Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Have Their Say w/ Tony Diaz

Welcome to Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, founded in 1998.

We are happy to bring you another remote installment of the Latino Literary Renaissance.

At the top of the show, you heard the poetry of Griz Munoz, reading her from her new book, "Coatlicue Girl." She joins us for a full interview during the second half of our show, and you will enjoy more of her work throughout the program-broadcasting at 100,000 watts.

In the first half of the show, you'll get some intense doses of history and Dr. Cyhtnia Orozco reads from and discusses her book: No Mexicans, Women or Dogs Allowed: The Rise of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.

I know you are tuning in for the music, too. I know I am. Shout out to our crew for curating the soundtrack to a revolution.

We pre-recorded this show to air on May 12, 2020, to make history.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library's Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

You can listen to Nuestra Palabnra on demand by visiting at www.NuestraPalabra.org.

Thanks to our crew:

Leti Lopez

Rodrigo Bravo, who mixed the show remotely

Claudia Soler Alfonso, MD.

Jesse Aranda Comer

Laurie Flores

Stefano Cavezza

Al Castillo

I'm happy to join you every Tuesday from 6 pm to 7 pm Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say here on KPFT 90.1 FM Houston.

Also, on Tuesdays from 2 pm to 3 pm, we bring you Latino Politics and News.

I also get to see you on the political talk show What's Your Point on Fox 26 Houston, Sundays at 7 am.

This is Tony Diaz, stay tuned for more culture, poetry, and music.

Thank you for tuning into Latino Politics and News. I'm Tony Diaz.

We are recording remotely for broadcast on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

This is the best way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Should it take 10 calls to find out who is in charge of graffiti on a bridge in your neighborhood? Should it be easy to find out which branch of government is responsible for that bridge? What if you run for mayor, and lose? Is your political career over before it takes off?

We’ll be tackling those issue on today’s program and more.

At the top of the show, we'll speak with Michael Moore, candidate for Harris County Precinct 3. He is in a Democrat run-off July 14.

During the second half of the show, we also speak with Adam Sanchez who is running for Stafford City Council in November.

And we begin the program with news impacting our community.

Nationally:

We are proud that the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund is suing on behalf of U.S. Citizens who filed taxes as Mixed immigration Status family households and as a result were denied benefits for CORONA VIRUS Relief checks. This sounds like representation without taxation. We’ll keep following this.

Such families may get help in Harris County. Harris County Commissioners Court has approved $15 million to help low income residents including those families who were denied $1,200 checks from the federal COVID 19 Relief because they filed as mixed immigration status families.

We applaud Harris County Commissioners Court for putting Harris County First. This is a powerful way to rebuke the scapegoating of Immigrants that is happening nationally. Those fund will help Harris County residents who pay rent, who shop at stores, who are working to keep the economy going.

Harris County also approved $12m for mail in ballots to make sure everyone has a chance to vote during this Corona Virus epdemic. We hope that there will extra efforts to education the community about this. We want to remind you that Run Off Elections are scheduled for July 14.

President Trump's recent Executive order, which he claimed he signed to "save American jobs" seems more like a campaign slogan.

Thanks to our crew:

Leti Lopez

Rodrigo Bravo, who mixed the show remotely

Claudia Soler Alfonso, MD.

Jesse Aranda Comer

Laurie Flores

Stefano Cavezza

Al Castillo

I'm happy to join you every Tuesday from 2 pm to 3 pm for Latino Politics and News, here on 90.1 FM KPFT.

That's followed by Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say at 6 pm.

And I also get to see you on the political talk show What's Your Point on Fox 26 Houston, Sundays at 7 am.

This is Tony Diaz with Latino Politics and News.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

Thank you for tuning into Latino Politics and News. I'm Tony Diaz.

We are recording remotely for broadcast on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Today, we talk to candidates campaigning in the upcoming primary election on July 14. Remember that date. Tell your friends.

At the top of the show, we'll speak with Anna Eastman. She won the special election for Texas State Representative seat 148, just in time to get into a primary election for that same seat. That was the seat formerly held by Jessica Farrar, who retired.

