It is no easy thing to reject the heart of what one’s own family, and people, preaches. Particularly, perhaps, if you are Cuban-American. (If you know Cubans, this needs no further explanation.) But, it appears that, at the risk of being called communist, socialist, estúpido and comemierda, an historic percentage of my generation, combined with [...]

  Sometimes, I have nothing to say, which is very un-Cuban. Sometimes, I force myself to say nothing, which is very American. I have been fighting with the two sides of my brain:  Shut up…or just say it? On what? The Disgusting Nature of this Election. Well, yes. But, I am only 47% ready on [...]

I don’t go anywhere now without first checking my chin. There are tweezers everywhere — in my kitchen, in my car, in my makeup bag, in my bathroom drawer. Ya tu sabes. Less than a month before 45, I find myself wondering how in the hell this happened. I know it is not an original [...]

Am I Really Bilingual? I think this is an open letter to parents raising bilingual, Spanish-speaking children in America. For parents, like me, whose kids are speaking and reading English at school and hablando un poco de español at home. I have had a realization. A thunderbolt to the cabeza. A “guau” moment about my [...]

Dear free-born, democratic country-living American friend…or stranger, here is something you can read before you once again utter the statement: “But at least in Cuba they have free health care and free education.” Not really true. And at what cost? Check out the photos from a 6th grade classroom in the Rocky Mountain state. They [...]

The following is my talk from the Latism 2011 panel titled Social Media Disruption: Finding Your Voice.  It was my pleasure and honor to be with panel leader Julio Ricardo Varela of Latino Rebels, Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO of Blogher and Catherine Connors of Her Bad Mother and Babble.  If you attended, you’ll see some words and [...]

This essay is part of the first #HablaTalk writing prompt series I am doing with Latina Bloggers Connect. They’re a way to inspire the writer, bring out the video star, and promote the community of talented voices. Check out the community and join in. A few weeks ago, I escaped on an overnight to Atlanta [...]

Hey, American South, look what is happening: A new cuisine is emerging, born of Southern and Latino cultures. Que? Tamales stuffed with greens, corn ice cream topped with hot praline sauce, brownies with chile, sweet potato and plaintain casserole. Welcome to El Nuevo South. The ingredients of our people are joyfully intermingling with traditional Southern [...]

Hallmark came to Nashville last week and I snagged an invite to a small gathering they had with local bloggers. It was mostly conversation about celebrating the little things in life, and getting to know a little bit more about how they go about creating the cards and products that help us express words and [...]

We get into the car. It’s about 100 degrees and humid. Maria says: “Ay, carajo, it’s hot!” Guat? And then, I realize. We’ve been listening to the soundtrack from the musical, In the Heights — love and hope in Latino Washington Heights.  The line my kid so expertly and correctly gave me from the back seat [...]