Very excited about being published in my “adoptive” hometown of Los Angeles. As some of you know, I spent my entire summer there writing and figure drawing/painting while my husband interned at a local synagogue. Plus, we spend all the major holidays out there with my in-laws. Anyway, do check out the reprint of “My… Continue reading Putting on a multicultural wedding
The war against singular identities is still being waged over at the Forward where Sadia Shepard’s op-ed, “Targeting Tolerance in Mumbai” has sparked heated debate about whether or not there’s such a thing as a hyphenated identity. Take the time to weigh in with your two cents. Here are some of my arguments for hyphenated… Continue reading Identity Crisis: Sadia Shepard & Weighing in on Hyphenated Realities
The Jewish Press story, “A Dominican Haven for Jews Fleeing Hitler” by Mirna & Robert Ulfik tells the story of how one evil Dominican dictator and one little island in the Carribean saved hundreds of Jews from Hitler’s wrath. I haven’t had the pleasure yet of visiting Sosúa, the area where Jews settled and where… Continue reading How Dominicans Saved Jews: Bedtime Stories from Sosua
In “‘West Side Story’–Then and Now”, NY Daily News writer Dolores Prida looks at how times have changed for Latinos and how the musical ‘West Side Story,’ coming to Broadway in February, reflects those changes. I’ve made it a point to see plenty of the Broadway shows that feature Latino storylines on Broadway so you… Continue reading "West Side Story" Shows America How Far It’s Come
For some reason, I’m always shocked to learn that a fellow Dominican didn’t grow up in Washington Heights. But according to the 2000 Census detailed in “Census Shows Growing Diversity in New York City”, that should come as no surprise since Dominicans and Mexicans make up 51% of the population in the Bronx. It might… Continue reading Dominican and Jewish Boom in New York City
I am sick of hearing people say they feel like they can’t understand “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” because of all those Spanish terms. Why didn’t Junot Diaz and his lovely publishers throw in some sort of glossary in the back? Just what were they thinking? We’ll never know. Luckily for all of… Continue reading The Oscar Wao Vocabulary Dictionary Glossary, You’re Welcome, Junot Diaz
My great-great grandmother was a nice girl from Spain. Was she Jewish? I still don’t understand why we weren’t allowed to eat pork growing up and why my mother wore a star of David. When I asked her as a kid about the former, she mumbled something about “the Old Testament.” I gave her a… Continue reading DNA Tests Lead to Questions: Jewish? Muslim? Catholic?
According to “Breast Cancer Study: Many Hispanic Women Have Jewish Ancestry”, a JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) study last year revealed a high incidence of a genetic mutation–the breast cancer gene, BRCA1–in Hispanic-American women, similar to the high incidence of that gene in Ashkenazic* Jewish American women. The study concluded that this was probably… Continue reading Can breasts be Jewish?
Sadia Shepard’s op-ed piece in the Forward, “Targeting Tolerance in Mumbai”, has led to a debate about hyphenated identities. One reader, Yehuda, swears they don’t exist. (Are we a myth? I just pinched myself and I seem to be very real.) The other reader, Pamela, an African American/Carribean American (represent!) woman, says we do. Here… Continue reading I don’t exist?
I’m trying to get all the Dominican Jews in Riverdale (who attend HIR) together for a Shabbat meal. Hooray! Yippey! I found this fact so entertaining, I decided to email all my Dominican family members about it. My cousin, who has been pumping me for Jewish knowledge ever since his doorman job led to gigs… Continue reading I was a rare white panda
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 