Latino USA

In part two of our two-part special, we continue our investigation into the death of a man in a U.S. immigration detention center in 2015. José de Jesús turned himself into Border Patrol saying somebody was after him. Three days later, he died by suicide after stuffing a sock down his throat. In part two of this story, surveillance video reveals clues about what happened inside his cell, and an internal investigation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement answers many of our questions about what happened to José in the days leading up to his death.This story originally aired in 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter Lido Pimienta tells us how her experience of migration led to her love of Afro-Colombian music, how a beauty pageant and its underlying anti-blackness inspired her new album, and how she came to collaborate with the legendary Afro-Colombian ensemble, Sexteto Tabalá, in her track "Pelo Cucú.”This episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man dies in a U.S. immigration detention center, under unusual circumstances. He is found unresponsive in his cell, with a sock stuffed down his throat. His death is ruled a suicide, but little information is put out about what happened, and the family wants answers. In this first part of a special two-part series, Latino USA investigates why José de Jesús died in the custody of the U.S. government, and what his death tells us about conditions—especially mental health services—inside the immigration detention system.This story originally aired in July of 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Angela Guzman started her internship at Apple back in 2008 she had no idea her first project would have such an impact on how we communicate. Guzman co-designed the first set of Apple Emojis and our keyboards haven't been the same since.This episode originally aired in 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This election year, a question roams in many voters' minds: Is there an “invasion” on our southern border? The answer from plenty of the people who live and work there is no. To understand what is really going on at the border, we travel to Sasabe, a tiny community in a remote area of the Arizona border with Mexico, to find out how human-smuggling battles within the Sinaloa cartel turned it into a ghost town. We also visit a pop-up camp set up on the U.S. side of the border fence. There, volunteers help thousands of asylum seekers from all over the world who turn themselves into the Border Patrol every day. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tiarras have been playing together since they were just little girls, but they’ve been sisters forever.The band is arguably best known for writing and performing catchy tunes that dive into themes of Latina empowerment, self-love and they’re not afraid to get political.On this episode of Latino USA, these hermanas tell us more about the role sisterhood plays in their creative process and why they hope their art and journey inspires future generations of Latinos and Latinas.This episode originally aired in 2022. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ileana Cabra — known by her stage name, iLe — music has always been a way to reflect and comment on the world around her.iLe began her musical career singing with her brothers in their renowned rap group Calle 13. But in 2016, iLe decided to go solo. She would go on to release three studio albums, using those platforms to explore many musical genres with deep roots in Latin America and the Caribbean: from boleros and salsa, to pop and reggaeton. As a songwriter, iLe puts her lyricism at the forefront, delving into themes of patriarchy and colonialism in her music.In this episode iLe walks us through the evolution of her music as a form of protest, and how she is daring herself to show a more personal side in her most recent album, “Nacarile.”This episode originally aired in 2023See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will watching all of Pedro Almodovar's movies in one month make you more or less neurotic? Hard-hitting journalists Antonia Cereijido and Fernanda Echávarri decided to find out. Along the way they glean life lessons about moms, absurdity, and friendship. They even get guidance from the iconic Spanish director himself.This episode originally aired in 2017.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shea Serrano’s prolific writing career started unexpectedly when his wife, pregnant with twins, had to stop working. With not many options that could fit his full-time job as middle school teacher, Shea started hunting for writing gigs that eventually lead to him becoming a New York Times bestselling author, a showrunner, and a movie writer.In this episode, we talk to the San Antonio-born and raised author whose work spans from the movie “Miguel Wants to Fight,” to the Netflix series “Neon” and “Primo.” The latter got a stunning 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Latino USA, we hear from three Latino voices around the country on what informs their solidarity with Palestinians as the war on Gaza continues. From Pro-Palestinian organizers to Jewish Latinos to Latino evangelicals, they help us understand how different Latino communities are responding to this moment, and how this political activism will impact the presidential election in November.