I've decided to take a voluntary buyout from KQED b/c I can no longer in good moral conscious continue to work for any media organization that doesn't call a genocide a genocide. This was not an easy decision. But I'm following my gut and my gut never fails me.
I just got a poem accepted into a lit mag. A poem I thought would never get accepted (and frankly I had given up on) and a lit mag I thought would never accept any of my poems. 10 months ago. Moral of the story: Don't give up on your poems. Don't belittle your work.
Happy news 🎉I've accepted the
@NYWomensFdn
fellowship w/
@LatinoUSA
. LU is one of the first podcasts I started listening to back in 2015. It was like nothing else I'd heard. For a young Latinx journo, it was groundbreaking. This is a dream. Can't wait!!!! I start next week.
🎉 HAPPY NEWS🎉
Today is my first day as a producer w/
@TheBayKQED
. I’m beyond ecstatic to join
@alanmontecillo
and
@NotoriousECG
. I got hooked on this show when I listened to the “how we got here”series. Thankful for this opportunity and for this next journey 💕
For the longest time I was ashamed of being a pocha. (For many reasons) But after weeks of interviewing Latinxs in Spanish, I'm realizing a lot of people talk like me. I'm not alone. Proud to be a pocha because it's a reflection of my immigrant experience. STOP POCH@ SHAMING.
"My advice is please don't give up," says
@Maria_Hinojosa
to young, latinx, journalists during a discussion of her memoir "Once I Was You." "Find your allies, find the people you can let it all out...and then realize that you are a part of history and we need you desperately."
Yesterday was my last day at KQED. I’m so thankful and honored to have worked with
@NotoriousECG
&
@alanmontecillo
, who are some of the kindest, smartest and most talented ppl I’ve worked with. I leave proud of the work we did together over the past two years. ❤️ A joyous feat.
Officially a master poet. Eternamente agradecida a mi familia, amigxs, maestros y mentores. All the people that supported me and my writing. Probably one of the hardest things I had to do (and sometimes I didn’t think I’d finish) but here we are, 2 masters later. 🎓
1. Last Friday was the last day of my fellowship at
@LatinoUSA
. I'm so happy and fortunate to have been part of one of the most supportive teams I've had the pleasure to work with. It's so rare to work somewhere that uplifts and values your voice, instead of trying to change it.
White writers, editors, professors will always look at our work through the lens of “other.” Even the most well meaning white folks can’t escape their white gaze. That’s why it’s so important for us to have our work critiqued by our communities! A lesson I learned painfully.
he also pushed for me to include more chinese language in my work. i had one poem in a packet that used chinese and that was his feedback to my aesthetic in general: “more chinese!”
Today is my first day as a
@NYWomensFdn
fellow with
@LatinoUSA
!!! I'll be reporting on stories
that encourage girls, young women, and gender-fluid youth of color in NY to lead self-determined lives. Send tips to mesquinca
@futuromediagroup
.org.
First time recording in-person, in-studio w/the brilliant
@NotoriousECG
.
@TheBayKQED
is dropping an ep tmw w/the one and only
@CoreyARose
about his
#Rightnowish
series “Searching for a Kiki.” ❤️🔥 What an honor to listen to these two talented ass ppl.
A poem I wrote during the pandemic was selected for
@BestNewPoets
2023. Sometimes poetry feels like the only thing I know how to do to make sense of senselessness. Endless thank you’s to to
@el_saulhdez
and
@heckaseuss
who workshopped this poem with me. ❤️🔥
This wasn't an easy decision to make, but I'll be returning to my hometown, El Paso, Texas. I wish EP wasn't an epicenter, but my body and soul are ready to be home. I'm not sure what's next for me. I'll be freelancing and continuing to work on my poetry manuscript for now.
