala Harris ascends as the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate this November, we revisit Maria Hinojosa’s sit-down 2023 conversation with the vice president.We also hear from our Latino USA listeners about how they feel about VP Harris and what they expect from her should she become the next president of the United States.You can read more about the episode here. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roberto Deniz is a Venezuelan investigative journalist whose work has uncovered widespread corruption in Nicolás Maduro’s government.With the elections in Venezuela approaching on July 28th, Roberto sat down with co-executive producer Peniley Ramírez to discuss his work uncovering a big corruption scandal, the role the United States played in it, and the political landscape in Venezuela leading up to this crucial vote.Read more about the episode here. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us grew up flipping to the horoscope section in magazines or waited for that weekly hit with celebrity astrologer Walter Mercado—or maybe you have a full-blown astrology practice and plan your days according to the way the stars and planets are aligned. Whatever your feelings on astrology are, it is by no means new, and it’s experiencing a renaissance—especially among Latinos and Latinas. Today on Latino USA, we sit down with Isa Nakazawa, the host of Futuro Studios new show, Stars and Stars with Isa. Isa shows us how we are in charge of our own lives and destinies and how we can use astrology to enhance and understand ourselves more than ever in this changing world. She also prepared a surprise for our host Maria Hinojosa—a short reading of her birth chart.Read more about the episode here. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthropologist Ruth Behar is a groundbreaking scholar who also delights in salsa dancing.Born in Cuba to a Jewish family, Ruth draws from her heritage as an anthropologist and writer. Her latest middle grade novel, “Across So Many Seas,” was released in early 2024.In this episode, we spend the afternoon with Ruth and producer Elisa Baena before salsa class. They discuss Ruth’s writing process, how Ruth’s personal history inspired “Across So Many Seas,” and why the creative experiences of writing and dancing are connected.You can read more about the episode here. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.