Latino USA

Gustavo Dudamel is one of the most famous and acclaimed conductors in the world. He’s been the Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009, when he was just 27 years old. El maestro is the best-known graduate of El Sistema, Venezuela’s national youth music education program. In the years since, Dudamel made a name for himself conducting world-famous orchestras, running his own arts charity — The Gustavo Dudamel Foundation — and founding the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. Even amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Dudamel has been living up to his personal passion of finding creative ways to play and expand access to music, all while stressing the importance of staying in touch with his Venezuelan roots. In this episode of Latino USA, Dudamel talks about staying indoors, calling family home, and his belief that music will inspire a stronger future for all. This episode originally aired in February of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA brings you an episode of the podcast, Classy with Jonathan Menjivar. In this episode, we can’t talk about class without talking about race. Through eye-opening conversations with two people of color in the fashion industry, Jonathan realizes some hard truths about the ways he’s adapted in order to blend in. And he reveals how one small, but bold act is helping him to reclaim his cultural identity. You can subscribe to Classy with Jonathan Menjivar here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria Hinojosa and Latino USA producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. join Vice President Kamala Harris aboard Air Force Two as the vice president makes her way to Miami, Florida, as part of her “Fight For Our Freedoms” college tour. Later, Maria sits down with Vice President Harris for a one-on-one interview where they discuss young Latino voters’ participation, reproductive rights, immigration, and more. Editorial note: This interview was recorded in September of 2023 before the current crisis in Gaza began.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Gabby Rivera wrote her coming-of-age novel “Juliet Takes a Breath” in 2016, she didn't know that it would get her attention from an unusual place: Marvel Comics. They asked her to write for America Chavez, their first queer Latina superhero. Gabby said yes. But as she was writing for their superhero, she found herself swept up in #comicsgate, an online harassment campaign against the comic book industry’s efforts to include more women, people of color, and LGBTQ characters. In this "Portrait Of," Maria talks to Gabby about her beginnings as a writer, her difficult experience with #comicsgate, and about returning to comic book writing. This episode originally aired in June of 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Los Angeles, you might be surprised to learn, sits on top of the largest urban oil field in the country and has been the site of oil extraction for almost 150 years. Today, nearly 5,000 oil wells remain active in Los Angeles County alone, many operating in communities of color, often very close to homes, schools, and hospitals. Latino USA visits a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, the epicenter of an anti-oil-drilling movement that is gaining momentum. We meet Nalleli Cobo, the 18-year-old who’s working to shut down the oil industry, one well at a time. This episode originally aired in June of 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luz Elena Mendoza Ramos is a Chicanx artist and musician who has been playing under the name Y La Bamba for nearly 20 years. As the child of immigrant parents, Luz Elena struggled to feel seen in the music industry, but as they’ve continued making music, they have grown into their identity as an artist. Last year, Luz Elena moved back to Mexico City to explore where they come from. That search also led to the publication of their seventh studio album — “Lucha” — and to Y La Bamba playing their first show ever in Mexico City. In this episode, Luz Elena shares why playing that show was so important to them and reflects on their path toward becoming more themselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Latino USA, historian Mireya Loza and her uncle and former bracero Juan Loza meet at his home in Chicago to reflect on the legacy of the long-running and controversial labor Bracero Program and its impact on their family.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Austin's cumbia-funk institution Grupo Fantasma went to record their seventh album at a studio in Tornillo, Texas, they had no idea that right next door was a tent city for detained immigrant youth operated by ICE. When they found out, they decided they had to do something. So they teamed up with fellow legends Ozomatli and Locos Por Juana to create a sinister funk tune with a message about the walls that divide us. On this edition of How I Made It, members of Grupo Fantasma break down the creative process behind their new song "The Wall."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, just months after Hurricane Maria, an eccentric group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts arrived in Puerto Rico. They came with big plans for the island—to help rebuild after the hurricane, and in the process create a high-tech cryptocurrency paradise in the Caribbean. They also came to take advantage of Puerto Rico’s favorable tax laws. But not everyone in Puerto Rico was on board with their vision to change everything on the island. Latino USA follows the often-bizarre story of these Bitcoin pirates of the Caribbean, from crypto boom to crypto bust.