NOW WE TURN TO A CONVERSATION WITH A TRAIL BLAZER IN
JOURNALISM.
MARIA HINOJOSA HAS DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN THE NEWS
BUSINESS.
SHE IS THE HOST OF THE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO
SHOW LATINO USA AND PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE FUTURO MEDIA
GROUP.
MS.
HINOJOSA WAS RECENTLY IN TOWN AND SAT DOWN WITH OUR OWN
CORRESPONDENT RUSSELL CONTRERAS TO TALK ABOUT THE
REPRESENTATION OF LATINOS IN THE MEDIA, CURRENT POLITICAL
DEBATE ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHANGING IDENTITIES IN THE
UNITED STATES.
>> THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY.
REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
>> GREAT TO BE HERE.
>> PRESIDENT TRUMP PROMISED TO BUILD A WALL ON THE U.S.
MEXICO BORDER HERE IN NEW MEXICO.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALL AND SOME REPAIRS HAVE STARTED,
AND THE CURRENT GOVERNOR HAS AGREED TO SEND SOME NATIONAL
GUARD TROOPS DOWN TO THE BORDER REGION.
WHAT DOES THIS SIGNAL TO YOU AS A JOURNALIST ABOUT WHAT IS
GOING ON ON THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION?
>> WELL, MY IMMEDIATE REACTION IS, IT SEEMS THAT PEOPLE ARE
NOT CONSUMING THE WORK THAT THE JOURNALISTS ARE DOING IN
KIND OF UNCOVERING WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH THIS.
I THINK ABOUT THE FACT I WAS COVERING THE BEGINNINGS OF THE
BUILDING OF THAT WALL IN 2006 AND 2007 WHEN 28
BILLION-DOLLARS WERE GIVEN TO BOWING TO DEVELOP THE WALL,
THE CYBER WALL.
28 BILLION-DOLLARS LATER, HERE WE ARE AGAIN, 12 YEARS LATER
TALKING ABOUT A NARRATIVE THAT IS A FALSE NARRATIVE.
ALL OF THE DATA SHOWS THAT IMMIGRATION BY LAND FROM
MEXICO IS BASICALLY AT ZERO.
SO, IT WORRIES ME THAT THE NATIONAL MAINSTREAM MEDIA
CONTINUES TO FALL INTO A NARRATIVE WHICH IS THAT WE
SHOULD BUILD A WALL BECAUSE IT IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT US AND
WE HAVE TO HAVE STRONG SECURITY.
THE WALL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.
THE WALL IS A POLITICAL TOOL THAT RIGHT NOW IS BEING USED
BY THIS ADMINISTRATION AS EVERYBODY SAYS AS RED MEAT FOR
HIS CONSTITUENTS.
IT JUST FEELS TERRIBLE THAT AS A JOURNALIST ME, YOU, WE HAVE
BEEN COVERING THIS STORY FOR SO LONG, TALKING ABOUT THE
COMPLEXITY OF ALL OF THIS FOR SO LONG AND YET HERE WE ARE
THIS MANY YEARS LATER RIGHT BACK AT ZERO.
SO, IT IS QUITE FRUSTRATING BECAUSE IT BEGINS TO FEEL THAT
THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT A POLICY OR A STRATEGIC POLICY
DECISION OR EVEN A STRATEGIC GEOPOLITICAL DECISION, IT
BEGINS TO FEEL THIS IS SOME KIND OF TARGETING AGAINST
PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO WERE BORN IN MEXICO AND THEN IT JUST --
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO KIND OF MOVE BEYOND THAT AND WE GET STUCK.
SO IT FEELS VERY STRUCK.
SADLY IT AFFECTS PEOPLE, HUMAN BEINGS, IN A VERY PERSONAL WAY
AND THAT IS THE PART THAT IS DIFFICULT.
>> HOW HAVE YOU USED LATINO USA TO HELP CHANGE THAT
NARRATIVE AROUND IMMIGRATION?
>> THAT IS NOT THE ONLY IDEA BEHIND LATINO USA.
