Intellectually Entertaining. Socially Relevant.
Born in Flushing, Queens to Colombian parents, Cindy has always loved reading and writing. For this reason, she entered Montclair State University to pursue an English degree, but instead fell in love with and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. During her time at Montclair State, Cindy joined the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) on campus. She immediately felt comfortable surrounded by peers that shared both love and pride for the Latino culture, something she had never experienced before. She ultimately became president of LASO. Since then, Cindy has earned her M.S. Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from Bank Street College, and works as a bilingual Special Education preschool teacher in Brooklyn. Despite feeling exhausted by the time she reaches her New Jersey home, she still uses her spare time to write. Joining the Being Latino family is one of the best things that has happened to Cindy because it fulfills her in two ways: She can write to her heart’s content while reaching an engaging audience, and it helps her stay connected to her Latino culture. You can find more of Cindy’s writing on her personal blogs: Dagny’s Dichotomy, and Cindy’s Chronicles.
Story Behind the Anthem The story of the Costa Rican national anthem is an interesting one. In 1852, the diplomatic representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom were to arrive, and the president of Costa Rica at the time, Juan Rafael Mora Porras, wanted to receive them with the national anthem. However, Costa… [Continue Reading]
Spanish is our language, but not all Spanish is created equal. Depending on what Spanish-speaking country you’re in, some words have different meanings. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself saying something very different from what you intended to say. Here are a few possible scenarios that you should try to avoid: Let’s say you’re… [Continue Reading]
Mi Vida Latina Fifteen years old and I was still a stick. “I thought Latinas were supposed to be curvy,” I’d reproach myself while looking in the mirror. Every day I’d scrutinize my body, but saw no change. My chest was as small as ever – two miniature pears. Not the round melons they were… [Continue Reading]
TIME magazine has really done it now. It has shocked the world with a photo of a woman breastfeeding her three-year-old son. The internet is in an uproar over the photo, which will be on the cover of the May 21st issue of Time Magazine. People already feel uncomfortable when they see a woman breastfeeding… [Continue Reading]
Story Behind the Anthem The National Anthem of the Republic of Colombia, or as it is sometimes called “O gloria inmarcesible” (Oh Unfading Glory!), was written by Rafael Núñez, a former president of Colombia who served four terms. He wrote the lyrics as a poem to honor the independence of Cartagena. An actor from Bogotá,… [Continue Reading]
Linguistically isolated. That’s what some very young Latino children are being called, because it’s true. If you lived in a Spanish-speaking home, watched Spanish-speaking television channels all day and ran errands with your mom in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood, you’d be linguistically-isolated too. As wonderful as the Spanish language is, our children still need to speak,… [Continue Reading]
Join us as we explore the work of Latino authors together, both old and new! If you missed last month’s book, no need to worry. The Book of the Month for May is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by author Junot Diaz, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His book The… [Continue Reading]
May is Stroke Month, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association invites you to invoke the Power of Laughter during Stroke Month. Power of Laughter is a one-night comedy show taking place at Carolines, a comedy nightclub on Broadway. It’s one of the hundreds of Power to End Stroke initiatives happening nationwide this month. The… [Continue Reading]
Chile’s original national anthem was ten verses long, and was written by Bernardo de Vera y Pintado in 1819. Its music was composed by Manuel Robles. This anthem was played for the first time on August 20th, 1820 at the Domingo Arteaga theatre. However, the Chilean minister in London, Mariano Egaña, was receiving criticism in… [Continue Reading]
Rufino’s Secret By: Rick Kearns In the legends of 17th century Puerto Rico there is a story of a brave Indian who fought sharks his name was Rufino As he dives in the water long knife strapped to his wrist he hears the shouts of the Spanish noblemen calling out Rufino! Rufino! supporting him they… [Continue Reading]