Ada Limón Named to Time Magazine’s 2024 Women of the Year List

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ada Limón has earned a special place in Time…

The 47-year-old Mexican American poet, the first Latina to be Poet Laureate of the United States, has been named to Time magazine’s annual Women of the Year list.

The Time list is designed to recognize “extraordinary leaders working toward a more equal world.”

In 2022, Limon was appointed the 24th poet laureate of the U.S., a role previously held by the likes of Tracy K. Smith, Joy Harjo, and Rita Dove.

Last spring, she was granted a two-year second term. And in October came the announcement that she’d won a MacArthur “genius” grant.

These are the achievements most writers only dream of—but there was one invitation that even the most inventive of poets would not have imagined: NASA reached out. It wanted Limón to compose an original poem to be launched into space.

“As soon as I hung up, I thought, Oh, no,” Limón says.

Her poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” will be engraved inside the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft set to launch on October 10 and begin orbiting Jupiter by 2030.

Out of this world though the commission may be, it’s a fitting one for a poet dedicated to exploring the ties between the human experience and the universe we all share.

“When I’m in my darkest space, as a poet and as a human, turning to nature is the one thing that will bring me back to myself,” Limón says. “It’s very hard to write from a place of fear and isolation. If you can, connect to the natural world—a tree, a shrub, whatever you can set your sight on for a moment. We’re not alone.”

This summer, Limón will embark on a tour across the U.S. to unveil poetry installations in seven national parks as part of her signature program as poet laureate, dubbed You Are Here—which is also the title of an anthology she’ll publish in April. From Washington to Florida, Limón will convene people from all walks of life to celebrate both poetry and the land.

Other Class of 2024 honorees this year include actor, writer and director Greta Gerwig; actor Taraji P. Henson; singer, songwriter and actor Andra Day; tennis player Coco Gauff; Global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair; co-founder and leader of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace Yael Admi; founder and director of Women of the Sun Reem Hajajreh; president and chairwoman of nonprofit Nadia’s Initiative Nadia Murad; medical scientist and professor of research on hyperemesis gravidarum Marlena Fejzo; founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project Jacqui Patterson; and economic historian and labor economist Claudia Goldin.

Time will host the third annual invite-only Time Women of the Year Gala on Tuesday, March 5, in Los Angeles. The event will feature appearances and remarks from Women of the Year honorees, the presentation of a Time Earth Award, as well as a special musical performance by Andra Day.

Bizarrap Named to Time Magazine’s 2023 Next Generation Leaders List

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Bizarrap is leading the next generation through his music…

The 24-year-old Argentine DJ, producer and hitmaker has been named to Time magazine’s 2023 “Next Generation Leaders” list this week, which spotlights 10 global trendsetters and trailblazers.

Bizarrap can usually be spotted in the background of his videos, back to the camera, shades obscuring his eyes, giving the floor—or, more accurately, the mic—to the artists he invites on the mega-popular YouTube music video series he started four years ago.

In an article titled “Viral Hitmaker Bizarrap Wants His Music to Speak for Itself,” Bizarrap—known for his fiery “BZRP Music Sessions” with Shakira, Nicky Jam, Quevedo and Nathy Peluso, to name a few—opened up to about the importance of people getting to know his music.

“I make music every day,” he told TIME. “I like thinking about ideas for my videos, making teasers. I’m always thinking about the next step.”

His numbers are impressive: 7.2 billion views on YouTube, 41.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Several of his videos and songs have hundreds of millions of views and streams. And Bizarrap, real name Gonzalo Julián Conde, has done it all without releasing an album.

But Bizarrap isn’t the only Latinx artist to be named to the list…

Rene Silva, a Brazilian journalist, is highlighted for launching his own newspaper covering the entire favela, as Brazil’s informal neighborhoods are known, at the age of 11.In 2005,

Silva persuaded teachers at his school in the Complexo de Alemão district to let him join the student newspaper—despite protests from older kids who thought he was too young. Within months he outgrew that gig, recruiting four other children to help him launch his own newspaper.