During the second half of the show, we'll speak with Michelle Palmer, a Democrat candidate for Texas State Board of Education Seat 6, formerly held by Republican Donna Bahoric, who is retiring. Will remember her name from the Librotraficante's campaigns to endorse Mexican American Studies.

And we begin the program with news impacting our community.

Nationally:

President Trump's recent Executive order, which he claimed he signed to "save American jobs" seems more like a campaign slogan.

The Center for Disease Controls already outlined many of the policies regarding immigration meant to control the spread of COVID 19.

It seems that the president wanted to take some of the credit for those policies.

It is not clear how the president can claim that this executive order fights the coronavirus epidemic or saves American jobs. Additionally, after reading the executive order and consulting nationally board-certified immigration lawyers, only a small pool of visa applicants will be impacted. This executive order does not clearly save or create jobs. It looks like an attempt to scapegoat immigrants.

On the other hand, if you read the bill, it implies that farmworkers and immigrants who are working as first responders are essential. The executive order directly states those persons won't be affected. That implies they are essential. Of course, President Trump doesn't mention that.

He also doesn't mention exactly which jobs are saved?

I am sure that any American who wants to pick tomatoes or alfalfa will be more than welcome by farmers who need the labor.

Yes, families are having financial difficulties. This executive order does not address those concerns. The Trump administration should dedicate its time to helping families who have rent due May 1 and small and mid-sized businesses that create jobs in our communities.

DACA Students left out. Trump appointee Secretary of Education Devoss excluded DREAMERS from Emergency Education Grants. This will have an impact on schools in Texas where DREAMERS attend school, legally work, and pay taxes. All Texas students should have access to these funds, especially as DACA recipients must, by definition, comply with all laws, and are also on the front lines as essential workers fighting the COVID 19 epidemic.

Thanks to our crews:

Our co-hosts founder and director of Nuestra Palabra- Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante.

Producer: Leti Lopez

Rodrigo Bravo, who mixed the show remotely

Claudia Soler Alfonso, MD.

Jesse Aranda Comer

Laurie Flores

Stefano Cavezza

Al Castillo

I'm happy to join you every Tuesday from 2 pm to 3 pm for Latino Politics and News, here on 90.1 FM KPFT.

That's followed by Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say at 6 pm.

And I also get to see you on the political talk show What's Your Point on Fox 26 Houston, Sundays at 7 am.

This is Tony Diaz with Latino Politics and News.

Thank you for tuning into Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say. I'm Tony Diaz.

This is a special feature. We are focusing on one segment from our April 21, 2020 show.

Tony Diaz interviews Diana Martinez Alexander who is vying to become the first Latina elected to Harris County Commissioners Court Precinct 3. She is in a run-off election scheduled for July 14, 2020.

Find out if she supports Mexican American Studies and which topics are her main passions.

Send comments and suggestions to: [email protected]

Thanks to our crews:

Our co-hosts founder and director of Nuestra Palabra- Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante.

Producer: Leti Lopez

Rodrigo Bravo, who mixed the show remotely

Claudia Soler Alfonso, MD.

Jesse Aranda Comer

Laurie Flores

Stefano Cavezza

Al Castillo

Every Tuesday from 2 pm to 3 pm tune in to Latino Politics and News with Tony Diaz here on 90.1 FM KPFT.

That's followed by Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say at 6 pm.

Tony Diaz also appears on the political talk show What's Your Point Fox 26 Houston, Sundays at 7 am.

www.KPFT.org

www.NuestraPalabra.org

www.LatinoPoliticsAndNews.com

www.TonyDiaz.net

Opening for the April 28, 2020 episode of Latino Politics And News.

Houston’s First Latino Mayor Part I

Latino Politics And News with Tony Diaz will interview the first Latino Mayor of Houston, the 4th largest city in America, possibly even before she realizes she is the candidate of the people.

We interviewed Houston City Councilman Robert Gallegos, Houston's lone Latino City Council representative.

We also interviewed Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President, to get his take on the recent Democratic Presidential Debate and asked him if the presidential candidates are profoundly engaging Latinos.

Karla Aguilar gives up an update on the court battle over the designation of "The Alamo". A meeting with the Texas Historical Commission was canceled due to closures for Corona Virus prevention.

www.LatinoPoliticsAndNews.com

Houston's recent mayoral election did not result in Houston's first Latino mayor. It never has.

