a custom painter and a group of students are helping transform the neighborhood into a bold celebration of Hispanic heritage Local auto body and custom paint artist and enthusiast Ray Nava III has been obsessed with lowriders for as long as he can remember “The start of the passion was when I was a kid "I’ve always just been enamored about the paint jobs and everything I guess it's always been subconsciously in the back of my mind that that's what I wanted to be." Nava has been painting cars for over 15 years but his next project uses a different canvas than he is used to: his first-ever wall mural "It just adds so much more to the community and stuff and the South side is mainly Hispanic,” said Nava will feature a 1971 Caprice lowrider in vivid red framed by a sunset and the Wells Fargo and DoubleTree buildings The mural is expected to be completed by the end of the month that's all I can really remember is just seeing all my uncles and my cousins just having nice cars And that's where my passion for it grew," said Nava The mural, titled “Rooted in the South Side, Dreaming Under the Big Sky,” is more than public art, but a community statement for Raza Unida a Latino student club in the Billings School District run by teacher "It's always been about bringing kids together and trying to give them a brighter future and trying to help Latino kids see that they can move further than their circumstances as they've grown up," said freshman Ysabelle Ruiz Raza Unida students were hands-on from the start The mural is the club’s second on the South Park pool building features the Lady of Guadalupe and symbols of Latin culture in Billings They hope to begin working on their third mural the transformation is symbolic and restorative “I did grow up in this neighborhood pretty much my whole life South Park has always been looked at as like the bad park and it didn't help that our buildings looked so torn down," said Morales "For the city to allow us to like paint on them and actually help us redo some of it a little bit is actually really nice (...) The South Side is the minority of the town and that's where most of the Latinos live and so the low rider culture over here is more important." the club hosted “On a Sunday Afternoon” at South Park to unveil the mural-in-progress and celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day early in collaboration with Roots of Unity a nonprofit that supports inclusivity and empowerment in the South Side “It's exciting because it mostly you really just see the paintings come up or you just see them after the point watching the process as it goes or even being a part of it priming it and stuff to sketching it to him painting it is awesome,” said Dynesty Peak “I have family in the Rollerz Only club and their cars are just amazing (...) I love old-school cars like these Lowriders are a cultural cornerstone for many in the Hispanic community growing up around them especially during the annual Billings Mexican Fiesta car show Nava and the students hope the display will inspire a new generation and celebrate the rich culture seeing their faces light up when they see the cars and everything like that "I was that kid and I seen a nice car and I was like too,' so I want to be the inspiration for another kid like that.” "There were a lot of stereotypes that were forced onto me and my friends growing up so it was really nice to see some more positives come out of this community," added Ruiz artistry is always such a powerful tool to speak for ourselves and to make ourselves known and not just hide in the shadows so it's really amazing to see how the Hispanic community has brought forth these cars and use them as a way of launching ourselves into a real community.” but in the hearts of local youth who see themselves in the artwork and a larger representation for all of Billings to enjoy "It's a lot more than just Hispanic people and I think that's the beautiful thing about low riding," said Nava It helps me showcase my talents and I feel like this and it's going to be here for my daughter to see It's going to be here hopefully for a long time It's nice to leave my print on the South Side.” Leer en español As I walk inside the bustling bakery at Prince Valley Market the warm scent of fresh bread and sugar-dusted pan dulce fills the air quickly transporting me back to my childhood in Aguascalientes a 49-year-old head pastry chef at the Prince Valley Market Bakery whose hands have shaped the flavors of southwest Detroit pastry shops for the past two decades a link to their heritage and a reason to gather around the table self-taught baker Nava has spent most of his adult life in Michigan perfecting the craft of traditional pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) What started as a job to help his family has become a lifelong calling it’s about keeping traditions alive here in southwest Detroit,” Nava said just brings everyone together around the table to connect and share their stories.” Despite the love and recognition his work receives from the community the current immigration climate is bringing fear anxiety and sadness for Nava and many in his community “The immigration climate has definitely affected my co-workers and our customers,” Nava said “Some have even had to miss work to avoid the risk of being detained by immigration agents or the police who we know are connected in some cases … we stay in our community to avoid exposure to these risks but we have sacrificed so much and made so many adjustments just to live a better quality of life than we had in our home countries many of us ask ourselves if all these sacrifices and limitations are truly worth it just to be accepted.” Nava still remembers the discrimination and challenges he and his team faced before Donald Trump’s first term as president back in 2016 when he was still undocumented which are faster for us to prepare and are recognized as Mexican cakes,” Nava said an American woman walked in and got upset because we didn’t have any ‘normal’ American cakes She was so angry that she said loudly and clearly ‘I hope Donald Trump wins so he can kick you all out of here.’ That was during his first term and I’ll leave it to your imagination how we felt It’s sad that we have to go through it again.” while others live with anxiety over their status in the way they hesitate when talking about their families and in the way some regulars disappear without a word “It’s heartbreaking because many of the people I work with or serve have been here for years I leave with God’s blessing but also with fear But I have learned that fear drives you forward and the desire to provide a better quality of life is the motivation I need to put all my fears aside wife and children proud is the strength that keeps me going.” Nava remains committed to his work and his community seeing his role as something bigger than baking His pastries bring comfort in uncertain times reminding people of not just home but also resilience and celebration Since helping establish the bakery at Prince Valley Market in 2015 giving opportunities to those who have no baking experience but have a strong work ethic and commitment to their community support our families and live in peace,” Nava said “We are capable of contributing whatever is necessary to be accepted and to improve the places where we live by keeping them clean and safe thanks to all the work we have done here in southwest Detroit and the sacrifices we have made many of us have bought houses and rebuilt them That is proof of what we can contribute not only to this city but to this country.” 2025 9:32 am IDTGet email notification for articles from Netta Ahituv FollowMay 3 2025 9:32 am IDTNothing in the biography of Nava Rozolyo a Jerusalemite who grew up in a right-wing hinted that at the age of 39 she would find herself in the eye of the storm of one of the most dramatic weeks in the history of Israeli democracy Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau appears in Netflix thriller You Netflix watchers are delighted to see that Nava Mau who rose to international fame in Baby Reindeer last year The transgender actress appears as a detective named Marquez in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s psychological thriller who plays a role in the downfall of Badgley’s twisted serial killer character No spoilers here, but You season five centres on Joe moving back to New York City with his new wife Kate (Charlotte Richie) with hopes of leaving his murderous past behind Yet the arrival of an alluring playwright named Bronte (Madeline Brewer) will put his hopes of leading a normal life to bed once and for all Though Mau is only a guest actress in You, fans of the show have reacted with glee at seeing her make an appearance, particularly as the season has received an otherwise underwhelming response “Only good thing about [You season five] was seeing Nava Mau on my screen again,” wrote on person on X/Twitter “Purrrr the hot babe from Baby Reindeer is here You is Nava Mau’s first role on a major show since Baby Reindeer was released into the world last spring the girlfriend of leading man Donny (Richard Gadd) Donny deals with a harrowing stalker situation with pub-goer Martha (Jessica Gunning) tracing his every move and attacking his loved ones – including Teri Baby Reindeer became a mammoth hit for Netflix sitting just outside of the streamer’s top ten list of its most-watched English language shows of all time Mau was nominated for both an Emmy Award and a TV BAFTA for her role as Teri She was the first ever publicly trans performer nominated for a TV BAFTA – with the result announced on 11 May – and the first out trans performer nominated in a limited series or TV movie acting category at the Emmys Speaking to Radio Times last year about how her role in You differed from playing Teri Mau said it was “phenomenal to completely shift gears” “I’d never done something that was so plot-driven before it was like I got to build a single sort of location that the character lives in I had to sort of figure out how to create more walls and create more of a mask like a uniform it was about stripping it all away.” Following her appearances in Baby Reindeer and You, Nava Mau is looking to the future. In conversation with PinkNews in November she shared that her dream role would be one in the Star Wars universe You season five is streaming now on Netflix.Share your thoughts and remember to keep the conversation respectful About us Contact us Advertise Work for us Terms and conditions Privacy policy Kwok will spearhead the engineering organization’s growth through effective execution of delivery and the cultivation of technical excellence she will develop and implement the company’s technology strategy McLain’s new role involves leading enterprise-level initiatives and enhancing strategic collaborations with federal agencies including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services Kwok is a 20-year industry veteran with a proven track record in building engineering teams fostering innovation and implementing strategies that drive growth data and product teams through periods of rapid growth and modernization overseeing the adoption of artificial intelligence advanced system architecture and other emerging technologies Her other responsibilities included cloud migrations platform scalability initiatives and large-scale product development She previously held the VP of engineering position at Docusign and Brex and served as VP of product and engineering at Tableau. She was also a senior software development engineering manager at Microsoft for nine years. She had brief stints at Qualcomm, AMD, Siemens Electricity System Operator and the University of Waterloo “Samantha brings a passion for leveraging technology to drive meaningful results that aligns with Nava’s commitment to building user-centered, impactful solutions,” said Jodi Leo McLain brings around 10 years of experience in management consulting and healthcare IT strategy to his new role The new VP has been Nava’s federal health program director for over two years He supervised multidisciplinary teams and delivered services impacting the health and well-being of millions while ensuring strategic visions are aligned with the company’s objectives.  Before joining Nava, McLain served as senior program manager and principal at Noblis and manager at Deloitte. The executive also worked at TISTA Science and Technology, Booz Allen Hamilton and Covance “Marvin’s promotion is a reflection of his strategic foresight technical depth and relentless drive to deliver outcomes that matter His leadership has been instrumental in our growth and our ability to support agencies with purpose-driven human-centered digital services,” added Leo The premier source of breaking business news for the government contracting industry to-the-point stories of the most significant contract awards M&A activities and financial results of the sector’s most notable players GovCon Wire is always on top of the most recent contracting sector activity and is updated in real time as the news breaks Important URLs: About us – Government Contracting FAQ – Guest Contributions – 2024 Events We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Nava created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Langeland-Sterenberg Yntema Funeral Homes Made with love by funeralOne All photography by Axel Dupeux and courtesy of Pace Gallery.The first thing I see in Robert Nava’s Brooklyn studio is four sets of bloody fangs They appear in three different paintings of three different creatures: a shark they feel as if they could come to life at any moment The impulsive energy of his paintings is the product of Nava’s process While he may deliberate on an idea for months and draw it over and over again in notebooks “It’ll be muscle memory,” he explains Nava has learned about the dangers of overexposure and is trying to practice patience “But I’ll be honest,” he admits “I feel like a Ferrari that only is allowed to go 40 miles an hour,” he says tend to see his paintings as a kind of adolescent effrontery But while there’s an undeniably juvenile quality to Nava’s work he speaks more in the guileless language of a child than that of a cynical teen The satisfyingly swift execution of a painting, for example, is like “a flawless victory in Mortal Kombat.” Crits at Yale were like “gladiator matches.” And ultimately he learned to fight with a “sword” in the art world like the young Spartan in the action movie 300 Sign up to our newsletter for the latest arts and culture updates Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application He is preceded in death by his parents; Guillermo Nava and Orfelinda Villarreal He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years Norma C and his beloved children; Ricardo “Ricky” Nava (Bryn) and Sofia Cristina Nava; siblings; Alberto Nava and his two grandchildren; Ricardo “Ricky” Joseph Nava He is also survived by many extended family and friends to cherish and honor his memory A Visitation will be held from 9:00 am to 11:00 am on Thursday with a Holy Rosary to commence at 11:00 am A Funeral Mass will be held at 1:00 pm on Thursday Services are entrusted to Sunset Funeral Homes-West Please visit his online memorial at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net Click to watch Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors MENUSTUDIO VISITArtist Robert Nava Explores Energy and Flow Through Punk-Inflected ExpressionismHis new solo show is inspired by everything from Bushwick clubs to Nava’s obsession with mythical