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Today we premiere
Pachanga Thursday
, where every week we will highlight some achievement of our readers.
Read until the end for the celebration, and write to us at this email if you want to be included.
1 theme to highlight: Open up, Sesame
A Latino has just been named executive producer of
Sesame Street
for its 53rd season, in a sign of
Plaza Sesamo
's strong cross-border presence .
Why It Matters
: This is the first time that someone Latino is in charge of the US version of the educational program, even though it has always been heavily influenced by Black and Hispanic people.
"I grew up on Sesame Street and Plaza Sesamo. I'm a first-generation Mexican-American, and those two shows portrayed the two cultures of my family like nothing else on children's television."
salt perez
Mexican-American Sal Perez was named in January after more than a decade of producing bilingual works and other projects for Latin America at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind
Sesame Street
-related products .
"That experience has stayed with me and I want to incorporate a global perspective for everything we do" in the following season, he told Axios Latino.
The versions of
Sesame Street
co
-produced in Mexico and Brazil were the first exports of the show, which by the 2000s had a presence in more than 20 countries.
Sesame Street
first aired in 1972, three years after
Sesame Street
debuted on American public television.
From its broadcast in Mexico it became the version of the children's
show
seen throughout Latin America.
This required adaptations, such as the creation of unique characters.
For example, Big Bird – the huge yellow bird that is the centerpiece of the US version – is not present.
In his place for Latin Americans is Abelardo Montoya.
Fun fact
: The show's popularity is such that there have been two Sesame Street theme parks in Mexico, in Monterrey and Guadalajara, while the show's characters have been incorporated into public health, safety, and education campaigns throughout Latin America. and the Caribbean.
Background
:
Sesame Street
was one of the first American series to have Latinos in front of the camera.
In the first seasons, Puerto Rican Jaime Sánchez played Miguel, one of the adult humans among the
muppets
like Elmo.
And from 1971, Sonia Manzano and Emilio Delgado began their roles as María Figueroa and Luis Rodríguez.
They held that role for four decades.
The characters even got married on the show and had a daughter, Gabriela (played by Desiree Casado), who became a recurring character for several years.
In 1979, the American show introduced Osvaldo el Gruñón, a bilingual Puerto Rican
muppet
who had a few cameo appearances.
Rosita, played by Mexican Carmen Osbahr Vertiz, became the first recurring
muppet
of Latino origin in 1991.
Important note
: Although they are in different countries, Abelardo and Big Bird have appeared together twice.
A 1997 episode of
Sesame Street
featured a visit from Big Bird's "Mexican cousin."
In 2019, the two cousins spent a weekend together on the beach, sharing the message: "We live in different places, but families are always together in our hearts."
2. Thirst for investments
Venture capital-type investments for Latino startups in the United States increased in 2021. But the percentage of that
venture capital
, as they call it, that is awarded to Latinos remains abysmally small.
Why It Matters
: The lack of venture capital given to these companies hurts the growth of the US economy.
Half of pre-pandemic startup growth came from Latino entrepreneurs, according to the most recent data from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative.
The report shows that Latino-owned businesses also grew revenue faster than non-Hispanic white-owned businesses.
If they had the same access to funds, Latino businesses could generate $1.4 trillion in revenue, according to the Stanford Entrepreneurship Initiative.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
In figures
: Latin companies attracted 6.8 billion dollars in 2021, compared to 2.8 billion in 2020, according to a recent analysis by the specialized platform Crunchbase.
But proportionately, that amount was just 2.1% of all the venture capital money doled out to companies last year.
The disparity in seed-stage funding, such as capital from angel investors for emerging companies (or
startups)
, is even worse: only 1.2% of seed investments went to Latino-owned startups.
Tech industry entrepreneur
Paola Santana says part of the problem is that money is highly concentrated in Silicon Valley, where less than 2% of venture capital investors are Latino.
That means that Latino entrepreneurs need to meet with the financiers of that technological area to make themselves known and promote their projects.
"Money won't be knocking on your door, but that money is being doled out," Santana said during a recent business forum.
Organizations like the Latino Business Action Network are working to help businesses make those connections and contacts.
The intrigue
: In contrast to investments in US Latino companies, US investments in Latin American startups increased by 320% for the past year, according to Crunchbase analysis.
Half of the Latin American companies considered “unicorns” (which are valued at more than a billion dollars) were so designated just last year.
Said growth has been attributed to the projects that emerged or flourished given the number of people in the region who resorted to digital transactions in the face of the pandemic.
Young man from Tijuana creates platform that helps Mexican engineers to work in the United States
Feb. 12, 202001:41
3. Try to stay afloat with floats
Venezuelans are using inflatable tires on the high seas in the hope of catching fish to sell or feed their entire families.
Details
: Despite the danger of drowning, these fishermen see it as their only option in the face of hyperinflation and shortages that put many products out of reach, including fuel to use boats.
"We lost our fear a long time ago," a fisherman told Noticias Telemundo.
At least three people drowned or were reported missing while fishing with inflatables in the second half of 2021.