“I used to look through papers and I didn’t see the favela I knew represented,” he says. “The media only ever talked about drug trafficking, violence, death—so people from outside thought that’s all there is here.”

Eighteen years later, Voz  das Comunidades continues to chip away at those stereotypes. Now formally recognized as an NGO, it has 35 staff members who cover stories on culture, politics, sports, education, and problems of state neglect.

Click here to see the complete list.

Salma Hayek Named to Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” List

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek is being feted for her sway…

Time magazine has released its list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” with the 56-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress and film producer making the cut.

Each year, the media outlet honors 100 individuals that it perceives as holding sway, pairing the list with praiseful blurbs from contemporaries. The logrolling list contains comedians, sports stars, authors and other influential figures.

“Salma is a great observer and feels everything deeply. She’s strong yet sensitive, and she can read people very well. That’s what makes her a great actor, her ability to put herself in someone else’s shoes, from her breakthrough portrayal of Frida  Kahlo to her most recent performance as Maxandra in Magic  Mike’s Last Dance,” says Penelope Cruz in her write-up. “Her huge heart, great intelligence, and charisma are a winning combination, but the thing I’m most proud of is that she’s always entirely herself. As one of the first Latinas working in Hollywood, she’s opened so many doors for people who followed. She is a total revolutionary, and there’s still so much she will do.”

But Hayek isn’t the only Hispanic/Latinx artist to make the list.

Aubrey Plaza, who won a SAG Award this year for being part of the ensemble cast of HBO’s The White Lotus, received her special tribute from Amy Poehler.

“I met Aubrey, a deeply versatile actor and producer, almost 15 years ago on Parks  and Recreation, where she played the droll and mischievous intern April Ludgate. I knew two things immediately: I was working with a determined and profoundly talented woman with big plans, and I had met a dear friend for life,” says Poehler of the 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian. “Her work over the past decade has been acutely truthful and always surprising—whether conveying fear-based choices in Emily the Criminal, manic breakdowns in Black Bear, chilly secret keeping in The White Lotus, or whatever big and ballsy swing is up next in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis.”

Zoe Saldaña, who became the first performer to appear in the top three highest grossing films globally earlier this year, received a tribute from Mila Kunis.

“Whether she’s kicking butt in Guardians of the Galaxy, saving humanity in Avatar, or making you bawl your eyes out in From Scratch, she’s always on top of her game,” writes Kunis of the . Zoe has also been a trailblazer for women and people of color in Hollywood, breaking down barriers and advocating for greater diversity and representation. She’s not afraid to speak out for what she believes in, and uses her platform to make a positive impact.

Other honorees include international soccer star Lionel Messi; Chilean actor Pedro Pascal; executive director of OnPoint NYC, Sam Rivera; Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Colombian president Gustavo Petro and Mexican activist María Herrera Magdaleno.

The list was first published in 1999. Nominations are secured from Time 100 alumni and the international writing staff. The final list is exclusively chosen by Time editors. There is also a commemorative gala held to celebrate the list winners.

For the full list of nominees, visit Time.com/Time100.

Raúl Yzaguirre to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Raúl Yzaguirre is being feted by the White House…

The 82-year-old Mexican America civil rights activist is among this year’s 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House has announced.

Presented to individuals who have “made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” the Medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Yzaguirre served as the Chief Executive Officer and president of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Barack Obama.

Former The University of Texas at Brownsville president Dr. Julieta García is also being honored.

The Mexican American education executive was named one of Time magazine’s best college presidents. Dr. García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region.

Other recipients this year include Denzel Washington, Simone Biles, the late Sen. John McCain, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Olympic gold medalist Megan Rapinoe.

The awards will be presented at the White House next Thursday, July 7.