creatures Robert Nava wears Brooks Brothers shirt; The Row t-shirt; Nava’s own sweatpants; Converse shoes.Robert Nava opens the door to his cavernous Brooklyn studio in a vintage “Shout at the Devil” Mötley Crüe T-shirt and a beat-up camouflage jacket He’s had the loft for three years and outfitted it with red velvet faux-Baroque furniture bought on a whim at a local chandelier store—an exquisitely ironic touch Strewn around the room are a series of paintings of different sizes most of which are destined for his exhibition After Hours He pauses by an extra-large canvas he’s still considering for the show: an electric-pink and red fang-toothed dragon hovering beneath a swath of starry night sky rendered in the artist’s inimitable ancient art meets cartoonish features his beloved black Bombay cat with a bright pink snarl and a set of fire wings “I think of these particular paintings as a mental bracket between cave art and old 16-bit style video games,” says Nava After Hours is a follow up to Nava’s previous Pace show which was his first solo exhibition in the U.K alongside Nava’s first monograph by Pace Publishing with texts by artist-curator Mark Beasley and sculptor Huma Bhabha “That show came out of the idea of dance and movement and this one continues those themes of energy and flow There is an after-hours spot where some of my painting and music-making friends go to in Bushwick from 4 AM to about noon,” says Nava “The ground level has blue lighting and a more ambient The two levels also reminded me that I’m having a show in New York that’s on level two and level seven of the gallery.” Earlier this year a group show for Pace that coincided with Frieze Los Angeles Inspired by the classic horror novel Frankenstein Nava’s checklist included pieces by the likes of Louise Bourgeois The Row Sweater and t-shirt; Converse shoes; Nava's own trousers His father was a steelworker and his mother did secretarial work in Chicago for Prudential Insurance Nava describes “a lot of alone time” in his childhood He was often watched by one of his two older sisters “Seeing my mother getting up at 5 AM to travel to her job was an example of a very hard work ethic,” he recalls “I still wake up with the sun.” Nava fondly credits his middle school art teacher and his field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago as foundational He eventually graduated with a BFA from Indiana University; an MFA in painting from Yale followed in 2011 “In undergrad I had text with my images,” he says “A sloppily painted car hitting another car said ‘Not Funny’ on it—essentially memes before memes had come out.” he had teachers like heavyweight artists Peter Halley and Carroll Dunham But Nava’s success certainly didn’t happen overnight “I went from Yale to driving a moving truck and bending steel in New York,” he says with a slight laugh I’m responsible for [Brooklyn’s] McCarren Park It was Yale to about nothing for a good stretch of time.” From left to right: Robert Nava’s Clown With Portal and Staircase and Dream Tiger when Nava took a friend’s suggestion to post work on Instagram “I was making paintings of the backs of trucks and they slowly turned into faces,” he says of course you are going to paint the trucks as gods ‘the Con Edison truck looks like a ghost.’” Brooks Brothers shirt; The Row t-shirt; Nava’s own sweatpants; Converse shoes; Nava’s own necklace Nava started selling—a drawing for $200 here Puerto Rico dealer Roberto Paradise brought Nava’s work to Expo Chicago; then Nava mounted his first important solo show in Brussels in 2018 with the gallery Sorry We’re Closed; Los Angeles representation with Night Gallery came in 2019 (that year he relinquished his keys at the moving company to paint full time); he officially joined Pace in 2020 Haters used the tiresome trope that their child could have painted that How did all the attention affect his creativity “Negative or positive reviews aren’t what brought me to the dance in the first place,” he replies I try not to let either one of those come into the studio when I’m working.” Perhaps due to the Basquiat vibes and the spray paint in his oeuvre Nava makes a point of reminding people that graffiti and street art are not part of his origin story “I went right into acrylic and stayed with it for many years,” says Nava of his first medium of choice “Oil just took too much time and I’m impatient he’s been experimenting with oil stick; he likes the way light passes through it and how it feels like drawing with a big crayon which he considers the building blocks for his paintings pocket-size Moleskine notebooks that he always carries with him The pages are filled with prehistoric looking drawings and loose abstract representations of some of the mythical creatures from Nava’s career “I have a well of images that I’ve become obsessed with and that keep evolving,” he says Office of Communications and Public AffairsDecember 3 and she shared positive details about her experience at W&L I then toured the school with my family and saw that W&L was a place of warmth in the vibrant liberal arts environment I craved Even the school’s complicated history did not diminish the importance the school now holds in my mind I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to attend W&L the Around the Globe Club has been essential in helping me spread the joy of classical Indonesian dance to the W&L community I had the honor of performing at both the 2023 and 2024 Parents and Family Weekend dinner ceremonies and for Around the Globe’s annual Spring Festival I’m working toward organizing a dance workshop for Around the Globe and hoping to do the same as a masterclass for the W&L dance community as a Critical Language Scholar to study Indonesian Having the chance to finally go to Indonesia and learn the language was surreal and deeply gratifying And I’m currently the sole Japanese language tutor for the Harte Center’s Peer Tutoring Program © 2025 Mission Park Funeral Chapels & Cemeteries In November, UC Womxn in Technology (UC WIT) Chair Charron Andrus associate chief information security officer at UC Berkeley sat down for a fireside chat with UC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rachael Nava and provided guidance on career development and advancement Though Rachael Nava is a third-generation UC alumna her path to chief operating officer (COO) was not linear Rachael began her career in community clinics she cultivated relationships within the managed care health plan industry and established a health plan specifically for undocumented children She later became COO for a Medicaid health plan Rachael saw her current role advertised on Linkedin and decided to apply “Many people don’t believe that story,” she shared “I was sitting in my bed scrolling on my phone and it popped up ‘COO of the University of California.’ I’m an alumna of UC Santa Cruz which is what you do when you’re thinking about big life decisions ‘Go for it!’ I put my application in and didn’t think anything of it Rachael’s takeaway from that experience Rachael was well-qualified for her current role but still hesitated before applying and women in technology careers in general it’s common for us to look at a job description and not feel as though we can apply unless we can check every single box on the experience and qualifications listed We often count ourselves out of opportunities because we don’t think we have enough knowledge but I bet you have the context and the technical skills to do the work Don’t hold yourself back — even if you don’t get a position you learn a lot about yourself along the way,” said Rachael the university’s technology function falls under Nava’s program but she hadn’t considered herself a “woman in tech.” “I’m disappointed in myself that I hadn’t because I have worked in IT pretty much all of my career in some form or fashion — whether I was underneath a desk plugging in network cables at a clinic (because nobody else knew how to do it) or leading large teams in an enterprise application reboot I should identify as a woman in tech and I’m proud to,” Rachael said Rachael feels that a responsibility lies with today’s women leaders to share their stories to help support the next generation of women in tech “There’s so much to glean from other people’s stories and we need to lift each other up,” says Rachael UC is the third largest employer in the state there are endless opportunities for collaboration and relationship-building “If you meet people you’re interested in and admire grab them in the elevator and have a five-minute conversation and the more time you invest in those relationships I think the better outcomes you get,” says Rachael Those relationships can also lead to mentorship opportunities Mentorship can be a great way to build leadership skills or learn from someone with more experience “One of my greatest honors is that I get to mentor a lot of women in our organization,” says Rachael “It’s one of my favorite things I get to do because it’s really about mirroring back to people what they already know about themselves I have been so blessed to have mentors in my life at all stages in my career — both men and women who have really opened my eyes to maybe why I was stuck or why I wasn’t advancing or helping me think through challenges.” To stay truly competitive in the job market it’s important to take ownership of your own professional development or talking to someone outside your organization to learn about their experiences It’s also helpful to pay attention to industry trends to determine how you can prepare yourself to more competitive for future moves think about where you want to go and make sure that you’re prepared from a technical training perspective to be positioned for opportunities when they present themselves,” says Rachael “I think we’re all trying to figure that out with artificial intelligence The more time we can spend learning new tools technology and project management modalities the more we will be able to benefit ourselves and people who are early in their careers.” “Don’t neglect your leadership skills,” adds Charron we get so focused on hard skills that we neglect other areas of growth that are equally important both in preparing us for new opportunities and for being successful in our current careers finance and budgeting skills are all areas of knowledge we need to run a successful tech organization.” Many employees dream of moving into leadership roles but the truth is that some are already on the path to leadership and haven’t realized it yet “We all have an opportunity in our roles to be leaders regardless of our position in the organization or our title or status,” Rachael explains But there’s no one-size-fits-all road to leadership It’s easy to feel like you have to conform to what societal norms are around what it means to be a woman leader or a leader in technology ‘Pay attention to traits you admire in others you’re not going to be your best self.” UC WIT is a self-chartered, independent entity that promotes a supportive, inclusive environment to advance the professional goals and aspirations of UC women in technology. UC WIT members come from throughout UC’s 10 campuses, six health systems, and three national laboratories. Learn more about Learn more about UC WIT Please try logging in again or email customer care at customercare.usta.com for assistance Emilio Nava's story starts at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Thirteen years before the 23-year-old American was born his parents met while competing for Mexico at the Summer Games: his mother Growing up as the youngest of three brothers Emilio strived to compete with his siblings Eduardo and Diego on the tennis court while cousin Ernesto Escobedo reached a career-high ATP ranking of No "I think I got pretty lucky with the genes department from my mom and dad both being Olympians," Nava told USTA.com "It's a tennis family and hopefully we can all just enjoy tennis together which I think was the goal from the beginning." 5 says he is fueled rather than burdened by a healthy pressure to carry on the family's athletic excellence: "I feel it's a good thing to feel pressure because it pushes you and it motivates you," said Nava who reached the boys' singles final at the Australian Open and US Open in 2019 "I think that's what I feel that I've always had especially with my two older brothers who also played tennis at an ITF junior level and professional level as well "I was always wanting to try and be better than them so I'm going to try to keep pushing and try to keep getting after them." With his current form on the ATP Challenger Tour it seems Nava is confident he can beat just about anyone but his brothers Nava racked up a 19-match winning streak by winning three Challenger titles (in Paraguay Fla.) and reaching a fourth final last week in Tallahassee Seventeen of those 19 victories came in straight sets Nava's runs in Sarasota and Tallahassee have put him in pole position in the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge which offers a French Open main-draw wild card to the American man and woman who earns the most ranking points at a maximum of three clay-court tournaments during a five-week window from March 31 to May 4 Learn more about the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. The torrid clay-court run is reward for a preseason training block on the South American clay Nava traveled south with new coach Diego Cristin "I usually train pretty hard when I'm not that comfortable So I felt like this was a great opportunity to maybe make a little change and see where it goes," said Nava who began working with Cristin in December he spent three years in Spain training at Juan Carlos Ferrero's tennis academy before last year making the USTA National Campus his home base in Orlando where he and Cristin have worked on translating his hard-court game to clay "I think his game works perfectly for the clay because he has good strokes "When he started playing clay at the beginning But then he started to combine the hard-court game with the clay-court game Right now we're attacking a little bit more So I think that's the right combination that Emilio has now on the clay." the slower surface also allows him to take full advantage of his athleticism with an added bit of fun: "I always liked sliding on the clay," he said "Just sliding and making balls in when it seems like you have no chance." Nava has focused on his movement and footwork along with a small change to his forehand technique But the biggest factor in his recent success has been his mentality on the court Cristin and Nava point to two key moments that sparked his winning run The coach recalls a second-round loss at a March Challenger in Argentina when Nava was beaten by an opponent ranked outside the Top 400 "We had a very good conversation after that Everything changed because he started to understand what he needs to do in the court," Cristin recalled "Everything changed from that moment when he understood that it's not a tennis problem; it's a mindset problem what he needs to do at certain moments when you have pressure when you have a ball that you need to just put inside of the court I think that we got those titles because of the mindset Nava highlighted his consecutive comeback wins in Paraguay two weeks later he battled back to beat former Top 100 players Juan Pablo Varillas and Tomas Barrios Vera "I think that's where it kind of just slowly started coming together and I was just staying calm," said Nava who won 35 consecutive sets starting with his comeback against Barrios Vera