A piece of home: reflecting on Hispanic heritage

Plus, meet some of NPR's Hispanic employees

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen October 7, 2023 Good morning. You're reading a special Hispanic Heritage Month edition of the Up First newsletter. Meet some of NPR's Hispanic employees and catch up on our coverage about Hispanic culture. A piece of home by Pablo Valdivia, Latino audiences editor I got my first major sunburn at 17. It was also the first time I was confronted with the reality that my melanin didn’t double as sunblock. My skin became oven-baked, and the only thing that kept that burn cool was applying a plant that my mom still swears by: her sábila (aloe vera). Pablo Valdivia/NPR My parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. as teens, and with them came the remedios caseros (home remedies) that would often define my childhood ailments. From manzanilla (chamomile) for stomach aches to Vick’s Vaporub for just about everything else, they had a solution to everything. Latinos always do. For my mom, her weapon of choice was la sábila.  The plant grew up alongside me in my childhood home. It still sits in my parents' front yard, with battle scars from a decade of sacrifice. From treating childhood scrapes to teenage acne and burns — its leaves have been cut, as my skin has healed.  Thirteen years have passed since that first bad sunburn. I now live alone in a city hours away from that mighty plant. In honor of it, I got my own little sábila. It sits right next to a Guadalupe statue my mom gifted to me.  Although I use sunblock religiously now, I still managed to get a sunburn last week. When I called my mom and told her, she said, as expected, “Ponte sábila” (“Put on aloe vera”). I already had. That piece of home never left. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Hispanic faces of NPR NPR Meet a few of NPR's Hispanic employees and read about how they're telling their stories. Fernando Alfonso III, senior supervising editor, digital news The media landscape is increasingly fractured and out of reach for many who are unable to pay for news. It’s a great honor to provide credible, well-written and free news online every day. Recognizing the diverse cultural and linguistic landscape of our audience is essential for providing inclusive and accurate news coverage. I take pride in managing a team that reflects the diversity of our audience. We're conscious of the sourcing we use in stories. This helps us produce content that resonates with the Hispanic community, like Vanessa Romo's powerful story about a Hispanic family coping with the loss of their son following the Maui wildfires. Lori Lizarraga, Code Switch host  Every month is Hispanic Heritage Month in my house and that will never change! Each time I get on the mic, write a script, pitch an episode and record an interview, NPR is elevating the voice, experience and perspective of a first-generation Ecuadorian-Mexican-American. I take it as my responsibility to serve Latino and other audiences by bringing all the strengths and struggles of my Latinidad, as well as the conversations and complexities that come with every other race and identity story to Code Switch. Our audience contains multitudes and our work should, too. — Yanius Alvarado Matos, NPR Music publicist At NPR, I get to research topical, new and innovative ways to meet our audience where they are to deliver some of the best content. I get constant inspiration from creatives who make me grow daily as a professional. NPR has served its Hispanic audience through NPR Music with its content — from special series like El Tiny to podcasts like Radio Ambulante and Alt.Latino. Serving a community that I am part of is everything to my work. Depicting us truthfully is the basis for any medium that creates cultural content. — Erika Aguilar, Morning Edition executive producer One of the coolest moments during my time here was getting to work with Latino journalists within the NPR Network who delivered a bilingual broadcast of the 2023 State of the Union address. There have been few moments in my journalism career where I felt like I belonged. Committing acts of periodismo (journalism) in-studio with all of them that evening was one of those moments. But I would like to be more consistent with our coverage. I want to talk more about generational family issues. I want to hear music that feels familiar to Tejanos, Chicanos, Buricas y más — and for it not to seem like a novelty. I want education and economics to play a bigger role because that’s what matters to Latinos trying to take care of their families. And I want people to understand what motivates a person to leave their homeland even when they don’t want to. Tengo trabajo que hacer. Picture show Koral Carballo for NPR  Earlier this year, around 200 women celebrated the International Day of Afro-descendant Women by participating in talks, workshops and a community market in Tamiahua, a town in Mexico's state of Veracruz. Documentary photographers sought out nine activists and artists of the Afro-Mexican community to learn about the challenges they face and the struggles they've won. See her photos and read about what it means to be an Afro-Mexican woman. Support Independent Journalism and NPR's Climate Solutions Week In the face of the climate crisis, inaction is a privilege humanity can't afford. Reporting teams across the NPR Network have been searching for solutions and the innovators behind them. Your donation to the NPR Network is crucial to this process: your dollars power our reporting, including on topics like climate solutions. And your gift ensures we're freely available to the millions of people who want to be informed about what we find.   Please join us with a donation today. Donate Now Stories you may have missed Clockwise from top left: LAist Studios; KUT; NPR; Colorado Public Radio; KEXP Take a look at some new and noteworthy podcasts created by Latinos across public media. You'll learn how to "decolonize" plant-based tacos, go behind the scenes of one of LA's largest political scandals, get tons of new music recommendations and more.  Latinos are one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than non-Hispanic whites of the same age. Their families often have a hard time finding culturally inclusive longterm care. On Morning Edition, A Martinez talks to Mario Tapia, founder of the Latino Center on Aging and Maria Aranda of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging. The three discuss how the U.S. can better prepare for its aging Latino population.  Is it cha cha or bachata? Samba or salsa? Bomba or cumbia? And how can you tell the difference? Listen to some examples of Latin music as dancer and choreographer Karlies Kelley Vedula explains what type of music it is and how you dance to it. (via WUWM) Women have historically been underrepresented in STEM careers. The difference is even more pronounced among women of color. Elma González was one of the few Latina doctorate-holders in the 1970s. Read about how she opened doors for other women like herself. (via Texas Standard) Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Treye Green. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy