Episode 31: Visual Artist Carlos Rolón
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 31: Visual Artist Carlos Rolón

American contemporary visual artist Carlos Rolón is on the show today. We’re going to talk about his beginnings in the art world, the NBA season, using art as a form of social advocacy and more.

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Episode 29: John Vasquez Mejias & The Puerto Rican War
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 29: John Vasquez Mejias & The Puerto Rican War

We talk a lot about the importance of knowing our history as Puerto Ricans on this show, including the ways in which our history is kept from us. Some people recommend watching documentaries and reading books, but what about seeing and reading our history in the form of a graphic novel?

Storyteller, artist and art teacher, John Vasquez Mejias, joins the show to talk about the Puerto Rican War - a graphic novel that tells the story of Puerto Rican revolutionaries fighting American colonialism in 1950. We spoke to him a couple of weeks ago to talk about his purpose behind this graphic novel, his art and his perspective on the back-to-school debate as a teacher amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Episode 28: Rosa Clemente on Identity, Resistance & Fighting for Justice in the Face of Oppression
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 28: Rosa Clemente on Identity, Resistance & Fighting for Justice in the Face of Oppression

We spoke with Rosa Clemente, the 1st Black Puerto Rican/Afro-Latina to run for Vice-President for the Green Party. Soon to be Dr. Clemente, she is an organizer, lecturer, and independent journalist. We covered a lot of topics - the younger generation fighting for racial justice, George Floyd motivating people to take action from the streets to the suites, speaking to family around issues of race, resistance in the face of oppression, the Presidential Election and a whole lot more.

P.S. It's our Birthday episode!!!

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Quarantine Bonus: Comic Book Writer, Vita Ayala
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Quarantine Bonus: Comic Book Writer, Vita Ayala

Afro-Puerto Rican comic book writer, Vita Ayala, joins the show to discuss their work, how they fell in love with comics, the comic industry, dealing with trolls online and more.

Keep in mind this episode was recorded just before the pandemic made us all quarantine, so some references and insights - while worth listening to - may be dated.

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Quarantine Bonus: Media Activism in Puerto Rico
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Quarantine Bonus: Media Activism in Puerto Rico

Dr. Yadira Nieves Pizarro, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Communications Department in the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Bayamón Campus), joins the show to discuss media activism in Puerto Rico. We talk about the media's role in Afro-Latinx representation, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, protests, how people and the news are covered on la Isla and more.

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Episode 27: A Puerto Rican Birthday in Quarantine
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 27: A Puerto Rican Birthday in Quarantine

Vanessa Torres thought she would be celebrating her birthday solo in quarantine, but she was surprised by a Boricua Birthday Parade on her block just for her with cars filled with family and friends. We invited Vanessa Torres, Anais Zayas, and Mary Santana from the Miracle Center to talk about this moment, why it mattered and what their work at TMC looks like during the COVID-19 quarantine.

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BONUS: Census 2020
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

BONUS: Census 2020

This bonus episode is dedicated to the Census. We had a discussion with leaders from the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership. Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz, Rose Ocampo, and Rosette Mumboleo join the show to discuss why the Census is important, address misconceptions, and share what you should consider when completing your Census questionnaire.

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Episode 26: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) & Puerto Rico
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 26: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) & Puerto Rico

COVID-19 has impacted our daily lives significantly. There is a lot of information out there on what the virus is and the preventative measures you can take, so make sure you are accessing information from trustworthy news sources. It is very contagious and we all need to do our part in social distancing in order to flatten the curve and slow the spread of the virus. This will also help prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. To break this all down within the context of Puerto Rico, freelance journalist, Angélica Serrano-Román, joins the show. She’s been posting daily COVID-19 updates on Twitter as details are released by the Government of Puerto Rico. We recorded this on March 24 and mentioned the total cases in Puerto Rico was at 39. Now there are 64 on la Isla as of this posting.

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Episode 25: IL Elections with State Sen. Iris Martinez & Cook County Circuit Court Judge Candidates
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 25: IL Elections with State Sen. Iris Martinez & Cook County Circuit Court Judge Candidates

It's an election-themed episode of the Paseo Podcast, so we invited a number of guests running for local office here in Illinois on Tuesday, March 17. We welcome State Senator and candidate for Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court, Iris Martinez. We're going to discuss her campaign, what inspired her to run for elected office, & how she has navigated the male-dominated world of politics. After that, I sit down with Cook County Circuit Court Judge candidates, Araceli Reyes De La Cruz, Laura Ayala-Gonzalez, and Judge, Teresa Molina, to discuss their races, representation in the judicial system, and a whole lot more.

