Latest news with #SalvadoranAmerican
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Manchester Alderman Tony Sapienza won't seek reelection
Manchester Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza announced Tuesday night he will not seek reelection to the seat this fall. Tony Sapienza Tony Sapienza 'I want to thank the people, the residents of Ward 5,' Sapienza said. 'I've been in this seat for 10 years as of this week, and I want to thank the people for the opportunity, for allowing me to represent them, and I want them to know that I do not intend to be filing for reelection in the upcoming filing period. 'We do have a young man named Jason Bonilla who has stepped up and is running for the seat. He's a fine young man, and I sure would like to see some young people on this board.' Mayor Jay Ruais thanked Tony Sapienza for his service. 'These are tough jobs, as you know, often they are thankless jobs, and anybody that puts their name on the ballot deserves a great deal of respect,' Ruais said. 'I look forward to finishing this term,' Sapienza said. Jason Bonilla, a school board member from Ward 5, announced in April he will run for the Ward 5 alderman seat in a video posted on social media. Speaking in both Spanish and English, Bonilla said he's ready to move 'on to the next chapter.' 'I'm running for alderman in Ward 5 to support all of our city departments, including our public schools, and to strengthen our businesses, especially our local ones,' Bonilla said. 'I will fight to keep our streets and parks clean and safe, to ensure our sidewalks are accessible and our roads are well-maintained, and work with law enforcement to remove fentanyl and opioids from our streets.' Bonilla said he is also committed to tackling the housing crisis, ensuring affordable options and reducing homelessness. 'I will do this by collaborating with local organizations and city departments, because no one in our community should be forgotten,' Bonilla said. Bonilla was appointed to the Board of School Committee in 2021, after Jeremy Dobson resigned his seat prior to moving out of the city. Bonilla was elected to the school board in 2023. Bonilla, a Salvadoran American, worked with AmeriCorps for two years in the Boston and Washington, D.C., public schools 'showing black and brown youth that we existed, that we were out here ready to advocate for them, to listen to them, and to push to them to follow their dreams.' Bonilla landed a career as a recruiter for City Year in Manchester, going from 'squeegeeing throw-up at Forest Hills' in Boston to recruiting young people of color across the region to serve as peer mentors in the Queen City. Bonilla was nominated for the Ward 5 school board seat by Tony Sapienza.
Los Angeles Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Salvadoran cookbook makes history with Beard nomination
'The SalviSoul Cookbook' by L.A. author Karla Tatiana Vasquez on Wednesday became the first entry by a Salvadoran chef or author to be nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. The significance is not lost on Vasquez, a fiercely devoted Angeleno who like many others came to the United States from El Salvador as an infant with her family fleeing the Salvadoran civil war. In 2024, after years of research and rejections, she published 'The SalviSoul Cookbook' with Ten Speed Press. It is a detailed and lovingly rendered compendium of recipes for classic and regional Salvadoran dishes, a hardcover that feels sprinkled with a touch of L.A. finesse and sensitivity. The book is anchored by richly reported profiles of the women whose recipes have inspired Vasquez's cooking, and taken together, offer a testament to the resilience and poetry of the Salvadoran diaspora, one that is integral to L.A.'s modern identity. Vasquez, a contributor to The Times, is vocal in her commitment to place Salvadoran American culture and cuisine in the pantheon of U.S. cooking. She received the Beard news with a barrage of ecstatic early-morning messages from her agent and editor when the 2025 nominees were announced. 'These are spaces we're not normally in, and it just feels exciting to think about what this can mean for more Central American stories, certainly Salvadoran stories ... [on] such a huge gap on the cookbook shelf,' Vasquez said a day later. 'This is just another brick we are putting to build that world.' The moment I heard the news, I immediately thought of Vasquez's salpicón de res. Technically a salad, similar to a larb, Salvadoran salpicón could go head-to-head with any plate in Latin America for perfecting the balance between coolness and intensity of flavor, especially so with Vasquez's approach. It was one of the dishes she made at The Times' Test Kitchen a year ago. After that shoot, I took a large portion home as leftovers and had it for dinner and then lunch the next day, with a fresh bolillo — confirmation of my instinct that Salvadoran salpicón de res is one of those dishes that tastes better and even cooler a day or more later with a fresh splash of lime. The salpicón is defined by the strength of mint and lime with the minced meat and minced radish. Vasquez says in the book that she identifies the dish with a satisfying Saturday morning: 'It marked the pinnacle of rest.' Salvadoran rice and beans are essential for a full plate of salpicón, but if you're in a rush, you could just as well eat it plain with crumbled tostadas to scoop up bites, or