Here’s a look at the individuals who will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom:

Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast in history, with a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Biles is also a prominent advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.
Sister Simone Campbell is a member of the Sisters of Social Service and former Executive Director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is also a prominent advocate for economic justice, immigration reform, and healthcare policy.
Dr. Julieta García is the former president of The University of Texas at Brownsville, where she was named one of Time magazine’s best college presidents. Dr. García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region.
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate, serving first in the Arizona legislature and later in the U.S. Congress. A survivor of gun violence, she co-founded Giffords, a nonprofit organization dedicated to gun violence prevention.
Fred Gray was one of the first black members of the Alabama State legislature since Reconstruction. As an attorney, he represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, who called him “the chief counsel for the protest movement.”
Steve Jobs (died 2011) was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple, Inc., CEO of Pixar and held a leading role at the Walt Disney Company. His vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries.
Father Alexander Karloutsos is the former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After over 50 years as a priest, providing counsel to several U.S. presidents, he was named by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Khizr Khanis a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center. He is a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom and served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under President Biden.
Sandra Lindsayis a New York critical care nurse who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. She was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials and is a prominent advocate for vaccines and mental health for health care workers.
John McCain (died 2018) was a public servant who was awarded a Purple Heart with one gold star for his service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He also served the people of Arizona for decades in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.
Diane Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century. Nash worked closely with Martin Luther King, who described her as the “driving spirit in the nonviolent assault on segregation at lunch counters.”
Megan Rapinoeis an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion. She also captains OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ rights.
Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming for 18 years. During his public service, he has been a prominent advocate on issues including campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality.
Richard Trumka (died 2021) was president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade, president of the United Mine Workers, and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. Throughout his career, he was an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice.
Brigadier General Wilma Vaughtis one of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military, repeatedly breaking gender barriers as she rose through the ranks. When she retired in 1985, she was one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces.
Denzel Washington is an actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globes, and the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also served as National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.
Raúl Yzaguirre is a civil rights advocate who served as CEO and president of National Council of La Raza for thirty years. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Barack Obama.

Bad Bunny Named One of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2021 (TIME100)

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is having the TIME of his life…

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has been named one of the Most Influential People of 2021 by TIME.

This week, the magazine revealed its annual TIME100, featuring “extraordinary leaders from around the world working to build a better future, from entertainers striving to make Hollywood more inclusive to activists fighting for sustainability and human rights. … They are disrupters, fixers, doers, iconoclasts, problem solvers — people who in a year of crisis have leaped into the fray,” said Edward Felsenthal, TIME CEO and editor in chief, in a press statement.

J Balvin was selected as the guest contributor to write about Bad Bunny. The two global reggaeton stars were introduced to each other in 2016 by DJ Luian at one of Balvin’s concerts in Puerto Rico. The rest, as they say, is history.

“When I saw him, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s another weirdo like me. I’m not the only one now.’ We immediately went to the studio and cut a song, ‘Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola.’ It blew up,” Balvin wrote in his essay. “He’s a phenomenon when it comes to music, but it didn’t happen overnight; he was working at the supermarket back then, and had to struggle too. We’ve since worked together on an album, Oasis, and the Super Bowl halftime show.”

The Colombian artist describes Bad Bunny’s career evolving from a “little monster” to “Godzilla,” who has reached superstar status and has connected with fans through his “amazing lyrics,” creation of his brand, advocacy for self-expression, and freedom.

“He’s an artist, period. A true artist,” he wrote. “Now he’s at his peak, taking Latin culture to another level. The records he’s broken are amazing. He’s different. Special. People wait for someone to die to say, ‘Oh, he was a legend.’ But I’m telling Benito now: You are one of the greatest artists in Latin music history.”

But Bad Bunny isn’t the only Latinx person to make this year’s list.

Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz, a women’s-rights activist from the Mexican city of Puebla, is a survivor of revenge porn—sexual content that is shared without the consent of those featured within it. She turned her experience into action, and in April 2021, Mexico passed Olimpia’s Law, federally prohibiting the sharing of such content without the subject’s permission.

Swizz Beatz and fellow hip-hop icon Timbaland have been named for creating the hip-hop phenomenon and game-changing hip-hop battle series, Verzuz.

