Podcast: ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest?

En este episodio, collaborator Leonardo Lopez Carreno dissects the Biden administration’s proposal to give DACA recipients access to healthcare, empezando en Noviembre.

A pesar de que este announcement fue considerado una Victoria para los DACA recipients, the announcement comes at a difficult moment for the DACA program as a whole. Hablamos con Dr. Rachel Fabi, an Associate Professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Diana Pliego, a Policy Associate at the National Immigration Law Center, to unpack this news.

-----

Music:

Jazzaddict's Intro by Cosimo Fogg (201) / cosimo-fogg Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/jazzaddicts-intro Music promoted by Audio Library

This episode comes from outside the Midwest pero decidimos hacerlo because everything that happens at the US-Mexico border affects the entire country, incluyendo el medio oeste.

Por ejemplo, in an interview with National Geographic the attorney who heads Defenders of Wildlife conservation programs, said that “Whatever they build, it’s going to be destructive to natural habitat.” Tambien, with Mexico being the third-largest trading partner of the United States many fear that this could create a trade war, and stories of farmers forced to let crops rot due to labor shortages have become more common. So, Yes, what happens at the border affects the Midwest.

Aqui una historia desde Chicago. Our collaborator Judith Ruiz-Branch talk about how Although Chicago is a very liberal city with a diverse population that breeds inclusividad, there are still some Latino families, many undocumented, that have completely disconnected themselves from the current political landscape. Whether it’s due to disinterest or fear, there are many reasons why they choose to remain invisible, even in a city like Chicago.

En este episodio host Judith Ruiz-Branch habló con Dr. Marina Del-Rios, an emergency room doctor, assistant professor, and research coordinator, via an app called Tape a Call. They discussed the dire need for helpers in the medical field para Latinos en su comunidad, y Dr. Del-Rios shares las soluciones that she’s working on along with the Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative.

One of the main issues Dr. Del-Rios had to tackle was misinformation sobre el coronavirus due to la falta de reliable información confiable en español. IllinoisUnidos.com was the solution. The website provides reliable, user-friendly coronavirus information in English and Spanish. The Illinois Latino COVID-19 Initiative and the website also provide helpful resources for various other issues, such as housing, which have been amplified by the pandemic.

Our song for this episode was chosen by Dr. Del Rios - Hijos de Caña-veeeral by Residente - it’s one of her favorites. We hope you enjoyed.

Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Del-Rios

Este es nuestro último episodio de la tempoarada, así que decidimos hablar acerca de la impostancia del voto.

Tu voto cuenta. Este año que viene mas personas de color van a ser elegibles para el voto que en años pasados. According to the Pew Research Center, the 2020 election will mark the first time that Hispanics will be the largest racial or ethnic minority group in the electorate.

En terminos mas simples, a projected 32 million Hispanics and 30 million blacks will be eligible to vote in 2020. This increase is at least partially linked to inmigracion and naturalization. Por que one-in-ten eligible voters in the 2020 election will have been born outside the U.S.

Like for example Mayra Fortes. A Mexican born professor who recently became a citizen. Our collaborator Emily Hunsberger talked to her in Michigan about why she decided to become a US citizen.

This season is about the coronavirus, but we aren’t sharing the latest statistics and news. Instead we set out (virtually) to find the helpers (like Mr. Rogers) in the Midwest.

Paola is working with regional and national collaborations to translate and share coronavirus información in Spanish across el medio oeste and the country. One of our contributors from Season 4, Judith Ruiz-Branch, will be our host for this season, and she will be joined by a new addition to the team, Karli Goldenberg. They found people who are finding soluciones a los problemas caused by the pandemic. Esperamos que sus soluciones can help others en el medio oeste and beyond find solutions and hope during this difficult time.

The song for this episode es titulado “You and Me” by Michel Camilo.

Photo Credit: Daniel Knight

Graphic Design: Mareea Thomas

En este episodio our contributor Karli Goldenberg explores collective care, o el cuidado colectivo.

Before the U.S. declared a national emergency and Illinois issued a “Stay-at-Home Order,” Karli attended a community conversation about wellness hosted by Northwestern University’s Multicultural Student Affairs. Dr. Asif Wilson, Associate Dean of Instruction at Harold Washington College in Chicago, talked about collective care for people of color.

Latinos are historically undercounted in the census, but an Illinois woman we met in Season 4 is determined to change that, despite the coronavirus. Dona Chuy, the long-standing community activist and volunteer in Chicago, continues her work to get Latinos counted for the 2020 Census. In this episodio, host Judith Ruiz-Branch talks to her about what changes she’s had to make due to the pandemic to get Latinos to fill out el Censo del 2020 before the new deadline, el 30 de septiembre.

Latinos count en el Censo del 2020

Escucha as Dona Chuy talks about how she’s had to adjust and how not even a pandemic could make her abandon her mission because in the grand scheme of things, every count still matters.

The song for this episode es titulado “Aguzate” by Ricardo Ray & Bobby Cruz. Judith chose la canción because it is one of their most known songs, and along with it showcasing their signature orchestra, the message is uplifting and inspires us to keep pushing and fighting for good.

Photo Credit: Judith Ruiz-Branch

En este episodio, host Judith Ruiz-Branch habló con Shammrie Brown, Senior Outreach Director of New Life Covenant Church Southeast, via the Tape A Call app. Hablaron sobre cómo los miembros de la iglesia continue to help la comunidad despite the coronavirus and unrest following the murder of George Floyd. In addition to supporting local catering companies by purchasing comida para los trabajadores esenciales and those in need, la iglesia also provides pruebas de COVID-19 gratis and other services to the community.