After a three-set defeat to Luxembourg's Chris Rodesch in Sunday's Tallahassee final Nava will this week bid to start a new winning run in Savannah Now eight places off his career-high ATP ranking of No Nava is quickly trending toward a Top 100 debut he hopes to seal his place at Roland Garros via the USTA's Challenge Nava has twice competed in a Grand Slam main draw He made his major debut as a wild card at the 2022 US Open where he beat John Millman in five sets before losing to Andy Murray in four It was my first time I ever qualified for a Grand Slam and it's definitely got a special place in my heart," Nava said of his 2023 Paris run "I'd love to get back there and hopefully go directly." Davis Cup team to the 2024 Finals group stage as a practice partner alongside captain Bob Bryan and coach Mike Bryan "It was a good group of guys," Nava recalled so I was just trying to soak in as much as I could from them and just the vibe being around the team "Hopefully one day I can play on the team While Nava joked that his primary role was "morale booster" rather than match-winner "I think I brought some pretty good energy," he said with a laugh SARASOTA – Emilio Nava remained red-hot on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon by capturing the crown at this year’s Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open 7-6 (2) on the Nick Bollettieri Court in the final at the Sarasota Sports Club After Draxl won the first two points of the second-set tiebreaker the California native and Los Angeles resident reeled off seven consecutive points for the victory Nava’s triumph in Sarasota was his third straight on the ATP Challenger Tour The 23-year-old right-hander will be gunning for his fourth straight title beginning on Tuesday at the Tallahassee Open The fifth-seeded Nava beat the top-seeded Eliot Spizzirri 7-6 (5) “I have been doing a good job of staying calm during matches,” Nava said I just want to knock some balls around and have some fun.” Sunday’s final was less than fun for the seventh-seeded Draxl losing the final four games of the first set the former tennis team captain at the University of Kentucky found new life in the second set jumping out to a 3-0 lead and breaking Nava’s serve twice I just decided to put the wall up,” Draxl said “I just tried to fight hard and make a lot of balls and make it difficult for him People can get nervous trying to close out a tournament and I wasn’t going to make it easy for him After falling behind 3-0 in the second set “I just tried to stay calm when he came out strong in the second set Even if I was going to lose the second set I wanted to get in a rhythm for the third.” Nava’s three consecutive titles have all been on clay He won ATP Challenger events in Concepcion “Emilio is playing with lots of confidence these days,” said Draxl who is also bound for the Tallahassee Open this week “He’s playing at a very high level out here He puts his opponents under a lot of pressure.” Yet few have remained as culturally significant as the 1997 biopic Yielding quotable phrases like “Anything for Selenas,” or relatable scenes depicting her family’s fraught relationship with their hybrid Mexican American identity “Selena” continues to stand the test of time — and remains one of the few cinematic depictions of the pop star approved by her family Not long after Selena’s murder, her relatives tapped the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava, who previously told immigrant stories in 1983’s “El Norte,” as well as his 1995 movie “Mi Familia.” The latter followed a Mexican American family in Los Angeles with a full Latino cast Jacob Vargas and one blooming Jennifer Lopez “Selena’s family felt very strongly that only a Latino filmmaker would be able to understand the culture her ethos and the world she came from,” says Nava With financial backing and distribution from Warner Bros. Nava penned and directed the film in Texas He interviewed family members and close friends of the singer had captivated audiences across the diaspora with her vocals and captivating stage presence “She was such a brilliant light,” says Nava but I feel that her spirit is still with us.” (Courtesy of Gregory Nava) “Selena” grossed over $35 million upon its release — and Lopez’s performance as the “Como la Flor” singer earned her a best actress nomination at the 55th annual Golden Globe Awards De Los spoke to Nava about the enduring significance of his film The following has been edited and shortened for clarity Walk me through those first moments when you were approached about directing the “Selena” film.I had a film “Mi Familia,” which was a tremendous hit after [Selena died] Quintanilla watched it with his family and went “This is what we want in our Selena film.” I made a deal with Moctesuma Esparza and they reached out to me to write and direct the film “You’re a very serious filmmaker and this is hot This is a movie for TV and it’s not a good career move for you.” at the time and I was walking and thinking about doing the movie and I came across two young Latinas wearing Selena T-shirts “Why do you love Selena?” And they looked at me and said we don’t have images on the screen that look like us And that means the world to see yourself on the screen “I’m gonna make this film for those young girls.” Jennifer Lopez and Greg Nava on set of “Selena.” (Courtesy of Gregory Nava) Were there any moments when you butted heads with Selena’s family?I would not give them script approval “Do you want me to tell you what really happened Or do you want to know what Abraham wants you to know?” “The truth is that it wasn’t my idea to elope Now that’s the scene that you see in the movie he really got upset because up until that time he thought that it was Chris’ idea to elope and that Chris had corrupted his beautiful daughter So he calls me into his office and shuts the door We were going through this and the whole script You can’t put on the screen that it’s right for a young girl to disobey her father.” I said: “Isn’t it a more important point to make that she is doing what she knows is right And [that] she’s doing the right thing because she knows she loves Chris and Chris loves her?” You should see these love letters that she wrote to him What did the love letters entail?She really loved him She knew the only way they could be together is if she disobeyed her father When a young woman has to find her independence “Isn’t it more important for our young women to find their own selves?” I guess if I have to look bad to make Selena look good I’ll do it.”  He has a soft heart and he finally saw that that was the right thing to do Filming took place shortly after Selena had passed away Were there any challenges you encountered because of that Because of the sensational nature of her death with the president of her fan club shooting her… I mean people sneaked into the mortuary and took pictures of Selena’s dead body and had put it out on the internet  Abraham felt that they needed to make a movie quickly in order to solidify Selena’s legacy He was instrumental in us getting this done The studio decided to release the movie on the second anniversary of her passing They basically greenlit the movie without a script It was a very bold and courageous thing for the studio to do It can take eight months to a year to do post-production and mixing the whole thing; from the last day of principal photography to when [“Selena”] opened in theaters We didn’t sleep for 12 weeks in order to get that film out into theaters Gregory Nava and Constance Marie during the third annual Latino Entertainment Industry Conference on Sept Ortega / WireImage / Getty Images) How did the public react  Both Latino and non-Latino people loved it The actors really channeled those characters It was embraced from the very beginning because it was healing What role do you think that the film had in shaping the image of Selena after her death Abraham was very wise in pushing it through quickly and it cemented her legacy in a positive way All the negativity was dispelled by that movie Jennifer Lopez was really key to the process of bringing her light to the screen studied videos of Selena [performing] and worked hard to capture her heart and soul Why was it important to film in Texas? Because that’s where the story takes place! Selena is Texas, Texas is Selena. I knew we’d get the Tejano community’s support if we did the movie there. I wanted to start with this big scene, but we didn’t have any money for extras. We shot the [Houston Astrodome scene] at  the Alamodome in San Antonio. We put an ad in the newspaper: “Come dressed as you would come to a Selena concert.” We didn’t know if anybody would show up or not, [but] 35,000 people came. When you see that opening scene of the movie, that’s all real people. There’s no CGI. Have you seen the new Selena documentary, “Selena y Los Dinos”?  I thought it was wonderful. You really get a chance to see the real Selena in all these home videos, talking and reacting with Chris and reacting with her family and stuff. That woman is just so bright and so charming. She conquered that and became No. 1 as a Mexican American in Mexico. I was just down there at a film festival, and they have Selena events at all these festivals where everybody goes and they dance to Selena’s music. Everybody still listens to Selena, because the music is timeless. Thirty years from now, they’ll still be playing [her songs]. Her light shines brighter now than ever. Andrea Flores is a reporter with De Los covering the many contours of Latinidad for the Los Angeles Times She has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and is originally from Waukegan Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Nava Grunfeld’s favorite is “Reflection,” which shows a girl (the daughter of Grunfeld’s daughter’s piano teacher) wearing a red shirt and looking into a pool “Lit From Within,” comes from her technique for painting still lifes which involves a process of layering transparent paint to create an effect that makes the paintings appear “lit from within.” COURTESY NAVA GRUNFELD “Lit From Within,” will be on display through Friday Nava Grunfeld stands in front of her painting “Rainier Cherries.” COURTESY NAVA GRUNFELD Smith College alumna Nava Grunfeld recently opened a retrospective show of still lifes and figure paintings at the Smith Alumnae House Gallery “Lit from Within,” will be on display through Friday The Alumnae House Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m The name comes from Grunfeld’s technique for painting still lifes which involves a process of layering transparent paint to create an effect that makes the paintings appear “lit from within”: “It’s kind of like if you imagine a stained glass window in a church and the light going through the colored glass Those works are bold and vibrant images of fruit, flowers, dishes, and other still life objects. A 2010 profile in The Artist’s Magazine said that Grunfeld’s still lifes showed spaces full of “radiant light” where “time is blissfully suspended”; one in particular “Two Goldfish,” was a piece in which “everything becomes part of a rapturously beautiful and moveable feast of color.” not every painting in this show is a still life Grunfeld’s favorite is “Reflection,” which shows a girl (the daughter of Grunfeld’s daughter’s piano teacher) wearing a red shirt In a follow-up email about “Reflection,” Grunfeld said that she considers her paintings to be “like my children.” “Some children are difficult to raise,” she said A native of Sweden who later moved to Israel and Manhattan Grunfeld got her undergraduate degree at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts then later received a master’s degree in art education from Smith College in 1981 but she pivoted to watercolor after a time not only because she’d long been a fan of watercolor art but also because the oil paint fumes bothered her Grunfeld started an art program for blind adults in the area through the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind she wasn’t able to find the type of paid work she was looking for so she went back to her former career in graphic design which eventually led her to be the creative director for a now-defunct department store chain including when she turned to abstraction – which was the theme of her last show at the Alumnae House the Alumnae House featured “The Radiant Energy of Color,” a collection of abstract watercolor landscapes drew inspiration from the view out of her studio window Grunfeld is happy to take a break from putting together any more shows – the process takes a lot of work and it’d be difficult to track down a lot of her works since many of them have been sold She’s still painting “all the time,” she said but she’s also focusing on some of her other passions including traveling and taking care of her garden One of her latest artistic pursuits is landscape photography but she’s not looking to show that work just yet nor does she want to define herself strictly as an artist within any one genre she’s happy to both stay creative and relax “I’m not thinking of anything in the future except that what I really want to do is play with paint – play with paint with no direction Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users Big news for Teaneck’s kosher food scene—La Cucina is relocating to a larger and upgraded space on Cedar Lane The new location was previously home to The Bridge a Turkish restaurant that originally launched in Highland Park La Cucina is stepping in to revitalize the space bringing its signature Italian flavors to an even bigger and better venue is currently under renovation and will feature: ✅ Expanded menu & seating✅ A large party room for private events✅ More parking for easy access✅ A fresh Fans of La Cucina’s authentic Italian cuisine can still visit their current location (192A W Englewood Ave) until the grand reopening offers a menu thoughtfully curated to provide guests with an exceptional culinary experience Signature dishes include Mozzarella Fritta—panko-breaded mozzarella wedges served with house sugo—and the Spicy Rigatoni alla Vodka featuring rigatoni pasta tossed in a house-made vodka sauce with fresh basil and Parmigiano Reggiano the Napoli offers a classic Italian cheese pizza topped with house red sugo and shredded mozzarella La Cucina Di Nava provides catering services and accommodates private events making it an ideal venue for special occasions The restaurant operates under the kosher supervision of the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County (RCBC) Dani Klein founded YeahThatsKosher in 2008 as a global kosher restaurant & travel resource for the Jewish community He is passionate about traveling the world and spending time with his friends & family We use ads & sponsored posts to support the creation of new content © YeahThatsKosher 2024 – Reproduction without explicit permission is strictly prohibited. | Privacy Policy • Download our kosher restaurant directory app 2025All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links Nava Mau’s pre-fame day job was a little more…intense. Before her breakout role as Teri in the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer which earned her an Emmy nomination and a Film Independent Spirit Award the 32-year-old worked as a counselor for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and hate violence “I never thought of the work as heavy,” Mau tells me over Zoom in late March gently correcting my assumptions about such serious subjects and producer is thoughtful and articulate on the topic and surprisingly optimistic “That was my first job out of college,” she says “It was actually about the invincibility of the human spirit and how people find a way to love and feel joy and have dreams and fulfill them in whatever circumstance they find themselves in.” I ask if she felt more prepared for this role than others considering her past work and given that You deals in violence often at the hands of an otherwise charming suitor and especially if you work in the anti-violence space it’s impossible not to see the world through those frameworks and I think it means that I have such deep compassion for people and the choices they make,” she says “I think that it inherently is a lens that I see all my work through now.” and seated in front of an easel where a painting appears to be in progress (She lives with a “very talented filmmaker and painter” in LA.) She has a relaxed even as our conversation zips between IPV and her favorite skin care products—the dichotomy of womanhood When I apologize for the whiplash between questions Read our full conversation about Nava Mau’s work as well as her answers to Glamour’s Big Beauty Questions Glamour: I’m excited to chat with you about You and your guest spot in season five What was your experience working on You and being in such an intense moment in the show Nava Mau: I just couldn’t believe that it happened; it was so fast It was a week after I got the part that I went to New York and filmed and so I felt like I got to come in and play and I think it has a pretty unique structure to it compared with the rest of the series The main reason that I immediately said yes to the role was my excitement about working with Madeline Brewer. I saw her name on the cast list, and I was like, Oh my God, what? And then, when I read the episode, I just couldn’t believe that I was going to get to work with her. She’s somebody that I’ve looked up to for a long time, and I really, really admire her work. It was surreal to work with her. The Handmaid's Tale actor shares the high-low routine she swears by to keep acne in check.  