In a business world still dominated by men, a Brazilian woman, Luiza Trajano, has managed to make Magazine Luiza a massive success. She is the only Brazilian to appear on this year’s list.

Elisa Loncón Antileo is a Mapuche linguist and indigenous rights activist in Chile. In 2021, Loncón was elected as one of the representatives of the Mapuche people for the Chilean Constitutional Convention. Following in the inauguration of the body, Loncón was elected President of the Constitutional Convention.

A staunch believer in the science of climate change, GM CEO Mary Barra spearheaded General Motors’ (GM) commitment to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

In a sea of despair, a Cuban doctor is a ray of hope. Dairon Elisondo Rojas, who is seeking asylum in the US, provides lifesaving care to fellow migrants in the Matamoros makeshift camp.

The knowledge possessed by Mónica Ramírez‘s giant heart is just what makes her the breath of fresh air needed in a civil rights attorney. Her work through organizations like Justice for Migrant Women is only a fraction of proof of how hard she fights for the migrant worker.

Joan Baez Among This Year’s Recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Joan Baez is set to receive a special honor in Our Nation’s Capital.

The 80-year-old half-Mexican American contemporary folk singer has been selected to receive the 43rd Kennedy Center Honors alongside Garth Brooks, violinist Midori, choreographer Debbie Allen and the ageless Dick Van Dyke.

“It has been my life’s joy to make art,” said Baez in a statement. It’s also been my life’s joy to make, as the late Congressman John Lewis called it, ‘good trouble.’ What luck to have been born with the ability to do both; each one giving strength and credibility to the other.”

Traditionally held in December, the 2020 edition of the Kennedy Center Honors was postponed to May 2021 due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live events and filming are planned for the week of May 17-22. The Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on CBS as a two-hour primetime special that will air on June 6 at 9:00 pm ET/PT.

But the pandemic will have an impact on how the event is staged, with live-filmed tributes and virtual moments to take the place of the traditional event in a packed Kennedy Center Opera House.

“The center’s entire campus will come alive with small, in-person events and re-envisioned virtual tributes. Featuring multiple events for physically-distant audiences in locations across the Kennedy Center’s campus…Programs for each event will encompass both performances and speaking tributes for the honorees,” according to a statement. “Virtual events will also be held throughout the week beginning May 17, and the viability of additional in-person events will be considered as COVID-19 safety protocols evolve over the upcoming months…An honoree medallion ceremony for the honorees and a limited audience will be hosted by the Kennedy Center during [the week of] May 17–22.”

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to attend the Honors Gala, as presidents traditionally have done (barring a national crisis). Donald Trump was the first president to decline the invitation every year of his term.

This is the first time in five years that a majority of the honorees have been women. Carole King, Rita Moreno and Cicely Tyson were three of the five honorees in 2015.

“The Kennedy Center Honors serves as a moment to celebrate the remarkable artists who have spent their lives elevating the cultural history of our nation and world,” said David M. Rubenstein, Kennedy Center Chairman.

Here’s a look at each of this year’s honorees:

Joan Baez: The folk legend had three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in the 1960s, including Farewell, Angelina. Her classic version of Robbie Robertson’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. Baez was just 21 when she made the cover of Time in November 1962. Baez has one of the longest spans of Grammy nominations in history, from 1962 to 2018. She has yet to win a Grammy in competition (despite nine nods), but she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2007.

Garth Brooks: The country star, 58, is one of the best-selling recording artists in history. The RIAA lists him second only to The Beatles, with 157 million albums sold in the U.S. (compared to 183 million for the Fab Four). He has had nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including Ropin’ the Wind, which topped the chart for 18 weeks, still the record for a country album. Brooks has amassed 14 CMA Awards, including a record seven awards for entertainer of the year. He was artist of the decade for the 1990s at the ACM Awards. He has won two Grammys. He received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song last year. He made the cover of Time in 1992 in a story headlined “Country’s Big Boom.”