Thank you so much to the editors of
@creamcityreview
for giving a space for “Cosmic Queen” to live on. One of my happier poems written after
@zpvisual
’s cover art for Frontera Buhalu’s album “Alma de Jaguar, both whose work I enjoy and admire. A poem I love for being in community
I'm really thankful to work w/a team as supportive as
@TheBayKQED
. I've been pitching a poetry episode IN HONOR OF NATIONAL POETRY MONTH. It's dropping dropping tomorrow! 😁 featuring
@nijla1
. (It wouldn't be possible w/out
@OGpenn
.) Produced by
@NotoriousECG
&
@realchrisjbeale
Still can’t believe I get to be mentored by the brilliant
@Vanessid
and to form part of this talented cohort. Thank you to the organizers of Periplus, this means so much 💛 can’t wait for more convos about the archive and dream logic ✨
1/7 Valentine's Day marked my one-year work anniversary w/the incredible
@TheBayKQED
. We're a team of 3 that puts out a show 3 X's a week. A feat that wouldn't be possible w/out such thoughtful, generous, and caring co-workers like
@NotoriousECG
and
@alanmontecillo
. Dream team 💓
So if you want to listen to the songs mentioned in the book, we added a Spotify playlist. There are more than 100 songs. That is the breadth and range of this book.
@NifMuhammad
"Abdurraquib teaches us to look beneath the superficial. He teaches us that music is more than sound."
@m_esquinca
reviews
@NifMuhammad
's GO AHEAD IN THE RAIN (
@UTexasPress
), today on the blog!
I will always be so thankful to LUSA for letting me report this story. I hold this one very close to my heart b/c its told by a group of El Pasoans who have so much love and respect not only for Teresita, but for El Paso and Segundo Barrio as cradles of history and revolution❤️🔥
#NowPlaying
a
@LatinoUSA
podcast
#TeresaUrrea
was once called the most dangerous girl in
#Mexico
by Porfirio Diaz. In this rebroadcast from 2021, we remember the life and legacy of this legendary curandera, feminist and revolutionary.
LISTEN ➡️
Due to some housing delays, I was off to a late start, officially my first day as a reporter for
@radiobilingue
. Hoy es mi primer dia como reportera para RB, si tienen tips o preguntas estoy disponible en- mesquinca
@radiobilingue
.org, o aqui.
First time voting in a presidential election. I couldn’t vote in the last one b/c I wasn’t a US citizen yet. A reminder that not everyone has the right to vote. Excstatic to vote this time around. VOTE. VOTA. VOTEMOS.
Feels weird to celebrate things right now, but I do have some very exciting news. I’m so happy and excited to share that I’ll be covering the Latinx community for
@radiobilingue
in Fresno, California as an RFA corps member. Ahora más que nunca el periodismo es esencial!
Help us welcome our largest corps member class ever! We're fielding 225 reporters in more than 160 newsrooms across 45 states, Puerto Rico and D.C. Meet these incredible emerging journalists:
#ReportLocal
#LocalJournalismMatters
As a fronteriza, as someone born in Ciudad Juárez and who grew up in El Paso, this day weights a lot on my heart. I've thought about what to say, if anything, but words can't really describe the weight of the El Paso massacre. I can only think of Gloria Anzaldua's words
I just got an acceptance from one of my dream journal's and it makes all the rejections I've gotten this year worth it. I'm soooo happy! Letting myself bask in joy <3
A little late but still revelant. An ongoing conversation, now more than ever. I wrote a personal narrative respoding to the
#WaPo
"White, and in the minority" article.
It's my favorite time of the year, National Poetry Month 🦋 and today on
@TheBayKQED
we're celebrating with
@_dariussimpson
: " A poem is just a tool and it as useful and as useless as the person wielding that tool."
UPDATE:
@UFWupdates
held a press conference today. Erika Navarrete, Vice President of the UFW, said workers are not receiving their tests results.
@mercedcounty
told UFW workers need to solicit their test results from
@FosterFarms
.
I have a poem in the latest issue of
@TheFLReview
! So happy to be in an issue alongside other Latinx poets, as well as my friend and classmate
@stidrill
☺️💖✨✨Thank you to the editors, this is the first time I can physically hold one of my poems 💕
As a fronteriza, I can’t put into words how influential and inspiring
@nascenters
has been. It’s an honor to be in conversation with one of the best poets of our time, whose new book is so brave, fearless and vulnerable.
"It is a book of my humiliations at the hands of men and of my deepest shames, things which I was told never to talk about."