La canción para este episodio es, “No Estas Solo”, a collaboration from Carlos Vives and Ruben Blades, dedicado a todos los afectados por the coronavirus pandemic. Proceeds from the song will benefit two separate charities in Panama and Colombia.

Photos courtesy of New Life Covenant Church Southeast

En este episodio our new contributor, Karli Goldenberg, talks to Dr. Juan Carlos Caicedo via Zoom about how he challenges existing healthcare access and created the Northwestern Medicine Hispanic Transplant Program, a culturally competent transplant center dedicated to Latino patients.

“Entonces, tenemos varios centros en la nación donde están implementando este tipo de aproximación, que es muy sensible. Esto no es ciencia de cohetes y cosas intergalácticos o complicados, es entender una cultura, una idioma. Pero entendiendo, se puede tener un impacto muy grande.” -Dr. Juan Carlos

For more información bilingüe sobre los trasplantes de órganos, you can visit the Programa Hispano de Trasplantes website and Infórmate, a site created by Dr. Caicedo and Dr. Gordon para ofrecer más información sobre los trasplantes y el proceso de donación de órganos a lectores Latinos.

Resources:

Programa Hispano de Trasplantes
Infómate: a website created by Dr. Caicedo and Dr. Gordon to give information about transplants and donation to Latino readers
Hispanic Transplant Program

The song for this episode es titulado “Vamos a Donar” by La Asociación Peruana de Autores y Compositores, a song created to increase visibility for organ donation in Peru.

En este episodio conversamos con la activista Kim Wasserman, residente de la Villita Antonia Quiñones Peña y el abogado John Hazinski about the implosion and continued demolition en la Villita, environmental justice and what community members would like to see moving forward.

That’s not a disparity, a disparity is a difference, it’s an inequity. And the difference between a disparity and an inequity is that an inequity is inherently unjust. So, inequality is an affliction all by itself. It’s the epidemic of inequality that COVID exposes.

— Dr. David A. Ansell

Resources:

Piece about Little Village’s fight for change after the implosion co-authored by Maria Cecilia Quiñones Peña
Recursos Compilados para abordar el impacto del COVID-19 en La Villita
Hilco statement
ProPublica Investigation
Harvard Public Health Study into power plant emissions effects on Illinois communities

Nuestra canción para este episodio es “Sana Sana” by Alejandro y Maria Laura, a song that reimagines the healing song of Sana Sana and applies it to the environment’s natural resources.

En este episodio contributor Karli Goldenberg talks to Chef Benoit Angulo via Zoom about how COVID-19 has brought La Cocinita Restaurant back to its food truck roots and allowed for them to donate over 7,000 meals to date across Chicagoland.

Rachel and Benoit Angulo, owners of La Cocinita Restaurant and food trucks, have teamed up to donate meals a los más afectados por el coronavirus.

We had this humongous change, like this monumental change on everything that we were doing, and I like how although stressful, and I lost a lot of sleep over it, I like how we were able to get together and figure out a way to make stuff happen. That will be like the thing that I will look back on. -Benoit Angulo

En este episodio we talk about education. Since the pandemic, a lot of things have changed the education landscape. Por ejemplo, in 2021, Undergraduate Latino enrollment decreased by more than 5 percent, de acuerdo al National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

We talk to a student about her experience during the pandemic. We also talk to a student advisor about how for multicultural students the pandemic meant more than just leaving campus and lower grades.

Kassandra and Cesar tell their stories about como sus notas bajaron y como les hace falta la vida en campus a los estudiantes.

As the vaccine becomes available to more populations, some universities are starting to plan for clases en persona this Fall - like the University of Southern Indiana - something both, Kassandra and Cesar are looking forward to - cuando la universidad planea abrir su campus otra vez and college life will be more like it was.

This past year, educators and parents have suspected that online learning would bring challenges. But now, we can actually see the data that indicates students are falling behind.

Uno de los estudios de Northwestern Evaluation Association analyzed test results of about 4 million students in 3rd to 8th grade, comparing test results from 2019 to this past fall. The results indicated that students scored 5 to 10 percentile points lower on math tests than last year. Latino and Black students also did worse on reading tests than in previous years.

Host Judith Ruiz-Branch, contributor Karli Goldenberg, and producer Mareea Thomas reflect on the season and the year so far. Tienen una conversación not as journalists but as people, human beings who have been affected in every way by the current state of our country.

Esperamos que las historias from this season have given you some hope during this difficult time and maybe even inspired you to find ways to be a helper en su comunidad.

The song para este episodio es "Color Esperanza 2020" by various artists.

It’s a windy day in Chicago. The sun shines down on a large mural that sits at Carpenter and 18th Streets in Pilsen, a neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side.

The mural is hard to miss and attracts everyone who passes because of its colorful homage spotlighting three of the community’s own. Pilsen is a community that has overcome hardship long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a community whose hope is as essential as its workers.

An indigenous serape pattern serves as the colorful backsplash for Javier, a U.S. Postal worker, Rosalinda, a clerk at Los Jasmines, the corner store where the mural is located, and Juan, a butcher shop worker, all pictured in their work uniforms and masks. The pattern is intentional and pays respect to the culture and history each proudly carries.

En este episodio, I want you to meet Mayra Ramirez. Mayra contracted the virus and ended up in the ICU on life support. She was 28.  The virus had severely damaged her lungs and doctors concluded she would not survive without a double-lung transplant.  Y en Junio, Mayra became the first U.S. COVID-19 patient to undergo the life-saving procedure.

En los primeros meses de la pandemia del COVID-19, she spoke with Christine Herman una reportera from Side Effects Public Media about what she’s been through in the past year.

This episode was developed with the help of Side Effects Public Media, a public radio collaboration reporting on healthcare in the Midwest. You can follow Christine on Twitter: @CTHerman.