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Omar Apollo, a rising star in the indie R&B scene, began making music on his own by teaching himself chords from YouTube videos and honing his sound in an attic in a small town in Indiana. His first breakthrough came on Spotify in 2017, with the song “Ugotme.” Four years later, Omar has amassed more than 100 million streams on the platform and has toured internationally. In this “How I Made It” segment, Omar Apollo takes us back to the days of making music on borrowed equipment, and shares how he explored everything from funk music to corridos to make his debut album, “Apolonio.” This episode originally aired in February of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2022, the Bering Sea snow crab season was canceled for the first time in history. Essentially 10 billion snow crabs went missing. The cause? Warming waters due to climate change. In this episode, Latino USA producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. travels to Kodiak, Alaska to see how a fishing community is trying to stay afloat as climate change disrupts their industry—and lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA brings you an episode of the Caliber 60 podcast. Avocado consumption has exploded in the U.S. over the past decade. But what’s rarely seen is the rotten underbelly of this industry, controlled by armed groups in Mexico who use smuggled weapons from the U.S. to keep control over this lucrative business. Meet Linda, who lives in Ixtaro, a small avocado producer town. She experienced unimaginable horrors while under the siege of narcos. You can subscribe to Caliber 60 here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One in four women in the United States have a family member in prison—and those carrying the resulting financial and emotional burden are disproportionately women of color. Mary Estrada is one of them. She’s been taking care of her husband Robert for 40 years, as he’s been in and out of prison throughout his adult life. Most Sundays, Mary wakes up at 3 a.m. and drives 135 miles each way from Pomona, California to San Diego to meet her incarcerated husband. In this episode of Latino USA, we accompany Mary on one of her Sunday visits, and we learn about the true costs of supporting a loved one in prison.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Too proper for the Black kids, too Black for the Mexicans," sings Grammy award-winning artist Miguel Pimentel. Miguel is the son of an African-American mother and a Mexican-born father. He's known for his eclectic sound, shaped by his home: Los Angeles. This year, he’ll release a deluxe version of his album, 'War & Leisure,' which will include songs in Spanish. It was inspired by a trip to Zamora, where he met his family in Mexico for the first time. Maria Hinojosa talks to the singer-songwriter about his life-changing trip and how his multicultural upbringing influenced his unique sound. This episode originally aired in July 2018. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The call for the abolition of all student debt has never been louder– but how did we get to a place where this demand is possible? Latino USA dives into the history of the student loan system in the U.S., as well as the stories of Black and Latinx organizers who have been at the forefront of the movement for student debt cancellation. We look at how their efforts have shifted the conversation and ask why abolishing student debt is an issue of racial and economic justice. This episode originally aired in July 2022. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, Latino USA producer Antonia Cereijido was only an intern and still in college when she did what a lot of people do when they're not sure what their life will look like after graduation: she cried in the bathroom. After wiping her eyes and returning to her desk, she tried to comfort herself by calculating how many other Latinos had cried at the same time she had. This led her to ask herself: do Latinos cry more than other people, on average? Thus began her strange and lachrymose journey into the world of crying. This episode originally aired on Feb 9, 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA continues to mark its 30th anniversary and look back on its reporting throughout the decades. One topic the show has heavily reported on is Latinos serving in the military and today we take a new look at that subject. In this episode, producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. travels to Laredo, Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border. He brings us the story of Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2021 during the U.S. withdrawal from the country. Reynaldo meets with those closest to David to help tell the story of who David was, as well as explore how the military has historically —and continues— to seek Latinos and Latinas to fill its ranks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brothers Isaac and Esteban Hernández have performed on some of the most prestigious stages in the world. But their journey to the top rank of their industry had a unique start. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Isaac and Esteban's first ballet teacher was their father, Héctor, and their first ballet studio was their home’s backyard. Last year, they became the first siblings to achieve the rank of principal dancer for the San Francisco Ballet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gioconda Belli is an award-winning Nicaraguan author. She has published novels, essays, poetry collections, and a memoir called “The country under my skin,” which recounts her time as a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front—fighting to free her country from a dictatorship. Now, 40 years after the Sandinista victory, Gioconda finds herself living in exile and unable to return to Nicaragua. She was recently stripped of her citizenship by the person who once was her comrade: President Daniel Ortega. In this episode of Latino USA, Gioconda talks about her long history of standing up to dictators, what she finds revolutionary in writing, and what hopes she still has for the future of Nicaragua.