Latest news with #Afro-Latin
Al Etihad
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Have a ball with EuroLeague and top international DJs
22 May 2025 02:26 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Basketball fever has gripped Abu Dhabi as the city prepares to host the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four this for Friday's semifinals between Fenerbahce vs Panathinaikos (7pm) and Olympiacos vs Monaco (10pm) at the Etihad Arena, as well as Sunday's final are all but sold you've missed out, you can still have a ball at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague finals - the world's premier club-level junior basketball place at Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City from May 22 to 25, the finals will welcome eight elite teams: Dubai Basketball, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, FC Barcelona, Mega SuperBet Belgrade, Overtime Elite, Pole France INSEP Paris, Real Madrid, and Zalgiris field is split into two groups, with Group A including Mega Belgrade (Istanbul champs), FC Barcelona (Ulm champs), Milan, and B features Overtime Elite, Pole France INSEP Paris (Belgrade champs), Real Madrid, and the final buzzer has gone and you're in the mood to celebrate, join the EuroLeague after-party with Mahmut Orhan at WHITE Abu Dhabi on Yas Island on May world-famous Turkish DJ and producer will be bringing his signature blend of deep house and groovy indie to a world-class stage boasting immersive visuals. The party doesn't end there. On Saturday, May 24, internationally acclaimed DJ Aaron Sevilla will be playing a sunset gig at Fahid Beach Club from 5pm till late, bringing his fusion of Afro-Latin rhythms, powerful percussion and soulful vocals to these shores. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Chicago Tribune
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
The 1st Negro National League game was played 105 years ago today — and Chicago played a part
It was a long fight for Black baseball players to be treated with respect. We see the results of that battle for athletic equality today, and Chicago was involved in a turning point more than a century ago. While the percentage of Black players in Major League Baseball remains low (just 6.2% on opening day), Black stars are prominent across all 30 teams. The New York Yankees' Aaron Judge holds the American League's single-season record with 62 home runs. Mookie Betts hasn't lost a step with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning his third World Series ring last fall. And the Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen is a former MVP who could find himself in the Hall of Fame one day. The Chicago White Sox have their own share of Black history. Hall of Famer Minnie Miñoso was the first Black player in a Sox lineup and finished his career with 2,110 hits, 1,225 runs, 1,093 RBIs and 216 stolen bases. The Cuban native also was the first Afro-Latin player to play in MLB, which was a massive leap for the Latin community. Now about 28% of the league is Latin American according to MLB's opening-day report. In 1959, the Sox traded the beloved Miñoso for another Black player, outfielder Al Smith. Along with Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, Smith helped lead the Sox to the AL pennant in 1959. They would go 56 years before winning another pennant in 2005. Before Thursday's series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers at Rate Field, Sox left fielder Michael A. Taylor spoke about his views on Black baseball today. He said he had the 'obvious' childhood heroes such as Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter, but he believes there's work to do in terms of Black representation in the majors. 'I still think there's room for growth,' Taylor told the Tribune. 'But there's things in place and the Players Alliance is doing a good job at growing the game, and in the next few years we'll see that number (of Black players) increase.' Black men were involved in the growth of professional baseball in the mid-1800s, with many of them playing at an elite level compared with their white peers. Those players didn't see success due to the Jim Crow laws in place after the Civil War. The players' love for the game remained unscathed, so they created their own teams across the United States to continue to play. Pitcher Andrew 'Rube' Foster gained national attention after winning 44 straight games for the Philadelphia Cuban X-Giants in 1902. He was widely seen as the best pitcher in the country, but race laws prevented him from making the strides he desired. Still looking for a chance to play professionally, Foster partnered with John Schorling, the son-in-law of former White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, to create the Chicago American Giants in 1911. With the team playing an exciting brand of baseball, attendance increased at Giants games as time went on. Despite their success, Giants games — along with those of other Black teams — were strictly regulated by booking agents. Foster wanted better for his peers, so he began juggling the idea of a Black professional league. The team's owners met at a YMCA in Kansas City, Mo., to discuss plans for a professional Black baseball league. To their surprise, Foster came in with the papers, signaling that the Negro National League (NNL) was official. In the inaugural NNL game played on May 2, 1920, the Indianapolis ABCs defeated the Chicago American Giants 4-2. This was the beginning of euphoria for Black baseball, and the NNL led the way up until Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color barrier in 1947. The stats from the NNL would go through a long process of being excluded from MLB record books before the Negro Leagues were classified as major in 2020. Four years later, more than 2,300 Negro League players were added to the major-league record books. This flipped the history of baseball completely, and the hard work of Black players throughout history was finally recognized. The move was seen as long overdue by current players such as Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene. 'I'm going to have to do a little bit more research and understand some of the history to kind of rewire my brain on some of the best players,' Greene told the AP in 2024. The pursuit for equality remains prevalent in the United States today. Former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, now with the Los Angeles Angels, stood for equal rights during his time in Chicago. He kneeled during the national anthem in the 2020 season opener against the Minnesota Twins, calling it an 'emotional moment.' 'I tried not to shed too many tears because we are going through something where the world needs to change,' Anderson said that day. 'It was only right that I had to show my love, I had to support.'