Were you a fan of the show before landing the role and I always meant to come back and finish it you’ve worked on shows that deal in different ways with the fallout of social media Has working on these projects impacted your relationship to social media at all Well, I have been simultaneously addicted to social media and desperately hoping for a world without social media for so many years now so that predates my experience with Baby Reindeer and You I have a real love-hate relationship with social media so I think I’m definitely even more aware of the need for security and in thinking about privacy and what I share and what I don’t share And I think we all could benefit from that I think social media is dangerous because of mental health There are almost too many different ways that social media can impact your mental health—is there one you’re talking about specifically But I think there’s something about being disconnected from your present physical reality and it gives you access to communications and media from all over the world from millions and billions of people’s lives and I think that that inherently is disorienting and disruptive to being present It’s hard enough to be present and happy and well in today’s world Before your breakout roles in Generation and Baby Reindeer is it correct that you had a different career path in the counseling space I worked first as a legal assistant and then as a counselor with survivors of violence primarily intimate partner violence and hate violence but there is a bit of a parallel with regards to intimate partner violence Do you find that your previous career inspires your work as an actor I think it means that I have such deep compassion for people and the choices they make There are other ideologies that are very judgmental and blame people for their own pain and suffering and I understand that sometimes you end up in a situation or in a dynamic that you would not have chosen if you knew that’s where it was going to go Do you have any plans to continue that work simultaneously or are you just solely focusing on Hollywood right now The story that needed to come out of me was about intimate partner violence and I wanted to explore the concept of a healing narrative and what happens when you reencounter somebody who has hurt you in the past and you’re faced with the possibility that maybe they’ve changed Can they still be cast as a villain in your story if now you know their next chapter That perspective is only because of my work with survivors that I’m not interested in clear-cut lines of who’s a villain and who is a victim Violence is much more of a structural and systemic issue To get into the Big Beauty Questions: What is one beauty trend that you’re obsessed with right now I would say I love when trends just align with what I’m already doing I saw something called ghost waves yesterday, and I googled it, and I was like, Oh, that’s literally me. My favorite way to deal with my hair is that I get out of the shower and I literally don’t touch it. I towel-dry it in a very specific way, and then I place it, and then I can’t move my neck and I can’t bend over for three hours. And my hair looks beautiful. My go-to for just quick simple makeup out the door is my Haus Labs concealer and my Rare Beauty liquid blush. If I’m not running late, I’ll do a little lip liner and maybe some brown smudged eye liner. Do you have any beauty rules that you swear by What is one beauty rule that you think is BS A 13-step skin care routine. My dermatologist told me that it is better to do the least amount possible, use the least amount of products possible, and I have only gradually added things in here and there. I love my hair when it’s soft, shiny, and not stiff. Do you have anything in your hair right now? Like color or a treatment? Oh yeah, I have remnants of the journey. I got highlights last year, and then I did a dark gloss on top of it because I needed to for the Golden Globes. Now it’s faded, and it’s perfect. Fill in the blank: I feel most beautiful when... Do you remember the first beauty product you ever used? It’s probably that scrub, Clean & Clear. The microbeads, yep. In high school, definitely that. And then there was also one that was a peach, is that St. Ives? St. Ives, yeah. Do you have any beauty fails? I bleached my eyebrows once for a photo shoot. They were like, “We want to paint them to look more blonde.” And that was great, and I loved it. But then I tried to do that for an in-person thing and I looked like I was ill. Sometimes you want to give Sick Girl, but for the event I was supposed to really give Refined Lady, and it was just really not working out. Deep regrets. Deep regrets about that. Bleaching in general is a really hard one to get right. Yeah, you have to get it to the exact shade, and we did not get it that time. You can only use three products for the rest of your life. What are they and why? Vanicream, because I’ve been using it for a decade, and I literally start to have eczema if I skip it for 36 hours. I’m not equipped for the apocalypse. That will be genuinely the first thing in my go bag when everything comes tumbling down. And my SkinCeuticals sunscreen. It’s this tinted, beautiful finish. Sometimes that’s all I wear, and I go out and feel great. And my humidifier. What colors are you loving for your nails right now I need to be completely bare because my nails are ruined it depends what character I’m trying to get into I think the best that we can do is two and a half hours Hunter Schafer and Nava Mau at The 2025 Independent Spirit Awards on February 22 What is your favorite way to take a moment for yourself if it’s just looking in the mirror and doing breaths and closing my eyes I’m still on the hunt for a signature scent It makes me feel scrumptious and delectable What is the last Instagram rabbit hole you went down I just went to a screening of No Other Land that was put on by an organization called Latino Muslim Unity and I was very excited to meet the organizers and connect with them I literally saw the documentary the night before the news broke that the codirector had been kidnapped, and it just underscored the importance of people getting to see that documentary. That documentary has not received distribution in the United States despite winning the Oscar for best documentary feature film, and we cannot afford to ignore it anymore. Sorry for the subject whiplash here, but what is your favorite emoji? Welcome to my brain. My favorite emoji? I think it’s the emoji with the X’s on his eyes, like the dead emoji. I’m very dramatic. If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions, either on social media or in Hollywood, what would that be? I think that we are seeing that so many of us want to celebrate individuality and celebrate a wide variety of faces, bodies, skin tones, and backgrounds, and so I just hope that because so much of beauty revolves around the beauty industry, that the industry can recognize what people actually want, which is to feel celebrated and represented. Who are women who inspire you the most right now? Always Bamby Salcedo, of course. The director and the cast of All We Imagine as Light—it’s a film made in India that was nominated for some Indie Spirit Awards. And my mom. A beloved Central High School teacher who always wore snazzy suits and ties as he served more than half a century in the classroom is being remembered for being "instrumental and dedicated to his students." The very next day the student body at Central had already planned John Nava Day and students came to school decked out in his favorite color the teachers were crying and they had a moment of silence for him at Central," she said "He was so instrumental at Central and his former students from all over the country are reaching out to share their stories with us They are writing tributes to him all over social media," she said "He cared about them and he just loved all those kids dearly." The Central Wildcats had been pulling for Nava's recovery all the kids on the float during the Fiesta Day Parade sent him a get-well message and the dance team also sent him a get-well message from the Alzheimer's Walk," Martinez told the Chieftain "Before he went into the hospital I went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with him and he was like a rock star with all the kids coming up to him saying He grew up in the Goat Hill neighborhood where he remained a proud After graduating from Centennial High School He later attended college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and was the only child in a family of 13 to attend and graduate from a four-year college He was instrumental in founding the Central High School Spanish Club and the Student Exchange Program to Hermosillo Mexico He also organized a 1950s-themed program for students who had an opportunity to perform songs from that era he continued to substitute teach at Central right up until April of this year "I used to call him the Robert Redford and Brad Pitt of Pueblo friends and his faith will be what I remember most He attended mass six days a week and not just one parish," Martinez recalled Nava always distinguished himself with colorful socks and ties "I washed over 300 pairs of socks and got all his ties together and we are going to give them out at his service with little notes that say "He always dressed to the nines so I said my last gift to him will be a brand new tie and handkerchief And he will be wearing a brand new pair of socks that read 'GOAT - Greatest of All Time,'" she said "The Nava family adored him and are very proud of his legacy That legacy is continuing with great nieces and nephews who are attending Central," she said Nava also leaves behind dear friends and former students Mike Murray and beloved fellow teacher Cherise Johnson His impact was felt at church Sunday where one parishioner approached Martinez and told her she used to sit by her uncle every Sunday during mass "She said she wore a shirt in honor of him and it read Martinez said Nava's legacy is so profound that many of his students from throughout the decades will remember him as being as impactful as Sidney Poitier's character Mark Thackeray in "To Sir With Love" and Edward James Olmos' character Jamie Escalante from "Stand and Deliver." A recitation of the rosary is set for 9:15 a.m Interment will follow at Imperial Memorial Gardens at 5450 Highway 78 West Maxine Chicas; and friend and fellow educator Nick Paripovich More on Nava's legacy: Sprouting seeds Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com GENERAL INQUIRIES: [email protected] PRESS INQUIRIES: [email protected] MEMBER and MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES: [email protected] INDIECOMMERCE: [email protected] Danica Nava is the author of The Truth According to Ember, a Summer/Fall 2024 Indies Introduce adult selection and August 2024 Indie Next List pick.  Preet Singh of Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur served on the bookseller panel that selected Nava’s book for Indies Introduce Danica Nava's debut is not to be missed,” said Singh. “I don't know who I loved more — Ember or Danuwoa but Danuwoa is swoon-worthy and I wanted to be Ember’s BFF Danica gives us a workplace romance that seamlessly incorporates difficulties Indigenous people face in a book I loved Easily one of my favorite reads of 2024!” Nava sat down with Singh to discuss her debut title You can listen to the interview on the ABA podcast and I work at Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur where I am an events coordinator and a very serious romance reader It is my honor and pleasure today to talk with Danica Nava Danica Nava is an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and works as an executive assistant in Silicon Valley She graduated with an MBA from USC Marshall School of Business When she's not chasing her one-year-old daughter around the house It was truly a pleasure to read The Truth According to Ember I was so stoked that your debut was coming out I feel like there's not very many Indigenous stories out there that are written by Indigenous authors and feature Indigenous characters but to have the first rom-com was truly something else Even that bio — my daughter was a year old when that bio went out PS: The Truth According to Ember is a debut and both main characters are also Indigenous Being the first anything carries a lot of weight And how are you managing these huge expectations with being a first I've had so many Indigenous writers and readers enter my DMs and email me saying they're so excited to finish their story But no two Native Americans are going to have the same experience And no two individuals within the same tribe are going to have the same outlook and ideas and it's my way because everything I've done in my life has shaped it is that there's going to be a sales figure When publishers are looking to acquire more of these books How much are we going to pay?” And there's still that discrepancy between book advances for BIPOC authors and white authors...I have to just let that go through booksellers and librarians getting early copies and being excited for it they've given it this wonderful chance When you see the books that go viral on BookTok It's overwhelming and it's looking more and more that there's the chance [to get on a bestseller list] But while those bestseller lists are wonderful it's really just making sure that the readers that need this book find it I also want aspiring writers (or current