arts and culture

Mariachi music today headlines the most exclusive halls of the fine arts as an unquestionable cultural ambassador of Mexico to the world. The mariachi tradition was named to UNESCO's list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

Climate change is threatening the world’s food supply and the way growers are producing food is contributing to climate change. To help minimize environmental impact, many are calling to celebrate the holidays with sustainable holiday meals.

Radio Educación, an institution of Mexico's Culture Department, is celebrating the 100 years of its foundation in 1924, as the first public media in the country.

This program features the winners of the “Corridos del San Joaquín” contest, recognized at a concert in Fresno, California. They talk about their award-winning pieces, their connection to the corrido tradition and the sources of inspiration behind their works.

The winners of the “Corridos del San Joaquín” contest, recognized at a concert in Fresno, join this edition to present their award-winning pieces and talk about their connection to the corrido tradition.

A new book, “Cumbia Somos,” traces through profiles and stories the evolution of the musical tradition of cumbia, a musical genre declared a cultural heritage of Colombians, from its origins on the coasts of Colombia to its entrenchment in popular taste throughout Latin America.

The corrido, a Mexican ballad tradition that dates back 200 years and reached a peak in popularity during the Mexican Revolution, will be celebrated in Fresno as the central theme of the concert Corridos del San Joaquin.

The Museum of Social Justice in Los Angeles is opening the exhibit “Hope and Dignity: The Farmworker Movement,” a collection of pictures curated by the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at California State University, Northridge.

The Museum of Social Justice in Los Angeles is opening the exhibit “Hope and Dignity: The Farmworker Movement,” a collection of pictures curated by the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at California State University, Northridge.

Eminent historian and Chicano movement activist Antonio Rios-Bustamante passed away in April. Born in Los Angeles, Rios-Bustamante was a professor of history and Chicano studies, author of many books on Chicano/Latino history.

Mexican folk dance groups from all over the US are meeting in Albuquerque this summer to celebrate 50 years of the Asociación Nacional de Grupos Folklóricos

Troubadour extraordinaire Eduardo Peralta comes from his native Chile to join musicians and artists from the San Francisco Bay Area in celebrating the life and music of Rafael Manríquez

A group of outstanding poets joins this edition on occasion of National Poetry Month to celebrate poetry, play with words and engage listeners.

Internationally acclaimed Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros talks about the release of a 40th anniversary edition of her national bestseller novel “The House on Mango Street”. Cisneros also talks about how she chose to have books instead of children, the joys and challenges of her life as a writer, her spiritual journey as “Budalupana”, her use of art to awaken people, her struggles with depression, and her message on International Women’s Day. She also reads selected poems from her new book, “Woman Without Shame”, including an unpublished poem. This archival program was originally aired on March 21, 2024.

Internationally acclaimed Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros talks about the release of a 40th anniversary edition of her national bestseller novel “The House on Mango Street”. Cisneros also talks about how she chose to have books instead of children, the joys and challenges of her life as a writer, her spiritual journey as “Budalupana”, her use of art to awaken people, her struggles with depression, and her message on International Women’s Day. She also reads selected poems from her new book, “Women Without Shame”, including an unpublished poem.

“Sones de Mariachi.” The Grammy-winning Mariachi Los Camperos is launching a new album, “Sones de Mariachi,” featuring a mix of popular and lesser-known sones rooted in Western Mexico, the cradle of the mariachi tradition. The band leader, Jesús “Chuy” Guzman, talks about the album’s fresh arrangements and the upcoming performance at the Fresno Philharmonic.

After the Fresno City Council overwhelmingly approved a plan to change the name of a road in South Fresno to César Chávez Boulevard, the conservative board of supervisors of Fresno county opposed it, blocking the name change in stretches controlled by the county.

The first Cesar Chavez Boulevard street signs will soon be installed and many in the community gather to celebrate the changing of the name of a major thoroughfare in honor of the late labor leader. Local leaders say this is a tribute to Chavez and also to the many anonymous people who joined him in the movement for social justice. The authors of the historic city resolution passed in March join this conversation.

This archival program features an interview with Petra Allende, “the mayoress of the East Harlem neighborhood.” Allende, a longtime neighbor and community advocate for civil rights, talks about the revitalization of the struggling and impoverished barrio after the arrival of new Mexican immigrants to East Harlem. Also, local Mexican business owners share stories about their high-risk investments in fondas, stores, and bodegas in a district formerly plagued with crime and drug trafficking. Originally aired on Sept 17, 1997.