Midori: The Japanese-born American violinist, 49, was just 19 when she received her first (and to date only) Grammy nomination for best classical performance, instrumental soloist (without orchestra) for the album Paganini: 24 Caprices For Solo Violin Op. 1. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year’s Eve Gala in 1982.

Dick Van Dyke: The actor, 95, won three Emmys for The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), which is widely regarded as the granddaddy of smart, sophisticated sitcoms. He also won an Emmy in 1977 for Van Dyke & Company, which took outstanding variety or music series. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1995. He won a Tony in 1961 for Bye, Bye Birdie (in which he introduced the jaunty “Put on a Happy Face”) and a Grammy for 1964’s Mary Poppins (in which he took the lead in singing the Oscar-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee”).

Debbie Allen: The actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director and producer, 70, has won three Emmys for choreography: two for Fame and one for Motown 30: What’s Goin’ On. She also received two Tony nods for acting in revivals of West Side Story (1980) and Sweet Charity (1986). She is a former member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Romeo Santos: Billboard’s Top Latin Music Artist of the 2010s

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Romeo Santos is celebrating his ten-ure on the Latin charts…

Billboard is revealing the top acts of the 2010s by genre, with the 39-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American bachata singer-songwriter topping the list of artists in the Latin category.

Since first hitting Billboard‘s surveys as a soloist in 2011, after breaking though in hit bachata quartet Aventura, Santos has collected seven solo No. 1s on the weekly Hot Latin Songs chart and five No. 1s on Top Latin Albums.

“If you put out quality music,” he told Billboard in 2017, “you’re always going to be in a good place.”

Santos beat out Prince Royce for the top spot.

The 31-year-old Dominican American singer-songwriter has not stopped making his mark in the Latin music industry since he released his eponymous debut studio album, which generated two commercially successful singles, “Stand by Me” and “Corazón Sin Cara,” in March 2010.

Most recently, Prince Royce “Carita de Inocente“, spent a record-breaking 29 weeks at number-one on the Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay chart.

J Balvin comes in at No. 3 on the chart…

The 35-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer, known as the “Príncipe del Reggaetón,”

was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and one of the greatest Latin artists of all time by Billboard.

Daddy Yankee is the No. 5 top Latin act of the 2010s, due in part to his landmark hit “Despacito,” with Luis Fonsi and featuring Justin Bieber. The English/Spanish-language collaboration spent a record 56 weeks atop Hot Latin Songs beginning in February 2017, passing the 41-week reign of “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias (the decade’s No. 4 artist), featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, beginning in May 2014.

Latin
1, ROMEO SANTOS
2, PRINCE ROYCE
3, J BALVIN
4, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS
5, DADDY YANKEE
6, JUAN GABRIEL
7, BANDA SINALOENSE MS DE SERGIO LIZARRAGA
8, OZUNA
9, NICKY JAM
10, GERARDO ORTIZ

Click here to view the full, 50-position Top Latin Artists of the 2010s chart.

Bad Bunny Pens Poignant Statement in Time Magazine in Support of Black Lives Matter

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is speaking out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican singer/rapper, whoa abruptly left social media on May 19, has broken his silence to show his support for the movement to fight for racial justice.

In a poignant statement titled “Forgive Me” published in TIME magazine, Bad Bunny asks his fans to forgive him for not speaking out sooner but, “I can’t even believe this is still happening. Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen people’s hearts and, in my house, I was always taught that we are all the same regardless of race, religion and surname; that we are all brothers/sisters. I SWEAR I don’t feel well, and I don’t think I can express myself properly.”

Amid national outrage and protests following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by a white police officer, the “lyrical” statement comes after people questioned his silence on the matter given that he has been supportive of the trans community and spoken out against femicide, and he has never been shy around politics. Back in September, he was on the front line when Puerto Ricans demanded the ousting of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.

