Helllllllllllooo y'all. It's been a minute, but that's because the holidays have truly been a time to test us. We're excited to introduce the new year with an interview Sam did with Pamela Chavez, the creator of the animated short film Caracol Cruzando. Pamela is a Costa Rican mujer that has pursued animation and illustration after a few years of community organizing. Influenced by contemporary issues impacting Latinx communities Pamela hopes to highlight the resilience and beauty that rise from these experiences. PLEASE watch Caracol Cruzando if you have not already. Be prepared to shed a tear or two. Thank you so much to Pamela for collaborating with us and please support her in the links below!

Links/Enlaces

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Pamela Maria Chavez Website

Caracol Cruzando, 2018 PBS Online Film Festival

Roses For Wolves Short Film

Caloncho - Palmar

Shrek Retold

Wow has it really been one year? Thank you to everyone that has supported this little Central American Strugglepod! We are so appreciative of the amount of support we have been given and the connections we have fostered. This week we just critique and dissect ourselves and our show! We go into strengths, weaknesses, tangible goals and what inspires us. Thanks to everyone once again for being the beautiful community you are~

Links/Enlaces

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Featured Song: Flicker - Rina Sawayama

Bodega Boys Podcast

Small Doses with Amanda Seales

Still Processing Podcast

Recode Decode Podcast

Radio Ambulante Podcast

This week we are proud to present Karla Vasquez, the creator of SalviSoul, an ongoing multi-media project and cooking anthology of Salvadoran food and Salvadoran womxn. Karla is a cook, food journalist, food historian and a food justice organizer. We go in to discuss Karla's new article featured in Eater about three Salvadoran restuarant owners in Los Angeles. We discuss the complex relationship women have with food, curtido, and the ways Salvadoran food is moving with its people. We are so grateful for Karla to give us the time to interview her and discussing her work!

Links/Enlaces

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Karla's Instagram: @karla_tv

SalviSoul's Instagram: @SalviSoul

Karla's Twitter: @KarlaTVasquez

SalviSoul's Twitter: @SalviSoul

SalviSoul's Facebook Page

SalviSoul's Website

Karla's Eater Article: "Three Young Restaurateurs Are Trying to Change How Angelenos Eat Salvadoran Food"

We have been waiting so long for this episode. We want to introduce y'all to our mutual best friend Myrtha. Myrtha is the glue of this show and we wanted to provide a light episode that we recorded shortly before Sandra moved back to Los Angeles. With Myrtha we discuss just us and how we've grown since meeting as freshman in high school. Prepare for LOTS of laughs. Also we list out why we think our friendship has lasted nearly 10 years. Thank you so much to Myrtha for all the support she has given and also for being a good sport when we talk chambre. WE LOVE YOU.

Links/Enlaces

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Register to Vote

@myyyrthaaa on IG

We are so excited to collaborate with our good friend @GataSalvaje415 host of the Las Basureras Podcast and the creator of Gata Salvaje Merch. Gata and us break down FOUR California propositions we feel are very important to us personally. We also want this to motivate people to engage with their local and state politics outside of major federal elections. PLEASE register to vote if you have that priviledge and also try to motivate others and provide educational resources for many people that are rejected access. A HUGE THANK YOU to our good friend Gata who has been a strong supporter of us since day one!

Links/Enlaces

Register to Vote

Our Conclusions

Yes on 2

No on 6

Yes on 8

Yes on 10 

Las Basureras Podcast

Gata Salvaje Merch

@GataSalvaje415 on IG

@LasBasureras on IG

Hey everyone! This week Sandra interviews Nicole Ramsey. Nicole is a first generation PhD Candidate in African Diaspora studies doing work on Belize/Belizeans in the Diaspora, and Black Central America(ns) and the Caribbean at UC Berkeley. She is also a Music enthusiast that uses popular culture and popular music as a form of diasporic education. In the episode Nicole explains to us the history of Garveyism in Central America, her academic journey, her upbringing in LA South Central's Little Belize, and the importance of Afro-Carribean women in her research. Thank you to Nicole for being a great guest!

