A moment of individual skill from Macey Fraser and a stunning strike from newcomer Maya Hahn have produced a last-gasp win by the Football Ferns against Costa Rica Hahn’s 89th-minute goal gave New Zealand a 1-0 win at the Estadio Piedades de Santa Ana to give the Ferns a win and a draw from their two-match series three Costa Ricans surrounded playmaker Fraser who was wide on the left flank She shimmied her way into space and struck a perfectly weighted pass hard and low to her teammate playing only her second full international curled her shot from just outside the area inside the far post prompting celebrations from the new-look Ferns squad READ MORE: Goalscorer Maya Hahn: ‘I was almost shocked when I saw it get in the net’ >>>> Main photo: New Zealand players congratulate Maya Hahn after her first goal for her country New Zealand interim head coach Michael Mayne made three changes to his starting line-up from the first match in the series Defender Grace Neville and forward Jacqui Hand who both came off the bench in the opening game of the series went into the starting line-up instead of Macey Fraser and Hannah Blake The first half was an even affair with few goalscoring chances produced by either side Costa Rica went closest to scoring when they won a direct free kick on the edge of the New Zealand penalty area when Neville’s arm blocked a shot Captain Katherine Alvarado struck the direct free kick well over the head of the Ferns’ defensive wall and forcing goalkeeper Vic Esson to make a save at full stretch It was the only shot on target by either team in a half in which Costa Rica produced eight shots The game started to open up in the second half New Zealand’s Indiah-Paige Riley shot wide of the left upright in the 54th minute Costa Rica’s Jimena Gonzalez fired wide of the right upright a few minutes later Esson made a vital double save to keep the home side scoreless she made a superb reflex save to prevent the ball from going into the net after a deflection off a teammate and then she reached high to pull down a follow-up shot from Emilie Valenciano Emma Pijnenberg earned her first full cap for New Zealand when she came off the bench with 10 minutes left Fraser and Hahn produced their match-winning moment Hahn tried her luck with a long-range shot that whistled past the Costa Rica post The final match statistics reflected New Zealand’s growing control of the game New Zealand had enjoyed 54% of possession and generated 13 shots compared to the home side’s 10 Annalie Longo (captain) (Maya Hahn 66′) Emilie Valenciano (Maria Morales 88′) Maria Salas (Verónica Matarrita 69′) Priscila Chinchilla (Sofia Varela 80′) READ MORE: Ferns battle for 1-1 draw with Costa Rica after heroics from ‘keeper Vic Esson >>>> WATCH: Highlights from Football Ferns’ 1-1 draw with Costa Rica >>>> READ MORE: Coach and captain take heart from Ferns’ performance in draw with Costa Rica >>>> This story was first published on February 26 Here’s NZ Football’s 5-minute highlights reel from last.. Here’s NZ Football’s 7-minute highlights reel from last.. Auckland FC’s Guillermo May is the special guest on episode 17 of New Zealand’s weekly.. Auckland United have started the defence of their OFC Women’s Champions League title with a.. Dub Zone is back for another week of analysis Papua New Guinea have claimed the final place at August’s OFC U-16 Men’s Championship after.. A widely-admired former club and regional football administrator Here’s NZ Football’s 12-minute highlights reel from last.. May 3-9: OFC U-16 Men’s Championship – qualifying, Tonga (click here for details) May 5-18 (NZT): Auckland United at OFC Women’s Champions League, Tahiti (click here for details) May 16-18: Grand final, women’s A-League (click here for details) Monday May 19 (2.30am NZT): New Zealand U-16 men v Switzerland, FIFA Youth Series, Zurich (click here for details) Tuesday May 20 (2.30am NZT): New Zealand U-16 men v Guatemala, FIFA Youth Series, Zurich (click here for details) May 26-June 3: FIFA international window (women) May 30-June 1: Grand final, men’s A-League (click here for details) May 31-June 1: Second rounds of Chatham Cup June 2-10: FIFA international window (men) Thursday June 5 (7.30am NZT): Chile U-20 v New Zealand U-20, men’s international, Complejo Deportivo Quilín, Santiago (click here for details) Sunday June 8 (7.30am NZT): Chile U-20 v New Zealand U-20, men’s international, Complejo Deportivo Quilín, Santiago (click here for details) Sunday June 8 (11am NZT): All Whites v Côte d’Ivoire, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada (click here for details) Wednesday June 11 (9am NZT): All Whites v Ukraine, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada (click here for details) June 15-July 13: FIFA Club World Cup, United States (click here for details) Monday June 16 (6am NZT): Auckland City v Bayern Munich, FIFA Club World Cup, TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio (click here for details) Saturday June 20 (6am NZT): Auckland City v Benfica, FIFA Club World Cup, Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida (click here for details) Wednesday June 24 (7am NZT): Auckland City v Boca Juniors, FIFA Club World Cup, Geodis Park, Nashville, Tennessee (click here for details) June 23-July 1: FIFA international window (women) July 5-6: Quarter-finals of Kate Sheppard Cup August 1-14: OFC U-16 Women’s Championship, Samoa (click here for details) August 15-30: OFC U-16 Men’s Championship, Solomon Islands (click here for details) August 16-17: Semi-finals of Kate Sheppard Cup September 2-9: FIFA international window (men) September 17-24: University of Auckland at FISU Men’s Football World Cup September 20-24: OFC Futsal Men’s Cup September 21-October 4: OFC U-19 Women’s Championship September 27-October 19: FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup September 27-28: Season starts for men’s and women’s National Leagues October 7-15: FIFA international window (men) Wednesday October 15 (k/o TBC): Norway v All Whites, international friendly, Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway (click here for details) October 17-November 8: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Morocco (click here for details) October 20-28: FIFA international window (women) November 4-28 (NZT): FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup, Qatar (click here for details) November 10-18: FIFA international window (men) November 17-22: OFC Futsal Men’s Champions League November 21-December 7: FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, Philippines (click here for details) 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Oceania qualifiers December 13-14: Grand finals of men’s and women’s National Leagues June 12-July 20 (NZT): FIFA Men’s World Cup © 2025 Friends of Football Site designed by Hurricane Press Ltd using - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Liberated Ethnic Studies is a front for Marxist or communist ideologies By Maya Phillips As a school board member in the Ramona Unified School District in San Diego County when I read the Santa Ana Liberated Ethnic Studies curriculum for the first time it brought back childhood memories from growing up in the Soviet Union The communist vocabulary that I remember from my time in the USSR included liberation as well as phrases vilifying capitalism and Zionism (a movement for the establishment and maintaining of a Jewish ethnoreligious state) painting capitalists as oppressors and the working class as oppressed These words were an integral part of Soviet communist propaganda These words are also an integral part of the Liberated Ethnic Studies curriculum—I recognized them right away They were so familiar and so omnipresent throughout the course to an extent that I have never encountered since living in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s Native-born Americans grossly underestimate the gravity of communism and Marxism its parallels with Liberated Ethnic Studies are astounding and personally alarming Ethnic Studies was originally designed as another vessel and Inclusion) and CRT (Critical Race Theory) to deliver Marxism to schools and incorporate communist ideology in education And while DEI and CRT are not required in schools the Ethnic Studies course is mandated by the State of California Ethnic Studies can be a Trojan horse for communism if we don’t pay attention and we have to be very vigilant in order to weed out the harmful elements Kids will eventually spread these concepts throughout California and the United States There are countless examples of “Liberated” politicized curriculum throughout California alone Liberated curriculum continues to pigeonhole students into oppressor and victim roles students learn that their own physical and intrinsic characteristics and body size make them oppressors or victims They are taught that neither actions nor words change this determination and that there is no opportunity to move between categories removing all personal agency from students Students also are taught that capitalism causes racism and upholds white supremacy The Santa Ana Unified School District has been sued by the Anti-Defamation League for its allegedly anti-Semitic Ethnic Studies courses which are based on the “Liberated” curriculum People lived in constant fear of the state Government policies were covertly anti-Semitic There were no marriage vows—just two signatures on a government marriage form Citizens and the government deceived each other at every turn and stealing were considered smart moves in order to get ahead And people thought this was normal because nobody knew any different The USSR was an evil empire best known for its economic incompetence And all of this could be brought to you courtesy of Ethnic Studies if we are not careful Teaching Marxism in schools is prohibited by the Ed Code and the lawyers who vetted this kind of curriculum for the school districts either agree with Marxism or are not familiar with Marxist concepts I doubt that they read the Communist Manifesto or grew up in a communist country I have seen firsthand what communism does to people “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty”—inscription on the entrance to the National Archives Originally published at California Insider This process has infiltrated medical education and is wrecking our medical system and our doctors are slaves We must overhaul our entire educational system in California as education is the root cause of the behavior and either production or wipeout of every industry in the great state of California The government needs to get out of we the people’s serious business and get back to protecting our national borders It’s time for Californians to wake up and speak up No teacher giving instruction in any school or on any property belonging to any agencies included in the public school system shall advocate or teach communism with the intent to indoctrinate or to inculcate in the mind of any pupil a preference for communism In prohibiting the advocacy or teaching of communism with the intent of indoctrinating or inculcating a preference in the mind of any pupil for such doctrine the Legislature does not intend to prevent the teaching of the facts about communism the Legislature intends to prevent the advocacy of for the purpose of undermining patriotism for the government of the United States and of this state communism is a political theory that the presently existing form of government of the United States or of this state should be changed to a totalitarian dictatorship which is based on the principles of communism as expounded by Marx This is yet one more reason for parents to do everything they can to get their kids out of public schools which have become nothing more than Marxist indoctrination centers and find viable alternatives like homeschooling or private schools The Anti-Communists have been warning US for 100 years, we do not listen. This link is to page 316 of a book written in 1932, how much of this has not been achieved? https://archive.org/details/towardsovietamer00fostrich/page/316/mode/2up Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a2b3de1dfb5957902279244445f8d663" );document.getElementById("b0150800dd").setAttribute( "id" Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism Philippines – Since the early days of the late great Kobe Bryant the Philippines has solidified itself as the unofficial “Laker Nation” outside the confines of Los Angeles the Lakers craze continues to penetrate all walks of Filipino life Manila gets a fresh coat of artistic excellence in the form of new LA superstar Luka Doncic Maya Carandang is the latest artist to use the Tenement Manila court as his personal canvas marking the fourth time an NBA superstar has graced its pavement after Michael Jordan in 2019 “a collaborative effort to beautify communities and create mural arts on 100 basketball courts across the Philippines.” Painting Tenement courts continue to be all the rage in Philippine sports and street art culture as the compound in Taguig City also frequently features world-famous artists and their larger-than-life masterpieces students of Hispanic background make up less than 10% of MBA enrollment A recent graduate of the Part-time MBA program at Opus College of Business '21 MBA is proud to join the growing ranks of Latinx MBA recipients Walk us through your journey leading up to this exciting moment I immigrated to the United States from Mexico when I was nine years old My dad's family is a big advocate for education but 11 of the 14 children managed to get their undergraduate degrees Whether or not to get a bachelor's degree is not even a question in my family and my sister-in-law and brother are also fellow Tommies My dad even got a certificate in philosophy I waited a few years before going back for my MBA 'You know what - I'm going to do this.' My family was very supportive of my decision from bringing me food at school to proofreading all of the papers I turned in It has been an interesting ride for the past three and a half years What were some of your top highlights from the MBA program Networking within the St. Thomas community. There are so many of us Tommies working across the Twin Cities, including the CEO of U.S. Bank I learned a lot from my classmates in our class discussions and MBA projects I heard a variety of opinions from students from many different industries and backgrounds - from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofits The coursework was also incredibly impactful. I took an elective class, Inclusive Leadership for Diverse Organizations, with Professor Rama Hart The course was a highlight in the MBA program as I was able to be open about racism and sexism Since there were many current events related to systemic racism when I took this course The hate crimes against various Asian populations and the murder of another African American male were all happening at the time It was very cool to see the majority of the classroom open up and engage with each other Many of us talked about how great it would be to see this become a required class for undergraduate students How has your MBA degree helped you in your job at U.S What's important to you outside of school and work I am a mentor for a program called CLUES' (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio) Youth In Action (YA!) CLUES is Minnesota's largest Latino-led nonprofit organization supports and guides Latinx high school students as they prepare for college and career Minnesota ranks 49th in the nation for the percentage of Latino students graduating from high school which was why I joined this mentoring program I was very privileged that my dad received a very good job when we moved to the United States Bank hired him from Mexico and sponsored our family's visas to move here we have documents that I could go to school I never lived in fear of that being taken away but the Latino community suffers a lot from that fear The parents who are working two or three jobs to make ends meet do not have those resources it is important to give back and realize that my privilege can help inspire other people I am one of the founders of the Nosotros Latinos Business Resource Group (BRG) and president of the U.S Our business resource group supports business lines across the enterprise by providing resources that facilitate cultural awareness leadership and personal/professional development My mom and my dad were from very humble and poor backgrounds My dad and his brothers worked their butts off to study and go to school they started putting their siblings or kids in school so we would not suffer as much as they did My mom had to drop out of school in sixth grade because her family had no money She reminds me never to be afraid - even if I do not know how to do something She moved to this country without knowing English and left her mom and friends so that my brother and I could have a better life My nephews are a big part of my inspiration as well I want them to grow up in a world where they see their 'tia' (aunt) be a successful Mexicana And to also know that they can be successful Mexican-American men in the United States and the world I'm proud to be a first-generation college student and master's graduate Sustainability “Unearthing Lead: The Power of Historical Maps,” an EPA award-winning video by a team of students at UCI led by Tim Schutz they might imagine being shot in the chest or stabbed through the heart is described as “a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all.”  An environmental justice community is a community mainly consisting of low-income BIPOC (Black making them more at risk to environmental hazards than higher-income white communities Santa Ana is an environmental justice community One of the most urgent environmental justice issues that Santa Ana faces is soil lead poisoning Children are the most vulnerable population for the effects of soil lead Some of the health effects include seizures Imagine you’re an elementary school student living in Santa Ana You may deal with behavioral issues resulting from this exposure Maybe it’s hard for you to focus in school and ultimately lowering educational and economic outcomes This may mean being constrained to lower-paying jobs which are essential to our society and require some of the hardest labor yet the systems in which we live consider these jobs “unskilled work” and do not adequately financially compensate those in such positions you may get trapped in the cycle of poverty And in a more extreme case maybe those behavioral issues are causing you to act out in class An even worse outcome is ending up in the school to prison pipeline going to juvenile detention or adult prison Though this may not look like traditional violence a person’s quality of life can suffer drastically because of environmental impacts and it can go so far as to disrupt whole communities and generations Orange County Environmental Justice (OCEJ) and UCI Public Health collaborated on the soil lead campaign to investigate soil lead levels in Santa Ana after reading an article by Santa Ana local and reporter remarking that she found lead levels in the area that exceeded state and federal guidelines we sampled soil from 500 locations in Santa Ana We then mapped the lead concentrations throughout Santa Ana and analyzed the factors that made someone more at risk We also surveyed residents about their personal experiences since our organization emphasizes centering community members and empowering them to share their stories We found that 811 out of 1555 samples tested unsafe for children The highest levels of lead were found in downtown and central Santa Ana The groups most at risk for soil lead poisoning are: In the past there has been a lot of speculation about the major causes of lead poisoning so many of the buildings created before then have that issue The paint chips and dust can be a risk for lead poisoning old orange groves within Santa Ana had farm agriculture products using leaded-arsenic and other toxic chemicals these groves are located on the outskirts of Santa Ana which do not match up with the areas on our map that show the highest levels of lead Other organizations have claimed that the high concentrations of lead in Santa Ana are caused by lead in candy and traditional dishware that has been moved across the border when people have immigrated into the U.S This is a harmful racialized narrative that points the finger at Mexican immigrants which is particularly damaging in Santa Ana this theorized source cannot account for how widespread and severe this issue is and also is not scientifically backed What we deduced with our research was that the largest source of soil lead was caused by leaded gasoline so the residue of this gas may have transferred over to the roadways and seeped into the soil By comparing the map on the far left that depicts the roadways in Santa Ana existing in the 1930s (before leaded gas was banned) and the map on the far right that shows the lead concentrations we can see that the hotspots lie right along the old roadways The solutions that OCEJ are pursuing are systemic change with city governments and sharing the scientific findings from our research OCEJ successfully worked to include policies in the General Plan Update regarding lead in the soil including ones on providing soil lead-related jobs and considering alternatives to traditional remediation Traditional soil remediation typically involves just digging up the soil and relocating it 3) still leaves the soil lead-laden and makes it someone else’s problem The idea that we have been negotiating for is bioremediation which utilizes native plants and fungi to absorb the lead out of the soil It brings more natural beauty and greenspace which is much needed in Santa Ana since it has so few parks It is also a much cheaper option than traditional remediation The city also agreed to provide more access to blood lead testing for residents in Santa Ana which is particularly beneficial to many members of the community who do not have health insurance In terms of spreading awareness about the issue we are trying to break down our scientific research in a way that’s easy to understand We are doing so through our environmental health and equity plan that discusses mitigation strategies and how to prevent this issue from happening in the future We are also creating a comic book with the help of Santa Ana youth as a means of making an engaging visual representation of the issue which also helps cross language barriers and makes the issue intriguing for young children We are also in the process of creating an interactive in-person mystery game as a metaphor for the soil lead issue By making this process immersive and entertaining people are more likely to understand the soil lead problem deeply so please volunteer some of your time to contribute to fighting the battle against environmental injustices in Orange County please come participate in our focus group sessions where you can share your thoughts/experiences with soil lead and solutions you’d like to see https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDcllPuZSelfmehU9KojoKc2TCWB4SABJvkOAkFzbMAXfF7g/viewform You can learn more about the Santa Ana soil lead issue by reading our resource repository Curious to know more about the soil lead issue in Santa Ana or other environmental injustices in Orange County Check out OCEJ’s website and socials here:  https://www.instagram.com/ocenvironmentaljustice/ https://www.ocej.org/ The Conversation on Conservation - How Chapman is Reducing Water Use throughout Our Campus The Root of the Issue – Deforestation in Palm Oil Production + Orangutan Endangerment - Understanding How Deforestation for Palm Oil Has Led Orangutans to the Brink of Extinction This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 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Print MEXICO CITY — Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza was one of the few mayors from Mexico’s troubled state of Michoacan who openly sounded the alarm about the narco thugs whose extortion demands were targeting even small local governments like his “The insecurity … is something that everybody in the world knows who represented the rural municipality of Santa Ana Maya Because we have to deal with organized crime The Mexican government heard his complaints promising to send more resources to the area after Lopez staged a hunger strike in Mexico City of Local Authorities of Mexico said in a radio interview that Lopez had been abducted Lopez’s body was discovered Thursday in his truck in the neighboring state of Guanajuato That state’s prosecutors would not confirm Friday that Lopez was slain saying only that he died of “asphyxia secondary to neck trauma.” If his death becomes classified as a homicide it will join a long list of similar cases in Mexico: In total 47 mayors have been killed in the last eight years of drug-war violence the director of the Local Authorities group But Lopez’s death also occurred at a time when the nation is wondering whether Michoacan a key agricultural state just a few hours west of Mexico City has been fighting with a rival group over drug routes and violently clashing with peasant “self-defense” groups that have risen up in a number of rural pueblos There may be no security challenge more pressing for the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto than Michoacan which has spiraled out of control as other parts of Mexico Peña Nieto sent a wave of troops to pacify a number of Michoacan hot spots On Monday — about a week after attacks at nine electric plants in the state — he sent in troops and federal police to the busy Michoacan port of Lazaro Cardenas where the Knights are said to extract much of their wealth by controlling the drug trade and running a vast extortion racket Local governments are regularly caught in the crossfire in Michoacan — and sometimes they are complicit the government of former President Felipe Calderon arrested 35 mayors prosecutors and other officials who were accused of taking cartel bribes; but the case fell apart and all 35 were eventually released from custody some mayors allied with the cartels have fled their towns after the rise of the vigilante groups After a tour of Michoacan’s violence-scarred Tierra Caliente region in June the Times reported that