@m_esquinca
is in conversation with
@nascenters
(LIMA :: LIMÓN,
@CopperCanyonPrs
), today on the blog!
CC:
@CosturaCreative
I hate hearing my voice but my lovely colleagues very generously did a welcome episode for me, featuring a burrito debate on El Paso vs SF burritos with these iconic lines uttered by
@LomeliCabrera
"in defense of the burritos." Also featuring some poems of mine. 💓
Today, we’re introducing you to our producer
@m_esquinca
. We talk about poetry, burritos, her hometown of El Paso, and how she’s finding home in the Bay Area.
Workers at Chevron's refinery in Richmond are on strike for the first time in more than 40 yrs. "We have nothing left but to withhold our labor. That's the only thing we've got. They own the oil. They own the equipment. It's their land. But the people are ours." -B.K. White, USW
🛢NEW EPISODE 🛢
~500 unionized workers at Chevron’s refinery in Richmond went on strike starting Monday. It’s the first labor strike at the plant in more than 40 years.
@TedrickG
joins us:
Peak capitalism is not allowing students to get a copy of their transcripts because of unpaid student fees, but they need said transcript to apply for fellowships and job opportunities...
I love El Paso, la frontera, the way Spanish and English flows seamlessly between conversations. The fluidity of this place. En este lugar que desafía divisiones.
2. I was given freedom and support. Sadly, that hasn't always been my experience and many times I've thought of quitting journalism altogether.
@LatinoUSA
reminded me of the possibilities that exist. Not all media is the same. Thank you to the whole team. It's been an honor. <3
@BobRuggiero2
@IanFrisch
@JillAbramson
She only credits two quotes tho, and Ian shows 7 examples of how she lifted quotes and modified the text around the quotes. What about the other 5? Am I missing something?
My first story for LUSA. I'm incredibly honored to have been able to witness Umar and Alex's conversation. Some of my favorite moments in this episode are when when Umar and Alex talked about their Black identity with pride, joy and beauty. "I grew up Black is beautiful." -Umar.
#NowPlaying
a
@LatinoUSA
podcast
Two Afro-Latino cousins,
@PapiU
&
@anewt77
talk about their childhood, experiences with the Black Lives Matter protests, reaction to Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict, and loving and embracing their Black identity.
LINK:
This was a very painful poem to write and share, but I'm so thankful for the staff and editors at Michigan Quarterly Review for treating this poem w/so much tenderness and care. Thank you for handling a poem full of grief w/so much delicacy.
Listening to
@LaPescaditaRuiz
's story for
@LatinoUSA
, and I LOVE that LUSA is the type of podcast where you can hear the word "chongo" in a story. It's such a small detail but it tells you everything about the producers, editors, and values of the show.
I have a new poem in the latest issue of
@HPalabritas
. So thankful to be in a space full of so many Latinx writers (its not always you see so many of us in one issue) like
@kimsoandso
,
@cinnamonqueen__
& fellow fronterizx
@jorgegomez101
. Thank you to the editors. 🌹
I don’t think words can explain how ecstatic I am. I’ve looked up to
@Maria_Hinojosa
and
@julito77
for so long. They give me a hope in an industry I sometimes question if I fit into. They represent the future of journalism. I want to pinch myself.
I have two poems in the
@acentosreview
. One of them is in Spanish, which I got the courage to write after reading Borderlands. The other es para mi madre.
of the border as "an open wound." A wound that is still healing, and will never be the same, one that is scarred and forever changed. All I can say is amo a la frontera, amo a mi comunidad, los cargo en mi corazón. I grieve with you. I see your strength. I carry you with me.
“The communities I cover are often described as... voiceless, and I often push back...They’re not voiceless... They have voices, they can speak just fine, they’re just typically not heard. Right? Like there’s an active choice not to listen.” -
@NadegeGreen
First episode I helped produced for The Bay is out 🙌. "When people are planning for social vulnerability they totally discount the LGBTQ community b/c it's characterized as being white and wealthy." A timely convo in the midst of climate change w/
@ezraromero
.
