CULTURE

Jamaican Food-focused Snapshot from Miami

“Yuh waah bwile green banana an yam fi dinna?” my grandmother called in Jamaican patois from the kitchen. I hung over the couch, watching her favorite show, Walker, Texas Ranger, upside down. She adapted to the ease of American-living within the first year of moving to Miami, but her palate never changed. ...

Artisanal Meats for Sustainable Eats: An Ethical Carnivore’s Map to Los Angeles

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?...

The Case for Humboldt Day

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....

How Chamorros in the Diaspora are Taking Back Their Culture

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....

Still Punk

“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....

A poem from coast to coast

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....