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Axios Latino summarizes the key news for Latino communities in the hemisphere;
It is published every Tuesday and Thursday.
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You will always find it in Spanish on Noticias Telemundo.
1 topic to highlight: And those who speak Spanish?
Uvalde residents who speak Spanish
have not received information in their language about the shooting from Texas authorities, who gave their lectures and updates to the public in English, drawing criticism for excluding citizens.
Big Picture
: More than 80% of the residents of Uvalde, where a man killed 19 students and two teachers at a school a week ago, are Latino.
Many speak Spanish at home.
Giving information directly in their language is essential during such a difficult time, according to experts.
In his own words
: “I think it's about time.
[...] Resources in Spanish are just as important as in English,” said Jennifer Marcial Ocasio, of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
A news conference in Uvalde, Texas, on May 26, 2022Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Ocasio said some bilingual journalists covering the shooting had to translate information for residents.
It suggests that all governments make it their priority to offer information in Spanish in orientation for crisis management.
The Director of the Department of Public Safety
(DPS) for South Texas, Victor Escalon, ignored shouted requests from reporters to provide a statement in Spanish at the end of a press conference on Thursday.
Neither Uvalde police nor the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to requests for comment from Axios.
DPS says it is offering services in more languages at a resource center set up for families of victims.
Between
the lines: Authorities have had trouble offering information in Spanish to Latino communities during critical times in the past.
Many governments did not do so on their websites at the start of the pandemic, even though Latinos have been among the hardest hit.
Northern California authorities provide bilingual updates after wildfires affected farmworker and immigrant communities for years.
2. This is how the
Latino Bush ended
George P. Bush, the grandson and nephew of two former presidents
and who appeared to be the heir to that Republican dynasty, was categorically defeated last week in his bid to become Texas attorney general, putting his political future in question.
News Momentum
: The current prosecutor is Ken Paxton, who is facing criminal charges and an FBI investigation for corruption.
He still comfortably beat Bush, with a lead of more than 35 percentage points, in the recent primary runoff.
George P. Bush at a campaign event on February 10, 2022Matthew Busch/Bloomberg / via Getty Images
Bush is about to finish his second term as Texas Land Commissioner.
Paxton has denied the allegations against him.
The Intrigue
: George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Columba Bush (born in Mexico), initially showed a similar commitment to immigrant rights as his uncle (former President George W. Bush) .
But then he took a particularly hard stance when the GOP veered in that direction.
Bush sought the endorsement of Donald Trump
, drawing the ire of some Latinos after he posted a video of him chatting with the former president.
In the end Trump endorsed Paxton.
In his own words
: "George P. Bush was not only willing to ignore the defamations against his family, but also ready to pose smiling with the one who was defaming them," said Mexican journalist León Krauze in a column at The Washington Post.
Recount
: George P. Bush burst onto the public scene in 2000 when his uncle ran for the White House.
USA Today said it "mixed elements" of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Ricky Martin.
People en Español magazine labeled him as a "handsome" who had Latinos on the lookout.
There were those who suggested that he could be the first Hispanic president.
Following his defeat, Bush said in a statement
that he "will continue to fight for the rule of law in Texas."
3. Monarch butterflies spread their wings
The beleaguered monarch butterfly
seems to be reborn in Mexico.
Why It Matters
: This endemic North American butterfly has been in danger for years.
The climatic emergency, deforestation, the use of pesticides and the loss of the milkweed they feed on have made it difficult for them to survive.
It is the only species of butterfly that migrates every year like birds.
Eastern monarchs make particularly long migrations, heading to the US and Canada in the summer and to Mexico in the winter.
Some have traveled more than 3,000 miles to escape colder climates.
Western monarchs travel shorter distances to winter in California.
They report an increase in the population of monarch butterflies that returned to Mexico
May 26, 202201:49
News Momentum
: After years of decline, the presence of eastern monarchs in the Mexican forests they flock to grew by 35%.
Butterflies occupied more than 7 acres (2.84 hectares) in December 2021, compared to 5.19 acres (2 hectares) in December 2020, according to a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas of Mexico (Conanp), published last week.
The number of western monarchs that nested in California last year also increased, according to data from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Yes, but
: Monarchs are not safe yet.
Butterflies covered nearly 45 acres (18 hectares) of forest in Mexico in the winter of 1995-96, according to the WWF.