the Knights were controlling the lumber and livestock markets and extracting payments from homeowners tortilla sellers — and from local governments Lopez had objected to the 10% cut that Knights demanded his government pay “I would say that all of the mayors of Michoacan have this problem,” he said in October Baptista said Friday that such issues are common in a number of other Mexican states as well “It’s a very difficult situation,” he said Baptista said his contention that the mayor was abducted tortured and killed was based on conversations he had with Lopez’s family who had been told about his death by Guanajuato prosecutors Palestinians blame Israel for Arafat’s poisoning Sochi Olympic torch: A diving, climbing, spacewalking competitor At least 4 killed as super Typhoon Haiyan batters the Philippines Twitter: @RichardFausset richard.fausset@latimes.com Sanchez is a news assistant in the Times’ Mexico City bureau. Former Mexico City correspondent Richard Fausset left the Los Angeles Times in 2014. He has been a community news reporter on the Westside and in South Los Angeles, a Metro section reporter covering crime, politics and features, and a national correspondent based in Atlanta. Before joining The Times in 1999, he was editor of Flagpole, the weekly newspaper in Athens, Ga. Fausset holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Politics World & Nation California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time A small-town Mexican mayor known for speaking out against drug gangs has been found dead on a roadside The director of the Association of Local Authorities of Mexico said on Friday that Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza the mayor of Santa Ana Maya in the western state of Michoacan His body was discovered in his truck in the neighbouring state of Guanajuato Brutally killed: Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza.Credit: Facebook Michoacan has been dominated for years by the Knights Templar drug cartel Its members routinely extort money from residents Former president Felipe Calderon published tweets demanding an explanation of the death of Mr Lopez Mendoza ''The mayor … was on a hunger strike in front of the Senate complaining of complicity between local police and criminals How did it happen?'' Mr Calderon asked on Twitter The Association of Local Authorities said Mr Lopez Mendoza had ''suffered during his administration not only from a lack of funding but also drug cartel harassment'' he had told media that Michoacan mayors were being forced to give 10 per cent of works budgets to the Knights Templar a charge also made by residents in other parts of the state said on radio Mr Lopez Mendoza had told others at an association meeting in Mexico City shortly before his death that he was being subjected to extortion by the drug cartel Mr Bautista said at least 40 mayors had been killed in Mexico in recent years their own local police forces are believed to have been involved in the killings Soldiers moved into another town in Michoacan on Thursday and detained the entire local police force of 25 officers for questioning ''The mayor \\u2026 was on a hunger strike in front of the Senate complaining of complicity between local police and criminals How did it happen?'' Mr Calderon asked on Twitter The Association of Local Authorities said Mr Lopez Mendoza had ''suffered during his administration not only from a lack of funding Two high school seniors and a pair of recent high school graduates from Orange County have been selected to participate in a prestigious summer internship program that promotes leadership development and community engagement opportunities Destiny Ceja of Santa Ana High School, Catherine Liu of Oxford Academy and class of 2021 grads Maya Bryson of Anaheim and Vivian Wang of Yorba Linda were recently announced as Bank of America Student Leaders following a competitive application process The four scholars have since been installed in eight-week paid summer internships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast Each student also received a Chromebook through the program which has gone virtual for the second straight year Bank of America’s Student Leaders program taps about 300 community-focused juniors and seniors from across the U.S In addition to taking part in an eight-week paid internship and engaging in a collaborative project with support from mentors participants are invited to a national summit This summer, the Student Leaders will connect virtually through the Close Up Foundation to be part of Stanford University’s “Young Democracy at Home” event which encourages meaningful conversations about issues facing young people “Bank of America remains committed to supporting young adults by connecting them to jobs community engagement opportunities and leadership development,” said Allen Staff president of Bank of America Orange County “We recognize young adults are the future of our community which is why programs like Student Leaders are one way we can provide paid opportunities for students to gain job experience while developing a diverse pipeline of talent as they enter the local workforce.” In addition to the Student Leaders initiative Bank of America has also provided grant funding to two nonprofits — High School Inc and Orange County United Way — to help them provide jobs and internships for 100 local teens and young adults Here’s a little more about this year’s four Student Leaders from Orange County: where she will study neuroscience and run track The Anaheim resident was co-founder of her high school’s Black Student Union and she started the school district’s first Superintendent Student Advisory Committee as a way to give a voice to students as the administration makes decisions about diversity Destiny will be a senior next fall and plans to continue her leadership role in multiple campus organizations including serving as chairperson for the Principal’s Advisory Committee president of the Red Cross Club and operations manager for NJROTC After being diagnosed with a neurological disorder she became curious about the causes of such diseases and she aspires to become a neurosurgeon focused on research Catherine will be a senior in the fall at Oxford Academy she launched a cultural exchange program with students in Wuhan who were struggling emotionally during the early days of quarantine The program grew to 1,000 students in China and 50 volunteers in the U.S She also won first place in the annual national Congressional Art Contest will soon hang in the student art gallery at the U.S Vivian of Yorba Linda will attend Stanford University in the fall and plans to study computer science and applied technology a nonprofit that provides slightly imperfect towels and linens from hotel chains to nonprofits in need For more information about the program, or to learn about the eligibility criteria, visit the Student Leaders section on the Bank of America’s website Official Instagram for the Orange County Department of Education | View the OCDE web policy at ocde.us/webpolicy Orange County Department of Education  Website publishing policyNon-discrimination policySocial media policy Thanks for visiting the OCDE Newsroom. Questions and story suggestions should be sent to communications@ocde.us If you’re a member of the media in need of information about the Orange County Department of Education, please email communications@ocde.us or call 714-966-4475 Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry she's written for Turner Classic Movies She's worked at EW for six years covering film The author of EW's quarterly romance review column "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood Regis resorts unite the tranquil and exquisite in the world’s most inspiring destinations the brand opened its newest resort — The St With its striking modern design spread above the mangroves of Mexico’s Yucatan coast the resort embodied the ideal of the brand’s resort experience in beautiful It required an exquisite story — an exploration of the inspiration and environment that created the Best Address on Mexico’s Caribbean shores bringing the brand’s audience inside one of its most stunning escapes To create this in-depth look into its newest resort Regis created a first-of-its-kind for the brand Designing the Best Address video series The video series was carefully planned to incorporate each element of what makes the St Regis resort experience in Kanai so exquisite Our scope included 4 installments — architecture and the rituals and traditions that define St This video series was conceived entirely for social media with Instagram Reels specifically in mind — 9x16 format and including in-video captions to tell a complete story no matter how audiences interacted with it To create a comprehensive visual narrative the video series brings together captivating moments at every scale — sweeping aerial shots above the Caribbean coast modern design contrasting a lush expanse of mangroves close attention to incredible details and exquisite views The series also features talent to capture an ideal guest experience at the center of it all To deepen and expand on the visual narrative the videos also include the brand’s largest implementation of voiceover in social content to date This narration further tells the story of Kanai adding an evocative layer to our content that goes beyond what just visuals and social copy can achieve emphasizing the roots of Kanai’s design We evaluated our success on the Designing the Best Address video series through reach and video views with our typical opening posts used as a baseline of comparison With the series generating over 800k impressions and 850k views it far exceeded the numbers generated by previous new hotel announcements The Designing the Best Address video was also a success in terms of content with the finished videos capturing all the intended facets of the resort and the combination of elevated visuals and narration setting a new standard for how a new St Regis destination can be messaged on social media By taking an expansive approach to presenting the story of a tentpole hotel the Designing the Best Address series showed that focusing on in-depth social-first video can capture the attention of the luxury travel audience and reveal the exquisite experience of the Best Address and Informed Protocol (FPIC) took place yesterday in Santa Ana Village Toledo District.  Under this protocol the villagers signed a historic agreement that will see US Capital Energy given access to conduct oil exploration activities on the communal lands.  It has been a long and challenging process prior to reaching this consensus.  Santa Ana is the final and seventh community to sign such an agreement.  Attorney Andrew Marshalleck who has been deeply involved in the FPIC and compliance of Maya Land Rights explained to Love News that while it is the government that gives the permits for seismic testing or oil exploration the approval from the villagers were needed to proceed Executive Director of the Julian Cho Society said that the agreement is the result of years of negotiations.  In a release from the government earlier today this is a landmark decision that paves the way for a new chapter in balancing development with the rights and voices of Indigenous communities ensuring that they are at the heart of the decisions that affect their land and website in this browser for the next time I comment Love FM was founded in 1993 as a small private radio station and has since grown into a nationwide entity providing Belize and listeners overseas with in-depth coverage of current events occurring in the country Copyright © 1994 - 2025 Love FM | News & Music Power By Freda MoonUpdated Feb Share full article160160Read 160 CommentsRead 160 CommentsShare full article160160Advertisement There’s plenty of skeletal imagery around this week but one bony figure showing up more in South Texas has little to do with Halloween or Dia de Los Muertos or ‘Saint Death,’ a Mexican folk saint condemned by the Catholic Church Devotion to the skeleton saint is growing quickly—even in San Antonio.  Ana Maya’s San Antonio home is filled with images of Santa Muerte from posters and jewelry to the several dozen statues she uses for her spiritual work “People know me as Brujita Maya la Santa Muerte and I pray and devote to Santa Muerte,” Maya says Santa Muerte is the Mexican folk saint of death—a female grim reaper holding a scythe and globe Catholic Church leaders have condemned ‘Our Lady of Holy Death,’ but devotion to the skeletal saint is growing—even in San Antonio Some of Maya’s statues could be used to ask Santa Muerte for things like protection or love but began praying to Santa Muerte 5 years ago after her brother was killed She says she now helps hundreds more practice this mash-up of traditional Catholicism and indigenous magic “It’s more of a cult—something that we found Maya performs a ‘cleansing.’ A pregnant woman stands blindfolded in a circle of rose petals and eggshell powder as Maya and her husband fill the room with body spray Maya chants appeals to Santa Muerte as her husband rattles off “our fathers” is fast repetition The ceremony seems more like an exorcism than a Catholic mass the woman—who doesn’t want to use her name—says she feels peaceful She’s been Maya’s client for two years and is asking Santa Muerte to bring her husband back “I hope to improve my situation,” she says More and more disaffected Catholics and spiritual seekers in San Antonio are turning to Santa Muerte for help just really good sellers,” Ortiz says—pointing to Santa Muerte statues of all colors and varieties lining and entire wall of the South Side emporium I’ll sell maybe 40 to 50 statues overall.” there were no Santa Muertes on the shelves customers ask her about ‘the Bony Lady’ every day “I tell my customers when they come in here She’s just like any other saint,’ says Ortiz “The only difference is that if you’re going to ask for something she just comes and takes what she gave you The leading Santa Muerte scholar in the United States Andrew Chestnut at Virginia Commonwealth University calls it the fastest growing religious movement in the Americas He estimates between 10 and 12 million followers—mostly in Mexico.  UTSA Latin American Studies professor Malgorzata Oleszkiewicz-Peralba wrote about Santa Muerte in her 2015 book “Fierce Feminine Divinities of Eurasia and Latin America.” She says the practice is making inroads on this side of the border “It’s kind of a secretive devotion,” says Oleszkiewicz-Peralba You don’t see it in any centers of worship Santa Muerte is visibly popular among drug traffickers and prisoners—which contributes to the stigma—but Holy Death is gaining disciples of all stripes “Regular people—housewives in Mexico City and here in San Antonio are very devoted to Santa Muerte and they have nothing to do with any crime,” says Oleszkiewicz-Peralba and you cannot reduce it to any one group.” Santa Muerte seems to appeal to people who feel disenfranchised by the Church and other institutions “She’s completely unorthodox,” says Oleszkiewicz-Peralba And you can ask her for anything you want.” Mexican Catholic bishops and Vatican officials have deemed the practice ‘blasphemous’ and ‘Satanic.’ Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller says he first heard of Santa Muerte 15 years ago in Mexico—and he doesn’t see much of her in his San Antonio Archdiocese “Not acceptable in the Church at all,” he says The Archbishop says Catholics pray for their dead loved ones to be in heaven They do not pray to the personification of death Garcia-Siller urges the many Santa Muerte devotees who identify as Catholic to do something else with their faith put that faith in one another,” says Garcia-Siller “And not to depend on an object—something that is material and cannot promise at all something that is eternal.” Maya says she’s also helped others—in ways the Church can’t and it’s like little robots doing the same thing,” says Maya “Everybody talks about the same verse in the bible A high-resolution image of the stamp is available for media use only by emailing mark.r.saunders@usps.gov WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Ambassador Andrew Young and other notables joined Postmaster General Megan Brennan in dedicating the Dr. Maya Angelou Forever Stamp today. The ceremony took place before a capacity crowd at Washington, DC’s Warner Theatre Angelou fans are encouraged to share the news on social media using the hashtag #MayaForever.  “Maya Angelou was an author who broke down the barriers of literary form,” said Postmaster General Megan Brennan race and displacement — and did so in a distinct style that stretched over time and place Her stories embodied the pain of her personal struggle — but more than anything else they epitomized the triumph of courage and the human spirit She committed her life to ideas that elevated our sense of what it means to be human “She'd get a big kick out of this moment,” said Winfrey “Being honored and commemorated by the Postal Service with her own stamp in a way that dazzled and gave meaning to those of us who knew her and many who didn’t.” a teacher and an activist,” said Angelou’s son Guy Johnson “Yet if you asked her what her life mission was she’d answer that she had to confront injustice wherever she found it and remind each of us that we are more alike than unalike It was her belief that every one of us has the responsibility of being our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers For if human beings are to survive the grave difficulties that range from ethnic hatred and religious conflict to the destruction of the environment it can only be done if we unite together to develop coherent and effective remedies.” “Maya Angelou left a stamp on everything and everyone she touched,” he added Postal Service is bringing out a stamp in recognition of her life’s work Her family is extremely grateful of the honor that is being bestowed upon her.” Melissa Harris-Perry served as master of ceremonies Angelou (1928–2014) was one of the most dynamic voices in 20th-century American literature “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” an autobiographical account of her childhood gained wide acclaim for its vivid depiction of African-American life in the South The stamp showcases Rossin’s 2013 4 feet by 4 feet oil-on-canvas portrait of Angelou. The large hyper-realistic painting is part of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's collection The stamp features this quote from an interview Angelou conducted:  “A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer The stamp pane includes a short excerpt from Angelou’s book “Letter to My Daughter.” It reads: “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda Special dedication ceremonies for the Maya Angelou Forever stamp are also scheduled for today in Detroit Angelou’s LifeAngelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4 Maya and Bailey were sent to live with their paternal grandmother Annie Henderson “Momma,” as her grandchildren called her Angelou later wrotethat “high spots in Stamps were usually negative:  droughts and then murdered before he began serving his sentence Due to an overwhelming sense of guilt over his death she stopped speaking to anyone except her brother for five years Inspired to read by a schoolteacher who gave her “lessons in living,” Angelou began to heal and transcend the trauma of rape in part by immersing herself in the works of William Shakespeare and Paul Laurence Dunbar Angelou moved to San Francisco to live with her mother She studied the arts at the California Labor School and became the city's first female African-American streetcar conductor she had begun dancing and singing calypso music at clubs in San Francisco and soon married To distinguish herself from other performers she adopted the name “Maya Angelou,” a version of “Angelos,” her then-husband’s last name she joined a touring cast of Porgy and Bess recorded an album called “Miss Calypso,” and appeared in the 1957 film “Calypso Heat Wave.” Civil Rights MovementAt the end of the 1950s Angelou moved to New York City and joined the Harlem Writers Guild She also participated in the burgeoning civil rights movement becoming the regional coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference appointed at the request of Dr she worked as an associate magazine editor in Cairo Her Literary WorksAngelou eventually moved back to the United States Devastated by the assassinations of both Malcolm X whom she admired befriended and offered opinions on civil rights with whom she worked and formed a friendship with as well she became increasingly involved in civil rights took her to a gathering at the home of Jules and Judy Feiffer where she shared several stories about her childhood Judy Feiffer called Random House editor Bob Loomis and suggested that he try to persuade Dr issued this challenge: “You may be right not to attempt an autobiography because it is nearly impossible to write autobiography as literature “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” established Angelou as a literary figure and opened the field of autobiography to women more generally whose title is taken from a line in the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar the pioneering author unflinchingly tells the story of her tumultuous early life in the South “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl,” she wrote “being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat The first of seven autobiographical volumes penned by Angelou “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” became a best seller When “Gather Together in My Name,” her second memoir Annie Gottlieb of the New York Times Book Review wrote that Dr and humor of her storytelling are borne on a lilting rhythm completely her own.” Continuing AccomplishmentsAs her career progressed Angelou displayed extraordinary versatility she released the Pulitzer Prize–nominated poetry collection “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie,” wrote the screenplay for the film “Georgia Georgia,” received a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play “Look Away,” and played the role of Kunta Kinte's grandmother in the acclaimed television mini-series “Roots.” Angelou became the lifetime Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem she continued to write and lecture around the country At President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in January 1993 she recited “On the Pulse of Morning,” a poem she wrote for the event the stirring recitation further elevated Angelou's status as an American icon The performance later won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album She also received Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for “Phenomenal Woman” in 1995 and “A Song Flung Up to Heaven” in 2002 appearing in movies such as “Poetic Justice “and on the children's TV show “Sesame Street.” The first feature film she directed “Down in the Delta,” was released in 1998 She received the National Medal of Arts in 2000 President Barack Obama honored Angelou as a recipient of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom she released her final autobiographical work she was awarded more than 50 honorary doctoral degrees released several books of essays and poetry and had a profound influence on American culture Two have been released:  “Caged Bird Songs,” an album of her poetry set to music and “Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou,” a book of quotes They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to: Maya Angelou StampSpecial EventsPO Box 92282Washington After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50 Ordering First-Day CoversThe Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog, online at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724 Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to: Postal ServiceCatalog RequestPO Box 219014Kansas City Philatelic ProductsNine philatelic products are available. 472624, Framed Art Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Post­mark Many of this year’s other stamps may be viewed on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, via Twitter @USPSstamps The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage products and services to fund its operations Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf Follow us on twitter.com/USPS and like us at facebook.com/USPS. For more information about the Postal Service, go to usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts. Phoenix – Antonio Velasquez smiled proudly at the wiry teenagers shouting in Spanish and the Mayan language Mam as they kicked a soccer ball under an evening desert sky turning to orange. The Pentecostal pastor was a teenager in 1990, fleeing Guatemala’s civil war when smugglers randomly dropped him and other teens near Phoenix, where he initially worked in agriculture and lived in a trailer with others from the western highlands. Nearly three decades later, Velasquez is an influential leader in Phoenix’s migrant community through the self-supporting soccer organization he founded, Maya Chapin. Bringing together 108 teams with 10,000 players mostly from Guatemala, the group aims to keep young migrants away from drugs and gangs while providing the guidance Velasquez lacked as a new arrival. Guatemalans now surpass Mexicans as the top nationality for migrants apprehended at the southwest U.S. border. According to U.S. Border Patrol statistics, 90,477 Guatemalans traveling in families were apprehended at the border in the six-month period ending March 31, compared with 72,728 people traveling in families from Honduras, 17,396 from El Salvador and 1,573 from Mexico. “Like us, a lot of people are leaving now because of a lack of opportunities, the extreme poverty, the insecurity,” Velasquez said, inflating a soccer ball with a portable pump. “These young people are just looking for a better life.” In Arizona, most of the Guatemalan families now being released continue on to relatives in California, New York and elsewhere. But Velasquez said many with family around Phoenix have shown up at the soccer fields, with 150 new arrivals ages 15 to 18 joining Maya Chapin’s ranks in the first quarter of 2019. Velasquez said Maya Chapin also helped place 18 migrant families without U.S. relatives into the homes of Phoenix-area Guatemalans from the same towns while they await court hearings on their cases. Many players at a recent practice were from Ixchiguan, where violence has erupted over opium crops linked to Mexican drug cartels. They all told of extreme poverty and brutality in a small nation known for coffee, volcanoes and an internal conflict that lasted 36 years. Maya Chapin is similar to soccer groups Mexican migrants have formed in California and other states for decades. In Orange County, boys 17 and younger play for Monarcas Santa Ana, named for a professional team in Michoacan state. In Oakland, migrant youth seek solace in Futbolistas 4 Life, a soccer program recently highlighted in a documentary following two migrant teens in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. As Guatemalans and other Central Americans flood to the U.S.