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luna Luna is a rising four-member band from different walks of life. They’re known for mixing nostalgic sounds of the past and fusing them with elements of funk and dream-like pop.In this episode of Latino USA, we learn more about the people behind Luna Luna and hear how they say the universe and destiny has brought them together to live out their wildest dreams.This episode originally aired in 2022.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In November 2021, Robert Santos became the first Latino to be confirmed as the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau.Santos is no stranger to the federal agency. Before his nomination and confirmation, Santos had warned that former President Donald Trump’s interference of the census count would result in one of the most flawed census counts in U.S. history. Census counts are important because they help determine congressional representation and how billions of federal dollars are distributed.In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Santos shares the census’ complicated history, his efforts to rebuild trust among communities, his love for his hometown of San Antonio and more.This episode originally aired in 2022.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA shares an episode from the podcast "So Far From Care," produced by Marfa Public Radio. Living in a small town in West Texas can feel magical. And part of that magic is how isolated we are: hours and hours down a desert highway from everything else. But when it comes to accessing reproductive healthcare, that remoteness can also be terrifying.In the Big Bend, the idea of “choice” was complicated long before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Out here, you can’t legally get an abortion — but as recently as last year, depending on the day of the week, you also couldn’t have a baby in a delivery room.So Far From Care is a podcast about those contradictions. It’s about how people decide when, how, or if to become parents — close to the border and far from the hospital, where you have a literal village to help you raise a child but daycare can be impossible to find.These are stories about isolation that’s not just physical — all the challenges we deal with in silence. But also, about how a place without options can become the site of community and care.You can subscribe to the podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On June 2nd 2024, Mexico will elect a woman as its president for the first time in the country’s history. But a paradox prevails: while women rise to the highest positions of government in Mexico, the nation is still marked by a violent culture against women with 10 femicides every day.Latino USA travels to Mexico ahead of the historic election to document women protesting the pervasive violence in the country and interview both presidential frontrunners —Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez— something only few U.S. media outlets have achieved. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When she was nine years old, Xiomara Torres fled the civil war in her home country of El Salvador and came to the U.S. As a child, she adjusted to her new life in East Los Angeles before she was removed from her family and put into foster care—where she spent six years of her life moving from home to home. Now, she's the subject of a local play in Oregon titled, "Judge Torres." In this edition of “How I Made It,” Judge Torres shares how she overcame the hurdles of the foster system and made her way to the Oregon Circuit Court.This episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year, a 65-year-old grandfather was attacked and fell onto the New York City subway tracks—which eventually led to his death. He was punched from behind by a young man with schizophrenia who shouted that he was the devil. This isn't the first time this has happened, a similar situation played out 19 years earlier. So why does the cycle continue? Latino USA examines how and why someone with serious mental illness falls through the cracks of the nation's mental health system.This episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lucía Díaz Genao’s son, Luis Guillermo, disappeared in 2013 in Veracruz, Mexico, as drug-related violence increased across the country. Amid the inaction of local authorities, Lucía started to look for Luis Guillermo herself, becoming one of today’s fiercest activists in Mexico searching for disappeared people.In this episode, Lucía shares how she managed to get over her depression to form Colectivo Solecito, a group of hundreds of other mothers with missing children who have joined forces to bring justice to their cases.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Journalist Andrea Elliott won her first Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for Feature Writing. 15 years later, she won her second Pulitzer for her book “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City” under the General Nonfiction category.“Invisible Child” follows the life of a young Black girl named Dasani Coates, whom Andrea followed and reported on for more than eight years, exploring the intergenerational impact of poverty and race in one of the richest cities in the world.In this episode of Latino USA, Andrea Elliott speaks with Maria Hinojosa about her Pulitzer Prize-winning work, what it means to be a journalist of conscience and how Andrea’s bi-cultural upbringing as a Chilean-American helped her to better report on people living on the margins of power.