In a city whose population is over 44% Latino, there has never been a mayor with a Spanish surname. Worse, only one out of 16 city council representatives is Latino.

This has several serious implications.

Every election conjures the cliche of "Turning Texas Blue." That will never happen without the full inclusion of Latinos-beginning in every neighborhood. The Democratic party has entirely abandoned some areas of Texas for years.

However, in 2024, Houston's next mayor will be Latino.

That's not me saying that. Incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner predicted this to a crowd of about 100 Tejano elected officials, and community leaders gathered for breakfast at El Jardin Mexican Restaurant on the East End just before the general election in November of 2019.

To some folks, this may sound simply like clever Hispandering (That's traditional pandering tailored to Hispanics). An incumbent merely invited Latinos to a Mexican restaurant and said nice things to them to get their votes.

In the past, the conversation would end there, perhaps until a brief allusion during Hispanic Heritage Month, but the era of Hispandering is over. Latino News and Politics will document the ascent of the Latino Vote in Texas.

Join us for our Super Tuesday Preview of Elections in Texas-from a Latino perspective.

Host Tony Diaz interviews Natalia Cornelio Democratic candidate for Judge of the 351, and Sema Hernandez Democratic candidate for U.S. Texas Senate.

Find out about issues profoundly facing the Latino community. This is a preview for our new upcoming show, "Latino Politics & News."

Elections are Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

Look for your sample voter ballot. In Harris County, sample ballots are available at www.HarrisVotes.com.

Click here to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS

Bios:

Natalia Cornelio is a Judicial Candidate for the 351st Criminal District Court in Harris County, Texas. For 13 years, she has been an attorney, public servant, advocate, and criminal justice reformer.

She currently works as the Director of Legal Affairs for Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis in Precinct One, where she helped draft and finalize the settlement in the misdemeanor bail reform lawsuit, ODonnell v. Harris County.

Immediately before this, she was the Director of Criminal Justice Reform at the Texas Civil Rights Project. As the director, Natalia was counsel and advocate for hundreds of parents along the United States-Mexico border after being forcibly separated from their children under Trump's unlawful family separation policy. She also settled TCRP's debtor’s prison lawsuit against the City of El Paso to end the City’s practice of incarcerating people for their inability to pay traffic tickets, expanded the project’s investigations against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and its cruel treatment of its prisoners in solitary confinement, and worked with local partners to decrease criminalization of juveniles who interface with the criminal justice system.

Her opponent is incumbent George Powell in the Democratic Primary.

Arlene Hecht is running unopposed in the Republican Primary.

Sema Hernandez:

I am the daughter of immigrants. The sacrifices my parents and grandparents made are part of what fueled my decision to run for the U.S. Senate. I grew up in a migrant working family, and I understand the struggle of people who are burdened by crushing debt, job insecurity, environmental racism, and lack of healthcare coverage. These are the common struggles of the working class. I worked in acute healthcare for six years, caring for insured and uninsured patients. Through my background in healthcare, I experienced first-hand the flaws of our healthcare system. As a mother, I became a volunteer baseball coach and a volunteer organizer for local baseball organizations, where I served on the board of directors.

Our 2018 primary campaign for U.S. Senate was historic, promoting progressive issues, policies, and solutions. Our campaign earned the trust of voters who responded with 24% of the Democratic vote to this first-time candidate, all on a slim budget of approximately $4,000.

She has 11 opponents in the Democratic primary.

There are five candidates in the Republican Primary, including incumbent John Cornyn.

NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6 pm-7 pm CST 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Latino Politics & News will air live Thursdays 2 pm – 3 pm CST, starting March 12, 2020.

90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Livestream www.KPFT.org.

More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

Co-hosts: Tony Diaz and Q-Terrell Quillin

Producer: Leti Lopez.

