Taking the leap from a steady job as a staff writer into the uncertain world of freelancing is terrifying, sweat-inducing, exhilarating and in many ways, oddly freeing. Freeing in a way that goes beyond the flexibility, which allows me to continue teaching even as I keep writing. The freedom I’m referring to comes in the …
Marlen Esparza was tired when she arrived at Rudy Silva’s Elite Boxing Gym for her regular workout. I could see that right away. Weeks of training full-speed for a national bout, constant media attention, and travel had interrupted her normal routine and dampened her usual energy. But, as soon as she got into the ring for a few rounds of …
It is easy to get discouraged about the future of journalism. It is easy to look at dropping newspaper circulation, reports of fading readership, and tales of waning standards and discern the death knell of the industry. It may be easy, but it’s wrong. I say it’s wrong because I have spent the last two …
In a piece I did for the February issue of Latina Magazine, professional Latinas discuss how their lives have been affected by the Hollywood portrayal of Latinas as oversexed, underdressed temptresses. Their response: disprove the trope by proving themselves capable, successful, and accomplished.
Here are some excerpts from a piece I did for the November issue of Latina Magazine about Latinas in the Republican Party: Although the majority of Latinos in the United States most often vote for Democrats, those who identify with the Republican Party are a passionate group—and they’re intent on spreading the word. Phallyn Espinoza …
It was Deadline Day at YES Prep North Central, the day college applications were supposed to be finished, the day essays, personal statements and a seemingly endless series of forms needed to be slipped into white envelopes, ready for submission. The day the school’s first graduating class would take one leap closer to college. The …
In 2013, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot referendum requiring public schools to teach English by immersion, a system in which immigrant students spend a year learning almost entirely in English before moving to mainstream classrooms. Massachusetts, the first state to introduce a bilingual education law in 1971, was the third in the nation to see it …