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trans activist, actress and author, Cecilia Gentili, knows the power of stories. Whether she is working at her company Trans Equity Consulting, writing an op-ed for the New York Times, or portraying a character on television—Cecilia believes that sharing her story is a way to advocate for the change she hopes to see. On this episode of Latino USA, Cecilia shares about her new memoir, “Faltas,” which is written as a series of letters to people in her hometown in Argentina. Cecilia talks about how joy and grief intertwine through the narrative, and how sharing her childhood stories is her revolutionary cry to support trans youth.This episode originally aired in 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade embraces contrasts in her music. Look no further than her latest album, “De Todas las Flores,” where Natalia found herself both processing death and celebrating life.Prior to this, Natalia released a number of critically acclaimed albums that drew from Latin American musical history. Her journey led her to Carnegie Hall in New York City, where she premiered her latest music in a special live performance late 2022.Just days before this show, Natalia sat down with Latino USA to talk about her new album, her career, and the value of slowing down to tend to one’s inner garden.This episode originally aired in 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of “The Latino Factor: How We Vote,” our 2024 election year series, we bring you a look at how disinformation affects Latino communities. We talk with Tamoa Calzadilla, editor-in-chief of Factchequeado, an initiative that combats disinformation specifically in Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.In this episode, Tamoa shares insights into the special skills journalists need to serve Latino and Spanish-speaking communities, and offers step-by-step advice on how to combat disinformation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melissa Barrera has been consistently making a name for herself in recent years. The Mexican actress is probably most recognizable in the U.S. for her horror roles, namely in the legacy franchise “Scream.”But in her more than a decade-long career that has taken her from Monterrey to Hollywood, she’s done it all—telenovelas, musicals, drama, romance and even comedy.In this episode of Latino USA, Melissa talks about her journey into acting, the importance of using her platform, and how she views her diverse and growing career during what she calls an age of self-reflection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Latino USA brings you an episode of The Burden podcast.In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they are innocent!) turned jailhouse-lawyers. In prison they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away. They set out to turn the tables on Scarcella while still in prison. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they would succeed.Thirty years later, more than 20 people Scarcella helped put away have walked free. In the media he’s the “disgraced detective,” the rogue cop who hoodwinked an entire system. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast ... where justice is done (and undone).You can subscribe to the podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a special episode by Futuro Investigates, in collaboration with The Center For Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. In the absence of federal or state data showing how many disaster restoration workers get sick every year because of their labor, we document for the first time how prolonged exposure to dangerous toxins affects the health of workers who clean and rebuild American cities after natural disasters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Mireya Ramos found herself subject to scrutiny and machismo as the only woman mariachi singer in the male-dominated mariachi circles, she decided to do something about it. So she founded Flor De Toloache in 2008, the first all-female mariachi in New York City. The Latin Grammy winning group's new album, 'Indestructible' features beautiful harmonies and creative fusions that go beyond traditional mariachi. Today, we hear from core members of the group who describe how they came to be and how the sisterhood they have formed, made them.This episode originally aired in October of 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones rose to instant recognition when she published the 1619 Project in 2019. Since then she’s received countless praise, awards and recognition, but the project also engulfed her into a media firestorm with many on the far-right going after her and her work, with some states even banning the teaching of the 1619 Project.In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Nikole Hannah-Jones reflects on how she’s pushed ahead despite controversy, talks about trying to fit in at predominately white institutions and the importance of intersectionality. We also take a trip to her 1619 Freedom School in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.This story originally aired in 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past decade, Armando Perez has worked as a wildland firefighter with the Eldorado, California, Hotshot crew — an elite group that works in the hottest portions of wildfires. For Armando that has meant weeks away from his family, dealing with some of the worst fires in U.S. history. Still, there’s nothing else he would rather be doing.In this episode of Latino USA, Armando recreates what a typical day is like for him and his crew to understand why, along with thousands of other wildland firefighters, they continue to risk their lives under increasingly difficult and record-breaking fires.This episode originally aired in September of 2022. