Topic archive for "latino"

Think Progress: Watch Two Gay Siblings Come Out To Their Catholic Latino Family

For by Think Progress on March 28th, 2012

The Brave New Foundation’s Cuéntame presents the latest in its collection called “An Honest Conversation,” stories about LGBT Latino youth and their friends, families, and communities. This video features the Morenos, a fervently Catholic Latino family in Arizona in which both brother and sister faced the struggle of coming out as gay to their parents. In the end, they agree that despite its challenges, their coming out strengthened the family’s union, because “this is all we have, the family.”

Watch it:

Read more from or see posts just in these topics An Honest Conversation, Brave New Foundation, cuentame, latino, lbgt

Film Independent: Screenshot – Cuentame

For by Film Independent on March 2nd, 2012

By staff at Film Independent

Many in filmmaking are driven by more than their passion to create and entertain. They’re driven by a call for social justice. Such is the case with online content, activist, organizing entity Cuéntame. Let’s let them tell us the story of their story.

In 140 characters or less, describe your website.
¡Latino Instigators! Watch our films, make an impact and join in the powerful conversation. http://facebook.com/cuentame

The idea around Cuéntame is pretty multi-faceted. It incorporates activism, film, ground action… how did you come up with that?
We started with a simple concept. How to re-create the Latino dinner table online. How to create a community by Latinos, for Latinos and the public at large – where people would share and interact – through the media and films that we created. We knew that it was through telling the personal and everday stories that would mobilize folks and get people counted. We came up with – Cuéntame which literally translates to – “tell me your story” or “count me in”. We are into our third year, and stronger than ever!

This is an enormous undertaking. What made you so confident that it would even work?
More than a drive by confidence, it was drive by need and a sense of obligation. Not all issues affect all peoples the same – and there was a lot needed to be done in our community. For us it was important to make sure it is the community speaking out for themselves. It is their project – we mobilize around it. The desire for something like Cuéntame is almost self-evident – communities are eager to speak out and platform is something that is congenitally put to good use.

I understand that you’ve been able to make Cuéntame your full time day job. How did you pull that off?
It involved endless sleepless nights, morning shoots, 24/7 working on the side. It involved a whole lot of passion and dedication and even more: Patience! But as soon as you start seeing the impact your making, it only drives you to go further and further. Everyday we face the challenge to make sure to keep up to date with the issues and conversations within and out of the Latino community and we like to do it in a manner that is not only informative, and educational but creative, fun and engaging.

ALMA Chicago: Queer, Undocumented, & Unafraid [Video]

For by ALMA Chicago on March 1st, 2012

By staff at ALMA Chicago

This video is part of a series by Cuentame, called “An Honest Conversation.” In this video they interview Jorge, who speaks about his experience as a queer undocumented immigrant.

Read more from or see posts just in these topics cuentame, human rights, latino, lbgt

Care2: A Marine Evicted, The Arturo De los Santos Story [Video]

For by Care2 on February 24th, 2012

By Jessica Pieklo at Care2

The story of Arturo De los Santos, a marine and victim of foreclosure fraud, sums up so tragically the new American dream, the one where hard work and playing by the rules can land a family on the street.

De los Santos’ story can be summed up like this. Art, a long-time factory supervisor who spent five years in the Marine Corps, purchased his home almost ten years ago and lives there with his wife and four kids. In 2009, Art asked JP Morgan Chase for a loan modification, anticipating a drop in hours at work – and was told by the bank to miss payments on his mortgage in order to qualify for the modification.

De los Santos followed their recommendation, and after missing some payments, JP Morgan Chase and Freddie Mac granted Art a temporary modification and Art complied with all the terms of the modification. The pressure eased a bit, but instead of continuing to work with De los Santos, JP Morgan Chase and Freddie Mac rejected Art for a permanent modification because his income had recovered. And then, instead of allowing him to catch up, they quickly foreclosed on the home.

De los Santos, his family, and throngs of supporters decided they were not going to let the unwillingness of JP Morgan Chase and Freddie Mac just get away with just tossing Americans aside. The family re-occupied the house and, with the help of a team from Cuentame, a civil rights organization affiliated with Brave New Foundation, shot a video attempting to publicize the family’s story.

A Sheriffs notice to vacate expired this Tuesday morning, and a large crowd of supporters has stood with Art, his wife Magda, and their four kids awaiting the arrival of deputies to the house. Today Freddie Mac asked the Riverside County commissioner to force Sheriffs to evict the embattled homeowner and his family and short of a miracle they will be forcibly removed from their home.

Read more from or see posts just in these topics Brave New Foundation, cuentame, foreclosure, housing, jp morgan chase, latino

Gay.net: Jorge Gutierrez – Young, Gay, Latino & Undocumented

For by Gay.net on February 22nd, 2012

By Rick Andreoli at Gay.net

Is it tougher to be gay or undocumented? This is what Jorge Gutierrez—who is young, gay, Latino and undocumented— discusses in the 4th video of Cuentame’s “An Honest Conversation” series, which focuses on LGBTQ issues in the Latino community.

Gutierrez offers up his inspiring story of breaking through numerous barriers through activism, and how he is now unafraid to open up and give people his honest opinions on all these topics. Through this video you see one young man breaking taboos, challenging conventions and shifting paradigms within and outside of the Latino community. Brave, courageous and up front, Jorge’s “honest conversation” will surprise and inspire you.

