Latino USA Folgen

Growing up in Denver, Colorado, Kali Fajardo-Anstine did not see herself, nor her family, represented in books or television. But, she knew she wanted to be a writer. Kali is a mixed Chicana woman with Indigenous and Filipino ancestry; she brings all of that into her work in hopes of creating a space where readers feel represented and seen. Kali is also the author of “Sabrina and Corina,” a collection of short stories that explore the lives of Chicanos and Chicanas in and around Dever, and she recently released her debut novel, “Woman of Light.” In this episode of Latino USA, Kali talks about how her life experiences and identity blend into her work and how she’s honoring her ancestors from the American West through her writing.

One year ago on June 24, a small beachside town in South Florida was asleep. It was the summer, past 1 a.m., when the section of the Champlain Towers South that pointed to the beach collapsed. Twelve stories of apartments pancaked in about 30 seconds. Ninety-eight people died; most of the victims were Latinos and Latinas. To mark the first anniversary of the collapse, we visit Surfside with producer Elisa Baena, who lives there with her Cuban grandmother. She brings us a story about memory, community, and how your relationship to a place can change after a tragic event.

For years, McAllen, Texas, has been at the front lines in the struggle for reproductive access in the country. The city has only one abortion provider, the Whole Woman’s Health Clinic, serving more than one million people in the area. It took them seven years, but filmmakers Maya Cueva and Leah Galant documented the community’s story, trying to look past the polarizing sides of the debate, to focus on how people live in the gray areas of those two extremes. In this episode, they discuss their documentary “On the Divide” and explore the following question: What does choice mean without any options?