“There are artists who only upload a photo or a basic message just to calm public pressure or to look ‘good,’” Bad Bunny told TIME. “Not me… I want to go deeper and see in what way I can serve, how I can support the fight against a systematic monster that has been [around for] centuries.”

Adding, “In the case of reggaetón music, we have always struggled against discrimination, and even though today it is the world’s number one Latino genre, we continue to suffer from that discrimination, both in the world for being Latino, and in the Latino community itself for being a genre that comes from the street.”

Here’s Bad Bunny’s translated statement and find the original Spanish version here:

FORGIVE ME
Forgive my silence.
But I can’t even believe this is still happening.
Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen people’s hearts and, in my house, I was always taught that we are all the same regardless of race, religion and surname; that we are all brothers/sisters
I SWEAR I don’t feel well, and I don’t think I can express myself properly,
I swear it hurts!
It hurts to know that people are still being killed because of the color of their skin.
LIVING IN A WORLD LIKE THIS, NONE OF US CAN BREATHE!F–K DONALD TRUMP!
PRESIDENT OF RACISM!
YOUR HATE AND TYRANNY,
THAT’S TERRORISM.
DON’T STOP THE FIGHT,
DON’T LOWER YOUR FISTS,
KNOW THAT WE ARE ALL HOME,
THAT THIS IS OUR LAND.
I remember the white boy with the “bad hair,” that’s what they would say,
just like they did to my black neighbors, and they believed it too.
Bad? Bad are those who still think that way,
WITHOUT REALIZING THAT THE SAME BLOOD RUNS THROUGH OUR VEINS.
Who taught you to be this way?
Why don’t you seek change?
MAYBE THE PRESS IS TO BLAME FOR NEVER SHOWING THE TRUTH
OR HISTORY CLASSES THAT DON’T TEACH US A REAL ACCOUNT OF EVENTS
AND SHOW BLACK SLAVES WITH SUCH NORMALCY
AND WHO STILL CALL THIS BRUTALITY A “DISCOVERY.”
TO MURDER AND HUMILIATE THOSE OF ANOTHER SKIN COLOR,
THAT 500 YEARS LATER,
THAT PAIN KEEPS DRAGGING ON.
HATE DOESN’T STOP HATE,
IT JUST MAKES IT WORSE.
IN A WORLD LIKE THAT, WHO WANTS TO GIVE THEIR LOVE?
IF IT WAS UP TO ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED, IF IT WAS UP TO ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EXISTED.
YOU CAN’T KNOW SOMEONE BY SIMPLY LOOKING AT THEIR FACE,
YOU CAN’T KNOW SOMEONE BY ONLY LOOKING AT THEIR OUTER APPEARANCE.
FORGIVE ME THAT MY ANGER TODAY IS SILENT.
FORGIVE ME FOR FEELING IMPOTENT TODAY.
I SWEAR TO YOU I LOVE YOU AND I WILL ALWAYS STAND BY MY PEOPLE,
BUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU GUYS ALWAYS FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.
NEVER WAIT FOR ARTISTS, OR FOR FICTITIOUS HEROES, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE POWER!!! TEACH YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS TO RESPECT AND LOVE REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOR. EDUCATE THOSE WHO DO NOT SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SUFFERING AND STRUGGLE THAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVE ENDURED, ABOUT THE INJUSTICES WE CARRIED FOR CENTURIES. MAYBE WE WON’T CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY, BUT TODAY WE CAN WORK ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR TOMORROW.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER

Carlos Maza Named to Time Magazine’s List of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Maza is making his influence felt…

Time has released the fifth annual roundup of the 25 most influential people on the Internet, with the Cuban-American Vox journalist/vlogger and video producer making the list of the personalities who have the biggest global impact on social media.

Maza is being recognized for speaking about being harassed online, and his quest to target the policy that empowered the culprits.