While Mexican, Chilean and Peruvian miners pioneered gold production in early California, they are hardly recognized in the official narrative about the history of the Golden State. Mexican and Latino mining camps were displaced by fortune seekers from the East Coast through “foreign miners license” laws. This archival program was originally aired on Feb 18, 1998 as part of a special series on California’s Sesquicentennial celebration.

This is an archival interview with Chilean-Californian folk and New Song singer and composer Rafael Manríquez. The interview, originally aired on Dec 20, 1996 after his return from a tour in Chile, focuses on his recently released album “Canto a Gabriela,” a collection of songs with poems by Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral. This program includes an unpublished song by the singer-composer, who passed away almost ten years ago.

In this bilingual cookbook, Maria Luisa Urdaneta tackles diabetes, the growing epidemic in the Mexican-American community, providing over 200 recipes for some of the most popular Mexican dishes, such as guacamole, beans, Spanish rice, chile rellenos, chile con carne, chalupas, enchiladas, fajitas, menudo, tamales, and more. The recipes are modified to suit people with diabetes and all those who want to reduce the fats and calories in their diet without giving up the food they love. It’s announced as a “one-stop guide to cooking and eating guilt-free Mexican food.” This interview first aired in 1997.

Every first of January, musicians from the towns of Río Arriba in New Mexico and Colorado brighten up the first hours of the new year. For centuries, folk troubadours have been heard singing in the cold streets from New Year’s Eve until dawn. The custom is known as “saying the days” (dar los dias) and it is a serenade to raise the spirits of the people in the early hours of the year. Keepers of the tradition talk about this community celebration and the so-called Alabados, the spiritual folk songs that survive in Rio Arriba. This program originally aired on...

In this interview, author Reyna Grande talks about her recent novel A Ballad of Love and Glory, a story inspired by the 1846 US war against Mexico and the dramatic fate of the San Patricios, the Irish soldiers who fought on Mexico’s side. It’s the love story of Ximena, a Mexican healer serving as an army nurse on the frontlines, and John, an Irish immigrant in the US Army who formed the San Patricio Battalion.

This Holiday edition features a conversation with Afro-Peruvian singer Marina Lavalle, former vocalist for the folk group Perú Negro in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lavalle, who is a long-time promoter of Peru’s Black culture traditions, talks about the musical play “Black Christmas”, which features the birth of a Black Christ amid the rhythms of Dance of Negritos. She also talks about the end-of-year traditional Creole festivities in Peru’s Black South, in the coastal province of Cañete, when people go out to dance and sing with musical instruments such as the donkey jaw and the cajón.

A young blogger has become a social media sensation for his traditional recipes and pastries from the land of his Mexican grandparents. With that encouragement, Esteban Castillo has written two books of the recipes and tips he publishes in his blogs with photo illustrations. Castillo was interviewed by Melissa Montalvo, a reporter for the Fresno Bee and part of the Central Valley News Collaborative. This report was prepared by Ruben Tapia.

"Corrido de amor y gloria" (A Ballad of Love and Glory) is the title of a new historical novel set in the mid-19th century, when the United States invaded Mexico and took over more than half of its territory. Its author, the Mexican-Californian writer Reyna Grande, a native of Guerrero, delivers a love story between a young Mexican healer who served as a nurse on the battlefield and an Irish soldier who deserted the U.S. Army and went to fight on the side of the Mexicans. Raúl Silva spoke with Reyna Grande about the novel.

In this bilingual cookbook, Maria Luisa Urdaneta tackles diabetes, the growing epidemic in the Mexican-American community, providing over 200 recipes for some of the most popular Mexican dishes, such as guacamole, beans, Spanish rice, chile rellenos, chile con carne, chalupas, enchiladas, fajitas, menudo, tamales, and more. The recipes are modified to suit people with diabetes and all those who want to reduce the fats and calories in their diet without giving up the food they love. It’s announced as a “one-stop guide to cooking and eating guilt-free Mexican food.” This interview first aired in 1997.