This is how these artisanal fishermen survive in Venezuela who throw themselves into the sea on tires
Jan. 17, 202201:59
More than 79% of Venezuelans
cannot have daily meals due to lack of money, according to a study by local Venezuelan universities.
Persistent hunger, which can kill, is one of the reasons why more than 6 million Venezuelans – 20% of the population – have left in the last five years, headed mostly for Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Although lately many have tried to go to the United States.
More than 50,000 Venezuelans were intercepted by that country's border authorities in fiscal year 2021.
News impulse
: Several of the apprehended Venezuelans are being deported by the Joe Biden Administration through third countries such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic, according to a report by Noticias Telemundo Investiga.
The Biden administration had criticized former President Donald Trump for doing the same.
The stealthy deportations occur via third countries because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with the Nicolás Maduro regime, given that the White House recognizes the opposition Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela.
4. Robotic dogs at the border
The border between Mexico and the United States could soon be patrolled by robot dogs.
In detail
: A research and development department of the US Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it has been working with the company Ghost Robotics.
The robotic dogs can transmit real-time video, as well as other data, to human operators as they navigate the rocky and difficult terrain of more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of the border.
The project has been in development for two and a half years.
However, it is not yet clear how many robotic dogs will be deployed, when they will be mobilized or in which sectors they will be patrolling.
At the US border with Mexico you can see the new border agents, some robot dogs.Ghost Robotics
Details
: Ghost Robotics CEO Jiren Parikh told Axios Latino that he couldn't share more information at the moment about how the robots will work with the Border Patrol.
However, he explained more about the robots under development: he indicated that they have special sensors and can carry equipment to identify drugs, nuclear materials and chemical weapons.
"We're trying to keep staff out of harm's way" in the field, he said.
In his own words
:
“It is really sad to see how much money has been invested in military technology to seal the border.”
Fernando García, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group Border Network for Human Rights.
García lamented that a technology that police in cities like New York tested and withdrew, faced with criticism that it is too inhumane, is now going to be used in border communities with a Hispanic majority.
Yes, but
: Using robot dogs at the border would not violate any constitutional rights, attorney Michael Olivas of the University of Houston told Axios Latino.
Laws have already endorsed the use of technology such as small drones by the Customs and Border Protection Service (CBP).
Olivas also indicated that "if there are people who get lost in the Sonoran desert, these technologies could save their lives."
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
On video: Mexican drug traffickers demand an alleged Honduran mobster to return seized drugs
Feb. 6, 202200:29
Former Honduran President
Juan Orlando Hernández is on the list of corrupt Central American officials maintained by the State Department, as revealed this week.
Hernández has been under suspicion for years because he has appeared in US tax documents that suggest he worked with drug traffickers while in power.
A Honduran man who was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan to life in prison for cocaine trafficking even singled out Hernández at his trial, under protest.
And Tony Hernández, brother of the former president, was convicted of drug trafficking last year.
Hernandez, who left office in January, has called the accusations a "witch hunt."
It is possible that he could
Thanks to these videos they were able to arrest those suspected of murdering a journalist in Tijuana
Feb. 10, 202201:54
Mexican authorities have arrested three men
they say are responsible for the January murder of journalist Lourdes Maldonado.
Maldonado was murdered in broad daylight in Tijuana, one of four reporters killed in a single month, laying bare the dangers for Mexican journalists.
Authorities say they have not established a motive for the murder.
Maldonado had said in 2019 that he feared for his life after accusing a former governor of poor labor practices.
6. 🐐 Farewell smile:
Baaaa
pa'lante
A young man in rural Colombia who aspires to be a professional cyclist was ready to raffle off his family's lamb to try and fulfill his sporting dreams.
Until an anonymous donor stepped in.
A Colombian cyclist raffles a lamb from his farm to participate in a competition in Italy
Jan. 31, 202202:09
Details
: Brayan Malaver was trying to raise $900 for eight months of training in Italy.
When his story went viral, someone contacted him and offered to cover the cost so the family wouldn't have to lose the lamb.
Malaver, 20, hopes to compete in the Under-23 category of the Giro d'Italia, one of the top three international cycling races.
The fact
: Colombia is a cycling power, and many of the most successful athletes in this discipline have been able to practice at the highest level even living in poverty.
Big names include Olympic silver medalist Rigoberto Urán;
Nairo Quintana, winner of the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and Egan Bernal, the youngest winner of the Tour de France.
Thanks for reading, we'll be back on Tuesday.
Pachanga Thursday
: Congratulations to William Navarette Moreno, 17, who is still in high school but has already been pre-accepted to the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
William NavarreteCourtesy
Navarette Moreno, whose parents are Mexican immigrants, said he wants to be a primary care doctor and is driven by the sacrifices his parents made to live in the United States.
“I wanted to be able to live up to that legacy and make something of myself,” he said.
Congratulations William!
Do you want to see some of the most recent previous editions?
These Latinas are setting the tone for the art of the future
Tropical athletes at the Winter Olympics
Cleaning clothes in the Chilean desert
The Latin pulse after a year with Biden
The impact of economic pessimism among Latinos
Fighting the climate emergency