This post was first published in The Wise Latina Club.

This rhetorical question has a clear answer in my head -- no. But the rhetoric during last year's Republican primaries and the election, as well as Congress' current immigration bill debate, is sending a message to Latinos that...

Via tweets, emails, Republican friends, or smoke signals, I am getting the message that the GOP is more inclusive, indeed it is a new day.

Why? In November of 2012, Republicans lost the White House largely because they lost Latinos and single women voters who rejected its exclusive ideology promoted...

This post first appeared in The Wise Latina Club and Latina Magazine.

The 844 page long "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act" unveiled by the Senate so-called Gang of Eight is at best "C" level work.

Click here to read the bill...

This post was first published in The Wise Latina Club.

I had no reason to be anxious on April 15th. My taxes were taken care of by my papis' longtime accountant Mr. Patel. The Twitter party I was organizing for Latinas for Latino Literature with Pulitzer...

In Washington it's hard to see the comprehensive immigration reform forest when critics and supporters alike are laser-focused on the proverbial tree. But then you speak with, let's call him "Real Person," like I did when I was at the Apple Store editing a video for the New...

After the pomp and circumstance surrounding the election of the first Latino Pope, one Catholic woman's personal reflection on her crisis of faith and the elusive promise of reconciliation. First published in The Wise Latina Club.

"We would be honored if you would be Baby L's godmother,"...

Fifty years ago, Betty Friedan published the critically-acclaimed, ground-breaking book, The Feminine Mystique. The "mother" of the second wave of American feminism sought the answer to the question:

Why are women unhappy?

Friedan did not cast that wide a net: she referred to privileged white women with a husband, kids...

Nearly seven years ago, I covered the big immigration rallies of 2006 as a local reporter in Providence, Rhode Island. In solidarity, millions around the nation marched in support of overhauling the immigration system to incorporate those who for various reason were here in violation of our laws.

What surprised...

Originally published in The Wise Latina Club.

For you conspiracy theorists who think Gail Collins must secretly be on the Obama 2012 payroll, this story may prove you right.

It's not just that the New York Times biting columnist has almost single-handedly kept the story alive of Romney...

First published in The Wise Latina Club:

Jaimecito Messina, you mean to tell me that at campaign headquarters, there isn't one Latino lackey who could have added some sabor to the campaign playlist leaked Thursday by Político's stealth journo Mike Allen? This oversight could cost the Prez some...

Show up with this flan for Thanksgiving dinner and you will be worshiped and gloried.

Imagine if a pumpkin pie and flan got together and had a baby.

My Basic Cheater's...

"Yes We Can" is one of the most powerful messages in modern U.S. politics, at once encompassing the possibility to better our social contract through "change" and realize the American Dream.

It is simple, participatory, and ambitious. Unlike the rallying cry of Cesar Chavez's ¡Sí se puede!--Yes It Can Be...

Days before the ten year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, I walked through airport security at Miami International.

Instinctively, I kicked off my strappy sandals. I furiously stuffed 6 ounce bottles of beauty lotions and potions into a bursting ziplock sandwich bag. A couple more seconds and I...

Dear Mr. President,

Thursday night's "jobs" speech is one of your most important: you must convince anxious and increasingly skeptical Americans that your plan will create employment and stimulate the flatlining economy toward recovery--and away from recession. Failing to do so, combined with a continuing weak economy, could cost you...

"Never forget where you came from" repeats throughout the trailer of Colombiana, the action-packed movie where hero Cataleya -- played by Zoe Saldana -- avenges her parents' murder.

Women are equal parts seething at one more hyper-sexualized and violent Hollywood exploitation of our gender and cheering that Cataleya rocks...

The White House is scrambling to fix its mensaje and timing problem with Latino voters as demonstrated Thursday by a significant immigration policy change. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that approximately 300,000 undocumented immigrants facing deportation will have their cases individually reviewed, and if classified "low priority" can apply...

Before Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro promoted an ideologically driven Pan-Americanism, Cuban Independence-era philosopher José Martí dreamed of a united Latin America, an idea that was pulsating among the intellectual class from Mexico to Chile. Nuestra América -- the dream of one continent, one people, one identity -- was principled...