For One Latina, Volunteering is a Family Affair

Mother’s Day Stirs Painful Memories for Undocumented Immigrants

Joyce Bolaños

Special to CTLatinoNews.com

For most, this Sunday, Mother’s Day, conjures up images of flowers, cards, perhaps even breakfast in bed for Mom, or a day spent relaxing with family. But for thousands of mothers, Sunday will be yet another painful reminder of the sacrifice they made to provide for their children. They are the undocumented immigrants – mothers – who desperate to feed and support their family, make an agonizing decision to leave their children behind as they put themselves in harm’s way to make a harrowing, dangerous trek to the United States.

These mothers yearn to be with their children every single day of the year; Mother’s Day is a stark reminder of their loss.

I recently spoke with one of these women, whom I will call Mariela*. Her story is the everyday reality of many undocumented immigrant mothers. A young Salvadoran in her …

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Latina Writes First Bilingual Children’s Story About Hispanic Military Mothers

When author and Air Force aviator Graciela Tiscareño-Sato sat down with her son one night to talk about a Veteran’s Day event at his preschool, she realized she could not think of a single bilingual story for children about Latinas in the military.

Instead of combing the library shelves, she created one herself, Latina Lista reported.

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CT Salsa Festival Grows Into International Affair

When the CT Salsa Festival debuted almost ten years ago, if 350 people turned out for the event, it would have be considered a lot, event organizers recalled. But now, the festival has morphed into a must-see stop for salsa lovers.

Now in its ninth year, the CT Salsa Festival organizers have spent the last nine months prepping for more than 100 teams and thousands of guests coming not from just across the country, but around the world.

“If you go to Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philly. . . they all have a Salsa Congress. We were just a bump in the road,” organizer and host Luz Otero said, recounting the genesis of the festival. “We go to all these places for these events, so we thought ‘Why don’t we have one here?’”

And the idea for the CT Salsa Festival was born.

Otero’s partner Luis Lopez, a dance …

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