It’s Friday night, after work, and the symmetrical grocery store aisles are flooded with drones of human beings trying to get dinner on the table. For most, meat will be on the menu.
Exceptions: Vegans, Vegetarians, Pescatarians, subscribers to GOOP, people who attended Woodstock in the 70’s, whoever drinks Skinny Tea… quite frankly the list is long and you get the point.
Empty pockets, much like stomachs, usually incite people to opt for the easiest options, but will you make that extra effort to find ethical, sustainable and significantly pricier meat, as opposed to the average cut at your local grocery store?...
On September 14th, 1869, tens of thousands of Americans crowded into streets across the country to celebrate the centennial of German polymath, Alexander Von Humboldt’s birth. Portraits of Humboldt were draped off buildings next to American flags, an estimated 25,000 speeches were delivered, and cities were doused in music, banquets, and jubilee until long past nightfall. In some cities, this continued for three days.
Boston held multiple celebrations, one being attended by the Mayor, both of the state’s Senators, and the Governor. While speaking in Buffalo, former President, Millard Fillmore, gleefully recalled the story of a conversation he had with Humboldt. Syracuse, NY held a mile-long parade attended by 15,000 people. The celebrations united the still recovering country, as even Memphis, an economic center of the American Confederacy only 3 years earlier, was also taken by the celebration of Humboldt, a man dedicated to the eradication of slavery....
Cherríe Moraga’s "Native Country of the Heart" is a mother-daughter story and the story of a time and a place. Most trenchantly, though, it’s a rumination on memory....
Chamorros are the native people of the Pacific islands, Guam (U.S. territory), and the Northern Marianas (U.S. commonwealth). Modern Chamorros, both on the islands and in the diaspora, are disconnected from their indigenous culture and language because of centuries of colonization. But Heidi Quenga, cultural practitioner and director of the Kutturan Cultural Foundation, is trying to change that. Ampersand's Melissa Dueñas has more....
“Just go with it, just feel it out,” Joey insisted. I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t keep up with the furied chords. The sound of my snare grew faint, the thud of my kick drum dulled. I looked up desperately for a saving gaze, but it was too late – my stiff arms and gnarled fingers said no more. I stopped playing. Now all eyes were on me. Flush-faced I whispered, “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” My drum sticks clacked on the concrete garage floor.
Nowhere to hide, I cried silently in my friend Kaitlin’s musty Taurus. She was the keyboard player for this band, as well as the instigator of this whole ordeal. On the car ride home she looked over and gave me a pity pat, “It’s okay, you’ll get it next time.” But she was wrong, I didn’t get it next time or even the time after that. I actually didn’t get it for a really long time....
Bueno señores, esta noche tenemos un playlist aqui de salsa Caribeña. Estamos estresando la importancia del contribuciones Afro Caribeños en la musica esta noche. Como New Yorker Dominicana orgullosa, lo tenia que hacer, por supuesto. Lo primerito que tenemos aqui, Celia Cruz.
My father is listening to my radio show from New York. He plays it in the bodega every morning at 5 am because he wants to hear what I’m bumping from all the way from California. He didn’t want me to leave for school so far away, but couldn’t argue with the scholarship money....
Sixteen years ago, Ko-Hsin Fan found herself sobbing over her restaurant’s giant wok. It was Thanksgiving Day. The chef had walked out in a fit of anger after a dispute with the sous chef.
She had to step in and take over the kitchen. “I had no idea what I was cooking,” she says, “my tears just drop and drop from my eyes, mixing with my sweat. I was counting every second of that day.”
The restaurant was fully booked for Thanksgiving, which had a set menu, but as of 9 A.M. on the morning of, Fan did not even know how to start a restaurant stove. Servers hid in the kitchen, afraid to tell customers what was happening behind the dining room. Her sous-chef couldn’t help, as he was busy with slicing Peking duck. Angry customers ran into the back and demanded their food or a manager to explain the situation. Fan was hopeless. “At one point, I told my servers it’s okay not to take the money for that night because I failed them.”...