Interns: Rodrigo Bravo, Claudia Soler Alfonso, Stefano Cavezza

Tony Diaz

Sun 7am

"What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston

Tues 6pm

NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org

Thurs 2pm

Latino Politics & News with Tony Diaz, starting March 12, 2020, 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Join us for our first presidential candidate interview with Tom Steyer. This is a preview of our new upcoming show “Latino Politics & News”. Join co-hosts Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, Terrell Quillin and the Nuestra Palabra Crew as they talk about politics, art, and culture.

Additional guests include:

Playwright, Director, and Actor Frida Espinosa Müller with Cara Mia Theater talks about her play URSULA. This powerful one-woman show about immigration was part of Sin Fronteras, Stages Festival for Latinx Theater.

Tomás Aguilar, Disaster Recovery Coordinator for Living Hope Wheelchair Association, and board member Guillermo De La Rosa “Memo”.

Click here to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS

Bios:

Tom Steyer Tom Steyer stepped down as head of his investment firm in 2012 to dedicate all his time to philanthropy and political action focused on making America more just by putting the people, not the corporations, in charge of our democracy. Tom, a self-made billionaire, and his wife, Kathryn Taylor, known as “Kat,” were among the first to sign the Giving Pledge — a commitment to give away the bulk of their personal fortune during their lifetimes. In 2013, he founded NextGen America, a nonprofit group that combats climate change, promotes social justice and increases participation in our democracy through voter registration and grassroots organizing.

Frida Espinosa Müller is a Mexican-born artist. She holds her BFA in Dramatic Literature and Theatre from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (U.N.A.M.) and studied physical theater at the Dipomado Teatro del Cuerpo (DTdC) in Mexico City. In Mexico City, she was part of the Company Tespis from 1992 to 1997, founded her own company in 1999 called Seudópodos, and was a member of the Artistic Ensemble of El Laboratorio de La Máscara from 2002 to 2004. In 2005, Frida moved to Dallas to join Cara Mía Theatre Resident Ensemble, where she has served as an actress, designer and teaching artist.

For the last few years, Tomas has been busy working on Disaster Recovery for Living Hope Wheelchair Association. The other half of his time is spent on administering database, data, as well as training staff on using technology to continue doing their amazing work. Before coming to Houston, Tomas worked for Progressive Technology Project as a data specialist. He's also worked with Alternatives for Community and Environment and United for a Fair Economy, both in Boston. Guillermo De la Rosa was one of the founders of Living Hope. Memo, as he's called, has done pretty much everything as Living Hope but has focused a lot on media and technology. Memo has been busy the last two years working on the organization’s new website, social media, and training others on using technology.

NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Latino Politics & News will air live Thursdays 2 pm – 3 pm cst, starting March 12, 2020.

90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Livestream www.KPFT.org.

More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

Producer: Leti Lopez.

Tony Diaz

Sun 7am

"What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston

Tues 6pm

NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org

Thurs 2pm

Latino Politics & News, starting March 12, 2020, 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Don Quixote returns! Playwright Octavio Solis brings Cervantes to life with his play QUIXOTE NUEVO!

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, Terrell Quillin, and the Nuestra Palabra Crew chat with Octavio Solis, author of the book RETABLOS, who also wrote the play QUIXOTE NUEVO running at the Alley Theatre from Friday, January 17, 2019, to Sunday, February 9, 2020. https://www.alleytheatre.org/plays/production-detail/quixote-nuevo Use the promo code QNPARTNER for discounts.

The play runs until Feb. 9, 2020.

Use the promo code QNPARTNTER for discounts for the rest of the performances.

For tickets, visit: https://www.alleytheatre.org/plays/pr...

#QUIXOTENUEVO

We also interview Dave Bonta for Poesía Sin Fronteras / Poetry Without Borders at REELpoetry, presented by Publico Poetry: https://www.publicpoetry.net/

And we talk to Paul Espinosa, who discusses his film: Singing Our Way to Freedom". He will be conducting a Q and A with Tony Tony Diaz about his film at the Holocaust Museum: https://hmh.org/events/film-screening-singing-our-way-to-freedom-2020-01-25-18:00:00

Bios:

https://www.octaviosolis.net/

Octavio Solis is a playwright and director whose works, Mother Road, Quixote Nuevo, Hole in the Sky, Alicia’s Miracle, Se Llama Cristina, John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven, Ghosts of the River, Quixote, Lydia, June in a Box, Lethe, Marfa Lights, Gibraltar, The Ballad of Pancho and Lucy and others have been mounted at the California Shakespeare Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Yale Repertory Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Dallas Theater Center and many other venues. He is also the author of the powerful book RETABLOS. He is the playwright of the play QUIXTO NUEVO, an adaptation of the classic work DON QUIXOTE.