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What and who do you include in a national Latino museum?That’s a question that many have been asking since late 2020, when Congress green-lit the creation of The National Museum of the American Latino. It’s a new addition to the Smithsonian Institution’s roster of national museums, many of which intend to preserve the history and culture of the United States.The fight to create The National Museum of the American Latino spans across decades. The idea was sparked by a damning 1994 report, commissioned by the Smithsonian itself, which concluded that the institution had a pattern of systematically excluding Latinos and Latinas from its programming and its staff. One of its top recommendations? To create a museum highlighting Latinos and Latinas in this country.Now, in 2022, the museum is making moves. Even though there’s no building to house it yet, the National Museum of the American Latino has appointed a board, hired an inaugural director, and has even debuted its first show in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. In the midst of all this, many are beginning to wonder what the vision of this museum will be, and how it plans to capture the wide diversity of Latino history and culture in the United States.This episode originally aired in September 2022.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mimy Succar arrived with her family in Miami over three decades ago, she had three kids and a dream. A talented singer and performer from a young age, she was born in Peru to a Japanese family and maintained the traditions of her grandparents. Together with her husband Antonio, they had a band who played throughout Lima. But in the late 80s, they didn’t see a future for their family and moved to Miami with their children, Claudia, Tony and Kenji. The children began showing interest in the band at a young age, and Tony won Producer of the Year in 2019 at the Latin Grammys. Their collaboration, Mimy and Tony, was nominated for a Grammy in 2024. The critically acclaimed album includes collaborations with heavy hitters like La India, Orquesta de la Luz, and Jose Alberto “El Canario.”In this episode of Latino USA, Mimy and Tony show us how, with the right timing and your family, nothing can get in the way.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, creating a cascade of harmful abortion bans and restrictions. But from Colorado to Florida, Latinas are fighting back for their bodily autonomy and a chance to reframe abortion as a human rights issue.In this episode, we speak with three Latinas on the front lines of reproductive justice: Lourdes Rivera, President of Pregnancy Justice, Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, Executive Director at the Florida Access Network, and América Ramírez, Program Manager at the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights. Together, they help us understand the increasing criminalization of pregnant people—especially women of color— and how all of these restrictions are impacting how we vote.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sandy Fleurimond, a first generation Haitian-American student at Temple University in Philadelphia, was looking forward to her senior year of college. She dreamed of studying abroad and graduating in a field full of friends and family. But being a college student in 2020, meant that many of these long-awaited milestones didn't go according to plan. In collaboration with Philly Audio Diaries, Sandy shares her story of loss and growth after the pandemic flipped her senior year of college upside down. This episode originally aired in September of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a new migration reality, women and children are requesting asylum in Mexico at higher rates than men. But even as more women are crossing borders in long and dangerous journeys, many hoping to ultimately reach the United States, we rarely hear about their stories and what it’s like to migrate undocumented when you’re a woman. For women, their body takes a central role when they’re in transit, regardless of their age. Some are forced to disguise their gender for protection, others end up using it for survival, and many are victimized because of it. Many are also mothers and carry their children with them. In this episode of Latino USA, we travel to Mexico’s southern border and meet several migrant women in different stages of their journey north – from a teenage Honduran traveling alone to a Cuban woman who was sexually abused and a Guatemalan single mother who survived domestic violence. This story originally aired in September of 2021.