Vanguardia with James Garcia

Vanguarida America host James Garcia interviews Joel Goldenthal, the Executive Director of The Nash, a nightclub and educational center in Downtown Phoenix, and the club’s namesake, jazz drummer and Arizona State University  professor Lewis Nash.

Downbeat Magazine calls the Nash one the great jazz venues in the world. It recently marked its 10th anniversary. 

But the Nash is more than a jazz club. It also provides unique educational programs that are building a vibrant jazz community in Phoenix and beyond by working with people of all ages, but especially young people, as a means to preserve and revive the distinctly American musical genre.

The club is named for Lewis Nash, whose career spans over 30 years and includes performances on 10 Grammy award-winning albums and an impressive discography of more than 400 recordings with jazz legends such as Betty Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Hank Jones, Sonny Rollins, as well as contemporary jazz artists like Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, Roy Hargrove and others.

For more information, visit www.thenash.org.

In this episode, Vanguardia America welcomes some of the folks behind the national coalition, Green Latinos, about an impactful report called the Latino Climate Justice Framework. The report takes an in-depth look at climate and environmental issues affecting the Latino community nationwide.

Our guests include: Irene Burga is the Climate and Clean Air Program Director for GreenLatinos; Catalina Gonzalez, Climate Policy Analyst for the Center for Progressive Reform; and Louis Medina, Communications and Philanthropy Director at Friends of the Inyo. 

According to leading scientists, we have until 2030 — a little over seven years — to dramatically cut carbon emissions and stop, or at least slow, the warming of the planet, which has already resulted in extreme temperatures, scorching fires, worsening droughts, flooding and a range of other impacts in the world we all share. 

In the meantime, racism, classism and political apathy in the U.S. put Latinos and other communities of color, especially among low income families, on the frontlines of the climate crisis. 

As we’ll hear in the interview, the poor and working class often face the brunt of environmental pollution and climate change impacts because they live in communities where they’re generally more exposed to things like factories, warehouses, freeways and other pollution sources.

The widening income gap in the U.S. is one reason behind the disparate impacts of climate change, say experts, because Latino households, on average, have significantly less resources they can tap to help combat the effects of climate change than white households. Census figures show the median wealth of Latino families in 2019 was $36,100 as compared to $188,200 for white families.

For more information about this report, go to www.greenlatinos.org.

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia talks to Chris Chavez, the director of La Ruta, the latest production by Stray Cat Theater. The show opens Dec. 2 at the Tempe Center for the Arts and runs through mid December.

La Ruta, written by Isaac Gomez, was a smash hit at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. The play tells the story of six women in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexico border. The story is told against the backdrop of the infamous series of murders, or femicides, that have occurred in that city over several decades. The production comes as more attention is being paid to the murder and disappearance of countless indigenous women in the U.S. and Canada.

La Ruta is based on the true stories of women who live and work in the region. Joining the interview are actor Dolores E. Mendoza, who plays Yolanda, and the show’s assistant director, Luz Navarro.

Monica Villalobos, president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has been selected to co-chair the transition team for Arizona's incoming Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs. Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia spoke to Villalobos, a Republican, about her goals and assignment as co-chair and why she's still a Republican, despite her condemnation of the party's hard tilt toward extremism. Villalobos said she received her first death threat shortly after the announcement by Hobbs that she and Democratic lobbyist Mike Haener had been named to co-chair Hobbs's transition team. Police in Phoenix say threats of violence against Democrats have intensified in this election cycle as compared to the 2020 president election when Donald Trump was defeated by Joe Biden.

Vanguardia America invited three experts on national Latino politics to talk about the fallout of the 2022 midterm elections, including the current and future impact of Latino voters. What brought Latinos to the polls? What role did abortion rights play? What can Democrats and Republicans learn from this election? Hear what Rafael Collazo of UnidosUS Action Fund, Yvonne Gutierrez of Latino Victory, and Ben Monterroso of PoderLatinx had to say to  host, James Garcia. 

ARIZONA - The results of the 2022 midterm election surprised many who predicted a Republican rout at the polls, but Democrats in Arizona and across the nation were generally very happy with the outcome. Vanguardia America host James Garcia got a post-election take about the results in AZ from a roundtable of political analysts, Joe Garcia of CPLC Action Fund, Elizabeth Salazar of UnidosUS Action Fund, and grassroots activist and avid Democrat Roberto Reveles.

Vanguardia America with James Garcia talks to Alana Hernandez, executive director of the Cala Alliance in Phoenix. The organization returns with its latest iteration of Crossfade LAB, which returns to its home venue at the Crescent Ballroom on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 from 7:00–9:00 PM. Get tickets at calalliance.org.

This iteration of Crossfade LAB features Cuban-born, Mexico City and New York-based performance artist Carlos Martiel and New York-based musical artist Xenia Rubinos.

Moderated by MacArthur Fellow and Crossfade LAB co-curator Josh Kun, the evening blends emotionally charged performances that underscore the lived realities of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color with soulful Caribbean-inspired jazz melodies.

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviewed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs over the weekend about her campaign and how, if elected, her agenda will impact Arizona Latinos, especially when it comes to education, abortion rights, immigration, and the state's economic future.

Our interview with Hobbs is immediately followed by our roundtable of election analysts: Elizabeth Salazar UnidosUS Action Fund, Joseph Garcia of CPLC Action Fund, and grassroots Democratic activist Roberto Reveles.

Vanguardia America with James E. Garcia airs on La Onda 1190 AM/107.5 FM, Saturdays at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT. Our podcasts post the following Mondays at 6 a.m. Eastern. To hear previous podcasts visit bit.ly/3E2vf8d

Unidos US Action Fund

Playwright Miriam Gonzales, composer and lyricist Daniel French, and actress Jillian Saenz, who plays the lead in "Selena Maria Sings," spoke with Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia about the play's themes of personal loss, family bonds, Latina empowerment, and the story's ties to the legacy of the late pop music icon Selena Quintanilla.

Vanguardia America host James Garcia spoke with Rafael Collazo of UnidosUS Action Fund and Dorian Caal of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund about Latino voting trends ahead the upcoming midterms. Collazo and Caal talked about the top issues for Latinos this year, Latino voter turnout, and the growing prevalence of mis-information aimed at Hispanics, especially on Spanish-language media. For more information, visit naleo.org or unidosusaf.org. Illustration: votolatino.org