Understanding Latina Identity through the tale of two Ritas When I was a wee one around 11 years old, I entered a storytelling contest and won. My prize, or what I can still remember, was this beautiful, shiny hardback copy of Charles Dicken’s “A Tale of Two Cities”. […]
Winston Churchill once said, “I’m fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals”. Puerto Ricans tend to like pigs, particularly as a slow-roasted pork dish. I am Puerto Rican. Therefore, I love pork. See, I aced my LSATs […]
Do you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Do you love Supernatural? Did you love the X-Files, Battlestar Galactica and Farscape? Why the love for science fiction, space operas or vampires? My love of monsters, vampires, aliens, and in general science fiction comes primarily from my mom who believed […]
I most definitely do not have a green thumb. I am allergic to grass, ragweed and numerous pollens. I’m a creature of the urban jungle. Concrete all around me growing up, not plants. So, I went to Home Depot this weekend, bought some plants, a large shovel and […]
I am going to be upfront with you: it has rained nearly every day that I have been in Italy and I am unapologetically a New Yorker. What does this prefacing mean? I don’t have sun-colored glasses on and I believe with every core of my being New […]
I just walked my son to school after watching an episode of Dexter’s Laboratory, a children’s cartoon about a boy genius, who while he is not essentially evil, can be a little unpleasant. In this episode, a crazy monster goat–a Chupacabra–was featured. This was the second time my […]
Hispanics are big dreamers; eating up every type of dream in all senses of the word. They dream of a better life. An overwhelming 78% of second-generation Hispanic adults say that they believe hard work pays off in success (Pew Research Center, 2013). Hispanics believe in the American Dream: Hispanic Americans […]
As a Puerto Rican, I am naturally (genetically) superstitious. Everything had a supernatural or karmic sensibility to it. I always was afraid of Friday, the 13th and tried to avoid doing certain things on those days. My mom would try to not really have us step out of […]
Thankfully (having just returned from an exhausting roadtrip to Amelia Island, Florida), I had a rather restful New Year’s Eve celebration, one which entailed watching CNN’s countdown with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. They have been doing this now for over five years and what keeps people watching […]
Dreams could serve as a window into your brain-your thoughts, your fears and your hopes. Or they could serve you up a prophecy of what is to come. Dreams can guide you, motivate you or perhaps just bore you. In many ancient societies, such as those of Egypt […]