We know YOU know why this matters. But here is what to tell your friends and family: "Octávio Solis, wrote QUIXOTE NUEVO. He's also the author of the powerful memoir RETABLOS. He is a Mexican American writer from TX who understands our daily life, our dreams, how we envision the future, and what touches our hearts."

Quixote Nuevo Unites The Alley & Nuestra Palabra https://conta.cc/2QUrWXS

NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6 pm-7 pm CST 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Livestream www.KPFT.org.

More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

Producer: Leti Lopez. Co-hosts: Tony Diaz and Terrell Quillin.

Tony Diaz

Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays

& The Other Side

Sun 7 am

"What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston

24/7

Cultural Capital

https://www.tonydiaz.net/blog

#LatinosStickTogether Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk to HFD Chief Samuel Peña to determine if the Librotraficantes will give him a vote of maximum confidence. They are joined by Gracie Saenz, and Esq, LULAC Council 60 President Al Castillo. & Charles Mazzini and Radames Ortiz from Hyperlinks Media want you to get bug online. They have a limited time offer to help nonprofit organizations increase their reach online.

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say is a proud member of their program. We received a $10,000 a month Google Grant. If you wanna try to keep up with up, you best reach out to them.

From Hyperlink Media:

We want to offer you your listeners an exclusive Promotion:

FREE Application and setup for Google Ad Grants $750

FREE Digital Marketing Strategy $1500

Visit us at www.MissionMore.us

Tony Diaz shares the latest installment in his “Cultural Capital” series:

Latinos Stick Together: https://www.tonydiaz.net/blog/latinos-stick-together

Click here to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS

Bios:

Fire Chief Samuel Pena is a 24-year veteran of the fire service and has been chief of the Houston Fire Department (HFD) since December 2016. Chief Peña leads one of the largest municipal fire departments in the country, with approximately 4,000 personnel and an annual budget of over $506 million. He previously served over 3 years as fire chief in El Paso, Texas.

Gracie Saenz, Esquire, was the first Latina elected city-wide in Houston, Texas. She has been an advocate for community at every level of government.

LULAC Council 60 President Al Castillo comes from a family of advocates. He carries that legacy on promoting structural changes to edify the community.

Charles Mazzini is the CEO and Founder of Hyperlinks Media LLC, a leading, innovative digital marketing agency that “delivers valuable clicks, for rapid growth.” He founded Hyperlinks Media in 1998 and has seen tremendous growth. Charles has studied digital marketing for over 15 years, continuously learning in order to keep up with the latest trends so that his agency can provide the best solutions to his clients and produce the best ROI. Charles takes on a “lead by example” approach in his business, always encourages his staff to never stop learning and always strive for success. With his passion to give back, he has recently branched out and began finding ways to help nonprofits with his digital marketing expertise. He created a nonprofit program, MISSION: MORE!, to help organizations increase awareness, drive donations, and recruit volunteers.

Radames Ortiz is an alum of Nuestra Palabra and has contributed to numerous literary journals including Gulf Coast, Texas Observer, and Hayden's Ferry Review. His work has also been collected in various anthologies which include US Latino Literature Today and Is This Forever, or What?: Poems and Paintings from Texas edited by Naomi Shihab Nye. He was awarded an Archie D and Bertha Walker fellowship from the Fine Arts Workcenter in Provincetown. He now works as the leading digital marketing strategist at Mission:More!, a nonprofit marketing division of Hyperlinks Media in Houston, TX.

NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX.

Livestream www.KPFT.org.

More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org.

The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives.

Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operator: Terrell Quillin. Inters: Maria Mendoza, Rachel Rojas.

Tony Diaz

Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays

& The Other Side

Sun 7am

"What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston

Mon Noon

"The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net

Tues 6pm

NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org

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