For two years, Maza was the focus of videos from popular right-wing commentator Steven Crowder, who repeatedly denigrated Maza’s sexual orientation and ethnicity—actions that appeared to violate YouTube’s terms of service. But when Maza reported Crowder, he says YouTube didn’t respond. So at the end of May, Maza went public with his struggles on Twitter. His thread quickly went viral, prompting a new wave of harassment from Crowder fans—and eventually, a pseudo-apology from Crowder and a response from YouTube, which demonetized Crowder’s channel.

YouTube stopped short of banning Crowder outright, arguing initially that, while some of Crowder’s comments were hurtful, its policies were intended to protect free expression, which can include offensive opinions.

In the days that followed Maza’s Twitter thread, YouTube did reveal plans to revisit its harassment policies. But Maza isn’t optimistic about systemic change. “Harassment is really good for engagement,” he tells Time.

But Maza isn’t the only Latino to make the list…

Cardi B’s rise to stardom can be traced back to Instagram, where she now has more than 47 million followers.

As much as the 26-year-old half-Dominican American rap sensation’s life has changed since the success of “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B’s online presence has stayed consistent—confessional videos and memes between red carpet shots, concert footage and political commentary.

In January, Cardi B made headlines for posting a video criticizing President Donald Trump for not funding the government, “all for a f-cking wall.” That clip went viral, and even came to the attention of Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Brian Schatz, who publicly debated whether they should retweet the video. In the end, the lawmakers chose not to, but the video still racked up 20 million views on Instagram.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be a junior member of the U.S. House of Representatives, but when it comes to social media aptitude, her superiority is practically unmatched.

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican politician and activist, who is simply referred to by her Twitterhandle “AOC,” has nearly 4.8 million followers on the platform, more than most members of theU.S. Congress.

In January, shortly after being sworn in as the youngest Congresswoman in U.S. history, Ocasio-Cortez co-hosted a session for her peers about social media best practices, explaining the importance of being “authentic.” And though she’s made some online missteps during her tenure on Capitol Hill— like identifying her Democratic colleague Rep. John Yarmuth as a Republican while slamming older male legislators — Ocasio-Cortez has also expertly harnessed viral tropes to draw attention to subcommittee hearings and granular policy debates that have typically been relegated to the confines of C-Span: an Instagram video of questions she asked at a hearing about cannabis in February has amassed over three million views.

Germán Garmendia is being recognized for his personality…

Since uploading his first skit to YouTubein 2011, the 29-year-old Chilean YouTuber, comedian and writer has earned more than 13 billion views, making him the world’s most popular Spanish-language YouTuber.

In his skits and over-the-top riffs, Garmendia mines humor from everyday topics; while describing how tough he is in a video about how to be sexy, for example, he noted that he only cried a little when Mufasa died in The Lion Kingand often pushes doors labeled “pull.”

Production values have risen on YouTube in the years since he got his start, but despite competition from bigger-budget operations, Garmendia’s main draw as he comments on memes, viral videos, and video games is still his personality.

As with many YouTubers, he has also provoked controversy, like when misogynistic comments he made in a 2014 gameplay video resurfaced in late 2018. But his subsequent apology was well-received, and his career hasn’t stalled: in fact, Garmendia released his first novel last year.

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Mars to Receive Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

There’s no denying Bruno Mars’ star power… And now he’ll have an iconic plaque to prove it.

The 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter is among the celebrities whose names will be added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced its class of 2016, with a list that includes Adam Levine, Cyndi Lauper, Quentin Tarantino and actors Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, Ashley Judd, Michael Keaton and Kurt Russell.

Entertainers are recognized in five categories: motion picture, television, radio, recording and live theater/live performance. Each recipient is responsible for their star’s $30,000 cost of installation and they have two years to schedule star ceremonies from the date of selection before they expire.

Mars, a two-time Grammy-winner who was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, in 2011, is being recognized in the recording category.

But Mars isn’t the only Latino artist to make the 2016 list…

Angelica Maria, heralded as La Novia de México, will also receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 70-year-old Mexican American actress and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is being recognized in the and live theater/live performance.

Individual ceremonies have not yet been scheduled.

The full list of 2016 recipients can be seen at www.walkoffame.com.

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