LATINO USA IS COVERING EVERY STORY ABOUT LATINOS AND
LATINAS THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN.
NOT ALL OF THEM REVOLVE AROUND IMMIGRATION AND THE WALL
BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE FOREVER.
SO, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THAT.
THAT IS A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE RIGHT?
BECAUSE AS A JOURNALIST I HAVE BEEN COVERING IMMIGRATION FOR
THE ENTIRETY OF MY CAREER.
SO, I THINK IT IS HUGELY IMPORTANT BUT AT THE SAME
TIME, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO WHO WE ARE.
SO, I THINK WITH LATINO USA, WE ADD -- WE DO DEEP REPORTING
ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
WE GO INTO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE STORY.
WE PRESENT A KIND OF HUMANITY OF THE CHARACTERS BEHIND IT.
AND NOT ONLY BEHIND THE ISSUE OF IMMIGRATION BUT THE STORY
OF LATINOS AND LATINAS IN THIS COUNTRY.
SO IT IS NOT LIKE WE TARGET EVERY WEEK THE FALSE NARRATIVE
OF IMMIGRANTS COMING FROM MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA TO
TAKE OVER THIS COUNTRY.
WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE ARE SIMPLY TELLING THE STORIES OF
WHO WE ARE AND IN THAT SENSE IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO HUMANIZE
US.
BUT IT IS ALMOST LIKE IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME, WE WOULD NEED
TO HAVE REPORTERS COVERING EVERY SINGLE DAY WHAT IS
HAPPENING ON THAT BORDER BECAUSE IT HAS BECOME LIKE A
WAR ZONE AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT.
>> VARIOUS STUDIES SHOW LATINOS REPRESENTATION IN
NEWSROOMS ARE STILL STUCK AT 4%, 6%, 8% SOMETIMES IN A MORE
ROSY PICTURE.
HOW IS THAT STILL AFFECTING THE COVERAGE OF LATINOS IN USA
WITH THIS LOW NUMBER OF LATINO JOURNALISTS IN NEWSROOMS?
>> SO, THE STATISTIC THAT I REPEAT IS THAT NOW WE HAVE
LESS DIVERSITY IN OUR MAINSTREAM AMERICAN NEWSROOMS
THAN BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11.
AND YET OUR POPULATION JUST FROM 2000 TO 2010 GREW BY 45%.
SO, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER THAT IS STUCK OR IS
DECREASING IN CERTAIN PLACES IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.
EVERYBODY WATCHES THE NEWS.
MOST RECENTLY WE HAD A STORY ABOUT IMMIGRANTS TRAVELING IN
A CARAVAN FOR SAFETY REASONS.
EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT IT.
THERE WAS A HUGE ISSUE.
PRESIDENT WAS SENDING NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DOWN BECAUSE OF
THIS.
HOW MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CARAVAN DID WE ACTUALLY HEAR
FROM?
DID WE HEAR THEIR VOICERS?
DID WE SEE THEM?
DID WE SEE THEIR CHILDREN?
DID WE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WERE IN A CARAVAN IN ORDER TO
PROTECT THEIR LIVES.
SO, NONE OF THEM WERE COMING TO BREAK LAWS AND COME IN HERE
AND FORCE THEMSELVES HERE.
SO THAT IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
I'LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER ONE, RUSS.
RECENTLY THE SUPREME COURT UPHELD THE DECISION THAT IT IS
LEGAL TO HOLD AN IMMIGRANT WITH PAPERS OR AN IMMIGRANT
WITHOUT PAPERS BECAUSE, AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE IMMIGRANTS
WITH GREEN CARDS BEING HELD IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION CAMPS.
IT IS LEGAL FOR THE SUPREME COURT TO HOLD AN IMMIGRANT
WITHOUT BOND INDEFINITELY.
THE ONLY THING THAT SEPARATES THOSE PEOPLE FROM THOSE PEOPLE
IS THE FACT THEY WEREN'T BORN IN THIS COUNTRY.
I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE NOT BORN IN THIS COUNTRY.