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The September 11th attacks left nearly 3,000 dead, many more injured and an entire nation traumatized. The 24-hour news cycle that followed focused endlessly on the identity of the terrorists: non-citizens who had been able to exploit “vulnerabilities” in the system. The United States government responded with harsh policy changes in the name of national security, including the Patriot Act, but it also focused the weight of policymaking on curbing immigration, funding astronomical budgets to further tighten borders, and toughening enforcement against non-citizens — including Muslims, Latinos, and others with zero ties to terrorism. In this episode, we explore major changes and events over the past 20 years that forever changed the U.S. immigration system through the lens of this one catastrophic day. This episode originally aired in September 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Latino USA we partner up with Documented, a nonprofit news site that covers immigrants in New York City, to get a behind-the-scenes look at the experience of trying to navigate the immigration courts as an asylum-seeker under the Trump Administration. We follow the story of Wendy and Elvis, Guatemalan newlyweds who flee violent extortion threats only to find themselves in a maddening and punishing U.S. court system that is now the norm for immigrants seeking safety. This episode originally aired in March 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the late 90's, Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero embarked on a one-way trip to Dublin, Ireland. While they were originally heavy metal musicians back home in Mexico, they traded their electric guitars for acoustic ones and became street performers in Ireland to sustain themselves. Eventually, they started getting more recognition. In 2006, they put out their first album, which debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart. Their latest album "Mettavolution" has earned them their first Grammy. In this “How I Made It,” Rodrigo and Gabriela take us back to the origins of their band and tell us what keeps them going after more than 20 years. This episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The stereotype goes that Latinos only listen to salsa or reggaeton. But one of the biggest genres of music across Latin America is actually heavy metal, with bands like Iron Maiden selling out stadiums across the region when they tour there. On today's Breakdown, we ask.... why? How did metal take over Latin America so completely? We look at the extreme fandom for metal across Latin America and discuss the story behind the groundbreaking Brazilian band, Sepultura, and how they changed the fate of metal music forever. This episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Soulection is a music startup, which has quickly grown to be a powerhouse with a record label, a popular radio show, and worldwide tours—bringing together an international group of music lovers. It all began as an online podcast created in a garage in Southern California. At the time, Joe Kay was a college student who was looking to bring independent artists, DJs, and producers to fresh ears. Today, co-founder Joe Kay reflects on Soulection's grassroots beginnings and its impact on the music scene. The episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Producer Patricia Sulbarán embarks on a journey to learn how Latino USA covered the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as part of the show’s 30th anniversary special coverage. After reviewing hundreds of archival clips, Patricia finds a woman leading the fight against stigma in the 1990s. It was actress, lawyer and activist Ilka Tanya Payán. This episode dives into Ilka’s life and overlooked legacy, as well as the wider reality of lack of treatment for HIV-positive women back then. Today, activist Aracelis Quiñones carries Ilka’s legacy, advising her community on the challenges of aging with HIV.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Muralist Judith F. Baca is mostly known for creating one of the largest communal murals in the world: the Great Wall of Los Angeles. It extends for half a mile along the Tujunga Wash river channel in the San Fernando Valley and it tells the story of California from its pre-Columbian origins until the 1950s. The project involved more than 400 Latino and Black youth from underserved neighborhoods. They started painting in the 1970s, but in the mid-80s they ran out of money. Until now: Judith has recently resumed work on the Great Wall. Latino USA visited her in her studio in Venice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this year, award-winning author Meg Medina was named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature—she’s the first Latina to occupy this position. In her role, Meg’s responsible for raising awareness of the importance of young people’s literature, something that is now more crucial than ever, as efforts to ban books in schools and public libraries are on the rise. Throughout her career, Meg has made it her mission to create and champion literature for children and young adults that speaks to their realities. She doesn’t shy away from incorporating complex or difficult topics in her stories—from grandparents with Alzheimer’s or bullies in school. Meg believes that children and young people are experts in their own experiences and can be trusted to read freely and share their own stories. In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Meg Medina gets deep about identity, family, and what we lose when we don't see stories that reflect ourselves and our realities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The musical genres most people associate with the Dominican Republic are merengue and bachata. Yet, there's another set of rhythms that are essential to the spirit of the country, and that's Afro-Dominican roots music. That's where the band Yasser Tejeda & Palotré come in. They blend some of the country's black roots rhythms like palo, salve and sarandunga, with jazz and rock to bring a new spin to local sounds—and to reimagine what it means to be Dominican. In this segment of "How I Made It," the band's frontman Yasser Tejeda walks us through the inspiration behind their latest album "Kijombo," and the making of the single "Amor Arrayano," which is all about love across the Dominican-Haitian border. This episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA and Black Public Media bring you Alzheimer’s In Color. It’s the story of Ramona Latty, a Dominican immigrant, told by her daughter Yvonne, and it mirrors countless other families of color navigating a disease that is ravaging the Latino community. It’s been four years now since Ramona was diagnosed. Four years of the lonely journey, which in the end her daughter walks alone, because her mom has no idea what day it is, how old she is or where she is. Ramona lives in a nursing home and COVID-19, and months of separation have accelerated the disease, and Yvonne’s despair. This episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida made history last year when he became the first Gen-Z elected to Congress. Latino USA producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. went to Congressman Frost’s district in Orlando to interview him and attended one of his community events.