Los Angeles Times
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
LA Cocina de Gloria Molina sparks a cultural and culinary revolution
Sara P. Mijares grew up watching her mother make dishes like Cochinita Pibil, a slow-cooked pork dish with red achiote that originated in Yucatán. Unsure on how to make it, she stayed away from from the recipe until taking classes at LA Cocina de Gloria Molina. It was at that teaching kitchen in downtown L.A. where she met gourmet street food chefs Alex and Elvia Garcia of Evil Cooks — instructors and specialists in making recado negro, a mixture of chiles, onion, garlic, spices, tortillas and cacao that the class charred until it was black, then ground into a paste. 'I was always a little hesitant to try the black one,' said Mijares, referring to recado negro. 'I didn't quite understand it and that's one of the reasons I came today, to understand what went into it and unlock a little bit of the mystery.' So how was the recado negro mixed with pulled pork and served on a warm corn tortilla made fresh on LA Cocina's comal? 'It's quite special and delicious,' she said. 'I'm really glad I pushed out of my Yucatecan comfort zone to try it.' That's what LA Cocina is about. The 2,500-square-foot space, cultural center and recipe room is part of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes and named after the late political powerhouse instrumental in creating La Plaza, Gloria Molina. The community hub hosts local chefs, authors and community members for cooking classes, tastings and talks that celebrate the history and culture of Mexican and Mexican American cuisine. Local celebrity chefs like Danielle Duran Zecca of Amiga Amore and 'The Chori-man' Humberto Raygoza have taught classes. Events vary from a historical exploration of Afro-Latin cuisine presented by the Afro-Latino Education and Arts Collective and include cooking classes on making 'flower' tortillas with different varieties of corn and pressed flowers. 'One of the key components, alongside learning how to cook, and what makes a difference, is that we provide cultural notes in everything we do,' said Ximena Martin, La Plaza director of Programs and Culinary Arts. 'We make sure all our classes are presented by the community for the community.' Educating the public about Mexican and Mexican American authors, chefs and culinary history is only part of LA Cocina's mission in addition to preparing the next generation of chefs. The Culinary Youth Training Program is free to high school students and young adults ages 16 to 24. During a recent class, chef Wendy Centeno cut a red onion in half, then thinly sliced it for a cauliflower ceviche she was teaching a group to make. 'Have you been to a taquero and you get a really big piece of onion?' she asked. 'Who wants to eat that?' Students, who apply to be part of the bilingual program, learn everything from basic knife skills to poaching an egg to deboning a chicken. They come from Los Angeles and most of them know they want to cook but they don't know where to start, Centeno said. Jonathan Tirado, 19, likes to make sourdough bread and create dishes from whatever he has on hand at his Boyle Heights home. He thinks he might want to be a chef, which makes his mother happy that he's enrolled in the program that could lead to a career. 'My mom is probably going to disapprove of this, the cauliflower, but I'm going to have her try it anyway,' Tirado said. Centeno introduces culturally relevant dishes that may or may not be how students and their families are used to seeing them made. At the end of the course, students work with the Institute of Culinary Education. They write a resume and get invited to a networking event with local chefs, business owners and cooking schools to get career advice about the food industry and landing a job. The first time she saw one of her former students working at Porto's Bakery, Centeno said, she wanted to cry. 'Seeing them out there in the wild, we know we're doing something right,' the chef said. 'It's awesome.' LA Cocina, across the street from La Plaza in La Plaza Village, had its second anniversary in April by replacing the gift shop with Raíces Culinarias: A Recipe Reading Room. The space is filled with Mexican cookbooks donated by the family of the late journalist and author Barbara Hansen, the celebrated L.A. Times food writer who left her job at The Times in 2006 but continued writing articles for the paper through 2017. The cookbook collection inspired an exhibit curated by local food historian, podcaster and ArtBites founder Maite Gomez-Rejón about Mexican cookbook author Josefina Velázquez de León (1899-1968). De León was the first woman in Mexico to open a cooking school and offer correspondence courses to help women become part of the Mexican economy. 'Josefina was an amazing entrepreneur of her time,' Martin said. 'She started collecting recipes from local women and regional women and started her own publishing house.' The programs at LA Cocina offer the community much more than simply learning how to cook. For Centeno, it's the self-assuredness of the students that makes her especially proud. 'The most important thing we teach here is for them to have confidence,' she said. 'I want them to be able to walk into a kitchen and feel like, 'Yes, I know how to do whatever the chef wants me to do.''