I THOUGHT THAT WHEN THAT NEWS OCCURRED THAT IT WOULD BE
ABOVE THE FOLDS, ALL CAPS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE
SUPREME COURT ALLOWS IMMIGRANTS WITH GREEN CARDS TO
BE HELD INDEFINITELY WITHOUT BOND.
IT IS A HUGE MOMENT IN OUR COUNTRY.
AND IT WAS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, NOT ON THE FRONT PAGE, JUST A
KIND OF THIS IS WHAT THE SUPREME COURT SAID AND DID.
THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT REALLY WORRY ME.
BECAUSE, IF WE HAD MORE DIVERSITY IN THE NEWSROOMS, IF
WE HAD MORE PEOPLE WHO WERE IMMIGRANTS OR WHO HAVE FAMILY
WHO ARE IMMIGRANTS, THEY WOULD SAY, WAIT A SECOND, WHAT JUST
HAPPENED IN OUR UNITED STATES, IN OUR SUPREME COURT.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS AND HIGHLIGHT THIS.
THIS IS BASIC VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY
WEREN'T BORN HERE.
AND IT JUST KIND OF PASSED AND THAT IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF
THE WAYS IN WHICH COMPLEXITIES OF THE STORIES OF AMERICANS OF
DIFFERENT BACKGROUND ARE NOT BEING TOLD.
>> EARLIER THIS YEAR THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL RAN AN
EDITORIAL CARTOON FROM A SYNDICATED CARTOONIST
PORTRAYING DREAMERS AS CONNECTED TO MS13, POSSIBLE
TERRORISTS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF REACTION HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS RACIST AND OFFENSIVE.
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT CARTOON?
>> I WORRY ABOUT SILENCING ALL SATIRE BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT A
SOCIETY WHERE SATIRE AND HUMOR DOESN'T EXIST BUT AT THE SAME
TIME THERE IS A PROBLEM PLAYING INTO THE NARRATIVE
THAT IMMIGRANTS, BROWN PEOPLE, ARE THE SAME AS ALL
TERRORISTS, THAT WHEN I SAW IT I JUST LOOKED AT IT AND I WAS
LIKE, OH, THIS IS INTERESTING.
AND THEN YOU TURN THE CORNER AND THEY JUST SAID THAT
IMMIGRANTS ARE EITHER ALL GANG MEMBERS OR THEY ARE MEMBERS OF
ISIS.
AND, I GOT DISGUSTED.
I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT, WHO IS THE CARTOONIST WHO DREW THIS?
WHO IS THE CARTOONIST WHO HAD THAT THOUGHT IN THEIR MIND?
AND DID THEY THINK WE ARE GOING TO PUSH THIS SATIRE
WHICH I GET BUT SADLY RIGHT NOW THE EMOTIONS ARE TOO RAW.
AND THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS WORKED REALLY HARD AT EQUATING
ALL IMMIGRANTS WITH CRIMINALS.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS ADMINISTRATION CALLS THEM
ILLEGAL, ILLEGAL ALIENS, AS IF ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE IMMIGRANTS
ARE POTENTIAL ILLEGAL HUMAN BEINGS AND NOW WE ARE
CRIMINALS TOO.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ANY ILLEGAL HUMAN
BEING.
THIS IS ONE OF MY THINGS.
I WENT VIRAL BECAUSE I SAID THIS ON MSNBC AND I DIDN'T
LEARN IT FROM A RADICAL LATINO STUDIES PROFESSOR.
I LEARNED NOT TO USE THE TERM ILLEGAL FROM ELIE WIESEL WHO
SURVIVED THE HOLOCAUST, MAY HE REST IN PEACE.
HE WAS ONE WHO TOLD ME NEVER USE THE TERM ILLEGAL TO
DESCRIBE A HUMAN BEING BECAUSE THAT IS WHY THE HOLOCAUST.
STARTED THEY DECLARED THE JEWS TO BE ILLEGAL PEOPLE.
THIS NOTION OF PLAYING INTO A NARRATIVE THAT WE ARE
CRIMINALS BECAUSE WE ARE IMMIGRANTS GOES AGAINST
EVERYTHING THAT THIS COUNTRY STANDS FOR.