-Mexico border, those who study migrants here say groups like Maya Chapin and Futbolistas 4 Life provide support and solidarity for young people arriving in the United States alone or with families. “Such associations have long been an organizing principle for a lot of these migrant communities,” said Kathleen Newland, a co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington who has long studied diaspora communities in the U.S. “They keep kids out of trouble and give them a constructive activity that provides a sense of identity.” As is common in Guatemalan indigenous communities ravaged by alcoholism, Pedro Chilel, 21, was abandoned by his parents before traveling to the U.S. alone at 17. He now lives in Phoenix, where he has permanent U.S. residency, a landscaping job and a sense of community he lacked in his village of Mirador. “It’s really fun to play,” Chilel said at a recent soccer practice. “I have two much older brothers here, but Maya Chapin is part of my family now.” The bulge of an electronic ankle monitor – worn in some cases by people awaiting immigration hearings – was visible under a sock worn by player Adelfo Guillermo Martin Perez, who arrived here four months ago with his 4-year-old daughter. His wife followed with their 1-year-old last month. “I’m trying to get permission to work,” said the 24-year-old, whose two brothers have lived in Phoenix for years. Velasquez said all Maya Chapin’s players have gone through U.S. immigration processing and include DACA program participants, people with or seeking asylum and U.S. citizens born on American soil. Players must be at least 15, but some are in their late 20s and older. The pastor himself was granted a highly publicized reprieve from deportation two years ago, but he would not discuss his current immigration status. ICE spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe said she also could not comment. A married 47-year-old father of three U.S.-born children, Velasquez is well-known among some 15,000 Guatemalan-born people living in greater Phoenix and has deep ties to the broader community. He attends a regular Spanish-language City Hall prayer group and is a Mam interpreter for police. Last year, he delivered a memorial wreath to the state Capitol for Sen. John McCain, whom he credited with bringing a Guatemalan consulate to Phoenix. “Antonio really is a servant-leader,” said City Councilman Michael Nowakowski. “He wants to help people and wants nothing in return.” Nowakowski met the pastor more than a decade ago, before Velasquez learned how to reserve city soccer fields. After reservation holders repeatedly kicked his players off the fields, Velasquez established a standing reservation for weekly practices and games. Velasquez said the players’ families buy their matching soccer jerseys and share the $7,000 cost of using the fields and lighting each season. When players cannot afford uniforms, other families pitch in. “It’s incredible when you go out there and see anywhere from 200 to 800 people playing,” Nowakowski said. While many praise Velasquez, he butts heads with others. He once launched a boycott against a Guatemalan chicken restaurant he said ignored the community, and he has irritated other migrant groups by refusing to join protests outside ICE offices. Velasquez says the demonstrations are counterproductive. “In Guatemala, we have a saying: ‘People understand each other by talking,’” the pastor said. “Sometimes dialogue is better.” Maria Zamora, age 69, of Dalton, Georgia, passed away on Monday, July 13, 2020. She was born on Oct. 31, 1950 in Michoacan, Mexico. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, July 16, and Friday, July 17, from 4-8 p.m. Interment will be at Panteon Municipal Santa Ana Maya Michoacan. Arrangements are entrusted to Willis Funeral Home, Inc., Dalton, Ga. 2/7 “The Mansions of Xibalba” and other works in the exhibit feature classic Maya imagery Descendants of the Wooden Men” by Diego Rivera 4/7 “Hunahpu’s Saliva Bears Fruit to the Maiden” and other paintings by Diego Rivera will be accompanied by excerpts from the Popol Vuh 5/7 “The Astonishment at the Previously Harvested Corn” is one of 17 watercolors by Diego Rivera 6/7 “The Death of Cabracan” and other paintings by Diego Rivera were inspired by the Popul Vuh a sacred text in the form of an epic story that limns the legends and history of the Quiche Maya people 7/7 “The Creation of the Universe” by Diego Rivera Print Mexican painter Diego Rivera may be known to many for his stunning murals 12 at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana looks at his skill working with watercolors SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter >> “Popol Vuh: Watercolors of Diego Rivera” features 17 works on loan from the Museo Casa Diego Rivera in the artist’s hometown of Guanajuato. The lush paintings were inspired by the Popol Vuh, a sacred text in the form of an epic story that limns the legends and history of the Quiché Maya people, from their beginnings until their first encounter with the Spanish. These interlopers subsequently destroyed most of the culture’s important documents, but the Popol Vuh somehow survived. Rivera’s watercolors were created as illustrations for the first English translation of the text and feature classic Maya imagery, including mythological creatures such as dragons and references to the Earth’s natural elements. Excerpts from the Popol Vuh will accompany the paintings, on view through May 19. Jessica Gelt is an arts and culture writer for the Los Angeles Times. Travel & Experiences Hollywood Inc. Books Television And while there’s still no guarantee contending athletes will win their own state at this point in the season a number of elite performers are making a case for Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year consideration Here’s the scoop on the latest top candidate Greatness Present: Being named Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is a great accomplishment but it in no way guarantees Gatorade honors for Mater Dei superstar Katie Lou Samuelson In the 22 years since the WBCA began picking a high school player of the year the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award has gone to the same athlete just nine times it’s only happened twice in the past seven years—Cicero-North Syracuse’s (N.Y.) Breanna Stewart in 2011-12 and Samuelson’s predecessor at Mater Dei did win at least one Gatorade State Girls Basketball Player of the Year honor something Samuelson already captured as a junior last season The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter has increased her production in her final high school campaign, averaging 29.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game this season, leading the Monarchs to a 26-1 record and the No. 2 spot in the USA TODAY Super 25 rankings 1 recruit in the Class of 2015 by both the Blue Star Basketball Report and ESPN Samuelson earned MVP honors at December’s Nike Tournament of Champions for the third straight year and received an invitation to the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Game in April One WBCA bit of trivia that works in Samuelson’s favor vis-à-vis her NPOY chances: The last five players to win both Gatorade and WBCA honors all played their college basketball at the University of Connecticut Tina Charles (2005-06) and Ann Strother (2001-02) all preceded Stewart and Mosqueda-Lewis Greatness Past: The returning Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year and a member of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA First Team as a junior Samuelson led the Monarchs to a 27-3 record and the State Open Division quarterfinals She has captained both the USA Basketball U17 and U16 Women’s National Teams After converting all eight of her 3-pointers in the title game at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championships Samuelson led the U17 World Championship squad in scoring this past summer Greatness Future: Samuelson has signed with UConn Make no mistake: The Gatorade State Girls Basketball Player of the Year races aren’t over and the National POY race is now heating up Time remains for one standout student-athlete among thousands to rise to the top of our list Check back for daily updates on the top contenders making their case Chef Ana Castro highlights seafood at Acamaya the new Bywater restaurant she owns with her sister Lydia Castro she sees purpose in each element on the plate and every design detail energized and more confident than she’s felt in years “I don’t think I could have opened this restaurant anywhere else,” says Castro “Because of the seafood we get here and because of the community of people who are diners Although the chef’s roots are in Mexico City “There are contemporary Mexican restaurants in Mexico City,” she says Being a Mexican woman making food that relates to her heritage is everything to Castro She sees very few Mexican restaurants in New Orleans there are a bunch of Mexicans in those places,” she says Castro landed in New Orleans to be close to her sister Her culinary career is built on a foundation that includes experience in New York and working in the Michelin-starred Restaurant Relæ she found community and the kind of connections she’d been missing in her life She went to work for chef Michael Stoltzfus at Thalia including being named one of the Best New Chefs of 2022 by Food & Wine magazine but they aren’t my North Star,” Castro says she didn’t want another tasting menu restaurant “It’s easier to execute because you’re cooking the same thing But It’s very difficult to get my team involved in creating dishes which doesn’t allow for flexibility and creativity.” A free-form round of crunchy tortilla is layered with slabs of raw seasoned tuna and topped with slivers of nori and a scattering of small Japanese peanuts for crunch Sophina Uong told us about making Cambodian dishes and what's on the menu for Mamasan Mondays and is served with mashed ayocote beans and crema a pickled Mexican condiment made with chilies and fruit in this case the last of the season’s Rainier cherries The menu includes a glossary of terms that are mostly unfamiliar to even the most seasoned diner “Contemporary Mexican is what I do,” she says But a lot of these dishes are riffs on things I’ve eaten or come up with Castro is seeing 90% of guests sampling most of the menu’s small plates carne asada and blackened flounder Veracruz style giving kernels an earthy umami that might be compared to truffles but is much more subtle “It’s shipped from California by plane,” Castro says 3070 Dauphine St., (504) 299-3477; acamayanola.com  When Mexican flavors inspire Ana Castro’s contemporary menu she’s serving dinner and drinks Thursday through Monday but plans to expand with weekend lunch service next month and stay open seven days a week by year’s end and not just because the storefront space was built in the past six months the light fixtures and the breeze block were sourced in Mexico Graphics are inspired by the modern paintings of Josef Albers who in turn was inspired by his travels in Mexico controlling the kitchen isn’t her end game “I’m surrounded by talented people,” she says “I’m going to take a page from chef Donald Link’s book I want to help my people grow and do their own thing Email Gambit's food and drink team at dining@gambitweekly.com Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Healdsburg’s planning and building director DeRosa will fill a position that’s been vacant since St resigned in June to take a similar job in Cotati Helena City Council approved a contract Tuesday awarding DeRosa an annual salary of $170,061 DeRosa has over 25 years of experience in city government is an urban planner certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners and meets all other requirements for the St City Manager Mark Prestwich told the council in a staff report The city of Healdsburg hired DeRosa as a senior planner in 2016 and promoted her to planning and building director in 2017 She previously ran her own consulting firm and worked for the cities of Santa Ana; Frankfort Here are some of my favorite stories from the past year Juan Sanchez is a local legend for his running exploits but most people didn't know he was an illegal immigrant and her stories of life aboard a 