Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus Podcast

The Hispanic Caucus of Democrats Abroad interviewed Jorge Hernandez of Los Tigres del Norte, an iconic band that has sold more than 50 million records, and has 7 Grammys and 6 Latin Grammys. This was hosted by Ale Tenorio and Axel Sanchez. Jorge shared with us why voting this year is so important. This Spanish language interview was recorded on July 8, 2020.

Be sure to request your absentee ballot at votefromabroad.org

Originally recorded on June 3, 2020, this was a thoughtful and eye opening bilingual interview with Leo Perez Minaya founder of the Dominican Republic branch of Democrats Abroad.

Leo Perez Minaya: businessman, Stanford University graduate, engineer, developer, and entrepreneur, internationally recognized for his proven track record of successful world class tourism - real estate endeavors such as Cap Cana. He is the President of the Dominican-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and senior member of the US consulate Warden Program. He currently resides in Dominican Republic. Pérez Minaya is the founder and former Chair of Democrats Abroad Dominican Republic, as well as the former Regional Vice Chair for the Americas Region of Democrats Abroad.

Here's a preview of next week's webinar with Dr. Ramona Houston. Dr. Houston enjoys a multifaceted career as a scholar, social impact strategist, and speaker. American race relations, social responsibility, and higher education are the principal spheres of her work. An American historian, Ramona, specializes in 20th century American history, civil rights, and race relations, specifically it's African American and Mexican American dimensions. Through her publications/presentations, Ramona explores Black/Brown relations, promoting the importance of diverse groups working together to increase their capacity and effectiveness in advancing social change and social justice.

If you like this podcast, be sure to register for Dr. Houston's upcoming webinar at https://www.democratsabroad.org/bc_webinar_ramona_houston and subscribe to our podcast

Be sure to join Democrats Abroad at http://www.democratsabroad.org/join

Twitter: @DemsAbroadHC #DemocratsAbroad #VoteFromAbroad

Hispanic Caucus participants in this episode: Amerika Garcia Grewal (Fiji)

Podcast intro/outro music provided by Carlos Colao (Spain).

This week, the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus spoke with Andrea Peña, a musician, volunteer, community activist, and an incredible 17-year-old student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

In catching up with Miss Peña, we learned about how she coped with the aftermath from the tragic February 14, 2018 mass shooting at her school; her involvement nowadays with an extraordinary non-profit organization (https://shinemsd.org/) which helps heal victims of traumatic events through use of the arts; why Camp Shine locations should be spread throughout the U.S.; why Hollywood and Broadway need to tone down visual depictions of gun violence; and the back-story to the amazing song “Shine” she co-wrote with her classmate Sawyer Garrity in response to that dark day in 2018.

This young lady and millions of other outstanding youths make us optimistic for the future. They’re primed to register to vote for the first time and we have full confidence in our nation’s next generation of leaders doing the right thing when it comes to creating the positive political change we want to see in laws. If you ever needed a nudge to vote, listen to this episode and we’re sure you’ll agree that America needs more Andrea Peñas – not all heroes wear capes!

Twitter: @DemsAbroadHC #MSDstrong #VoteFromAbroad

Hispanic Caucus participants in this episode: Alison Maciejewski (Czech Republic) and Meagan López (France). Podcast intro/outro music provided by Carlos Colao (Spain).

"I am an American in every way... except for documentation."

If you couldn't vote, how involved would you get in politics? In Sarah Souza's case, the answer is VERY involved. Souza arrived in the country at the age of 15, went to college as a DREAMer, and grew into a community activist and U.S. public policy expert. The first DACA recipient on the San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee joined us to talk about life in a sanctuary city, how the Democratic party supports Latinx candidates for office, and why motivated leaders like her are #HereToStay.

Governor Bill Richardson, a childhood role model of DA member and podcast host Sam Stone and so many other Americans, joined us to talk about the opportunities third culture kids have, his work with the Inter-American Dialogue, how important it is for politicians to remember we're a community of nations, and the importance of exercising the right to vote. We discussed our relationships with our nearest and largest trading partners in the Americas as well as sanctions in North Korea and the Rule of Law as it applies in the US and around the world. With strong stances on climate change "It was wrong to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, it’ll adversely affect humanity" and with compassion for the most vulnerable nations on our planet, this podcast is a must-listen for all members of the Hispanic Caucus and Democrats Abroad. This episode of the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus was cohosted by Amerika Garcia Grewal in Fiji and Sam Stone in Mexico, with special thanks to Madeleine Mahony of Gov. Richardson’s staff.

2020 is just around the corner and all Americans living outside the US should request their absentee ballot every year. Please mark your calendar or go to PledgetoReg.org to pledge to register to vote and request your ballot.

Barajas, Héctor: U.S. Army. Sabal, Roman: U.S. Marine Corps. Bailey, Howard: U.S. Navy. What do all of these people have in common? They've all veterans who've been deported. But not just them -- it's estimated that the true number of deported veterans is in the thousands.