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today’s episode of Latino USA, we meet some of the Latinos and Latinas involved with the recent and historic mission to Mars. The Perseverance rover traveled almost 300 million miles to Mars and landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021, in hopes of finding traces of previous life on the planet. This episode originally aired in May of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was an anti-immigrant initiative in his home state of California that pushed Alex Padilla into politics, now he is making history as the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate. In an extended interview with Padilla, Maria Hinojosa asks the senator about Prop 187, the controversial 1994 ballot measure that politicized Padilla, and many other Latinos of his generation. They also discuss the senator’s career-long focus on voting rights, and the threats they face today. This episode originally aired in May of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her work, Argentine author Samanta Schweblin explores the feeling of eeriness that accompanied her childhood. Samanta was born in Buenos Aires in 1978, just after the start of a violent dictatorship. But, while violence surrounded her growing up, there was also art: her grandfather was a famous artist who began to train her as a writer when she was six years old. Together they took trips, stole books, rode the train without tickets and went to plays and museums—all in the name of artistic training. It worked. Samanta’s work has been translated into 25 languages and long-listed for the International Booker Prize. In this episode, Samanta shares the origins of her fascination with the blurry lines between our perceptions of what’s normal and what’s strange.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you enter the Caribbean Social Club, or Toñita’s, it feels like you could be in your grandmother’s living room. And that’s exactly what its owner, Maria Antonia Cay —better known as Toñita— was aiming for when she opened the club in the 1970s as a gathering place for the local baseball team. 50 years later, Toñita’s is still standing in Los Sures, the south side of Williamsburg—the most gentrified neighborhood in New York City. Yet over the years, Toñita has faced ever greater challenges to keep her club open. In this episode of Latino USA, we follow Toñita through her latest hurdle, a court battle, and we learn about how the Puerto Rican community in Los Sures has kept culture alive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Latino USA shares an episode of The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island podcast. When Annette Vega was in elementary school, she found out the man she called “dad” wasn’t her biological father. But all she knew was that her mom had had a teenage romance with a guy named Angel Garcia. Annette has searched for Angel for more than 30 years, a search that is finally coming to the end. “The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island" is a new series from Radio Diaries that tells the stories of seven people buried on Hart Island through a range of circumstances. Hart Island, an uninhabited strip of land off the Bronx is America's largest public cemetery, sometimes known as a "potter's field." Since 1869, more than a million people have been buried on Hart Island, including early AIDS patients, unidentified and unclaimed New Yorkers, immigrants, incarcerated people, artists, and about ten percent of New Yorkers who died of COVID-19. You can hear the entire series on the Radio Diaries podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 96th Oscars ceremony is a new opportunity for Latinos and Latin Americans in the moviemaking business to be recognized for excellence in cinema. America Ferrera has earned her first Oscar nomination and Colman Domingo has become the first Afro-Latino nominated for best actor. And yet, representation of Latinos on the big screen has remained stagnant. But there are several Latinos and Latin Americans nominated who you may not have heard anything about yet. We spoke to Andes survivor Roberto Canessa and actor Matias Recalt from “The Society of the Snow;” director Maite Alberdi from “The Eternal Memory;” and producer Phil Lord from “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Editorial note: This interview was recorded in early February.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist from California. Her most recent work is a collection of essays named “Creep: Accusations and Confessions.” In her book “Creep,” Myriam examines individual creeps, as well as how creeps exist in the larger systems and environments that protect them. In this episode of Latino USA, we hear author Myriam Gurba read from “Creep: Accusations and Confessions” and talk about why it’s important to unmask the creeps.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Javier Zamora is a writer who believes he has a particular responsibility: to understand and also change the world through words. He comes from a tradition of poets in El Salvador who used poetry to denounce injustices, the “Generación Comprometida,” and his personal experience of migrating as a child alone to the United States has shaped his worldview. In his work, Javier has shared some of the most intimate and difficult moments of his own history, first in the award-winning poetry collection “Unaccompanied” and then in the New York Times best-selling memoir “Solito.” In this intimate conversation, Javier shares what it was like to return to those painful episodes in his writing, the complicated relationship he has with El Salvador, and what he hopes the role of poets and writers could be in these turbulent times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buscabulla is a Puerto Rican indie duo formed by wife and husband Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo del Valle. Around 2018, Buscabulla was one of the most beloved Latinx bands in New York City. Raquel and Luis had just released their second EP and confirmed a performance in that year’s Coachella music festival. Around this time of success, Raquel and Luis decided to move back to Puerto Rico. It was a significant life change, but one they were certain they wanted to make... as artists, and as new parents. In this segment of our "How I Made It" series, Raquel and Luis join