Día de Muertos: A cultural celebration dating back thousands of years — it’s not Mexican Halloween
Story and Photos by Vicki Adame, CTLatinoNews.com
Día de Muertos, or Día de los Muertos as it is called in the United States, is NOT Mexican Halloween nor is it anywhere closely related.
Día de Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico, and increasingly in the United States, on November 1 and 2.
In 2008, UNESCO named Día de Muertos an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
As I searched for local events for Día de Muertos, announcements began popping up for a “Día de los Muertos Party” or “Día de Muertos Celebration” at bars. This is not only wrong, it’s disgusting — an obvious marketing ploy to make money.
In Mexico and among Mexican families, Día de Muertos is the day when the departed return to coexist with the living and simply put, it’s a beautiful tradition.
But turning my heritage and cultural celebration into your excuse to have a party, get drunk and make money is not acceptable. Especially when it’s apparent these businesses have NO clue about the tradition and significance behind the celebration of Dia de Muertos. And it’s obvious they don’t care — they are simply looking to make a buck.
ESPN’s Hugo Bernal, Making a Big Impact Through Big Brothers Big Sisters
By Vicki Adame, CTLatinoNews.com
Fishing, mud races and in the near future horseback riding.
These are just some of the activities Hugo Bernal and 11-year-old Jay have been doing since being paired through Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters (NBBBS) a year ago.
National media outlets ignore US-born Latinos, according to a new study
By Vicki Adame, CTLatinoNews.com
English speaking Latinos born in the United States are effectively being ignored by media outlets, according to a report released by the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.
The State of the Latino News Media report, released during the Latino Media Summit held at the school in late June, found that 77.56 percent of Latino news media outlets deliver the news in Spanish. Yet according to the census, the majority of the country’s 60 million Latinos are U.S. born and English dominant.
LEGO’s New Women of NASA Set Doesn’t Include Latina Space Pioneer Ellen Ochoa
By VICKI ADAME MAR 30, 2017
Houston, there’s a problem with the new Women of NASA LEGO set, according to advocates who promote more Latina representation in the sciences.
Although the set received praise when it was released earlier in March for its diversity and for including one of the African-American women featured in the movie Hidden Figures, one pioneering woman was notably missing—the first Latina woman in space, Dr. Ellen Ochoa.
Univision’s strategy continues to take shape, but is it a good one?
The recent acquisition of Gawker by Univision shows the Spanish-language media company is keen on expanding its foothold on the U.S. media landscape.
The $135 million purchase of Gawker and its subsidiaries – which includes the sites Gizmodo, Jezebel and Deadspin – shows an inclination by the Spanish-language media giant to not only diversify its holdings, but to reach out to the large millennial market that consumes its news and information in vastly different ways than previous generations, according to those who follow media trends.
Boston Globe’s story, ‘Being white, and a minority, in Georgia’ influences images of Latinos as dirty, loud lawbreakers
Reporters are supposed to be impartial and paint a well-rounded picture when writing their stories. This means reporting and getting as much information as possible to present the facts.
A recent article in the Boston Globe set out to find out why white, middle-class people are supporting Donald Trump. The article, “Being white, and a minority, in Georgia” written by Annie Linskey, answered the question – many long-time residents felt recent Latino immigrants were taking over their community.
But the way the story was written – the lack of context – was a source of consternation for some.
Monica Rhor, a Houston-based journalist and narrative writer, voiced her concerns about the story’s lack of context.
Vicki Adame 