200-foot square-rigger reminded me of my beloved Patrick O'Brian novels Some stories are fun to cover and some are fun to write Thelma Hermes' and Ramona Decker's stories offer a glimpse into the Napa Valley's hardscrabble pioneer days Locals were crushed to hear Main Street Books was closing Napa Bookmine came to the rescue a few weeks later and opened a new st… You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com He's a decorated Marine and a 20-year veteran of SHPD Friends and family of Berryessa's Turtle Rock bar collected the money pined to the ceiling of the cafe to donate to UCSF and celebrate the 15-year 'cancerversary' of Elijah Leung Most of Napa’s River Park Shopping Center tenants cater to locals Now a handful of tenants have left the center The sheriff's office reported seizing 13 roosters from a Carneros site where it said the birds were altered and trained to fight other male birds Take a ride around Napa on these motorized ADA-compliant scooters made to look like various critters and creatures Young denied a bid by Alan Jazeel Martinez to dismiss a second-degree murder charge for the death of 17-year-old Monica Flores after a fentanyl overdose in 2022 Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account The first time Chris Muniz prayed to Santa Muerte An addiction to methamphetamines ate away at his cheery smile and burly figure so much that his own mother didn’t recognize him He passed the days working at a San Antonio dry cleaner and his nights shut up in his room So when his boss took him to a South Side botanica — a retailer for folk medicine and magic — Muniz wandered the crowded aisles statues of Jesus and the Virgin of Guadalupe a feminine grim reaper with an owl at her feet and a scythe in her skeletal hands Muniz took the figurine back to his apartment and set it up on a little coffee table with candles sat and began to talk about his heartbreak But his words sounded hollow in the empty apartment “I just looked at her a while,” Muniz says What the fuck is it gonna do?’ But then the candles started going a little weird.” All at once the feeling hit him: an overpowering and accepting presence that made him weep It was like she was pulling the ugliness out of him he began rubbing his tears into the figurine: his first offering Santa Muerte — “Holy Death” — is at the center of one of the fastest-growing and most controversial new religious movements in North America In the two decades since her mainstream debut she’s attracted a global following of anywhere from 5 million to 10 million a diverse collection of working-class Catholics drug cartels have adopted her image and the Mexican government has bulldozed her shrines Santa Muerte is open for business — and business is booming Santa Muerte began as many American spirits did: as a syncretic mixture growing in colonial soil After the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 1500s open worship of underworld gods withered under pressure from the church the star-swallowing Aztec queen of the underworld the conquerors had unwittingly provided a replacement in their religious texts: La Parca a female grim reaper popular in Iberian medieval traditions What began as an artistic trope soon occupied the niche left by the vanished goddess When a group of Catholic inquisitors were dispatched to Central Mexico in the 1790s to investigate the worship of a skeletal figure indigenous worshippers informed them its proper name was Santa Muerte The inquisitors destroyed the altar immediately setting a pattern of public suppression that persisted for 200 years While the veneration of Santa Muerte continued to evolve on the margins of Mexican society 99 percent of Mexicans had never heard of the skeleton saint a quesadilla vendor from a working-class neighborhood in Mexico City decided to place her life-size effigy of Santa Muerte outside her home after Halloween Romero’s open display caught the popular imagination Offerings of tequila and cigarettes began to pile up at the effigy’s feet previously circumspect devotees came out into the light and new public shrines appeared across the country “I’ve never seen the religious fervor with other saints as I have with this saint,” says Eva Aridjis a filmmaker from Mexico City and the director of the 2007 documentary La Santa Muerte “People are more willing to openly worship her than they were several years ago … Those who believe in her really believe in her.” Driving that faith was Santa Muerte’s reputation for general miracle-working “She’s seen to personify death itself which grants her greater power than any of her fellow folk saints,” he says “You can ask her for any type of miracle or favor you’re after who tend to specialize in only one or two types she’s open to petitions and requests — and followers — that might not be welcome in Catholicism.” prompting widespread protests from devotees.) But Santa Muerte also has a robust following among Mexican law enforcement She attracts people whose lives are at risk and protects those who work in darkness: cabbies and street kids Many of her supplicants are poorer than average Transgender women and other members of Mexico’s LGBT community are increasingly devotees The vision of a powerful feminine death packs a visceral punch Chesnut says: Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography reports an average of seven women killed by violence per day perhaps part of the reason female followers outnumber men two-to-one “More than 200,000 people in Mexico have died [from violence] in the last decade,” Chesnut says “There’s appeal in a saint of death at a time of great death both for those doing the killing and those who fear they might be killed attempts to track her growth are hampered both by the complete lack of statistics and by the reticence of many of her followers “Devotion on this side of the border is a lot more nebulous,” says Desiree Martín associate professor of English at the University of California “Many devotees are migrants who brought the religion over from Mexico looking through grocery markets and swap meets there’s been a huge material rise in Santa Muerte products I think you can find her now anywhere that you have a Latino supermarket Texas’ few public shrines are attached to botanicas in big cities, such as Flores Spices in Houston, where dozens of Santa Muerte figures stand above piles of offerings and guttering candles. In 2013, a statue of Santa Muerte in a San Benito graveyard was smashed by vandals; that same year a McAllen follower fended off anonymous attempts to have the shrine on her front lawn declared against city ordinances the more prevalent it becomes,” says Janel Longoria “People will sell the figures or keep private altars But everything seems to happen behind closed doors.” her family left Mexico and moved to Harlingen Maya heard that any person who prayed to “the devil” Santa Muerte would lose their loved ones she married a man who turned out to be abusive with three children to feed and no job prospects When a friend suggested that she ask Santa Muerte for help she bought a tiny stamp with an image of Santa Muerte and asked for a place to live Other prayers followed: financial aid for the college where she (coincidentally) studied mortuary science help in moving her visa applications through the system fearing how her Catholic family might react The Catholic Church has taken a strong stance against Santa Muerte calling it a perversion of saint worship at best and Satanism at worst a Vatican cardinal labeled Santa Muerte a “celebration of devastation and of hell” and warned that society needed to stamp her out While American clergy have been more muted bishops from San Angelo and El Paso have also condemned the folk saint and her mother blamed his death on Maya’s veneration of the skeleton saint Nowadays Maya works as a bruja — a witch — from a big ramshackle house in west San Antonio While she’s cultivated long-distance clients from places like New York and Virginia the majority of her customers come from the south and west sides of San Antonio where veneration has grown in recent years Some are undocumented and are looking for protection against the cops or Immigration and Customs Enforcement baptisms and parties in Santa Muerte’s name The walls of her home office are stuffed with Santa Muerte products: icons homemade concoctions and votive candles with skeletal labels windowsills and shelves in a riot of color The different-hued robes align with specific requests and rituals Santa Muerte in purple turns back evil charms red is powerful in love and blue helps a student study The rainbow of figures on offer is both a tribute to the spirit’s multifaceted nature and a symbol of growing commercial demand Most are manufactured in Asia and shipped to Mexico where botanica owners buy them wholesale and have them shipped up to Texas Maya gets hers direct from Mexico City and sells them to buyers across the country New designs arrive every year: you can buy a sexy Santa Muerte with a miniskirt but none of them sell as well as Santa Muerte,” she says The transactional nature of Santa Muerte’s worship is part of the appeal: You can ask for whatever you need one that can be practiced in the privacy of a home or out with a larger community Santa Muerte offers recognition of three universal truths: that life is hard; that everyone could use a bit of help; and that everyone dies The months following Muniz’s first prayers to Santa Muerte were transformative He shed his addiction and began studying the folk saint’s ways and rituals He became friends with the botanica owner who had originally sold him the statue and he learned everything he could about her: how to read the synchronicities and decipher the visions by which Santa Muerte communicates; the significance of her scales by which she weighs the merits of a request before deciding to grant it; her tendency toward jealousy and her wicked sense of humor Eventually he began practicing as a shaman though for a while he refused to accept payment Now he consults with those seeking spiritual guidance and is working with inmates in an Arizona prison to get Santa Muerte recognized as an official faith by prison authorities Muniz was diagnosed with HIV in November 2016 and a depressive relapse led him to attempt suicide a few months later But Santa Muerte was with him on both occasions; on the first she answered his prayer to help him find a free testing clinic Asked to describe how he sees Santa Muerte We’re sitting in the house of one of his friends and Muniz has prepared part of an invocation lighting a votive candle and a tiny brazier laying out his tarot cards and a pair of hand-rolled cigars his friend’s Santa Muerte figurine overlooks tiny bottles of vodka and tequila He rings a bell and speaks the rest of the invocation The candle flickers as from the passage of wings He describes her not as a folk saint or lesser spirit and carrying everything in herself that came from it: rage That is why she is a spirit of last resort I went to her to help me get away from drugs But the narcos will go to her for protection is a freelance journalist and fiction writer based in Austin All of the Texas Observer’s articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as $3 a month Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox © 2021 The Texas Observer. All rights reserved. Site made in collaboration with CMYK An outstanding display from New Zealand goalkeeper Vic Esson helped earn the Football Ferns a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in the first of the teams’ two-match series Playing at the Estadio de fútbol de Piedades in Santa Ana Costa Rica had the better of the first half but the New Zealanders steadily improved as the game wore on Costa Rica went ahead through their best player in the 20th minute before Indiah-Paige Riley conjured a fine equaliser on the stroke of half-time Main photo: Relief for the Ferns as they celebrate Indiah-Paige Riley’s goal in first-half stoppage time The Ferns were under the pump for the first 45 minutes and goalkeeper Esson kept them in the game with a series of excellent saves The New Zealanders struggled to cope with the windy conditions and Costa Rica kept the ball down Esson was first tested in the 7th minute when she palmed a shot past her left post while at full stretch Costa Rica’s livewire Priscila Chinchilla set up Alexa Herrera whose shot was well saved by Esson Esson was required to tip a direct free kick past her post It seemed inevitable that the home side pressure would eventually tell Herrera played a perfectly weighted ball between Ferns defenders Claudia Bunge and Kate Taylor enabling Chinchilla to nip in and steer the ball past Esson and into the net The goal lifted Costa Rica further and Esson made more saves one at the feet of an onrushing forward and the other a tip over the crossbar from a Maria Coto free kick Costa Rica should have doubled their lead but Maria Salas blasted a shot wide of the net when unmarked and with only Esson to beat giving the New Zealanders chance to fight back Katie Kitching crashed a free kick from 40 metres against the Costa Rican crossbar Indiah-Paige Riley found New Zealand’s equaliser