INFO
Website: mycuentame.org
Join the Conversation: anhonestconversation.org
Share Your Story: facebook.com/cuentame
Read Jorge’s full story

Watch more “An Honest Conversation” videos
Gay Latinos Break Their Silence
Gay Latinos Speak: Bianca
Gay Latinos Speak: Army Vet Ronnie

AOL Latino: Arturo De Los Santos, doble víctima de la crisis hipotecaria (+VIDEO)

For by AOL Latino on February 22nd, 2012

By Gabriel Lerner for AOL Latino

Con su esposa Magdalena, Arturo de Los Santos ha estando luchando por largos meses para conserver la casa en Riverside, California, en donde criaron a sus cuatro hijos y en donde tejieron sus sueños y esperanzas.

Pero a menos que ocurra un milagro de ultimo momento, el sheriff del condado de Riverside podría en cualquier momento evacuar a la familia de la casa que ya reocuparon una vez después de haber sido expulsados anteriormente.

De Los Santos dice que no se van a ninguna parte, que se quedan hasta que negocien con ellos.
Toda vez que a diferencia de muchos dueños de casa que simplemente abandonaron sus propiedades porque no los podían pagar, ellos sí pueden. Solamente que el banco no está dispuesto a recibir su dinero.

“Si tanto quiere [el banco] vender la casa, ¿por qué no la vendió durante los seis meses en que estuvo desocupada completamente?”, pregunta Peter Kuhns, organizador del grupo ACCE, que asiste a De Los Santos en su lucha.

Huffington Post: Arturo De Los Santos, Foreclosure Crisis Victim, Faces Eviction From Re-Occupied Home (VIDEO)

For by Huffington Post on February 21st, 2012

By Gabriel Lerner at Huffington Post

LOS ANGELES — Arturo De Los Santos and his wife Magdalena have been fighting to keep the home in Riverside, California, where they raised their four children and on which they have pinned their hopes and dreams.

Barring a last-minute miracle, the sheriff is set to evict them Tuesday morning. But De Los Santos and his family say they are not going anywhere.

Chase’s foreclosure department put the house, located at 3270 Layton Court, up for sale, even as the bank’s own loan modification department was finalizing an agreement that would have allowed the family to stay put.

“They have a department of loan modification and a department of foreclosure, which is stronger,” Arturo De Los Santos told The Huffington Post this weekend, switching back and forth between English and Spanish. He says he is both upset and disgusted because two weeks after receiving an eviction notice, his request for a loan modification was approved, but by then, he was unable to get his house back.

The De Los Santos family epitomizes the growing number of people who work hard, follow the rules and achieve the American Dream, only to see it crumble into a nightmare. After reaching an agreement to make reduced payments on a trial basis until a final settlement was defined, and making three payments in accordance to that agreement, “the loan modification department didn’t accept my money. They said, we are not accepting more payments,” said De Los Santos.

Read more about Arturo De Los Santos at Huffington Post.

Read more from or see posts just in these topics cuentame, foreclosures, latino, mortgage

Huffington Post: Jorge Gutierrez, Undocumented Queer Activist Works To Bring LGBT And Pro-Immigration Groups Together

For by Huffington Post on February 14th, 2012

By Gabriel Lerner at Huffington Post

Jorge Gutiérrez, 27, was addressing a hall packed with almost 200 young people in Memphis, Tennessee.

Like him, they were brought to the United States as children. Like him, they grew up as Americans. Although they were bilingual, English was their first language.

Their parents came illegally, so they too, are undocumented.

Then, he told them that he is not only undocumented, but also gay. He asked the pro-immigrant organizations represented there to be inclusive. If there were others who, like him, were undocumented and LGBT, he asked them to stand up and come down to the front.

One by one, more than 20 activists stood up and approached. Some of them were revealing their sexual identity for the first time. Some were well known activists in the DREAMers movement.

Gutiérrez, currently lives in Santa Ana, California. At the age of 10, he arrived illegally from El Cora, Nayarit, Mexico, with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. In 2008 he graduated from Cal State University – Fullerton with a BA in English.

He is undocumented and queer, one of many.

“Some of the most recognized leaders of the DREAMer movement, who never talked about it, are now out of the closet, and are calling on others to do the same,” he told The Huffington Post in a series of phone calls.

Read the full story at Huffington Post’s Latino Voices.

Read more from or see posts just in these topics Brave New Foundation, cuentame, latino, lbgt

AOL Latino: ¿Soy o no soy gay? Bianca, una conversación honesta

For by AOL Latino on February 14th, 2012

By Aurelia Fierros at AOL Latino

Bianca Molina es una joven y entusiasta latina llena de sueños y expectativas, que se prepara para ingresar a la universidad en el otoño y que ya está lista para hacerse cargo de los desafíos que le deparará la vida.

Pero hasta hace poco, sus objetivos no eran tan claros, y su existencia giraba en torno a una sola pregunta: “¿soy o no soy gay?”

A las dudas, confusión y remordimientos que llenaban su vida, cuenta Bianca, se agregaron largas noches de lágrimas y desesperación, todo en el más completo de los secretos.
Hasta que llegó el punto de ruptura.

“Yo tenía dieciséis años y estaba muy deprimida. Vivía escondiendo mi identidad, en el closet. Yo sabía que algo estaba mal, sentía que estaba mal, porque estuve por tantos años en una escuela católica, donde predicaban con mucho énfasis contra la homosexualidad y todo eso estaba en mi cabeza y yo no era capaz de aceptarme a mí misma tal como era”.

“Pero entonces a mi madre le diagnosticaron cáncer. Esa fue la gota que rebasó el vaso. Sentí que Dios me estaba castigando por tener esas emociones, por pensar como pensaba, por sentir lo que yo sentía, y que me culpaba por todo lo que significaba perder a mi madre. Decidí quitarme la vida.

Read the full story at AOL Latino.

Read more from or see posts just in these topics Brave New Foundation, cuentame, latino, lbgt