writers) to not be afraid to write Indigenous characters especially in contemporary stories and romance that the world should reflect the world we live in If you're writing a romance and there's only white characters and I really hope that having access to my book is like a gateway and he's done interviews where he says “I'm not going to write a colorful tour into Indian country.” And so it's not that I did a colorful tour like “Here This is the reservation.” I just wrote what I know — my lived experience — and I hope readers can see that I wrote it in a way that's accessible for all but there are jokes in there that only the people in the community will understand and the copy editor and the proofreader kept flagging it saying “This needs to be added to the glossary.” I do have Chikashshanompa' in there Should we add it to the glossary?” And I'm like stet.” I believe people have the power to Google At this point you have computers in your hand and Reservation Dogs and things like that I'm trying to just take everything a day at a time and I have a little bit more ice cream before bed regardless of sale figures — which I know is important for publishing —  when you have readers who find the book that they need you will have those readers reaching out to you to let you know I've been in that place where a story has left imprints on my soul But that is validation that is not physical DN: When final copies went out to the Berkley influencers I was tagged in a slew of photos of everyone opening their mail The joy of people with their book next to their faces makes me cry The story that was just mine for so long — it's not mine anymore It's readers’ and people are so excited the reading community and the romance reading community is inclusive That's why I wanted to write this book —  to have Native joy To be the heroes and not just the Stoic Indian Mine was mundane because I work in an office I remember when I fell in love for the first time — it felt magical I felt like the lead character of my own story and you mentioned wanting to change the narrative and feature what you know Could you recommend a book or multiple books DN: All writers are not writing in a vacuum There are themes in Tommy Orange’s There There that do present themselves in my own silly way because of my own experience with addiction — I had a father who was addicted to alcohol and pain medication — and how it affects marginalized communities and broken homes While they're two completely different stories there are thematic elements that are also present in my book but she's like a Pulitzer Prize winner I don't think she's going to want this silly book of mine.” Tommy Orange and Louise Erdrich have the most beautiful prose It's leaning into women's fiction because of the heavier themes “I don't know if I could ask Louise to read this silliness She never will take me seriously again.” and she has Native American characters who are billionaires She’s also got a whole backlist of books Vanessa Lillie published Blood Sisters earlier this year so when I joined I got to connect with her She has awesome words of wisdom and advice PS: When you're passionate about what you're reading That's definitely a great way to influence people to read something what micro-tropes would you like potential readers to know about in The Truth According to Ember I've been doing a lot of interviews where they only ask about Native identity Can we talk about tropes?” I love tropes the bigger tropes you'll find are only one bed — I got to sneak it in there — forbidden dating And then micro-tropes are Danuwoa’s forearms — I love a forearm moment — and when a male main character cooks There's several scenes where they're cooking food and eating He buys her Zyrtec when she needs it; he's just a caregiver and they can communicate with a single look but there's a lot of that facial communication I don't know if readers outside of the community will pick up on that So I will reread and definitely take note of that there are some very serious themes regarding identity and family that you've incorporated from both Ember's point of view and Danuwoa’s Ember has her aunt in her life and her brother How important was it to you that you highlighted these issues regarding identity and family DN: I feel like themes present themselves after you've written the book “she's going to be an accountant and it's going to be the IT guy,” because people mistreat the IT guys; they're the unsung heroes of corporate I just love the idea of the IT guy being the sexy romance hero instead of the flashy executive but as I'm writing things change as I get to know the characters better She just kept getting these missed calls and she just kept avoiding it “Why is she avoiding these calls?” And I was like it's because her brother needs more money on his commissary account and she can't afford that,” or “She's a little angry.” Let me explore that both characters have a lot to work through I really wanted Ember to find someone who's well-adjusted because I think we don't see that in romance Sometimes when they meet the love interest then they can finally address their issues and have a loving relationship But Ember needs somebody who is well-adjusted who can help her out because she's got so much going on and I didn't even realize I had these mega themes the conversation on poverty,” and I was like yeah.” I based her apartment on my first apartment No one will believe it.” Even though I experienced that — finding used needles in a cupboard but it's really just from my lived experience It just came through while writing and having empathy for the characters I don't believe in judging your characters Maybe I could be a literary genius one day if I understood thematic elements from the get-go but really it was just from writing and discovering she's shying away from things It's just the color of making each character feel lived in past tense — it's Ember's head I believe that no character is a reliable narrator especially if you're in somebody's first person point of view so all of her prejudices and resentments are going to color how she thinks about these characters But through their dialogue and through their action I think readers can pick up on something else It's so fun to write about relationships and — I have a screenwriting background — how to make things as physical and lively on the page as you would see it in a movie or a TV show It was my dream to be on Saturday Night Live, so Chapter 4 writes like an SNL skit with the hilarious one upping with the bowling league and the Little Bighorns So that's a long-winded answer of “I didn't know what I was doing with these themes.” PS: I feel that's all the more impressive because you didn't plan it But rom-coms that have heart and depth are my favorite It makes that experience all the more rich and enjoyable You might think that you need to practice to get to the levels of Tommy Orange and Louise Erdrich when it comes to planning themes and stuff…I say you're already there you're working through those plots.  because that means that you wake up and you've got new ideas and you can work around those places where you're stuck I wanted to comment on the shirt that you're wearing Can you tell us a little bit about your shirt it comes from a joke that Joanna drunkenly tells Ember while she's getting ready because he's helped her set up a printer I have nothing to wear.” Joanna does the quintessential rom-com best friend pep talk “The Native daddy of our dreams is out there You're going to show up.” He overheard that and she gets teased about it throughout the book And he is the Native daddy of my girly fantasies Both main characters look absolutely stunning I love the way that they're staged on the cover. And yes It's interesting because he's a cinnamon roll It's a good thing fictional characters aren't real because he's truly the Native dream daddy of all of our dreams DN: I wanted to give nice guys — because I married the nice guy — the chance to shine I did get some feedback early on with critique partners that he was too perfect it’s spiced up a bit to give him some some depth Britt Newton is Muscogee Creek and her tag on Instagram is @holoske I said I really wanted an Indigenous artist for the cover I just don't think the book would have blown up the way it did without this beautiful cover PS: Sometimes I feel like I've been reading for so long that cover trends…they miss me But this generation of readers is definitely very visual.  What would you like readers to take away from reading The Truth According to Ember DN: I really hope that readers of all stages of life will see Native characters I don't look how Hollywood says I should look as a Native woman When people find out that I'm Chickasaw “How much Indian blood are you?” “Do you get money for being Indian?” “Do you have to pay taxes?” It's just so strange it's a political distinction that I am a citizen of a dependent sovereign nation within the United States we're getting too far off the reservation here.” “That guy's the lowest man on the totem pole.” If that's your only exposure to Native culture There's hundreds of thousands of us in the Chickasaw Nation alone We've gone through some really horrific things with the Trail of Tears and being settled in Oklahoma we say that Chickasaws are unconquered and unconquerable and I hope that resilience comes through in the pages Humor — laughing through the hard times — is what a lot of people do Capitalism has sold us this lie that we have to have the job title It's not how the tribe can take care of us Ember gets herself into trouble when she falls for that lie of “I have to be better than I am,” when she's just fine as she is I know I felt that way when I finished reading I'm so sorry I cried all over the podcast I really feel like when you write with heart it comes through and the readers feel it When you are enjoying what you're writing I'm always curious to know what authors are working on next my next book is another Native rom-com with Berkley It's about a pop star who has to go back into hiding She's canceled a little bit and goes back to her reservation to her estranged grandmother's horse ranch where she meets a rancher named Lucas They have to make a truce to both get what they need There's a lot going on here: there's line dancing you're going to see another side of it in Eastern Oklahoma I made sure to really make them distinctly different You're gonna see silly shenanigans and a colorful cast of characters This was a dream come true for me at least I look forward to the successes that The Truth According to Ember brings I'm adding your second book to my TBR right now I have a spreadsheet for 2025 releases that I started as soon as announcements started pouring out The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava (Berkley Find out more about the author at danicanavabooks.com ABA member stores are invited to use this interview or any others in our series of Q&As with Indies Introduce debut authors in newsletters and social media and in online and in-store promotions. Please let us know if you do. American Booksellers Association is a national trade association that supports and advocates for the success of independent bookstores In turn our members support local schools through book fairs donations and author visits; promote literacy; provide inclusive community centers; connect readers and books; add character to neighborhoods; champion and center diverse and new voices; and contribute to the local economy We feel honored to support them in their work PRESS INQUIRIES: [email protected] INDIECOMMERCE: [email protected] ALL OTHER INQUIRIES: [email protected] 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vishay Precision Group a leading producer of precision measurement and sensing technologies today announced the appointment of Nava Swersky Sofer as an independent member to its Board of Directors Chairman of the Board of Vishay Precision Group “We are pleased to have Nava join our board As an entrepreneur and expert board director in the fields of technology and innovation across a broad range of industries Sofer is a globally recognized strategic consultant venture capitalist and thought leader specializing in innovation and technology commercialization Sofer has lectured on innovation and entrepreneurship at major universities around the world and has served as a consultant to numerous governmental organizations and financial institutions she served as president and CEO of the Yissum Hebrew University of Jerusalem Technology Transfer the entity which owns and manages all of Hebrew University’s intellectual property she was a partner at venture capital firms in California and Israel including Concord Ventures Sofer’s corporate experience includes serving as vice president and member of the senior management forum at Novartis (then CIBA) from 1991 to 1996 Sofer earned a law degree from Tel Aviv University in 1986 and an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne She has served on numerous public and private boards the Israel Innovation Authority and Praxis Spinal Cord Institute Contact:Steve CantorVishay Precision Group, Inc.781-222-3516steve.cantor@vpgsensors.com COVID-19 Resources. Read more! CERRITOS – The Cerritos City Council on Thursday approved the  hiring of Cynthia Nava as City Clerk.  who brings 22 years of administrative experience in city government was selected following a search from an independent firm retained by the council She had been Acting City Clerk since the retirement of Vida Barone in September.   “The Cerritos City Council is pleased to approve the hiring of Cynthia Nava to lead the City  Clerk’s Office,” said Cerritos Mayor Naresh Solanki we’d like to express our  gratitude for her service these past several months as Acting City Clerk and throughout her  career with the City.”   Nava first joined the City of Cerritos in 2002 in the Building and Safety Division She advanced  through the organization supporting the Recreation Services Division before joining the City  Clerk’s Office in 2018.  Nava received her bachelor’s degree from California State University where she also  received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential She holds a master’s degree in Public  Administration from California State University “I would like to share my sincere thanks to the Cerritos City Council for this appointment and  their support of the City Clerk’s Office,” said Nava “I’m also appreciative of the guidance and  collaboration through the City Manager’s Office and all departments during this transition excited to continue working alongside our staff residents and government partners to build  upon the strong foundation laid by my predecessor and enhance our service to the Cerritos  community.”  “We are excited to grow our partnership with Mrs who has demonstrated strong  leadership and teamwork qualities during her tenure with the City,” said City  Manager Robert A “The City Clerk plays a vital role to ensuring the effective  implementation of governance proceedings Nava’s continued  efforts in this role.”   