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Episode 24: Community As A Campus with Dr. Jonathan Rosa & José López
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 24: Community As A Campus with Dr. Jonathan Rosa & José López

On today’s episode of the Paseo Podcast, we welcome back to the show, Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, José López. We also welcome tenured professor at Stanford University, Dr. Jonathan Rosa. In our discussion, we talk about the organizing mindset of Community as a Campus. We take a deep dive into what this mindset is and why it matters.

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Episode 23: Healing Jodonas with Melissa Cintron & Dorian Ortega
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 23: Healing Jodonas with Melissa Cintron & Dorian Ortega

Co-founders of Healing Jodonas, Melissa Cintron and Dorian Ortega join the show. We discuss what Healing Jodonas is, their monthly healing poetry circles, and the effects healing poetry circles can have on someone dealing with things like burnout, trauma, etc. We also had the chance to listen to some poetry from past Healing Jodonas Healing Poetry Circles.

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BONUS: Report from the Illinois Delegation to Puerto Rico (PR Agenda Press Conference)
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

BONUS: Report from the Illinois Delegation to Puerto Rico (PR Agenda Press Conference)

This bonus episode is a recording of a Puerto Rican Agenda press conference on Monday, February 24, in Chicago. We also have a video of the press conference on our Facebook page, if you would like to see that version instead.

This press conference was to report what the Illinois delegation, organized by the Puerto Rican Agenda, witnessed on the 6 municipality tour they took in Puerto Rico. They were there to deliver over $30,000 in earthquake relief aid raised through the Puerto Rican Agenda’s 3R’s Campaign. To be brought up to speed, here's the link to the previous presser announcing the reactivation of the campaign.

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Episode 22: Jaiku Neoj + Somos Arte
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 22: Jaiku Neoj + Somos Arte

Sabrina Alicea returns to talk about Somos Arte and the beginning of the road to the Puerto Rican Festival in Chicago. We also welcome Jaiku Neoj to the show. She is a Trans Afro-Taína poet and visual artist here in Chicago. We’re going to talk about her experience speaking at the Protagonistas series, what it’s like to share her story, self-love, Trans Chicago and a bunch more.

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BONUS: Cook County Assessor, Fritz Kaegi
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

BONUS: Cook County Assessor, Fritz Kaegi

We sat down with the Cook County Assessor, Fritz Kaegi. Not many people know what the role of the Cook County Assessor is and what their office does, so we took the deep dive with Assessor Kaegi on the role of the Cook County Assessor, property taxes in Cook County, affordable housing, new ways for seniors to access property tax exemptions, and a lot more. We even snuck in a Raiders of the Lost Ark reference.

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Episode 21: Iowa Caucus Boricua Breakdown + Oscar López Rivera Goes on Tour
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 21: Iowa Caucus Boricua Breakdown + Oscar López Rivera Goes on Tour

Edoardo Ortiz, a graduate student at the University of Chicago School of Public Policy joins the show to share his experience at the Iowa Caucus. He went to Iowa for the caucuses as part of a Puerto Rican delegation from Chicago. If you haven’t heard already, things did not go quite as planned at the Iowa Caucus, so we took the deep dive with Edoardo on what his experience was like before, during, and after the Caucus chaos. We also welcome back to the show, Oscar López Rivera, former political prisoner and Puerto Rican activist, who is going on a North-West tour of the U.S. He and one of his tour coordinators, Margarita Gallagher Huertas, discuss what you can expect from the tour and share some perspectives on the current state of Puerto Rico.

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Episode 20: Jennifer Lopez & Shakira's Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 20: Jennifer Lopez & Shakira's Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show

Did you hear? JLo and Shakira performed at the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show. We invited 2 special guests to share their reactions and address some of the online debates that occurred after it. Let us know your opinions on our social media channels and let us know if we missed anything. Respectful debate is always welcome.

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Episode 19: Creator of Shop La Maestra & CPS Teacher, Sabrina Alicea
Joshua Smyser-DeLeon Joshua Smyser-DeLeon

Episode 19: Creator of Shop La Maestra & CPS Teacher, Sabrina Alicea

On this week’s episode of the Paseo Podcast, I am joined by Sabrina Alicea. She is the creator of Shop La Maestra, is a 7th grade Chicago Public School Teacher, Member of the Chicago Teachers Union Local 1, and a Chicago Boricua with an Ivy League master's degree.

We are going to talk about Sabrina’s Shop La Maestra brand, life as a POC at Harvard University, the realities of being a Chicago Public School Teacher, the recent CTU strike and a whole lot more.

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