December 17, 2010

The manger on its way up the stairs of a Harlem apartment building.

La Posada—the Mexican Christmas procession recreating the Holy Family’s attempt to find shelter before Jesus was born—is a cherished tradition for many Latino families. It has deep religious roots, and deep resonance with current events: a story of temporary homelessness, and journey, and searching for a place of welcome at a time of great need.

Listen as Maria Hinojosa finds out what a Posada is like in chilly New York City in this piece produced by Nusha Balyan.

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SMALL IMMIGRANT BUSINESSES HAVE A BIG IMPACT

You might be tempted to discount the economic impact of immigrant-owned Mom & Pop businesses, but—as we hear in this report from Karina Salazar—the chain of employment they create makes them a significant source of job creation, even in a large market like New York City.

This report comes to us from the “Beyond the Border” project at the University of Arizona, in association with NAHJ: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Monica Ortiz Uribe served as Karina Salazar’s mentor.

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A CHICANA AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

Roxy Cruz de Hoyos was born and raised in East Los Angeles. In a predominantly Latino high school, she always stood out as fair-skinned. At Pitzer College, she appeared tan. And now, in the remote Himalayan villages of Nepal, Roxy is even told she looks Nepali! She’s studying the agriculture of Nepal, and finding out first hand just how much work goes into the food that humans eat. Reese Erlich brings us her story.

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THE DREAM ACT FAILS TO ADVANCE IN THE SEANTE

Late Saturday morning, the Senate failed to invoke cloture in a 55-41 vote, and the DREAM Act failed to advance to an up-or-down vote in the upper body. Sixty votes were needed to move the bill forward for debate.

Five Democrats — Sens. Max Baucus (MT), Kay Hagan (NC), Ben Nelson (NB), Mark Pryor (AR.) and Jon Tester (MT) — joined most Republicans in voting against the measure. Three Republicans, Sens. Bob Bennett (UT), Richard Lugar (IN) and Lisa Murkowski (AK), voted yes. Four members — Sens. Jim Bunning (R-KY), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) — were absent for the vote.

The Obama administration and numerous Latino leaders joined a full-court press Friday, trying to get the legislation debated on the Senate floor. The House passed a version of the legislation on December 8.

In a political movement noted for its youth involvement and nonviolent opportunities for young people to become engaged in activism, social media played a huge role. And the Twitter feeds of many showed their reactions in the minutes following Saturday’s vote.

For up-to-the-minute news, follow us from your mobile device on Twitter where we’re @LatinoUSA.

THE 2010 CENSUS & SEGREGATION

The Census Bureau released numbers this week detailing what its most recent survey of the American population uncovered. The results are interesting–we all knew the Latino population of the U.S. was on the rise, but the 2010 Census found that in a majority of metro areas, racial segregation is lower than it’s been in 100 years. To help explain what that means for Latinos living in America’s many communities, we turned to Angelo Falcón, President of the National Institute for Latino Policy.

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