Links

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Featured Song: Splinters - Shal Marshall

Nicole's Instagram: @hereisnicky

Nicole's Twitter: @Nicole_D_Rams

Pablo Lopez Oro's Twitter: @BlackCatrachoBK

Asia Leed's Twitter: @AsiaLeeds

Lara Putnam

Juliet Hooker's Twitter: @CreoleProf

Robert Hill's Bio

Robert Hill presenting on Samuel Haynes

Colin Grant's "Negro With A Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey"

Anne Macpherson's "From Colony to Nation: Women Activists and the Gendering of Politics in Belize, 1912-1982 (Engendering Latin America)"

Leela Vernon's Bio

Leela Vernon's Eulogy

Tamika Burgess's Afro-Latina Empowerment Monthly Newsletter "Es Mi Cultura"

Hey everyone! This week Sandra is joined by Gabriela Aleman, aka Salvi-Nica artist @smugmorenita, to discuss how they use online community organizing to assist their offline community organizing. Gaby is extremely active in San Francisco Mission District's local political and community organizing landscape. They both discuss the privlidges of community organizing, perfromative activism, the non-profit industrial complex, and the steps to begin working locally for you neighborhood. Please support Gaby online and Chavalos Danzas Por Nicaragua!

Links

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Featured Song: When I'm With Him - Empress Of

Gaby's Instagram: @smugmorenita

Gaby's Twitter: @smugmorenita

Chavalos Danzas Por Nicaragua's Instagram

Warning: Rough Audio Ahead! Hey everyone! Today we have a new installment in our interview series. Our guest, Melissa Vida, is a freelance journalist and the new editor in chief for the Central American Empowerment Network. On top of this, Melissa created CentAm Curator, a newsletter aimed at bringing relevant Central American news to the forefront. Join us as we discuss with Melissa her reasons for creating a newsletter, the process of obtaining Central American news from Central American sources, as well as a discussion on international relations and the future of Central America.

Links

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Featured Song: Aguitaecoco - Simon Grossmann

CentAm Curator Newsletter

Nicaraguan Protesters and Journalists face Violent Attacks on the Streets and Online by Melissa Vida from globalvoices.org

Central American Empowerment Network

Melissa Vida's Twitter

Melissa Vida's Works

Plaza Publica (Guatemala News Source)

Nomada (Guatemala News Source)

El Pulso (Honduras News Source)

Contra Corriente (Honduras News Source)

El Faro (El Salvador News Source)

Upside Down World

Truthout

Hey everyone! Today we have a very special episode! Sandra was able to interview Federico Valiente, the Senior Director of Marketing for Pollo Campero while on her family trip to Nashville! Pollo Campero is expanding to Nashville and celebrated their grand opening a few weeks ago. We discuss the prevalence of Pollo Campero in our lives, especially as children of Central Americans. We also discuss the importance and relevance of a Central American buying force as well as other businesses associated with Central Americans in the US. The businesses we mention are mostly located in Los Angeles since we mostly know LA. Huge shout out to Pollo Campero for working with us and for taking the time to talk to us!

Links

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Pollo Campero Opening in Nashville

Pollo Campero's Website

Pollo Campero's Facebook

Pollo Campero's Instagram

Pollo Campero's Twitter

Pollo Campero in the USA

El Salvador Corridor

La Guatemalteca Bakery

Super Mini Market in South Gate (Nicaraguan store)

Petition to Save Liborio Market

Our Listener Survey

This is part 2 of a roundatable discussion we had at Sandra's pad in Oakland! We gathered 5 Central American Bay Area artists and curators to discuss with each other their art, identity, and navigating the Bay art world. We have Marabet Morales, a Chapina from East Oakland that started the Bay Area Central American Writers Group. Gabriela Alemán, San Francisco Mission-born Nica/Salvi visual artist and local Mission community organizer. Plinio Hernández, born in El Salvador then migrated to North Oakland and Berkeley, a multi-media artist and art teacher that also does work with migrants at FM4 Paso Libre in Guadalajara, Mexico. Breena Nuñez, a Afro-Guatemalan/Salvadoran comic book artist with content about her life and connecting to Central America as a Afro-Latina womxn from San Bruno. Last but not least, Jeannine Ventura who was born in the Inland Empire of California, but has lived in the Bay for the last eight years. Jeannine is the Editor in Chief at Undertone Magazine, Undertone is a creative collective dedicated to supporting womxn of color, their art, and their stories and host of the podcast¡Oye, Nenx! Thank you all for speaking to us and giving out hella good vibes. This is part 2 or 2 so please listen to last week's episode!

Links/Enlaces

Intro Song & Transition Song: Greener Pastures - Sro

Marabet's Instagram

Breena's Instagram

Gabriela's Instagram

Plinio's Instagram

Jeannine's Instagram

Undertone Magazine's Instagram

Our Listener Survey