Michael Ramos, chair of the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus, and Michael Lee, chair of the Democrats Abroad Veterans and Military Families Caucus, co-hosted this episode with a special guest located only steps away from the U.S.-Mexico border who's been fighting on behalf of America's deported veterans. While most veterans are just as patriotic as you and I, because they don't have a birth certificate that says the were born on U.S. soil they've been under relentless attack and deported to countries most of them have no knowledge of, no fluency with the language, and no known safe-haven connections. With seemingly no compassion for U.S. veterans despite many of them having shed blood and served in combat missions, they are still taken by the federal government to the border as a final "thank you for your service" goodbye message.

Working tirelessly on repatriating our nation's veterans is Robert Vivar, co-director of the Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center based in Tijuana, México. Robert is a true activist who's been doing whatever it takes to get our nation's men and women who previously served in the military to allow them back into the United States to reunite with their families and loved ones, in addition to securing them a legal immigration status. Robert has organized petitions, communicated with members of Congress, partnered alongside other organizations, tracks the latest in court cases involving veterans and citizenship -- and still somehow manages to be a first point of contact for U.S. veterans shoved through the doors to Tijuana and provide them with needed resources and support.

The bottom line is that deporting veterans is not in the best interest of our country. Thankfully, there are several take-action initiatives Americans abroad can take such as registering to vote, voting from abroad, contacting legislators, signing petitions -- and encouraging other Americans to do the same. Have a listen to this emotional episode and remember these former service-members not just on Veterans' Day, but every day until our government makes the needed reforms to provide our veterans with the legal status, VA benefits, and care that they deserve.

Participants in this episode: Michael Lee (Germany), Thomas López (Australia), and Michael Ramos (Australia). Podcast music provided by Carlos Colao (Spain).

This week the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus caught up with United We Dream's (UWD) Deportation Defense Manager, Oklahoma-based Cynthia García. As the nation's largest immigrant youth-led organization, UWD's García spoke to us about a variety of topics we've all been hearing about in the news: the Trump Administration's view on immigrants and people of color, family separations and child detention centers, ICE raids, and more.

Sibling co-hosts Amerika García-Grewal and Michal García (no relation to the guest) added their thoughts on how the issue of youth detention centers really resonated with reflections of their childhood hometown back on the Texas-Mexico border. A DACA recipient herself, Cynthia and UWD are truly needed within immigrant communities in educating Latino families on their rights and providing those threatened by deportations with helpful resources. Have a listen to this episode and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments box below!

Hispanic Caucus participants in this episode: Amerika García-Grewal (Fiji), Michal García (Canada), and Carlos Colao (Spain). Podcast music provided by Carlos Colao.

In this podcast episode, we spoke with Justine Sandoval, a multi-generational Coloradoan and long-time activist in the Denver community working to ensure fair and equitable treatment for all citizens. As the Community and Organizing Manager for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, Justine is currently focused on advocating for reproductive health rights all across the Centennial State. We were glad to hear from Justine about what her organization does, the latest legislative efforts happening in and around Colorado, the emergence of phony family planning "clinics," how Latinas and women of color have historically been at a disadvantage by having unequal access to reproductive health care, and other items of importance.

When Justine isn't advocating for pro-choice legislation to lawmakers, educating families on their reproductive rights, or researching the latest data on anti-choice policies, you can find her also serving as the current President for the Denver Young Democrats. Justine provided numerous reasons for all Americans to vote - including all of us eligible overseas voters. Have a listen to this episode to hear a truly fantastic discussion about women's rights when it comes to reproductive health care.

Participants in this episode: Alison Maciejewski (Czech Republic), Ann Hesse (Germany) and Christine Valverde (New Zealand). Podcast music provided by Carlos Colao (Spain).

With an incompetent Trump Administration and extremist lawmakers pursuing a far-right agenda, each state's attorney general is the last line of legal defense for the American people. Working hard to get these elected officials into office is Lizzie Ulmer with the Democratic Attorneys General Association, or "DAGA." Have a listen to Lizzie explain why having Democratic AGs is critical in protecting our democracy from those who seek to do harm to our communities of color, our environment, women's reproductive rights, and more. Make no mistake - the dozens of court cases by states winning against the Trump Administration over the last two years are directly attributable to the hard work of Democratic AGs.

Lizzie also touched on the diversity of DAGA-supported AGs, including one candidate of color who would be an amazing addition to DAGA if elected. If you're an American living abroad, we hope you find Lizzie's commentary just as enlightening as we did and that you learn a bit about a branch of the Democratic Party not often on the front pages. Because every year there are elections for state AGs, requesting your ballot (https://www.votefromabroad.org/) should always be a top priority.

Hispanic Caucus participants in this episode: Alison Maciejewski (DA Czech Republic), Lori Smith (DA Mexico), and Angelo Goode (DA Philippines). Podcast intro/outro music provided by Carlos Colao (DA Spain).