Blog La Plaza

Cristina Kotz Cornejo - 3 Américas

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Why should Latino audiences care about the story of a young girl from the US who is sent to live with her grandmother in Argentina? Independent filmmaker Cristina Kotz Cornejo describes the transnational story as universal and of special significance to Latinos——a people keenly aware of the pain that comes with crossing borders.

Raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the US, Cristina A. Kotz Cornejo is an independent filmmaker. She recently completed a feature-length film titled, 3 Américas. The film screens this Saturday at the Boston MFA. Watch her interview, see the film trailer, and then click below to share your thoughts.

The Cost of Illegal Immigration - Edward Schumacher-Matos

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:27:00 GMT

Illegal immigration. We all know that small towns across the U.S. are struggling to cover the added costs of new arrivals. But who should pay? Not the municipalities according to Edward Schumacher-Matos. He shared with me his provocative idea about who should foot the bill—and it will likely raise a few eyebrows.

Edward Schumacher-Matos is a newspaperman with 25 years of experience (including the job of founding editor and associate publisher of the Wall Street Journal Americas). Schumacher-Matos, who is currently a visiting scholar at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.

Primetime and Undocumented - Tony Plana

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:43:00 GMT

Everyone I talk to has something to say about Ugly Betty. The stylish television series about a young Mexican American woman in New York city is the hot topic of conversation in the Latino community. Many hail the series as groundbreaking.

Veteran actor Tony Plana plays Ignacio Suarez, Betty’s apron-wearing, Mexican comfort food-cooking, supportive dad—who just happens to be undocumented. Tony tells me that the character of Ignacio is unprecedented in U.S. television for a number of reasons, his immigration status being among the most important. Watch this Blog La Plaza exclusive interview and then tell others what you think by clicking below.

Obama and Clinton on Gay Rights – Jarrett Barrios

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:25:00 GMT

I caught up with former Massachusetts State Senator——and staunch Clinton supporter——Jarrett Barrios at Jim’s Deli in the Brighton Square section of Boston. I asked him how he, as a married gay man, felt about choosing between two candidates who haven’t made gay rights a top election issue.

Watch the clip and then click below to post a comment.

Lessons of War - Mercedes Doretti

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:01:00 GMT

Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala. Latin America is all too familiar with the results of an overzealous government’s hunt for an invisible enemy.

Perhaps no one knows the dangers better than Argentine forensic anthropologist Merecedes Doretti. She’s investigated the mass graves of victims of “dirty wars” across the world. Doretti talks to Blog La Plaza about the U.S. war on terror’s potential tragic pitfalls. Watch her commentary and share your reaction with the world.

Cuba After Fidel - Alfredo Estrada

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:19:00 GMT

Now that the Cuban leader has stepped down, expatriate Cubans around the world wonder what life on the island will be like in the post-Fidel era.

There is no shortage of opinions on Castro and Cuba. Alfredo Estrada, author of “Havana, Autobiography of a City,” gives Blog La Plaza his point of view.

This entry was originally posted on 10/22/07

Hollywood Dreams - Lupe Ontiveros

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:37:00 GMT

Latinos have been a part of Hollywood since the beginning, but seldom front and center. Veteran actor Lupe Ontiveros is one of the few who have built a career on television and in the movies.

But not all that glitters is gold. The realities of Hollywood are harsh, especially for women. Hear what Lupe Ontiveros (Real Women Have Curves, Desperate Housewives, and El Norte) has to say about Tinseltown’s double standard and then click below to share your reaction.

The Latino Vote '08 - Janet Murguía, National Council of La Raza

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:38:00 GMT

Every four years talk turns to the Latino Vote. Will this be the year the “sleeping giant” awakes and decides who will get sworn in next January?

Janet Murguía, the President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza thinks she knows how things will play out. Hear what she thinks about la raza’s role in picking the next president and click below to tell us what you think.

Immigration Raids and Children - Rosa María Castañeda

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:56:00 GMT

Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are familiar stories on television news programs and in newspapers. But what is the story behind the men and women seized in crackdowns across the country?

Many of those undocumented immigrants captured and deported in recent roundups had been in the U.S. for years and have children who are U.S. citizens. What happens when ICE sends your mother and father back home? Rosa María Castañeda of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. gives Blog La Plaza her view.

Latinos and the Election - Antonio González

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:26:00 GMT

The next presidential election is just a year away. Candidates are courting Latinos, immigration remains a key issue across the country, and one of our own-Bill Richardson-is a contender for the Democratic nomination.

Antonio González, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and the William C. Velásquez Institute, give us his take on the 2008 presidential election.