📣 NEW EPISODE 📣
Queer people are rendered invisible when it comes to disaster planning, according to a recent study. We talk to
@ezraromero
about the implications this has for queer folks in the Bay in the face of climate change.
Really interesting, one of the takeaways from this report was to "hire immigrants and first-generation Americans to report on immigrant communities." Wow. Can't stress enough how many media outlets DON'T do this.
A privilege to have
@OGpenn
on the pod to talk about his latest
#Rightnowish
series "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma."
"The benefit of telling this story is that people see that they are not alone. A lot of folks shared with me personal trauma they had not really thought about."
📣NEW EPISODE📣
The hyphy movement was known for its exuberant, goofy, frenetic energy. But there was so much more going on beneath the surface.
Today,
#Rightnowish
host
@OGpenn
talks with us about his new series 'Hyphy Kids Got Trauma.'
✅Final grades submitted
✅Thesis finished
✅MFA officially over
Can’t believe it! Doesn’t feel like I just completed an MFA, but here we are. Not bad for a chuco girl from the lower valley. 🎓
Love opening Twitter to this ❤️ I will also add that this award was for a story called “Swamp Therapy” which is still one of my fave radio features I wrote. So indebted to the
@WLRN
family 🦋🐊🌴
Two weeks ago my former English teacher asked me to talk to her HS students about writing (an incredible honor, I am forever indebted to my HS English teachers) and a student asked "Do you ever feel like quitting?" and I'm still thinking about that question.
Summer of 2019, I was so broke but I got to go home thanks to a grant. It had been a year since I visited & it was dislocating and sad to see la frontera become a site of so much suffering, yet also witness how ewe all moved on. One day there was a fire. And this poem happened.
Today's new publication is "GOD BURNS THE W. SILVER RECYCLING PLANT AFTER BORDER PATROL ABUSES IMMIGRANTS" by
@m_esquinca
. You need to read this. The Xeno Hive is proud to have María as a new member ❤️
I didn’t know how to write a cover letter for submissions until
@toddedillard
posted a tweet with an example, this is pretty close to what he shared. Thank you both 🙏🏻
A cover letter is your chance to create a positive first impression for the editors and readers who are reviewing your work.
Here’s an example of an efficient (and entirely fictitious) cover letter that works:
I don’t know who needs to hear this but Rosalia is not Latinx, Spaniards and people of Spanish descent are not Latinx. They’re Hispanic. Hispanic means you’re from a Spanish speaking country. Latinx means and you’re from Latin American country. Stop calling Europeans latinx.
A poem of mine about loss, love, & death is out in the world today 💓 I never thought this colorful poem of mine would get pubbed in a dream mag, thank you so much to
@BixGabriel
and
@jacqlyy
for believing in it 🦋 to more dreaming in blue 💙
I have four poems in the latest issue of BPR> It's such an honor to be included in this issue, with such imaginative poems, visual poems, avante-garde poems, poems that refuse obey rules and space. Thank you to the editors for giving us a space. I can't wait to dive into it!
At long last, Issue 50 has arrived!
If you donate to
@c_c_w_p
, No Neutral Alliance, Nure Collective,
@arcbayarea
,
@PeoplesBreakOak
,
@APTPaction
&/or
@tgijp
& email us a receipt, we’ll send you a copy of our book! More info on our website. We love you all, and our writers 🧩⭐️
Carmen Maria Machado's work has meant so much for me both as a writer, and as a woman. So glad I got the chance to produce this episode for LUSA, such a joy. Hope y'all enjoy.
#NowPlaying
a new
@LatinoUSA
podcast
Award-winning and bestselling author
#CarmenMariaMachado
talks about grappling with her Latinx identity, growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, and horror as an obsession and creative inspiration.
LISTEN🔈:
Some poems of mine got pubbed in the latest issue of
@theSCreview
🐀 I’m thankful for the editors for giving these poems a home, Dream in which I Return Home was rejected a million times and won their Ronald Moran Poetry Prize ❤️🔥 a lesson on believing in my poems 💗
The
#ElPaso
blood donation center in the westside is packed. El Pasoans are some of the kindest, most loving, caring people. They don’t think twice about helping others. A shooting won’t change the character of this community. We stay united.