Under the city’s charter and governing documents the City Council directly hires the City  Manager Copyright © 2023 The Downey Patriot Newspaper A two-part clinical trial led by University of Cincinnati researchers at the Lindner Center of HOPE is testing the use of noninvasive electrical stimulation of the spinal cord as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) the trial is funded by a grant of up to approximately $3.4 million from the National Institute of Mental Health Romo-Nava’s research focuses on how brain-body communication affects psychiatric disorders “We think that the connection between the brain and the body is essential for psychiatric disorders,” said Romo-Nava associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at UC associate chief research officer for the Research Institute at the Lindner Center of HOPE and a UC Health physician scientist have to do with what one could interpret as dysregulation in this brain-body interaction network.”  Pathways of neurons located in the spinal cord deliver information from the body to regions of the brain responsible for the emotional experience and are therefore relevant to the concept of mood Romo-Nava hypothesizes that one contributor to MDD could be that this pathway is being overloaded with information “We are proposing that this form of noninvasive spinal cord stimulation may work by decreasing the noise that may be occurring and contributing to the depressive symptoms,” Romo-Nava said to decrease the hyperactivity and noise of the signaling from the body to the brain because we think that by doing so we may be able to help the system rearrange itself and start reregulating physiology as it should.” Participants will wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap to measure and test the hypothesis that spinal cord electrical stimulation can decrease the noise traveling from the body to the brain While the pilot clinical trial had encouraging results it did not confirm exactly how the stimulation is working The team hypothesizes the stimulation specifically reduces signaling in what is called the spinal interceptive pathways “Interoception has to do with our ability to sense the information that is coming from the body we are trying to evaluate whether we can modulate these specific fibers we call A Delta and C fibers,” Romo-Nava said “We want to see how this is being achieved.”  the team will test their hypothesis by using an innovative method in which a brief pulse of a laser stimulus on a participant’s foot penetrates a superficial layer of skin where A Delta and C fibers are located The signal produced by the laser travels from the foot to the spinal cord and eventually to the brain can be captured using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap the EEG will show the laser-evoked signal taking longer to reach the brain or having a decreased amplitude “If the stimulation is inhibiting signaling on that pathway we would expect to see a change in the laser-evoked potential form either by it taking longer to be generated or by a decrease in its amplitude,” Romo-Nava said then we would be successfully showing that we are indeed able to modulate these very specific fibers at this very specific anatomical location in the spinal cord because we know how this signal is generated and where in the brain it’s generated.”  Researchers will also test different dose levels of the stimulation in this phase to see if an increased amperage will increase the effects of the stimulation and determine the optimal dose Romo-Nava noted that even the highest dosage being tested is a very small current that is known to not be strong enough to cause tissue damage A total of 67 participants will be enrolled in the first phase of the trial and receive three different dose levels of stimulation and one placebo stimulation over the course of five weeks The trial’s primary outcome measure will be the effect of the stimulation on the laser-evoked potentials but the team will also gather data on the stimulation’s safety and tolerability If the first phase does not find the stimulation has an effect on spinal interceptive pathways using pre-established criteria the team will move on to the second phase of the trial which is a more traditional double-blinded approximately 80 participants will be enrolled and randomized to either receive the spinal cord stimulation at the optimal dose found in the first phase or a placebo stimulation over eight weeks Researchers will continue to gather laser-evoked potential data but will also study the effect of the stimulation on depressive symptoms This two-phase innovation-funding mechanism is designed to conduct early stage testing of new interventions to treat psychiatric disorders and Romo-Nava and the team are excited to continue this line of research If the first phase of the trial has positive results the second phase will focus on the stimulation's safety and efficacy “We believe that this allows us to generate additional evidence on whether we need to continue to pursue this pathway and how we need to develop and explore these potentially new fields in the area of mental health,” he said “It is exciting because our team is in uncharted territories and we need to make sure that we do it right because it is important to know if this could help patients struggling with depression and other psychiatric disorders.”  If the stimulation is found to be safe and effective at treating depressive symptoms Romo-Nava said it could change the way researchers and clinicians understand symptoms of psychiatric disorders in addition to potentially making a meaningful impact on individual patients “It would further support looking at the brain as a very complex organ that is constantly sending information out and receiving information rather than studying it as an isolated box,” he said “This would support the notion that in order to understand psychiatric disorders you need to incorporate additional layers of complexity.”  For more information on enrolling in the study, please call 513-536-0707, email georgi.georgiev@lindnercenter.org or fill out a pre-screening questionnaire The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here. The multidisciplinary study team is led by Romo-Nava and co-investigators Susan L at UC’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience; Oluwole Awosika at UC’s Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine; and Ishita Basu from the Laureate Institute for Brain Research from the University of Virginia will be consultants on the study Key team members at the Lindner Center of HOPE Research Institute are the lead research coordinators Georgi Georgiev and Christina Charnas; research nurse Nicole Mori; biostatistician Thomas J PhD; Jakyb Stoddard; Aspen Madrid; Genie Groff; and Phong Phan UC/Lindner Center of HOPE postdoctoral fellow Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R61MH133770-01A1 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health Featured photo at top of  Romo-Nava preparing to apply the laser pulse to a participant All photos/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin are leading a study using state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques and artificial intelligence to identify changes in the brains among children of adults living with bipolar disorder A two-part clinical trial led by University of Cincinnati researchers at the Lindner Center of HOPE is testing the use of noninvasive electrical stimulation of the spinal cord as a treatment for major depressive disorder will test a wearable neurostimulation device to help patients with opioid use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder stick with medication treatment while finding the right dose University of Cincinnati | 2600 Clifton Ave A man charged with the murder-torture of his girlfriend in Thousand Oaks took the stand Tuesday testifying that he did not intend to kill the 24-year-old woman while admitting he caused her death is accused of murdering Alisen Takacs Escobar between Dec The county medical examiner found she died of blunt force injuries and ruled her death a homicide Nava testified that he hit Takacs Escobar with a belt and a baseball bat on that night He said he used both the belt and bat on her limbs struck her on the back with the belt and put the bat over her head twice He didn't apply any pressure on her head the first time He said he knew she felt it when she expressed pain did you think you were killing her?" defense attorney Andria Kim asked A video played by the prosecution earlier in the day showed blood streaming across a large portion of the victim's face starting at the hairline and going down to her neck It was one of four videos that he allegedly shot on his cell phone that night She appeared naked from the waist up with six insulting words tattooed on her chest most of which were believed to have been freshly applied The attack came a couple weeks after Nava apparently saw a phone message between her and a former boyfriend A police witness described the message as "flirtatious," and said that it spoke of the pair's former sexual relationship But the prosecution said they were not having a sexual relationship at the time Nava indicated he was aware of that but said he considered flirting cheating He said he did not become violent with the victim for a year because of "pent-up frustration" and what he described as constantly feeling betrayed by her interest in other men Evidence showed he shot four videos of her on his cell phone on the night of Dec "Express yourself," a male voice said in one The first video was recorded around 10 p.m The defendant reportedly made 12 calls to his best friend shortly after 1 a.m. he said he assumed an hour went by from the time of the last video to the point when she was unresponsive He testified that he tried to help the victim by offering her pain medication cold and hot packs and by giving her cardiopulmonary resuscitation before paramedics arrived She was declared dead at the scene and Nava was arrested asked Nava several times if he intended to kill the woman and did again as he finished his testimony on the death "I cared about her and her life," he told Kim The murder charge he faces requires a finding that he committed the act willfully and with malice aforethought which is generally defined as the intention to kill or harm He's also charged with five special allegations connected to the act namely it was intentional and accompanied by torture it was carried out with planning and sophistication and that his conduct indicates a serious danger to society The allegations can bring heavier sentences if a defendant is convicted He's also charged with aggravated mayhem against the victim starting six weeks before the death plus serious crimes against a former girlfriend family members and others Tuesday afternoon as Nava took the stand in the high-profile murder case in Ventura County Superior Court He was sworn in after the prosecution rested and the defense passed on the opportunity to make an opening statement as his attorneys initially did when the trial opened on Sept Nava is expected to be the defense's only witness Nava was scheduled to resume the witness stand Wednesday for continued questioning from the prosecution attorneys for both sides are expected to make their closing arguments mental health and local government issues for the Ventura County Star and starred in “Waking Hour,” a short film that screened in festivals around the world She was selected as a Production Fellow for the Netflix documentary “Disclosure,” and worked as a producer on the short film “Work,” which premiered at Sundance She has also acted as a series regular in the HBO Max series “Generation” and the upcoming Netflix series “Baby Reindeer.” For 8 years Nava worked in the fields of healing justice and culture change with community-based service providers She has been awarded the NewFest Audience Award and the YoSoy Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Nava received her BA in Linguistics & Cognitive Science from Pomona College after studying in Paris and conducting research in Guadalajara She then worked with survivors of violence for three years; first with immigrant survivors as a legal assistant and then as a peer counselor and advocate for LGBTQ survivors of violence in the San Francisco Bay Area Her range of experience also includes curriculum development All of her work has revolved around questions of culture and how to collectively change it for the better Nava worked for 8 years in the fields of anti-violence She is an editor of the forthcoming anthology Paradise on the Margins: Worldmaking by Trans Women of Color The Truth About Gender-Affirming Care with W When Democratic Senator Cindy Nava introduced Senate Bill 364 in a floor session on March 13 Nava moved from Mexico to the United States in 1996 she and her siblings received legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals The so-called “dreamers” became eligible for work authorization and renewable legal status in the U.S citizens were able to become police officers due to what Nava called “outdated restrictions,” the opportunity to bolster local police departments with legal residents hasn’t happened citizens can be allowed to become law enforcement officers in the state of New Mexico," Nava said.  my brother Eric left New Mexico and found a police department that recognizes the value that he could bring to this vital workforce and public service.”  The senator’s brother is now a police cadet near Chicago With such a heavy focus on public safety in this 60-day session Nava and other senators argued that passing this legislation can help address shortages in many police departments which she said has budget for 1,200 officers but only 885 on staff One of the bill’s many co-sponsors is Rio Rancho Republican Senator Craig Brandt “ We've had a shortage of police officers in our state for a very long time," Brandt said.  "When people have followed the process and are here legally and have a legal right to work, why not let them become police officers "It's common sense. The hang-up that most of my colleagues on my side of aisle got was DACA. The courts are saying that they have a legal right to stay in America. That's good enough for me.”  