>> SO, BECAUSE OF A LOT OF CUTBACKS IN NEWSROOMS, BECAUSE
OF THE COVERAGE OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, INTERNATIONAL
STORIES ARE HAVING A HARD TIME MAKING AIRWAVES ON PAGES OF
OUR NEWSPAPERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
HOW IS LATINO USA TRYING TO CONTINUE TO GET THOSE
INTERNATIONAL STORIES TO LISTENERS.
>> WE ARE A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAVE TO RAISE A LOT OF MONEY TO DO THIS.
AND THANKFULLY WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RAISE GRANTS THAT
ALLOW US TO GO INTO LATIN AMERICA.
WE HAVE A PIECE COMING UP ON LATINO USA ABOUT MY RETURN TO
MEDELLIN, WHICH EVERYBODY THINKS OF NARCOS NOW THAT THAT
SHOW HAS BEEN ON AND EVERYBODY THINKS THAT MEDELLIN IS A
PLACE WHERE BOMBS ARE GOING OFF.
AND ACTUALLY SINCE THEN, MEDELLIN IS ONE OF THE MOST
HOPEFUL AND INNOVATIVE CITIES IN THE WORLD.
WE'RE DOING AN INVESTIGATIVE PIECE INTO MEXICO THAT IS UP
ON LATINO USA RIGHT NOW.
SO WE WORK HARD -- WE CAN'T COVER ALL OF LATIN AMERICA BUT
THERE ARE CERTAIN REGIONS WE ARE INTERESTED IN AND AS SOON
AS WE ARE ABLE TO RAISE THE FUNDS THAT ALLOW US TO GET
THERE, WE ARE COVERING THAT STORY.
SO, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE STORIES ON BOTH SIDES OF
THE BORDER WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
RUSS, I WAS TALKING ABOUT CENTRAL AMERICA.
LATINO USA HAS BEEN COVERING CENTRAL AMERICA FOR YEARS.
MARIA MARTIN DID A MAJOR SERIES ON CENTRAL AMERICA FOR
LATINO USA AND I WAS KIND OF RINGING THE ALARM BELLS.
LIKE THE NEXT BIG AREA WE NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR IS CENTRAL
AMERICA.
LATINO USA WAS COVERING IT, AND PEOPLE WERE LIKE HO HUM
AND HERE WE ARE ALL THESE YEARS LATER AND PEOPLE NOT
REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITIES OF CENTRAL
AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S RELATIONSHIP TO
CENTRAL AMERICA.
AND HOW WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IS A RESULT OF THOSE SAME
POLICIES THAT NOW PEOPLE HAVE SEEMED TO FORGET.
SO WE MAKE A REAL EFFORT TO NOT FORGET THAT HISTORY AND
BRING THOSE CONNECTIONS IN.
>> RIGHT.
IN ADDITION TO INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE, LATINO USA DOES A
GOOD JOB OF INCORPORATING ARTISTS AND WRITERS INTO ITS
COVERAGE BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT POLITICS AND YOU
INTEGRATED THAT INTO TRYING TO GIVE US THIS NARRATIVE OF
LATINO EXPERIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?
>> BECAUSE ART IS THE ESSENCE OF HUMANITY.
THERE IS ALL OF THIS STUFF OF THE ROUGH AND TUMBLE, THE
POLITICS, THE DEMOCRACY, YOU KNOW, BUT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE
ART, WHERE WOULD WE BE?
SO, FOR ME, I AM MARRIED TO AN ARTIST.
HIS ART KEEPS ME ALIVE.
WHEN I COME HOME FROM A DIFFICULT DAY AT WORK AND I
LOOK AT HIS ART AND THERE IS HOPE AND ESPERANZA.
I THINK THAT THE WAY LATINO USA COVERS ART AND ARTISTS IS
AUTHENTIC.