curling a shot from wide on the right that evaded goalkeeper Daniela Solera and found the top left corner of the goal interim head coach Michael Mayne went to his bench introducing forward Jacqui Hand for debutant Kelli Brown who had received little service up front Second-half substitutions earned first caps for two more debutants in Maya Hahn and Manaia Elliott Chinchilla continued to be the main danger for the Costa Ricans and in the 58th minute she forced Esson to make another important save Chinchilla shot from 12 metres but Esson again had the better of her diving at full stretch to turn the ball to safety New Zealand showed grit as the half wore on raising their intensity to scrap for midfield possession but their frustration showed as 50-50 calls favoured the home side with the Guatemalan referee Kitching had a chance in the 77th minute when she met a cross from Riley Riley struck a fierce left-foot shot from an angle but ‘keeper Daniela Solera parried it well Costa Rica were content to sit deep and absorb the increasing pressure from the Ferns Both sides will learn much from their first meeting; they go again on Wednesday (NZT) READ MORE: Coach and captain take heart from Ferns’ performance in draw with Costa Rica >>>> Emily Flores (Verónica Matarrita 46′) Priscila Chinchilla (Catalina Estrada 83′) Alexa Herrera (Monica Matarrita 83′)  Alexandra Pinell (Maria Morales 80′) Game to be played on Wednesday February 26 This story was first published on February 23 2023A view of Rectoria El Jesus Tercera Orden from Parque Hidalgo in Mérida.Photo: Getty ImagesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveFor a Mexican city whose reputation tends to concentrate on its gilded age of the early 20th century one way to describe the varied ventures in the city would be doing something new with something old: many of Mérida’s residents are drawing inspiration from the sense of history threaded both within the city in their pursuit of these bold new ventures Photo: Getty ImagesOne need only stroll along the (in January hot and humid) Paseo de Montejo⁠—named after the Spanish conquistador who founded the city in 1542—to get a taste of the city’s heyday beginning in the final decades of the 19th century with its exporting of henequen the use of this ‘green gold’ as a major industrial textile had brought prosperity to the city Mérida’s tree-lined boulevards feature enormous art nouveau mansions which vary from the romantically crumbling to the carefully preserved in Mérida one has the benefits of city life while being able to quickly and easily plunge into nature: the Yucatán region boasts around 8,000 cenotes awe-inspiring ancient Mayan sites are never more than one or two hours away including the unmissable Uxmal and Chichen Itza (You’ll also find that the work of many of the present-day architects and artists of Mérida subtly holds a mirror up to the distinctive Puuc style of those Mayan sites.) The Pyramid of the Magician in Uxmal.Photo: Getty ImagesOver the course of my stay in Mérida most of the people I met didn’t hesitate to tell me how liveable a city it is and rent or buy unique heritage properties—plus the city quickly unfolds as one of the country’s most unmissable destinations.) With the further development of the historical center forthcoming—thanks to the creation of a new park in an old rail yard—the coming year promises even more innovation within this Yucatán gem having been in the owner’s family for generations this Parque de las Américas-adjacent home combines original period details with an up-to-the-minute curation of design objects and artworks that reflect the owner’s esoteric tastes The outdoor dining area at Casa Colon.Courtesy of Casa ColonBlack and white images by Mexican photographers like Luis Barragan-collaborator Armando Salas Portugal alongside portraits of the family through the generations; antique typewriters and radios belonging to Jorge’s grandparents can be spotted throughout the property along with vintage furniture by the likes of Florence Knoll and Philippe Starck a lush garden with sweet-smelling fruit trees reveals a concrete-poured swimming pool nestled in the back: the water is from the naturally-occurring garden well a feature of such homes due to the underground springs that the city is built on it is possible to have each stay personalized to your needs (I ate fresh ceviche on the lawn on arrival) The entrance hall at Casa Colon.Courtesy of Casa ColonA new entry on the scene, meanwhile, is Hotel Cigno Housed in a mansion dating from the 19th century and nestled on the quiet cobbled streets of the central La Ermita neighborhood the property has been painstakingly restored and updated to offer the perfect marriage of original details—mosaic tiled floors and corniced ceilings as you enter—with a thoroughly modern sense of space architect Roger González has created a peaceful enclave of tall pale terracotta walls and blue-tinted tiles that reveals hidden details around every corner (One such surprise is the architect’s tribute to his favorite neighborhood church the sunshine-yellow la Ermita de Santa Isabel.) an established resort just half an hour’s drive from the airport Located in the middle of dense Mayan forest Chable is regularly voted one of Mexico’s best hotels and it only takes a short stay to realize why Chable was formerly a vast hacienda dating from the 18th century The spa area overlooking a cenote at Chablé Yucátan Courtesy of Chablé YucátanBut among all this vastness—with aviaries orchards and a private cenote all best explored by the provided bicycles—the resort’s most impressive asset is a sense of genuine privacy With an emphasis on personal casitas surrounded by lush greenery And rest assured that among all this breathtaking nature the resort takes care to promote its protection and preservation: the hotel endeavours to promote the protection of endangered species local to the Yucatán and native plant restoration as well as to reduce plastic use in every possible respect or beef short rib with pineapple sauce—maybe with a mescal-based Fortini cocktail named after the Oaxacan mountain—the food and the people-watching at Apoala is hard to beat The outdoor dining area at Apoala.Photo: Carlos ArnaudAt the opposite end of the spectrum (in terms of newness, at least) is the recently-opened El Remate a huge space at the tip of the city’s classic tree-lined boulevard A multi-purpose dining and drinking space opened by a New York City ex-pat El Remate encompasses a downstairs main dining area a bar with an unrivaled view all the way down the boulevard (Having only been open for three weeks when I visited the rooftop bar was buzzing with young groups of friends enjoying cocktails.) For dinner or opt to share the restaurant’s specialties from the grill like traditional mustardy pescado zarandedo A ceviche dish at Apoala.Photo: Carlos ArnaudAt nearby Ramiro Cocina the choice between sitting in the sun-dappled garden or the stone-topped bar—where you can watch the chefs at work—can be a difficult one minguiche (a tomato soup with milky cheese) or the signature bacalao to share (cod stew); perfect when paired with the house fresh fruit juices The restaurant’s recipes are all inspired by the founder’s grandfather (and the restaurant’s namesake) who is still able to come into the kitchen from time to time and show the team how it’s done the Paseo de Montejo mansion that has remained in the Montes Molina family since they bought it from a Cuban businessman in 1919 Being shown around the light-filled mansion is less like touring a museum than getting a glimpse into a lived-in family home filled with objects from around the world through the generations a forthcoming restaurant and cultural center are nearing completion with the aim of making Quinta as much a hub for contemporary artists as antiques obsessives the platform currently collaborates with more than 200 artisans and 40 communities in the peninsula: on each label a gigantic black and red chequered tufted rug couldn’t help but catch my eye—but it would have been a stretch for my hand baggage The Danish Home Lighting Trend That Can Improve Your Mental Health In America’s Cities, Saunas Are Becoming the Hottest Social Spot Millie Bobby Brown Shares Her Favorite Paella Recipe—and Details About Her Wedding to Jake Bongiovi A Day-by-Day Guide to Hiking the Legendary Nakasendo Trail in Japan Never miss a Vogue moment and get unlimited digital access for just $2 $1 per month Despite plentiful demands on her time, she recently indulged a few curiosities pertaining to her book, its reception, and what the future holds. Read on as she reminisces about writing a “master manipulator” villain, her protagonist’s struggles with self-identity, and how Klonopin withdrawal informed her storytelling. John Valeri: The House in the Pines has a unique premise: one person’s suspicion of murder(s) despite the lack of any outward signs of violence. What was the origin of this idea and how did it evolve as the story progressed? Valeri: Your protagonist, Maya, struggles with issues of identity/sense of self and also carries the trauma of her best friend’s tragic, inexplicable death. How does this background inform her character–and in what ways does it motivate/legitimize her actions? Ana Reyes: Maya struggles with a sense of self after years of having her sanity questioned by the police, her psychiatrist, and her mother. This lack of confidence in her own perception leads her to hide her present-day investigation from the very people who could comfort and support her. Growing up, she’d always been open with her mom and her best friend, but the trauma cut Maya off from both of them, and from everyone else. Part of her journey is remembering who she was before Frank.  Valeri: Maya travels back home in her search for answers, using a partially completed manuscript written by her deceased Guatemalan father (who she never knew) as a guide of sorts. Tell us about the necessity of this, both literally and figuratively–and of the book’s role in her journey of discovery. Ana Reyes: The manuscript contains an important truth relevant to Maya’s situation. Her father had based his novel upon an ancient folktale in verse known as “The Hymn of the Pearl,” updating its timeless story by setting it in Guatemala and weaving in magical realism.  The ancient hymn (and her father’s adaptation of it) is about a child separated from his true home. The story it tells is highly symbolic and contains a clue to the mystery of Frank’s house. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that the nature of the child’s lost home points to the true nature of the one Frank built.   Valeri: You also explore the nature of addiction and mental illness, which are topics of critical importance. What was your process like to capture them authentically–and how did you endeavor to balance a nuanced, sensitive portrayal of such conditions with the entertainment value of a novel? Ana Reyes: Like Maya, I was going through Klonopin withdrawal when I started writing The House in the Pines. My pills had been prescribed by a doctor while she bought hers from a friend, but the outcome was the same—we were both abruptly cut off—and her withdrawal symptoms are based upon my own. Writing about it helped me through it.  Valeri: The House in the Pines was just selected as the January read for Reese’s Book Club. Congratulations! What does this honor mean for you, both personally and professionally? Ana Reyes: This was my first book, it took me seven years to write, and I almost gave up on it more than once. So selling it was huge for me, but to then have it selected for Reese’s Book Club was jaw-dropping. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but mostly I’m just incredibly grateful.  Valeri: Leave us with a teaser: What comes next? Ana Reyes: Book two is in the works! I’m not quite ready to share what it’s about but will say that it’s even creepier than The House in the Pines. Great article. I’ve been checking this blog constantly and I’m impressed! Extremely useful information, especially the last part where wheel spinner made me process a lot of information. I have been looking for this information for a long time. thanks and good luck! I have been using this website for personal and professional development and it has been a valuable resource for me. 