Deconstructing stereotypes surrounding Latinos

Now, Arana has written a new book that deconstructs some of the most pervasive stereotypes surrounding Latinos. The book is called “Latinoland: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority.” The book is driven by a single question: How can we move past what is considered to be Latino 101? “This book is about Latinos,” WISH-TV contributor Gloria Jimenez said. “We’ve been growing the community.” Jiminez described the stereotypes. “One,” she said, “is that all Latinos are recent arrivals (to the United States). We’ve been here forever.” “When Latinos move to Florida, most people think they are Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans,” she said of another common misnomer. “In California, they think Latinos (are) Mexicans.”

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There’s a Mexican restaurant in nearly every US county

“Mexican food exists exactly where you would expect it to, but also pretty much anywhere else you might care to look in the United States that has any significant number of people in it,” says Aaron Smith, Pew’s director of data labs research. “In the middle of Oregon somewhere, out between the Pacific Ocean and the Rockies, there’s this little moderately sized community where over a third of the restaurants are serving Mexican food, which is kind of fascinating.”

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2023 La Fiesta del Otoño Celebrates Literature and Culture

Join neighbors and friends in celebrating the City of Bloomington Fiesta del Otoño at the Switchyard Park Pavilion on Saturday, September 16 from noon to 4 p.m. This event commemorates National Hispanic Heritage month, which is recognized each year from September 15 through October 15, and is a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community.

Ven y únete para celebrar la Fiesta del Otoño de la Ciudad de Bloomington en el Pavilion de Switchyard Park el sábado 16 de septiembre a partir del mediodía y hasta las 4 p.m. Este evento conmemora el Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana, que se reconoce cada año del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre, y es un momento para celebrar la diversidad de culturas latinas, sus historias y  contribuciones en Estados Unidos. 

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How diverse is IU’s freshman class in 2023?

Indiana University Bloomington welcomed 9,550 students this August as a part of its incoming undergraduates. But how diverse is IU Bloomington’s most recent freshman class? 

Of the 9,550 undergraduates welcomed onto campus this year, 918 students are first-generation undergraduate students and 1,873 are members of historically marginalized populations, a record for the Bloomington campus, according to an IU press release

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Hoosier Latinos: A Century of Struggle, Service and Success

Using oral history and archival records, Hoosier Latinos: A Century of Struggle, Service, and Success recognizes the impressive lineage of Latinos in Indiana across time and space.  Since the 1800’s Latino residents comingled with the English and German families, Irish workers, and freed Blacks who made Indiana home.  The book explores how Latino Hoosiers navigated home and belonging in the Midwest from Northwest  Indiana to Indianapolis and south to Evansville.

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Indiana’s Hispanic population

A person is Hispanic if s/he identifies him/herself as Hispanic. The most recent Census Bureau data (2021) reveal about 494,000 Hispanic persons living in Indiana. That’s just 0.8% of the nation’s Hispanic population, ranking this state 21st among the 50 states.

When you talk about Hispanics in Indiana, who are you talking about? These Hoosiers didn’t just arrive in the U.S. Most (72%) were born in America.

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Madrigal named chief of staff for Bloomington mayor

Josefa Madrigal will become chief of staff for Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. (Courtesy of City of Bloomington)

Josefa Madrigal, a former Bloomington police officer and current city employee, will become chief of staff Friday for Mayor John Hamilton.

Madrigal has lived in Bloomington for 20 years and is originally from northwest Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree and later worked as a police officer for the IU and Bloomington police departments. She has served as a domestic violence survivor’s advocate. For the last six years, Madrigal has served as the Latino Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Community and Family Resources.

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Bipartisan bill allows undocumented Indiana students pay resident tuition for college

Students in Indiana without citizenship or permanent U.S. residency could finally pay the same tuition for state colleges and universities as classmates, instead of the much more expensive out-of-state or international rate.

Proposed bipartisan legislation would make it easier for undocumented students who complete their K-12 education in Indiana to access higher learning, said Sen. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), one of three bill authors, instead of a future with scant opportunities.

“This problem has come to us, not from what the state of Indiana has done, but what the federal government has failed to do,” Doriot said Wednesday during the Senate Education and Career Development Committee. “We have not been able to get together and find a clear pathway to citizenship and we are addressing children, young adults who want to further themselves.”

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