Thirty years after the release of the international best-seller Like Water for Chocolate, acclaimed author Laura Esquivel announced the release of a follow-up trilogy collection. The second book, Tita’s Diary, explores the novel’s main character, her passion for traditional food and offers new recipes, like corundas and champurrado, on time for the holidays. The Colors of My Past, the third book, centers on Maria who, after suffering sexist and racist attacks and losing connection with the food and cooking of her ancestors, is able to find her way back to her family roots. This trilogy is for those who love...

Academic researchers are launching a digital archive built by college students and volunteer fans to document the history of soccer in the San Joaquin Valley and how migration has shaped the culture of soccer in these farm working communities. The organizer of the archive comments on the current World Cup fever impacting Latino communities, and the way immigrant communities are transforming the kicking game. This and other news stories are discussed in this edition.

In this archival interview, originally aired on July 5, 1996, internationally acclaimed harp virtuoso Alfredo Rolando Ortiz talks about his then newly-premiered “South American Suite for Harp and Orchestra,” performed with Tulare’s Philharmonic Orchestra at that time. The Paraguayan Harp soloist also talks about the history of harp music and his compositions. This is a special repeat from our historic archives.

This novel by acclaimed author Juan Villoro tells the story of a Mexican documentary filmmaker who talks in his sleep. He moves to Barcelona, but, after the visit of an old acquaintance, the past catches up with him like a nightmare. For the filmmaker, the dream of a Mexican “land of great promise” burns at the beginning of the novel, during the fire at the Cineteca Nacional, and turns into a nightmare of corruption, drug trafficking, homophobia and other signs of the times.

Known for centuries as the Aztec Calendar, the old monolith of Mexica culture is now being called the Sun Stone. As a researcher explains, the basaltic disc is not a calendar, it’s a history book. This archival interview, originally aired on Sep 12, 1995, is a National Native American Heritage Month Special.

The recent casting of Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta in the movie Black Panther 2 has sparked excitement in Latin American for the leading roles of Latino characters, but also controversy about the continuing portrayal of Latinos as villains in movies. A college professor and her students evaluate the movie and also reflect on the history of underrepresentation of Latinos in the media industry.

“Artivista” Martha González was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant,” given to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals. A college professor, González is also the lead singer, songwriter and percussionist for the group Quetzal. González promotes social justice action through community dialogue, musical performance and arts education. She says she “uses art to combat racism by creating cultural bridges.”

The Spanish-language radio series “Comadres al Aire” returns to the national airwaves for a second season of news stories and conversations focusing on taboo topics of special interest to women, such as reproductive health, sex education, mental health, breastfeeding, and issues for non-binary and transgender people. The two award-winning journalists and program hosts share highlights of the new series.

Fifty years after young Chicano activists in the 60s and 70s staged walkouts in schools of East Los Angeles, launched the Plan de Santa Barbara to create Chicana/o Studies in colleges and universities and fought for bilingual education, scholars and education activists meet in San Bernardino to pay tribute to movement veterans who fought those battles. The conference also focuses on the critical issues of the 21st Century for Latinos in education, including the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline, the challenges for ESL students, the Dreamers, funding for public schools in Latino communities, and the right to education.

As Latinos commemorate historic struggles in the civil and human rights arena 50 years ago, academic leaders gather at CSU San Bernardino to examine the road traveled in the quest for equity in education. Instead of remembering those movements with nostalgia, veterans propose to address the current reality of widespread abuse and discrimination against immigrants and indigenous communities and the ever elusive dream of equity in education. How are veterans passing the baton to the next generation?

On the 50th anniversary of La Raza Unida Party, veterans of the Chicano movement gathered in San Antonio, TX, to reflect on the early days of the push to fight discrimination, to use the vote as a voice, and to elect Mexican Americans to office. They also share memories of the 1970 Uvalde student walkout and comment on the repercussions of the recent school shooting in Uvalde.

On the first day of the reunion in San Antonio, TX, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of La Raza Unida Party, veterans of the Chicano movement talk about the impact LRUP had on Mexican-American communities in the Southwest and around the US, and the efforts by the new generation to fight for better representation. Uvalde parents and advocates will be attending this event in neighboring San Antonio to discuss issues of civic participation.

Hundreds of political leaders and civil rights activists are expected to convene today in San Antonio, TX, for a three-day reunion to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of La Raza Unida Party. The first national convention of the party was in El Paso in 1972. After ten years it was dissolved, leaving a legacy of electoral empowerment. The conference will celebrate the legacy, examine the current situation, and discuss passing the torch to the new guard.