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Lawyer-turned-novelist Marie Benedict has been illuminating the real-life stories of women throughout history for nearly a decade now, melding fact with fiction—and ensuring that they’re not lost to time. Her books have reached both the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists and two, co-written with Victoria Christopher Murray, have been selected as a… P.J. Nelson is something of a jack (or is it jill?) of all trades—and quite possibly a master of many. Absent the nom de plume, he (we’ll make that assumption) has been a novelist, an award-winning actor, a dramatist, and a professor, among other distinguished roles. These vocations coupled with roots in Decatur, Georgia, infuse… In recent years, Alex Segura has emerged as a superhero of sorts in publishing. After having made a splash with his Anthony Award-nominated Pete Fernandez Miami mysteries, he moved into the realm of comics, scripting original characters (The Black Ghost) as well as iconic canon staples from the worlds of Marvel and DC. Segura would… “As both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, the one principle I’d held most dear was the right to a fair trial. There can be no justice without it.” —Marcia Clark, Trial by Ambush Justice isn’t always served in a court of law, nor does truth always prevail over rhetoric. It’s a harsh reality that… 2012Save this storySaveSave this storySaveMérida in BloomThe capital of Yucatán is nothing less than Mexico's new capital of good life—a quiet and designMérida's Plaza Grande hosts Yucatecan dance performances and a crafts market on Sundays This folkloric dancer recently took part in a traditional vaquería (barn dance) This was not how I had imagined my trip to sunny Mexico—hurricane season was supposed to be over the capital city of Yucatán—La Ciudad Blanca This was supposed to be an idyll in a place removed famously filled with the peacefulness of the Maya But the white city of Mérida looked black to me tonight as we descended into—not through—the swirling clouds He would try one more descent; if that didn’t work a disk of lights and land and hope at the center of the churning storm We drove at a stately pace down a road that was a river my driver informed me that thus it would be for the next week or so—torrential rains every evening It was a dramatic introduction to a place that was filled with heat and light and the peace I was looking for Mérida’s very plan—a numerical grid of long straight avenues lined with trees or storefronts and dotted with green plazas—is walkable and friendly The city has become a magnet for Mexican and expatriate artists and culture-keepers the kind of people one expects to be attracted to urban jitter or radical design But they’ve been coming here because above all Narcotraficante gangs do not roam the avenidas no assassinations of mayors or prosecutors or judges there is very little violent or property crime in Mérida at all there is a lot of speculation about why this is so—in local newspapers Some like to think that it is because the Maya fifty-three percent of Yucatán’s population unchallengeable gang of traffickers who brook no interference Some connect civil peace to the fact that the governor of the Yucatán is a woman Another theory is that Mérida is both accessible yet distant from other urban areas; with good schools and pleasing prospects it is where the narcos have decided to park their own families and so make sure its streets are safe and its nights placid its playgrounds and supermarkets bullet-free you can see evidence of the drug traffickers’ presence in the suburban “narcotecture”—giant low-slung yellow or orange adobe compounds with pools and even helipads set far back from the street and surrounded by high walls and visible security systems.) thinks it’s the intense heat that keeps Mérida calm “Who can imagine rushing around with guns in this weather?” she asked this city is like high ground in a flood: Those who can are flocking to it “We can’t be unaware of Mexico’s problems,” Mayor Araujo told me The challenge is to remain a big village.” Mérida is laid out as a numerical grid with long ideal for walking (though horse-and-buggies also abound) To cruise around town is to realize that this big village still has all the flavors of traditional Mexican life one of the main roads leading to the Plaza Grande there was a demonstration—there always is in Mexico This one was a protest by retirees proclaiming The march was colorful; some of the older women wore traditional clothing gathered to protect passersby from this horde of wild demonstrators the Federal Police had massed on street corners they lounged against their armored cars and watched the marching elders go by I popped into a silver store and looked at all the beautiful things for sale—necklaces I browsed a bookstore filled with American expats exchanging gossip about grocery shopping each showing a different school of contemporary Mexican art with a few cash-generating souvenirs (special item: painted wooden spoons) thrown in I picked up a tamale from a woman selling in a park I looked up at the astounding Iglesia de la Tercera Orden behind her built with Mayan temple stones in the seventeenth century and as massive and redoubtable as a backdrop for The Da Vinci Code Mexican and foreign hippies and students were selling beads and blankets and tarnished trinkets here beside the tamale wallah I then passed a theater and the opera house and what seemed to be a half-dozen schools and universities and then the stand for the horse-and-buggies decorated as if by a fanciful Frida Kahlo with plastic and silk flowers a rider feels enveloped as if by the stiff petticoats of the city past the seat of government and a handful of museums To have really explored and enjoyed everything available on Calle 60 alone Mérida is like that: Every street or avenue is a concentrated if linear adventure through culture There is a real-estate boom of sorts going on here with outsiders from Mexico and the United States and Europe buying up old town houses and remodeling them Following the money trail are the decorators carpenters—all the sundry craftsmen and -women both Meridano and from elsewhere—who cater to this trade Melva Medina—an artist and the owner of a gallery called Nahualli—came here seven years ago with her Oaxacan husband just before the violence elsewhere began in earnest Medina went to art school in Mexico City; Vázquez is from Asuncion Cuyotepeji a small village where his grandmother was the mayora—not the elected mayor but the traditional indigenous leader The Medina-Vázquez gallery is typical of houses recently renovated by artists and others in central Mérida “We built up the project not just to have our own gallery but to have a house where you can invite people for cultural get-togethers,” Medina said The gallery’s humble facade opens into an airy (Very few interiors in Mérida are in the familiar dark Spanish style.) The floors of the gallery are paved with the sumptuous tiles traditional in Meridano houses One wall is painted a dazzling peacock blue In a central atrium that also serves as a dining area is a small view slideshow Above a sofa where a visitor sat consulting her cell phone half-animal crouched on all fours with one hand waving free; the creature’s breasts and buttocks managing to face the viewer at the same time women in white with alien faces balanced banjos on their flat heads A painting of birds and leaves framing a blue woman in the shape of a guitar was in the next room All of this fantasy is presided over by the solid and bespectacled Medina in the solid and bourgeois town of Mérida a former New Yorker who is completing work on a definitive Yucatán cookbook for the U.S cost $42,000; he and his partner spent another $200,000 remodeling it Sterling teaches Yucatecan cooking in a spectacularly tiled Giverny-like kitchen Strewn with care across the central counter island are Yucatecan spices and seeds Stenciled across the frieze in Sterling’s library/office are words from the novelist Victor Hugo: “There is nothing like a dream to create the future flesh and blood tomorrow.” This could be Mérida’s motto One morning I accompanied Sterling on his usual Sunday tour of the food markets but he chatted away in Spanish with the peasant women who had come to sell food A quail and squash-seed dish that the school’s chef-owner serves there At the corner entrance to a church at Santiago Park She starts buying produce on Fridays and then works with her two children and an employee to compose the different kinds of packets that we were tasting from her broad tray; she then cooks them all Saturday night on a low charcoal fire for sale in the morning Not only did they taste better than any tamales I’ve ever had (and I live in Los Angeles arguably one of the world’s tamale capitals) their pale banana leaves draped in shawls of bright-orange tomato-pepper sauce like a Mayan hummus) and posolli with salt and chilies (another peninsular specialty “You have to know where to go for which food Meridano cuisine is not just about traditional foods eaten as you walk or at plastic-covered tables around the market in familial restaurants one of the city’s several new high-end restaurants where the fusion experience even includes valet parking and martinis It’s in an airy contemporary space: white walls The food has traditional Yucatecan touches playing over a European-style menu of rack of lamb I walked with some friends around the Plaza Grande Horse-and-buggy drivers wait in line to take clients back home; they seem overly quaint until you realize how cheap they are Nearby is the recently renovated opera house musicians were for rent—you pay them by the hour and they play under your fiancée’s window A handsome young man was deep in negotiations with a band leader (Meridano men customarily use music to apologize for bad behavior) Other musicians were playing their guitars and maracas to advertise themselves Many old haciendas around Mérida have been converted into chic resorts. Hacienda Sotuta de Peón, twenty-five miles south of the city, is a re-created working henequen plantation. The rails are for mule carts that carry plants from the fields to be processed into fiber. But the buildings themselves remained standing. Some are moldering reminders of an era of different values and political mores, but others have been put to use, factories of misery transformed into the most elegant of resorts. It’s a weird transformation. The view was magnificent, but woe to the king who had vertigo. . . . Even for those who think themselves masters of the world and unafraid of heights, negotiating these steep stairs that reach into the blue, high above the earth, must involve a deep-seated, even primitive human battle with the death-fear. I had to edge my way down sideways, until I was back at the level where people and lawn mower seemed real. up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse We understand that time is the greatest luxury which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world A well-struck goal from Indiah-Paige Riley has earned New Zealand a 1-1 draw in their first of two internationals against Costa Rica Riley scored in the dying moments of the first half to level the score after Costa Rica went ahead in the 20th minute through Priscila Chinchilla READ MORE: Ferns battle for 1-1 draw with Costa Rica after heroics from ‘keeper Vic Esson >>>> Check out these delicious rainbow sweet treats and drinks that are celebrating Pride all month long From antioxidant-filled juices to a six-layered rainbow cake you can celebrate Pride by indulging in these vegan rainbow-themed treats that ship nationwide all month long proceeds from these sweet treats will go to several nonprofits supporting the LGBTQIA+ community Karma Baker is back with their beloved Pride chocolate chip sandwich cookies These succulent treats are dipped into dark and white chocolate and topped with handmade rainbow sprinkles But if you’re in the mood for some buttercream Karma Baker also sells a six-layered rainbow Pride cake Proceeds from their Pride sweets will go to The Trevor Project These antioxidant-filled juices will be your go-to drink this summer They are celebrating with three limited-edition juices in partnership with artists Loveis Wise and Ashley Lukashevsky The artists created two custom label designs and collaborated on a third showcasing their dreamy landscapes portraits The ethically sourced chocolate brand released a special-edition pouch featuring colors of the Pride Flag The pouches are filled with their bestselling flavors Indulge in a mixture of dark and vegan milk chocolate treats proceeds from the pouches will go to a Northern California local nonprofit supporting LGBTQIA+ youth at risk Maya’s Cookies Pride Collection features six sugar cookies decorated in rainbow sprinkles With each color representing a color on the Pride flag this vibrant cookie collection is supporting The Center The Center is a nonprofit advocating for the health of LGBTQIA+ immigrant communities of San Diego and siblings Earvin and Kathy Lopez ensure Latine representation is included this Pride season Soy Concha Bakery released their Pride-themed concha You can get your hands on this soft and fluffy pan dulce all month long online or at their Santa Ana location Get your gut health in check while celebrating Pride Kombucha released their limited-edition rainbow-wrapped bottle they're matching up to $10,000 worth of donations to The Trevor Project until June 24 @laveganaenojona Vegan junk-foodie Alejandra was born and raised in Los Angeles County she always makes sure that she advocates for all humans and animals you can find her singing her lungs out to Mitski taking pictures of her doggies Luna and Dexter or stocking her kitchen with more avocados Alejandra also loves traveling and sharing her eats from around the world on Instagram Please be aware that we use (vegan) cookies on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.