¿Qué Pasa, Midwest?

Non-Latinos are not the only ones confused about why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated. I’m from the Dominican Republic, and I have to admit that I didn’t know for a long time that this celebration was not the Mexican Independence Day I was misled by the celebraciones en Estados Unidos about este festejo.

It was a great season! Listen to our top five episodes and a sneak peek of next season in our last episodio. Share with us the topics you want us to cover next and recommend our podcast to a friend.

Duolingo schools no son nada nuevo. There are many of them around the country, focusing on many different languages, and they’re certainly not new in the state of Indiana. En Fort Wayne, Lindley Elementary ha tenido un programa similar al de Parkview, por más de veinte años. De afuera, la escuela primaria Parkview en Valparaiso, Indiana, looks like any other school in Northern Indiana. Teachers greet kids outside the main doors, little flashes of color swipe past you as kids scurry to get to their classrooms, there’s a smell of plywood, because estan renovando la escuela. A couple of years ago, Parkview received a state grant to create a pilot bilingual immersion program. Woodetski says como 23 por ciento de los estudiantes son hispanos, y los estudiantes bilingües y de habla hispana were getting left behind. The idea is to teach kids subjects such as math and science en Español por medio dia, y el resto del dia la instrucción es en Ingles. Pero no todos los estudiantes se sienten cómodos con el Español. Bryan and Osvaldo son hermanos. They’re in different grades. Los dos son bilingues. Y ser bilingue sometimes means you’re the voice for your family. A veces tienes que traducir, and that can be tough, take the classic cashier scenario. If you’ve ever translated for your parents you know exactly what we're talking about.

After an abusive childhood in Mexico, Amy's grandfather started telling people he was Italian. He says, “nothing good comes out of Mexico. Nothing." His identity is his business, but Amy knows she's not Italian. As a mixed race Latina with no cultural connection to Mexico, she struggles to express her racial and ethnic identity. Para algunos, she's not close enough to Mexico to claim it, for others, she's possibly a distant cousin, no problem. Ultimately, it's not about them. One thing she's sure of today more than ever: identity is personal.

In this episode, our host Paola Marizán shares with co-producer Mareea Thomas how moving from her home country at age 6 made her feel displaced, how domestic violence lead her and su mama to be refugees and how now that she's older tiene que encarar and deal with depression; which is a taboo topic in the Latino communidad because it can be viewed as a sign of weakness.

An Immigration Center proposed to be built in Elkhart, Indiana, a city big on agriculture, mainly built on manufacturing and close to big areas with large Latino populations, represented a clear threat to Latinos in the area. Many protests halted the proposed center from coming along but people are still nervous about the possible outcome. ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? contributor Barbara Anguiano talks to a Latino who was in favor of the center, a young immigrant who returned to Elkhart to help Latinos and a lawyer who understands the economic impact this can have on the immigrant labor force.

In this episodio we’re going to go back in Cuban history. Last year, Cuba announced that next month, en Marzo del 2018, they will have elections to choose new members of the National Assembly. See this is historico because after that the new parliament will choose the country’s next president. Raul Castro or the Castro’s for that matter will no longer be in power after six decades of dictatorship. En los cicuenta, Fidel Castro headed an attack against the barracks Moncada of Santiago de Cuba, east of La Havana. Castro was arrested and convicted to 15 years of prison but two years later he, along with other rebels, was amnestied. After that, Castro leads guerrilla fights, the cause of the United States removing their military support to the government. In 1959, Fidel then became First Minister, helping implement politics of nationalization and approaching the Soviet Union. The US imposes the economic embargo to the island that same year and breaks all diplomatic relationships with Cuba. Ese mismo año, a strong migratory current of doctors and teachers begun toward the US and Fidel Castro declares the socialist character of the Cuban Revoltion. In 1991 the country falls in a strong economic crisis. Today, relations with Cuba have backpedaled after the last administration begun dialogue and trade with the island. Hoy día, el presidente no esta de acuerdo con que nos acerquemos a la isla. So, what do Cubans in the Midwest think about all this? Will they go back to an island they haven’t seen in decades or some – never? Do Cuban Americans miss the island they remember, communist Cuba? We went to Ohio to talk to Juan Guardia, a Cuban American who saw his break to visit the island of his parents shut down when relations with the US became cold again. So, as time has passed by y han habido tantos cambios, no tan solo en poliza sino tambien en culturas and costumes, Cuban Americans and the ones who fled the island during the start of the regime are more comfortable staying in the country that they now call casa. The policies between the US and Cuba are still rocky but like Juan, some are still hopeful to experience the authentic Cuban cultura.