Nava said that passage of the bill would make more than 50,000 New Mexicans eligible to apply for law enforcement work Applicants would have to meet all other standards required of officers SB-364 awaits scheduling for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee This past Friday, Pace Gallery opened its doors to a highly anticipated exhibition by artist Robert Nava chaotic paintings that blur the line between abstraction and recognizable forms Nava’s latest body of work dives deep into themes of energy Nava described his process as one of unrelenting exploration “I can’t really explain what they are,” he admitted “I go for it with a lot of trial and error.” His paintings often begin with no clear subject in mind—just spontaneous marks that evolve into shapes and figures This organic approach drives Nava’s creative process Paintings might start with a simple color gesture—a patch of blue or green—that mutates into something altogether different “The painting starts doing its own thing,” he explained building layers through impulsive movements and instinctual choices The new exhibition at Pace reveals an emerging fascination with certain recurring figures “The bunnies started from abstraction,” Nava noted “A cloud of paint turned into a cotton tail and then they became two-headed rabbits with horns.” Other pieces emerged similarly with vague ideas transforming into vibrant chaotic compositions filled with fantastical creatures and imagined worlds he admits that refinement is part of the process and paint over it again.” His sketchbooks are filled with rapid marks and ideas Nava’s practice is obsessive—a constant need to create something feels missing.” He compared this drive to being in “the zone,” likening it to athletes hitting their peak performance This sense of instinctual flow extends to how Nava views his work While some viewers connect his paintings to themes of childhood healing and emotional release “People want me to say my paintings are about one thing,” he explained and a constant search for that feeling of being fully immersed.” painting is an endless process of discovery “If an idea starts to feel boring or forced “I trust that the work will naturally evolve.” Nava’s new exhibition at Pace Gallery captures this raw and mythic beasts emerging from chaotic marks and vibrant splashes of color At Marta in Los Angeles, artist Minjae Kim has built a strange and playful world for his new show Phantom-22 and a mountain lion named P-22 who once roamed Griffith Park and small clay figures frozen mid-thought or in quiet conversation others like odd but inviting furniture you can actually use It’s the kind of space that invites you to slow down The show takes cues from Buster Keaton’s 1920 film One Week that chaos turns into creativity—offering a view of LA that’s both dreamy and broken Kim’s work blurs the line between fantasy and reality and myth into something you can walk through Phantom-22 is open at Marta through May 31 The old normal has since resumed its throne you can see the imprints of that unprecedented moment The upward consolidation of wealth that went down is still holding steady Scores of people who found their purpose during the pandemic are still working—like Anne Verhallen and Barbara Pollack who co-founded Art at a Time Like This on March 17 “I worked with an artist that had several shows in Asia and Barbara has a long standing career working with Asian contemporary artists so we both felt that canceling a little bit earlier,” Verhallen recalled over the phone animated by artist-activists such as Helina Metaferia who has since joined the organization’s advisory board Part of ATLT’s staying power stems from its timeless central question: “How can we think of art at a time like this?” Turns out that’s always valid “We're throwing the question back to artists,” Pollack “How can we rethink art at a time like this How does crisis make us think about art differently What kind of art can we make in response to crisis?” Verhallen told me ATLT considers artists thought leaders “We wanted to create a space where we can view their works in a nonprofit setting and really let their works speaks for themselves.” These days, ATLT is going coast to coast, taking on mass incarceration and climate change—and harnessing collaboration. In 2023, they partnered with the Natural Resource Defense Council to present “How On Earth” at EXPO Chicago In this beat between ATLT’s blowout anniversary bash PUBLIC hotels' ART SPACE last month and their first gallery show (around censorship this Autumn) I caught up with with three repeat conspirators to debrief on what they’ve learned these past five years You first connected with ATLT when Barbara invited you to stage an online solo show How did you choose which five paintings to put on digital view JUDITH BERNSTEIN - I chose them because they are all iconic works!! equate human birth with the birth of the universe and puts women at the center (where they should be!) Birth of the Universe was shown a few times and was the centerpiece for my solo exhibition at the New Museum in 2012 Golden Birth of the Universe was a commission for Studio Voltaire London where it served as a humungous altar piece in the church turned exhibition space and Money Shot/Blue Balls have been shown under blacklight for maximum impact Online exhibitions have pretty much faded away since the old normal returned did participating in your own alter how you looked at your work—or art in general—at all JB - In person viewing is always much more impactful There is a lot that is lost online: the scale online still allows for engagement with the art and democratizes the viewing by providing more access Your art has been political for more than 50 years now It feels like the same issues won’t go away Has your opinion about art's role in society shifted JB - Making art is my passion and obsession I make art for my own needs and not for the popular market Art for me is a calling and not just a business but there are many underlying issues that remain the same—economic and social inequity These gestural paintings feature heads that appear at once transfixed in awe and in a state of active alarm reflecting the tension fundamental to the poetic dyad of life and death—my contemporary response to Edvard Munch’s scream This series addresses the horrific moment that we’re in The current timeframe is a reenactment of the 30s and we are now on the precipice of World War III Since your practice often involves talking to people and going places and ATLT’s debut billboard installation took place during the pandemic I was wondering—did you select an artwork you'd already made or was this something that you produced during lockdown HELINA METAFERIA - I adapted something that I had made the year before I've been making this work prior to the 2020 uprisings and so it felt like a service of my work to utilize it for social justice and art spaces and public spaces I've been working at the intersection of art and activism with a focus on women and non-binary people and thinking about ways in which archival research often doesn't fully encompass our labor within activist histories I've been working with that theme for a while some people feel like it might not be a pressing issue for them the work is there and accessible and ready for those moments we're in another moment where the question of ‘Art at a Time Like This’ is very pressing And we never know when we'll be called upon but we should always be prepared and ready I love that you created a social practice rubric for your students at Brown to use How would you evaluate this particular billboard activation HM - As if we're looking at a sculpture or a painting There can be ways we can organize a conversation For the social practice element to this public art project I would consider thinking about the ways in which it used the limited resources that were available in a way that’s its own creative pursuit An organization was developed and was formed Many social practice projects start with one show to have some sort of structure to support it If you look at the work of Rick Lowe or Theaster Gates and then it quickly emerged into organizations and nonprofits and they become institutions within themselves I think Art at a Time Like This has kept its grassroots feel but it's quickly growing as an organization that is here to meet the needs of artists and cultural producers and art workers when there is precariousness—and there's always precariousness—so their value will always be there the scaling up of it reminds me of a lot of great social practice work People wonder if every original idea’s been had I do think social practice is it—especially because there's such a disconnect between the values the art world alleges to espouse versus the values it actually practices Do you have thoughts about how social practice might grow in art over the next 50 years or so HM - The term itself is new—only like 20 years old—coined in 2005 through institutions It takes art historians a decade or more to really articulate what artists are doing and we won't be able to define it readily until years to come It's gonna be related to what happens with our nation We respond to our environments and our conditions and we have a platform—a privilege—that allows us to speak to the most challenging aspects of society I think there are people who don't want to see contemporary art flourish because it has a critical voice but the future of any art form will be determined by the greater geopolitical circumstances It'll be determined by freedom and democracy and ability for free speech Whether it'll be concentrated in Europe or in Asia or in Africa or in the US will be determined by governments I think the beauty of any art form is that so much is unknowable HM - I'm in a group exhibition that Barbara Pollack curated at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City I have a solo exhibition at Project for Empty Space That’s open May 6 through the end of August and it’s curated by another powerhouse curator group The title of that show is “When Civilizations Heal.” It's an interdisciplinary exploration of 60 years of activist archives led by women of color I'm premiering a work in progress of a feature film and showcasing new collages and sculpture and video and installation I’m in some group shows now at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and at the Knoxville Museum of Art called “States of Becoming.” whether things are going to slow down for you when there's political turmoil or if things are going to speed back up because people want the work But my overall message to any artist who works at the intersection of art and activism is just to keep going All you can do is remain consistent and authentic and work through the studio practice Work through that from a place of integrity because that is more of an inner work that supersedes the outer circumstances It's a continuous dialogue between you and you I love that you helped plant nature in the white cube at EXPO last year Did conceptualizing “MOTHERFIRE” for the environmentally taxing fair context lend any new angles to your explorations around art and climate justice LILY KWONG - I have always felt that my mission is to reconnect people to nature and their community My focus is to bring plant life to some of the most challenging environments in the hope of sparking awareness my team and I have built mountains in Grand Central Station created a jungle in industrial Brooklyn and created urban greenspace in downtown Los Angeles EXPO was the same—my intent was to plant the seeds of an ecosystemic and spiritual awakening to consider the more-than-human world I focused on the circularity of what I could control and our saplings were re-homed and the Shou Sugi Ban posts were returned to the fabricator for re-use Which plants did you pot in the work’s 55 Shou Sugi Ban posts How did you choose and source them—and keep them alive throughout EXPO’s run LK - I worked with the incredible horticulture team at Theodore Payne Nursery whose mission is to educate about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes I’ve learned about wildfire resilience and California's fire ecology and wanted to create a monument to the regenerative possibilities of native plants in fire-prone regions We contract grew saplings with Theodore Payne’s team: Ceanothus spinosus Pinus sabiniana and kept them alive through the loving care by our project manager Shannon Lai Some of these trees are not only incredible food resources for mockingbirds but they are also fire retardant like Toyon and Lemonadeberry Others are considered fire-responsive like the ghost pine which is actually highly flammable but its seed regeneration is favored post-burn and its germination increases with fire Native plants are uniquely adapted to survive and thrive following a burn since they have co-evolved with fire for millennia I wanted to honor fire as a core element of our local ecology both as a contributor to our rich biodiversity as well as an ever-looming threat You had your first show at LA’s Night Gallery last fall and debuted a public artwork in New York’s Madison Square Park this month organizer—do you see “artist” growing fastest of all LK - I would say Mother is the fastest growing—a role that I have found fundamentally transformative to my psyche Though ‘artist’ has expanded immensely alongside motherhood Having two children in three years has given me much more confidence as a creator—what is more artistic than growing a spine My show Solis with Night Gallery emerged from my maternity leave with my daughter an explosion in a new medium created largely with her by my side was in many ways my first artistic collaboration with baby Gaia mother & artist are inextricably linked LK - Gardens of Renewal at Madison Square Park is truly a dream project It’s been an aspiration of mine to build something for the iconic park since I first took landscape design courses at New York Botanical Garden over a decade ago Our Meditation Garden and Children’s Garden has been almost two years in the making a prayer for humans to be brought back into harmony with nature and for balance peaceful co-existence and reciprocity to be restored to our society and ecosystem Brooklyn-based artist Ross Knight makes sculptures about the conditions of visual pleasure viewers experience when encountering his works A Knight sculpture typically could be a body or a household object Knight’s works decenter the figurative impulse of sculpture the artist delights in abstracted gestures toward libidinal overcharge and its exhaustion His first solo exhibition at Off Paradise Continuous Squeeze further explores these perceptive anticipating that we could be scandalized and seduced by apparatuses that remain familiar and foreign to us Continuous Squeeze is your first solo show in a decade How have you been working on your sculptural practice without the pressure of making a show It seems that there is a mystery or privacy to your works that does not fall into trends or categories whether I have an immediate deadline or not generally does not determine how offer I’m working in the studio Studio time for me is split between different activities or “work/labor” I usually have at least one thing that is progressing well and moving towards completion one that appears or feels like it’s stuck or stalled and then there is something or new material I’m experimenting with or trying to further understand and whether it has any future place in my work It is this last endeavor that is the slowest process with no guarantee that anything will be accomplished meaning I do not have a staff of studio assistants with a definitive set of tasks to perform I generally work alone which allows for risk and discovery no audience to watch me have a bad day in the studio or fail The studio for me is a very private head and body space which I think allows me to be less inhibited As to the 10-year period two of those ten were effectively surrendered to the COVID pandemic when it came to studio visits and public venues This was also when both of my galleries (Team Gallery and Richard Telles Fine Arts) effectively closed which looking back on it proved to be somewhat liberating for my studio activity At the time it was a lot of what I thought was bad news all at once however it all probably came at the right time for me A central part of your practice is exploring how inorganic materials can become organic-looking Tell me more about your interest in creating this kind of visual effects Thinking and talking about the space between the organic and inorganic is a curious thing There might have been a period when we lived in a world where these two were clearly defined Now I know scientifically they still are and mutually exclusive But I I’m not so sure that’s haw we as a species experience the two We seem to live in a time and space where the two slip in and out of their ontological categories or definitions The “organic” and the ‘non-organic” are increasingly becoming conflated How else would you describe our fledgling relationship with AI or CGI Now I’m still working with “real” materials and fairly 20th century methods of object making/ rendering and the un-natural join or intersect or maybe just collide I am especially fascinated by how you combine