us from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and they tell us about their debut album "Regresa." This episode originally aired in October 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, a young Guatemalan man named Reynaldo Castro Tum was ordered deported even though no one in the U.S. government knew where he was, or how to find him. Now, his unusual journey through the United States' immigration system has sucked another man back into a legal quagmire he thought that he'd escaped. This episode follows both of their stories and the fateful moment they collided. This episode originally aired in October 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Las Cafeteras is a band out of East LA that met while doing community organizing. They began playing at the Eastside Cafe, where they discovered Son Jarocho, traditional Afro-Mexican music from Veracruz. They quickly began to adapt the music to their realities fusing it with hip hop, rock, ska, and spoken word. They are known for their politically charged lyrics, speaking out against injustices within the immigrant community and their experiences as Chicanos in East LA. On today’s How I Made It, we sat down with members of the group to discuss how they got started, and their work to tell and preserve brown stories. This episode originally aired in November 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 14th, 2020, Martha Escudero and her two daughters became the first family to occupy one of over a hundred vacant homes in El Sereno, Los Angeles. Some people call them squatters, but they call themselves the Reclaimers. The Reclaimers are occupying houses that belong to the California Department of Transportation, who planned to demolish them to build a freeway through this largely Latinx and immigrant neighborhood. This is the story of one of these houses, and its residents, past and present, who have fought to make it their home. This episode originally aired in November 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever been to an Aida Rodriguez comedy show you’ve probably heard Aida crack jokes about her family, her upbringing, race, politics, everyday life and Latinos. She recently published a memoir called “Legitimate Kid: A Memoir.” In this episode of Latino USA, we hear Aida Rodriguez talk about, and read from her memoir and we get a front row seat to one of her recent comedy shows in New York City.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees several agencies: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement are just a few of them. But since its founding in 1953, HHS had never been led by a Latino, until now. Maria Hinojosa sits down with the first Latino to lead the department, Xavier Becerra. They discuss mental health, Latino representation in the Biden-Harris White House, immigration, and more. Editorial note: This interview was recorded in early December.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sandra Cisneros doesn't need an introduction. Her coming-of-age novel, "The House on Mango Street," has sold over six million copies and has turned the Chicago native into a household name. Earlier this year, the Mexican-American author joined Maria Hinojosa for a live conversation at the Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The conversation was part of WBEZ's Podcast Passport series, in partnership with Vocalo Radio. In this live and intimate conversation, Sandra Cisneros reflects on her past, present and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. This episode originally aired in June of 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policy have been front and center in public conversation. However, a humanitarian crisis at the border is nothing new. Jeh Johnson was the Secretary of Homeland Security during President Obama’s second term, from late 2013 to 2017. He ran the agency during a tense period—when tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children and families were arriving at the border to claim asylum. Latino USA’s Maria Hinojosa sits down with Jeh Johnson for a candid, and at times tense, conversation about the legacy of immigration policies implemented while he was in office. This episode originally aired in June of 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Pepón Osorio never thought that decorating the wedding cakes his mother made would spark his passion for art and his signature big installations full of tiny objects, sounds and memories. In 2023, the New Museum in New York City hosted Osorio’s most comprehensive exhibition to date. In this episode of Latino USA, we tour the exhibition with Pepón, and we learn about how he found a home in the Bronx, switched careers from social worker to full-time artist, and developed a passion for collecting objects.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eugenio Derbez is a Mexican actor, writer, director and producer who got his start at the forefront of many comedy series in his home country. After decades of making families laugh across Latin America, Eugenio reinvented himself in Hollywood. In recent years he played the role of a music teacher in the movie “CODA,” which went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022. In 2023, Eugenio returned to Mexico to star in “Radical,” his first leading dramatic role. In this episode of Latino USA, Eugenio talks about “Radical,” the challenges and joys of reinventing himself in a new country, and working to change the narrative about Latinos in Hollywood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.