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, producer Jeanne Montalvo reported on the choices her parents made when raising her in a bilingual household. Five years later, Jeanne’s two children both command the Spanish language. But the oldest, Martin, was 2.5 years old at the start of the pandemic and never learned English. This came with a series of challenges as he entered the school system in New York. One daycare even suggested Martin was on the spectrum. In this follow-up episode, Latino USA takes a deep dive into bilingual education history as Jeanne looks for solidarity in the ghosts of New York City’s past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA brings you an episode of the Hungry for History podcast. Here’s a little-known fact you might not have known... The beer industry might be dominated by men today but women were the original brewers and played a vital role in beer’s popularity! In this episode, Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez-Rejón explore beer’s fascinating history. Plus — Carmen Velasco Favela, owner and founder of Mujeres Brew House, an all-female run/Latina-owned craft beer company in San Diego, CA joins the show. You can subscribe to the Hungry for History podcast here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How is ICE handling complaints of sexual abuse from detainees? Maria Hinojosa teams up with Zeba Warsi, two immigrant women and journalists from different generations, to look at sexual abuse in ICE detention more than a decade after Maria’s documentary film on this topic. This time, they investigate how women in ICE detention are sexually abused when they were at their most vulnerable —in a medical setting— and how ICE has done very little to stop it. A special by Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 1990s, Willie Perdomo was a teenager growing up in East Harlem. He saw and experienced firsthand a tumultuous moment in New York City, including the crack epidemic and the consequences of the war on drugs. In his latest book of poetry, "The Crazy Bunch," Perdomo wrangles with that history and the ghosts of that time. Latino USA's Antonia Cereijido takes a walk with Perdomo through his old neighborhood of Harlem to discuss his teenage years and how memories of that time inspired his newest work. This story originally aired in July 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're bringing you an episode from our vault — a love story of student activism. We're taking you back to 1968, when thousands of students participated in a series of protests that helped spark the Chicano Movement, historically known as the East L.A. Walkouts. It's also when high school sweethearts and student organizers Bobby Verdugo and Yoli Ríos danced to a Thee Midniters song and fell in love. This story originally aired in February of 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steven Melendez thinks a lot about accessibility in the world of classical dance. Steven got his start in ballet at just seven years old, as part of an outreach program run by New York Theater Ballet. Although Steven went on to become a successful professional dancer, he always felt he had to straddle two vastly disconnected worlds: that of classical ballet and his home life in the Bronx. Now, as Steven comes full circle, becoming the artistic director of New York Theater Ballet, he reflects on the strategies that can open the doors of classical ballet to new audiences.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA continues to celebrate its 30th anniversary, bringing you conversations with some of the most influential Latinos and Latinas of the last three decades. In this episode, Maria Hinojosa catches up with pioneering filmmaker Hector Galán, who for over 40 years has been documenting our Latino communities. In this conversation, Hector shares how he got his start as a cameraman at a local TV station in West Texas in the 1970s and how the Chicano Movement gave him a sense of identity and purpose that has stayed with him throughout all these years. After a long career making documentaries, Hector looks back at his legacy and the projects he still wants to pursue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, stories are a way of finding inspiration and comfort during the times we’re living through. Her award-winning writing portrays the immigrant experience, Haitian-American identity and loss. In conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Danticat dives into the history of resistance to the police violence that was all around her as a young adult in New York City, the loss of her own uncle who died at the hands of immigration authorities, and how she's making sense of the current moment. The episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1919, an intrepid Texas state representative, José Tomás Canales, decided to lead an investigation into the abuse of power by the Texas Rangers. For several years, residents of South Texas had been reporting that members of the law enforcement agency were going rogue: beating, torturing, and even killing people, in the name of protecting Anglo settlers. The subsequent investigation into these abuses would illustrate the difficulties of reforming and creating oversight over policing on the border—and would leave behind a narrative about justified violence against the Mexican-American community, that lingers to this day. The episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA has cycled through quite a few theme songs in its 30 years. There was the original theme, with acoustic guitar and soft woodwinds, followed by a brassier, more Latin Jazz influenced sound. There were even a few years when Latino USA didn’t have a theme song at all, instead featuring unique scoring for each of its stories. In 2017, Latino USA teamed up with musical artist Xenia Rubinos to create a new song—and five years later, it’s the same one you hear on our show today. In this episode, Xenia opens up about her creative process and how her own growth inspired a special 30th anniversary remix.