Ever since I’ve returned to the United States from my vacation in Colombia, I have been attempting to put into words the magic that was Palenque. The locals of the town call it Africa in Colombia because when Cartagena got its independence from Spain, they fled to Palenque and developed the first free African nation … More Africa In Colombia
Growing up I remember hearing exciting stories about my parent’s upbringing. They told me all about how the nineties were for them. I always enjoyed hearing the stories and seeing the old photos. They loved to talk about it and I loved to listen. Most of the time they could give exact locations on where … More The Void of a Black American
Every day I ask myself, why me? What makes me special? Why would anyone care about my story? How exactly am I like Jose Vargas, Julissa Arce, and the many other immigration writers I admire and aim to emulate? Before having books published, Jose Vargas found success as a journalist, and Julissa Arce reached success … More Undocumented Value
When I first arrived in the United States in the summer of 1998, my mother and I lived in my uncle’s house in Berkeley, California. He had sponsored our tourist visa. After picking us up from LAX, he took us to Disneyland and Universal Studios, before we made the six hour drive to his home. … More My Childhood in Rio
(image courtesy of Shutterstock) I don’t think there has been a louder anti-racism revolt since the Civil Rights Movement. The Black Lives Matter revolution that we are witnessing right now is opening the eyes of America– including white Americans — to the violent systemic racism that exists in the United States. It is inspiring protests … More Black Lives Matter in Brazil, Too. #VidasNegrasImportam
A year ago on February 9th, 2019, I took a road trip to Santa Barbara to see an art show put together by Emily Mata, an art student at Westmont college. A photo I had shared with her was painted portraying the bond I share with an American citizen, despite our different heritage and race. … More Humanizing Immigrants and Refugees – A Conversation With Emily Mata
The Coronavirus was coming. It started out in China and begin to drastically spread over time. Meanwhile, people here in the United States viewed it from afar as our government did not take it serious. The comments ranged from “It’s not worse than the flu” to “it ain’t that serious”. Fast forward to now and … More Corona Got Your Attention Now?
When I was eleven years old, at the time I did not realize that I was taking a picture that would be so precious to me, and that it would lead to such a special moment between me and one of my closest friends. As I mentioned in my previous article, Emily Lauren Mata, an … More Painting A Picture of Love
“I take it that you want a Round 2.” Lacey was standing right in front of Brian in the shower and he could not believe it. He had just laid down with Charlotte sleep beside his side the night before and woke up to this chocolate goddess showering the next day. Brain answered Lacey relunctantly. … More Wonderland: Part 2-A New Reality
Ignorant Nepotistic Destructive Evil Prejudiced Egotistical Negligent Despicable Envious Nefarious Careless Extremist Independence Day… that’s the U.S. way.
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