I have two pantoum poems in the Tender Fences anthology. Thank you so much to the editors & big thanks to
@csferreira08
. It is such an honor to have poems amongst so many poets whose work I admire. All proceeds made from sales will benefit
@RAICESTEXAS
. Please support if you can.
1. I see a lot of newsrooms talking about diversity and wanting to "make a change." But if newsrooms really want to take diversity seriously, they need to look at the root, and start recruiting or investing in high school students and underfunded university journalism programs.
2. I"m eternally grateful to
@radiobilingue
and
@Report4America
for giving me the opportunity to report on the Latinx community in the Central Valley. I'm extremely proud of the work we did and will carry the lessons I learned with me wherever I go.
I got a Border poem inspired by
@EduardoCCorral
published in one of my dream journals. Thank you so much to
@anthonyframe
for giving this poem a space. 💕it’s an honor to be published alongside such talented poets.
I’m really thankful I’m learning to find joy within myself and not depending on other people, a lesson I hope I can continue carrying and practicing into 2023. ✨ Overall feeling v grateful lately 🌸 blessed 🦋
“There’s a real danger in that, in living without feeling.”
@adalimon
speaking to
@alexismadrigal
about the necessity of feeling the feels and breaking down.
@KQEDForum
Not this ten minute recipe for mango and tajin. A white hispter somewhere discovered tajin and the NYT thinks this is revelatory.... please hire more Latinxs. Y'all need us.
This classic street food, served throughout Mexico, is encountered often in open air markets, beaches and parks. The original is often made with tajín; this take uses a homemade chile-lime salt.
"This is a country of 40 million individual people and they are being treated as pawns in a political game, but they're not. They're human beings like you and I."
@allymarkovich
, a Ukrainian-American journalist, in a conversation w/
@tara_siler
. The latest for The Bay.
🇺🇦 NEW EPISODE 🇺🇦
Thousands of Bay Area Ukrainian Americans are watching and worrying from afar as Russian forces invade Ukraine.
Today, we share some voices from a protest in SF, and an interview with Ukrainian American journalist
@allymarkovich
.
What does police reform look like for a police department where officers have killed 19 people since 2010? For community members that includes a commission that has the power to fire the police chief. The model proposed by Vallejo's city council, wouldn't. More from
@glid24
.
📣NEW EPISODE📣
Vallejo is on the verge of voting on a police oversight commission before the end of the year.
But residents who’ve waited years to see wins on police reform are raising concerns.
@thevallejosun
's
@glid24
joins us.
🏀 NEW EPISODE 🏀
The
@Warriors
are 1️⃣ win away from their 4th title since 2015. But before then, fans weren't really used to seeing them win.
@alan_chazaro
talks about being an OG fan, and why this championship would be the most satisfying.
The city of Alameda (known for its NIMBY past) was the first in the Bay Area to submit its state housing goals, half of which would be affordable housing. How did they do it? The stellar
@oddity_adhiti
explains how in convo w/
@GuyMarzorati
(who made his hosting debut in the pod!)
🏡NEW EPISODE 🏡
The City of Alameda is known for its beautiful Victorian homes, and for not building much housing.
But now, Alameda plans to build over 6,400 new housing units, making it the first Bay city to get its housing plan approved by the state.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but trust your intuition. (Especially when you're being gaslight) We (especially women) are often taught to ignore our gut, and it's often deemed a lesser degree of knowledge (often by men). My intuition has never failed me.
We met at AWP in Portland in 2019 at the Latinx caucus, started workshopping during the pandemic, now we’re friends and celebrating
@el_saulhdez
debut poetry collection 💗 es un honor y un privilegio ser poeta con ustedes 💗
@heckaseuss
#AWP2024
The national media responded to the Chesa Boudin recall with headlines that made sweeping claims on criminal justice reform. We bring you a local perspective from a dogged reporter,
@mlagos
doesn't hold back & brings nuance to a v complicated story.
🗳NEW EPISODE🗳
No local race in the Bay has gotten more attention than the recall of
@chesaboudin
. And there’s no shortage of opinions as to why it happened.
Today, we dive into the results of this recall with
@mlagos
.