A look at how Latino art and culture has influenced the Midwest and how it's celebrated where it's people may not feel welcomed.

Para despedir el año, ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? programmer Mareea Thomas and host Paola Marizán shared their favorite songs of 2017 and some of what's coming up next for the podcast.

Amalia got caught by border patrol and in a split second she had to make the decision -- give her baby to the coyote and hope he’ll get the infant safe to her relatives in the U.S. or to take her four-month-old back home, to El Salvador. San Salvador is ranked as one of the top murder capitals of the world - one of the reasons why Amalia was fleeing the city she loved. In this episodio, we talk about the US/Mexico border with an expert and hear a first-hand experience of a mother crossing what’s commonly referred to as ‘no man’s land’.

Celebrating Christmas as a Latino, today means that celebrations pour over borders and become part of our own traditions. Is not just about celebrating a native tradición but celebrating the traditions we took from our neighboring countries. In this episode, WNYC journalist Sophia Paliza Carre and host Paola Marizán talk about their Christmas in Perú and the Dominican Republic and about the fusion of traditions happening in Latin America. Sophia a Peruvian Francesa y ahora Neoyorquina reminisces on Peruvian Panetón while Paola remember listening to Perico Ripiao in every colmado in Dominican Republic.

Imagine establishing a life in a foreign country that then becomes home - mi casa- even more than where you come from. That’s how twenty one year old Laura Ayala feels. See, Laura can navigate the city of Cincinnati easier than she can travel through the roads of Bogota, Colombia because she moved from Colombia when she was just four. . Cuando estaba cerca de graduarse de High School, empezó su busquedad for the best university. Laura began researching online, asking friends, and even attended college fairs to see what it was going to be like to start college and establish a Career in Ohio. When Laura was just fifteen, Laura found out she was undocumented. In this episodio we meet DACA recipient Laura. Una Latina that didn’t know about her legal status until she wanted to apply for college and about the taboo many immigrant families have en casa when talking about immigration.

Finding the ingredients to feel close to home is always a hassle. Here's my journey finding achiote for my Puertorican Sofrito in the Midwest, how that becomes part of my identity and why Latino-owned businesses it matters.

En este episodio, exploramos lo que significa identidad -we talk to Lydia about being Mexican and African American in the Midwest - dealing with the issues of Inmigración and racial profiling - and about the threats her undocumented father received after Trump’s election.

In the first three months President Trump was in office, an average of over 5,000 immigrants a month were arrested and nearly 200,000 families were approved for Parole in Place, according to Homeland Security. Before 2013, members of the U.S. armed forces with undocumented families could leave for training or to fight in other countries and return a una casa vacía, to a deported family. En este episodio, We meet Pedro Alvarado. He tells us about the deal he made to keep his parents in this country. In fact, miles de personas like Pedro have made this very same deal. Un acuerdo que puede desanimar a algunos and that it involves loyalty and trust for his parents and this country.

The Aztecs made Pulque by fermenting the nectar of a cactus plant, llamada Magüey. The drink of the gods is at least 2000 years old and is seen as a cultural resistance to today’s political divide by those from the native land of Pulque. We wanted to know why is this drink becoming a catch in North America's heartland because no hace mucho you could only try Pulque in places like New York, California and Chicago pero ahora pulque has made its way to smaller cities like Frankfort, Indiana, where Ye Olde Spirit Shoppe, sold us two cans of this fermented Mexican drink. We tried Pulque with Norma Rosas Mayén y Manuel Apodaca-Valdez, Mexican immigrants who teach Spanish at the University of Southern Indiana; at their home en un pequeño barrio en Evansville, Indiana, where Norma tells us what does it mean for Mexicans to drink pulque en el Medio Oeste? ¿Tienes preguntas? Got any questions? Email us at [email protected]. Dinos, ¿qué pasa, midwest?