The number of eastern monarchs has declined more than 70% in the last three decades, while the western population is down 95% since the 1980s, according to data from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Big
picture: The resurgence of the monarch in Mexico during 2021 may indicate that the species is adapting to climate change, according to Gloria Tavera, director at Conanp of the nature reserve region that includes the main Mexican monarch sanctuary.
Last year they left Mexico in February, when it was usual to do so in March, apparently trying to avoid the higher summer temperatures in the north.
What to watch
for: The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding it to the endangered species list.
The agency acknowledged in 2020 that it met the criteria for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but declined to do so then, stating that other species were more endangered.
4. Azteza-futuristic: this video game rethinks the end of the Mesoamerican empire
The creators of the
Aztech
action game built their unusual virtual world on a simple premise: what would have happened if the Aztecs had not been conquered?
Why It Matters
: It's an ambitious video game made by a small team in Mexico, a country underrepresented in this industry.
Aztech: Forgotten Gods
was released in March for PC and consoles.
The main character is Achtli, a young woman with a magical arm that allows her to fly over a futuristic Mesoamerican megacity and fight against the gods, writes Stephen Totilo, a reporter for Axios Gaming.
The video game stands out in a medium full of adventures inspired by Anglo-Saxon and East Asian cultures.
Courtesy of Canvas
In his own words
: "We aspire to be the voice of our people," said Edgar Serrano, co-founder of the Lienzo studio.
The studio began operations a decade ago in Chihuahua, mixing contract work with original projects.
He had another release in 2018, the video game
Mulaka
, set in Tarahumara mythology.
Aztech
started as an attempt to do something more fantastical, thinking of a still existing Aztec empire.
Canvas games
appeal to two video game sectors that tend to receive little attention, according to Serrano:
Local Mexican players, like the young indigenous people he met while making
Mulaka
who hadn't seen their traditions interpreted that way.
The Latin American diaspora in the US and elsewhere, who believe they yearn to play not just action but something that helps them reconnect with their roots.
In addition, Serrano believes that in the world of video games there are also more "white"
gamers
, in his words, who seek to know and understand more cultures, even if it is on their consoles.
What's Next
: Serrano partnered with a production house to bring
Aztech
to Hollywood.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
The leading candidate for the presidency of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, will
face a tough challenge in the second electoral round against the right-wing real estate tycoon Rodolfo Hernández, who has received the support of the majority of his opponents since he came second in the first presidential round. Sunday.
Hernández, a former mayor, is promoting himself as an
outsider
to mainstream politics, and has been compared to Donald Trump.
For the first time, the two people who aspire to the vice presidency identify themselves as Afro-descendants: the award-winning activist Francia Márquez is Petro's running mate and the academic Marelen Castillo is running with Hernández.
The second round is scheduled for June 19.
The candidate who surprised the Colombian elections waited for the results in a bathing suit
May 30, 202203:35
Peru's attorney general
announced
this weekend
that the president, Pedro Castillo, is being investigated for corruption.
Castillo is accused of participating in a scheme to award contracts for bribes.
He says that he had no knowledge of it.
The investigation prompted requests for a vacancy process (political trial).
If materialized, it would be the third attempt to impeach the president, who has been in office for less than a year.
6. ☮️ Posing for peace
An exhibition of portraits of residents has taken over a Caracas neighborhood that is the scene of conflicts between criminal gangs.
Why It Matters
: The exhibit and other art installations in Petare, one of the largest and most violent neighborhoods in Latin America, have contributed to a better sense of community, according to residents.
Photography turns a violent area of Caracas into an area of art and culture
April 27, 202201:59
"Here the rates of violence have dropped a lot, the neighborhood is friendlier. We do everything for the successor generations," Katiuska Camargo, a local activist, told Noticias Telemundo.
In Detail
: The portraits were taken by local and international photographers as part of the Inside Out project.
The street art program travels to different cities and invites locals to take pictures of themselves and spend time together while posting each other's photos, thus reclaiming public spaces.
Big Picture
: Created by French artist JR, known for his optical illusion installations in Paris, Inside Out has also tried to change the face of Rio de Janeiro's favelas and organized a cross-border picnic with art pieces on the dividing wall between United States and Mexico.
Thanks for reading us;
We return on Thursday.
Do you want to see any of the previous editions?
A light in dark times: this is how Texans help the families of Uvalde
This Mexican will fly over the Earth and approach the stars
The Asian hand in the fight for the civil and labor rights of Latinos
Exonerated and with a 'green card'... until ICE arrived
The road to environmental devastation that passes through the Mayan Train
Why More and More Latinos Buy Guns