erotic imagery with visual perspectives A sculpture that seems clinical can appear to be ludicrous at a different angle How do you think through shifting interpretations in your work I love thinking about the phenomenology of objects Their shapes and possible meanings through association Sometimes a thing can be both familiar or understood and then quickly shift into alien obscurity or the abstract A lot of what humans do or to be more precise invest in is kind of ludicrous Over designed fetishism can be found everywhere we (humans) have had complete control over Look no further than the kitchen gadgets and high-end bathroom architecture/design that is venerated It seems to me that most of our production values are born out of the act of arousal Value has extended beyond basic needs or task completion We live in a period when corporeal arousal is value dominant Your earlier works seem to be more interested in tensions of mutual dependency or thresholds whereas your recent works are more about how the human form can be evoked in the absence of a human body What motivates this shift from constructing an intricate system toward hybrid structures between bodies and functional objects whenever you have two or more things (objects) coupling up to form one dependency as a subject is always present in the narrative What I’m interested in is that space or gap between the surrogate (stand in) and the accoutrement (ornament/equipment) Another dimension of your exploring hybridity is that your recent sculptures often play with surface and depth I am curious as to how you think about dimensionality I would consider myself a sculptor in the truest sense of the word Which means I find myself thinking about fundamental attributes that define both an object/sculpture and how we coexist with it The motifs of wellness culture often recur in your sculptures What attracts you to the culture of self-optimization wellness culture and our pursuit of self-optimization If we look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs diagram wellness culture of self-optimization might find itself positioned at the top of the pyramid under the heading “self-actualization” but with a sometimes-weird twist to it because this wellness culture end game seems to try and cheat mortality Which is the most un-human thing I can think of Please confirm that you are at least 18 years old Jackie showed her interest in sports from a very early age so her parents motivated her to train at Olympic gymnastics at the age of 4 later she practiced athletics and basketball she began her professional career in Kick Boxing at the age of 16 She studied Architecture at the Tijuana Technological Institute; However because one of her dreams was to become a professional boxer and win a world title she obtained the National Title in the super bantamweight division and later became the first WBC super bantamweight world champion after defeating the experienced New Yorker Leona Brown by unanimous decision All of us who are part of the World Boxing Council send our best wishes and warm congratulations to our dear champion Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy join UC Womxn in Tech (UC WIT) for a virtual fireside chat featuring University of California Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rachael Nava EVP/COO Nava is a visionary leader and strategic thinker who is known for fostering an inclusive and engaging work environment With a unique blend of operational expertise and a collaborative leadership approach she plays a critical role in managing UC’s nearly $50 billion enterprise which serves more than 295,000 students and employs over 246,000 faculty and staff EVP/COO Nava leads the UC Operations Division providing oversight for essential systemwide functions including human resources; information technology; community safety; equity diversity and inclusion; and UCPath — the payroll human resources and academic personnel system for all UC employees which comprises offices and services that support UCOP employees EVP/COO Nava worked in the health care sector as the chief operating officer for a $1B public She also operated federally qualified health centers and designed and directed a privately funded health insurance program for low-income Her early work in cancer and AIDS research within the biotech industry laid a strong foundation for her innovative EVP/COO Nava is a third-generation UC alumna with a bachelor’s degree in biology from UC Santa Cruz For questions, contact Charron Andrus a leading conglomerate with business interests in metals has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ended 31st December 2024  # Revenue and EBITDA exclude discontinued operations; EBITDA includes other income  # Revenue and EBITDA exclude discontinued operations; EBITDA includes other income                   Commenting on the results, Ashwin Devineni we have maintained profitability and enhanced operational efficiencies and strategic investments will drive long-term value creation for our stakeholders Our commitment to sustainable growth is reflected in our planned diversification strategies that are expected to take shape in due course of time." Quantitative Table of Operational Data (Sales Qty): Mr. VSN RajuCompany Secretary and Vice PresidentNava LimitedTel: +91 40 23403501 / +91 40 67283333Email: [email protected] Media Contact:Ms. Lisa Rufus G.Phone: +91 91542 40656Email: [email protected] Nava Limited will host a conference call to discuss the quarterly financial results in detail on 07 February 2025 at 1600hrs (IST) Investors and stakeholders are invited to visit the company's website for further details This document may contain forward-looking statements based on management's beliefs and expectations as of the date of this release Actual results may vary due to risks and uncertainties and the company does not assume any obligation to update such statements in response to future developments Please refer to official disclosures for the most accurate and up-to-date information Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2272192/4394670/Nava_Logo.jpg a leading diversified conglomerate with business interests in metals Utilities Alternative Energies Mining & Metals Mining & Metals Do not sell or share my personal information: When Baby Reindeer arrived on Netflix on April 11 there was nothing to indicate it would soon become one of the streamer’s top 10 most popular English-language series of all time one of the breakout stars of the seven-part miniseries the show’s viral success was simply an “amplification” of how she already felt about the significance of its story “It was beautiful to feel this overwhelming connection,” says Mau but the attention was largely oriented around this story and these characters that I care so much about and that affected me in the same way they affected so many people who watched the show.” Based on the real-life experience of Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, who stars in the series as a fictionalized version of himself named Donny, Baby Reindeer chronicles how Donny’s yearslong struggle with being harassed and stalked by a middle-aged woman forces him to confront a buried trauma Before shooting Baby Reindeer in London in late 2022 who was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Antonio had starred in the HBO Max dramedy Generation as well as several smaller projects—a number of which were self-produced But when she read Gadd’s script for the first time she realized Teri would be a uniquely important role “I knew this character was going to be among the first of her kind when it comes to representation of a trans woman “So I felt encouraged by the idea that it wasn’t about me I hoped that if I opened myself up to that others would be able to see themselves in Teri Particularly trans women and trans Latina women but really anyone who could recognize even just one part of themselves in her.” Mau was nominated in July for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, making her the first transgender woman to be recognized in the category. Now, after the premiere of her most recent short film, All the Words But the One, she is slated to appear in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s hit series You But no matter where her career goes from here Mau’s portrayal of Teri seems to have struck a lasting chord with many of Baby Reindeer’s millions of viewers and it takes me right into that place with them,” she says I take it as a gift that we all get to connect around this Because our world has told us that we should be silent about our pain and about any violence that we’ve experienced And that only leads to shame and dysfunction and disconnection So when people want to talk and feel connected to me Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com Forty years after it first earned writer-director Gregory Nava and co-writer Anna Thomas an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay, the film remains a new American classic. A sweeping epic about the treacherous journey some migrants make from Central America to the United States in search of a better life, “El Norte” feels just as timely in 2025 as it did when it first premiered. Nava’s connection to Sundance, both its festival as well as the institute, goes back decades. He was at the very first Sundance Lab in 1981. It’s there where he got to further develop “El Norte,” working with his actors to help hone in on the kind of story he wanted to tell, one as grounded in his own experience of living next to the border, as informed by the vast research he did talking with Central Americans who’d escaped violence in their countries of origin. “It was an incredible experience,” Nava recalls over Zoom about that filmmaker retreat. “We worked with Sydney Pollack. We worked with Waldo Salt. One of the requests that I made to Sundance was that in order to do ‘El Norte,’ we would have to bring professional actors together with nonactors. So they brought Ivan Passer, the great Czechoslovakian filmmaker who had done ‘Intimate Lighting’ and who really knew how to work with nonactors.” A still from “El Norte” by Gregory Nava, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (From Sundance Institute) In casting then-nonprofessional actors Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando as his two leads, Nava had wanted to bring a level of wounded authenticity to the film. It would be a way to offer a humanist portrayal of people who had often been sidelined even in their own stories. “Los Angeles was a city pervaded with shadows,” Nava says. “Of people who were picking up your dishes and mowing your lawn and taking care of your babies and doing all the work of the city. And I could tell, I knew, from my background, that they were from Guatemala, they were from Mexico, that they were refugees, that they were people who were here, and that one of them had an epic story” But Nava knew that to tell such an epic story he’d have to approach it differently than how he’d seen such stories being told in Hollywood. This was a tale that would be grounded not in European story beats but in Indigenous — and Maya, specifically — lore. “One of the things that I wanted to do when I made ‘El Norte’ was to tell a Latino story in a Latino way,” he says. “I didn’t want to do a movie that was imitative of something else.” He turned to the great novels from Latin America like Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Miguel Ángel Asturias’ “El Señor Presidente.” But he went even further back. He drew inspiration from the Popol Vuh, a foundational text for the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala. And it was there where he first began toying with the idea of making “El Norte” a story about siblings. “One of the things that you see in ancient Mesoamerican and Mayan mythology is that they’re always twins,” he explains. “There’s always two, not one. In the Popol Vuh you have Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. And since our protagonists are Mayan I wanted to capture Mayan culture and make it true to Mayan myth and Mayan storytelling.” Nava similarly turned to a series of 17th and 18th century Maya texts to dream up different kinds of symbolism that would lend the film a distinct kind of texture. He points to a scene where Rosa finds out her mother has been taken (and likely killed) by armed men. Rather than portray such a violent scene, Nava shows Rosa arriving at her mother’s comal and finding it full of white butterflies. “In the Chilam Balam, there is this image of whenever there’s a problem in the land — a plague, the Spanish conquest, war with the Itza, people dying, famine — there was a gathering of white butterflies,” he says. “And I read that, and I went, Oh, my God, that is unbelievable. This is our Latino storytelling. In our way. With images that you’ve never seen on the screen before.” In keeping with that commitment to bringing Maya folklore into “El Norte,” Nava insisted on making the film trilingual: it’s in K’iche’, Spanish and English, truly capturing a journey that’s both geographic and linguistic in equal measure. As the film moves from Guatemala to Mexico and then to the United States, Nava slowly splinters the magical realism Rosa and Enrique had grown up with. The potent symbolism in their hometown, where their connection with their own dreamlike imagery is central to their everyday lives, soon fades away. As Rosa and Enrique try to make a living as undocumented workers in Los Angeles, the brutal reality around them quickly sets in. It’s not lost on Nava how prescient the film now feels. At a time when rhetoric about the border and the so-called “migrant crisis” continues unabated, “El Norte’s” focus on the humanity of its Maya protagonists reorients the conversation around the lived experience of those making life or death decisions when they cross the border. Nava recalls a recent screening of it for students at USC who watched it for the very first time. “After the film was over, I was crowded with students,” he recalls. “And they said to me, ‘This film seems like it was made last year.’ It was a fantastic experience in a way, to go, ‘Yes, we’ve made a film that has that kind of life and longevity and moves people.’ But by the same token, 40 years on, and the situation is still the same.” “Because everything that the film is about is once again here with us. All of the issues that you see in the film haven’t gone away. The story of Rosa and Enrique is still the story of all these refugees that are still coming here, seeking a better life in the United States.” The urgency of its story packs a punch for the shocking image it closes with: a shot of a severed head. It’s a dour note to end on but one that Nava knew would be necessary. It’s why he knew the film would have to be made outside of the studio system and with the backing of institutions like the Sundance Institute and PBS (which partly funded the film). He was committed to offering an unvarnished look at the daily reality of men and women like Rosa and Enrique. “I wanted to tell the truth,” he says. “Part of the journey of making this movie, and of making it independently, was so you could tell the truth. I can’t put a happy ending on the story of refugees coming to this country. That would be a lie.” Movies As soon as I posted the news about Bryan Mays and Yvonne Nava reuniting on the KVUE Austin morning newscast Daybreak happy Central Texas viewer comments started coming in.  As the AM news duo wrap up their first week together they look back on their previous time together