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, Anita Flores carried shame: She was a second-generation half-Peruvian who barely spoke Spanish. She pretended she didn’t care; she subtly avoided her paternal family in Lima. Then, her father was diagnosed with dementia. As her dad’s memory started to falter, Anita would see him light up when she made the effort to speak in his first language. She tells the story of reassessing her relationship with her father, with her extended family, and with the language that kept them apart—and had the potential to bring them together.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We tackle the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos controversy and dive into why this story is so much more than just about a processed snack food but a story about race, culture, identity, and the stories that we choose to believe. This story originally aired in June of 2021. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when people living in poverty get a stable income from the government? More than 100 guaranteed income pilot programs have launched across the U.S. and most are found in California. How is a regular income — with no restrictions on how to spend the money — making a difference for participants? In this episode, we spend a month with Martha and Micaela, two participants of a pilot program launched by the city of Los Angeles — one of the biggest guaranteed income programs in the country where half of the beneficiaries are Latinx — and we learn about the history of Universal Basic Income.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For over 25 years, Uruguayan band No Te Va Gustar has been filling concert venues across Latin America. With their mix of pop, rock, reggae, ska, and other styles, the band has evolved over the years from its original three-member composition to its current nine members. Their album, "Otras Canciones," commemorates their 25th anniversary by featuring some of their most popular songs, performed in front of a live audience and featuring collaborations with legendary guests like Julieta Venegas, Draco Rosa, Jorge Drexler, and Flor De Toloache. For this edition of our segment, "How I Made It," we hear from three members of No Te Va Gustar: Diego Bartaburu, Martín Gil, and Francisco Nasser. The episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA goes inside the biggest free health clinic in the country, which serves only people without insurance. There are nearly 28 million uninsured people in the United States, and for some of them, free clinics are their safety net. For undocumented people, healthcare options are very limited. For this story, we spend three days behind the scenes at CommunityHealth in Chicago, where more than half of the patients speak Spanish. We shadowed doctors and patients to observe the daily dramas that unfold there and listen in on intimate conversations—all to try to capture a snapshot of how life as an undocumented person can affect an individual's physical and mental health. NOTE: This is a bilingual episode, where some of the audio is untranslated. A transcript of the story with full English translation is available online at www.latinousa.org. The episode originally aired in 2019.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Latino USA shares an episode of the In The Thick podcast. Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela reflect on the one-year anniversary of the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, and the lasting impacts on the community. We go deeper in our roundtable to look at how families of victims—especially mothers, both past and present, bring about change. Maria leads the discussion with Keith Beauchamp, award-winning filmmaker and producer on the film “Till,” and Monica Muñoz Martinez, historian and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. You can subscribe to the In The Thick podcast here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One year after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Latino USA and Futuro Investigates explore how families in the community are dealing with grief, how they’re navigating their journey to healing, and calling for accountability. “Uvalde Rising,” tells the story of how victims’ parents and survivors are fighting for gun reform and calling for more mental health resources. Some of the reporting for this episode is based on the PBS Frontline documentary film “After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mexican singer-songwriter, Julieta Venegas, took a seven-year break before releasing her latest album, a journey of self-discovery in 10 songs that she named “Tu historia.” Now, she shares what happened during that long pause, which included making some major life decisions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For mother and son chefs Zarela Martinez and Aarón Sanchez, educating others about the cuisines that make up Mexico is a family tradition. Zarela and Aarón have each opened restaurants, written cookbooks, appeared on TV shows, and won awards. In 2020, this duo decided to combine their talents for a podcast, where they discuss the recipes and ingredients that make up their favorite Mexican dishes. In this episode of Latino USA, Aarón and Zarela discuss their careers, how they made it in New York City, and how they’ve navigated Zarela’s Parkinson's diagnosis as a family.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

José Ralat is the Taco Editor at Texas Monthly Magazine and consequently the only taco editor in the United States. In his book, “American Tacos: A History and Guide,” Ralat dives into the evolution of tacos in the United States and its history in the borderlands. According to Ralat, tacos were introduced into the U.S. in the late 1800s. Since then, tacos have evolved into fusions —like Korean and Cajun tacos— as cultures blended with one another and chefs across the country experimented with different flavors. In this episode, Ralat gives us a brief history of the American taco and why eventually, all foods will make its way into a tortilla. This episode originally aired in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.