WE JUST HAD A PROFILE OF THE POET YESIKA SALGADO WHO WROTE
A LOVE LETTER TO LOS ANGELES, THROUGH GENTRIFICATION AND IT
IS JUST ONE POEM BUT THE WAY THAT WE PRODUCED IT WITH MUSIC
AND HIGH PRODUCTION VALUES OF LATINO USA, IT WASN'T JUST A
POEM.
IT WAS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF A POET'S LOVE FOR HER CITY THAT
IS BEING GENTRIFIED.
WHEN WE DO MUSIC WE DON'T DO THE PREDICTABLE MUSIC.
WE JUST DID A PROFILE OF PRAYERS.
HE IS LEAFAR SEYER, WHO IS ACTUALLY RAFAEL REYES
BACKWARDS.
AND WHAT HE DOES IS CHOLO GOTH.
SO, LATINO USA COVERING CHOLO GOTH, COVERING POETS,
COVERING, YOU KNOW, RADICAL ARTISTS.
WE DO THIS BECAUSE IT IS A PART AND PARCEL OF THE LATIN
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
ART IS EVERYTHING.
IT IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LIVES, FROM OUR ANCESTRAL
TIMES.
SO WE HAVE TO COVER THAT IN THE LATINO USA OF TODAY AND
THERE IS SO MUCH HOPE THERE.
RIGHT NOW, AMIDST ALL OF THE SADNESS, SOME AMAZING ART IS
BEING DONE, BECAUSE IN THE END THAT MAY BE THE ONLY THING
THAT WE HAVE IS OUR CONNECTION WITH OUR OWN EXPRESSION,
WHETHER IT IS BY PAINTING OR WHETHER IT IS BY DANCING OR
WHETHER IT WHETHER BY LISTENING TO MUSIC.
IT MAY BE THE ONLY THING THAT GIVES US HOPE IN CERTAIN
PERIODS.
I LOVE OUR ART COVERAGE ON LATINO USA.
>> IN ADDITION TO CHOLO GOTH YOU ALSO HAD A SERIES ON
LATINO OLDIES.
SO IT TAKES US TO A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF THE COMMUNITY ACROSS
THE COUNTRY.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO REALLY THROW THESE IMAGES AND
NARRATIVES, CHOLO GOTH, SOMEONE SINGING 80'S MUSIC.
WHY IS THAT SO IMPORTANT.
>> WE DID THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF LATINOS IN ROCK AND ROCK
AND THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF LATINOS IN HIP HOP BECAUSE
PART OF THE PROBLEM, RUSS, IS THAT WE STILL FEEL INVISIBLE
AS LATINOS AND LATINAS.
EVEN THOUGH OUR POPULATION IS GROWING AND EXPLODING, WE HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN HERE, WE ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF AMERICAN
CULTURE AND SOCIETY AND POLITICS BUT STILL INVISIBLE.
SO, GOING BACK AND FIGURING OUT THAT THE FIRST GUITARIST
THAT DAVID BOWIE HIRED WAS A PUERTO RICAN, THAT WHAT WE
WERE LISTENING TO IS A DUDE GETTING DOWN ON AN ELECTRIC
GUITAR WITH DAVID BOWIE WAS PUERTO RICAN.
THE FACT THAT SOME OF THE GREAT HIP HOP BEGINNING
ARTISTS WERE IN THE BRONX, PUERTO RICANS AND AFRICAN
AMERICANS WORKING TOGETHER.
SO, WE LOVE TO SHINE A LIGHT ON THAT BECAUSE WE CAN'T BE
FORGOTTEN.
AND, I STILL WONDER WHY IS IT THAT WE SOMEHOW BECOME
INVISIBLE AND WHATEVER IT IS, WHETHER IT IS OUR STORY NOT
BEING TOLD OR OUR OWN SILENCE, WE WANT TO UPLIFT THAT AND
SIMPLY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE WERE THERE
WITH ROCK AND ROLL, WITH THE 80'S, WITH THE OLDIES, WITH
DAVID BOWIE, WITH HIP HOP, WE WERE THERE.
BECAUSE WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE.
>> THANKS FOR JOINING US MARIA.
>> MY PLEASURE.
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