with tears of fresh bolillo from any mercado or panadería in your part of L.A. I know I did. Get the recipe. Cook time: About 1 hour. Serves 4 to 6. There's been an upward sprouting of 'Salvi' identity and energy lately in California. In food, new generations are taking Salvadoran cuisine to other planes as seen in restaurants like lauded new Popoca in Oakland or La Pupusa Urban Eatery in L.A., which joined the 101 Best Restaurants of Los Angeles list by Times critic Bill Addison in 2023. It got me thinking about the abundance of Salvadoran and Central American family restaurants we have. And what I like eating when I visit one. It's not pupusas, though pupusas are always nice. It's Salvadoran breakfast and comfort foods. When learning to cook Salvadoran food, Vasquez also argues: Skip the pupusas. Point taken — have you ever watched one being made? 'I get this question a lot: What's a good dish to start? All they know is pupusas. And I always tell folks, 'Do not start with pupusas.' First of all, it is hard. A lot of these pupuseras are athletes, masters,' Vasquez said. 'Get some basic skills under your belt. Learn how to make an olla de frijoles. Learn the life of an olla de frijoles. … Start with desayuno.' 'The SalviSoul Cookbook' contains a recipe for Platanos Fritos con Frijoles Licuados, but in most places, this dish is casually called breakfast. It is fried plantains, smoothened beans, a hunch of queso fresco, crema and slices of avocado. Versions of this meal also constitute desayuno from Guatemala to Colombia. I love the simple array of distinct, core flavors, and combining them in varying amounts on each forkful. Once or twice, I've made an improvised version of this meal at home. If I'm craving a Salvadoran lunch, I always go for a pan con pollo (or con pavo). This is the iconic Salvadoran sandwich, similar to Vietnam's bahn mi, or like a good Italian sub — the sort of sandwich that feels like it's telling you something about a people. The marinated turkey or chicken is stuffed into a French roll intended to soak up the recipe's recaudo or marinade, along with slices of tomato, cucumber, radishes and sprigs of watercress. As Vasquez describes in her book, a pan Salvadoreño is a marriage of textures that brings joy in each bite. Get the recipe. Cook time: 2 hours. Makes 6 sandwiches. The women who are featured in her book, she said, offered her an education that she could not have gotten at any university or institution. Upon hearing of the book's reception and mounting recognitions, Vasquez said her subjects sometimes politely congratulate her, but easily shrug off the topic. Mainstream stardom is not their concern. 'The lucha that they go through is kind of the language that they speak,' the author said. 'It's good, because these accolades can really blind you sometimes. … They would say, like, 'But did you learn what we told you? In listening to my memories, did you learn how to live when this part of life gets hard?' 'That's the part that tells me that we're made of something that teaches me about living,' Vasquez said. The connectivity to the history, the culture, as well as the collective traumas of the Salvadoran diaspora pulses throughout the cookbook. The mainstays of Salvi cooking feel reenergized here, even a dish as homey and familiar as sopa de res. When Vasquez's mother 'randomly' gets the urge to make sopa de res, she writes, the extended family somehow hears the rumor, and quickly gathers for 'the warmth, laughs, and arguments.' 'Sopa de res isn't just a meal,' Vasquez says in her book. 'It's an event you don't want to miss.' Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
While praising Sen. Van Hollen's trip to El Salvador, Marylanders call for Abrego Garcia's release
SILVER SPRING, Md. (DC News Now) — Dozens of Maryland lawmakers and citizens rallied in Silver Spring on Wednesday, showing their support for Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his trip to El Salvador intended to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. Even though Abrego Garcia remains in a notorious prison in El Salvador known as CECOT, those at Wednesday's rally shared their appreciation for Van Hollen. 'I won't stop trying': Senator travels to El Salvador to secure return of wrongly deported man The rally featured several state and local lawmakers, who each shared their commitments to advocating for Abrego Garcia's return home. 'As a Salvadoran American myself, I really applaud and want to highlight the strong leadership exemplified by our Senator Van Hollen,' said former state delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez. Sen. Van Hollen met with El Salvador's vice president during his trip, but was unable to see or speak with Abrego Garcia. Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador due to 'administrative error,' court filings say 'It is important for the senator to have access to Mr. Abrego Garcia, to put his eyes on him, to make sure that he's okay,' said Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk. 'And for [El Salvador's] vice president to say [no], well, you know what? That says a lot about his values.' The Trump administration criticized the senator's trip, with the Department of Homeland Security saying Van Hollen 'has done more to bring an MS-13 gang member… back to Maryland than he has to help keep his American constituents safe.' Abrego Garcia's attorneys have repeatedly said there is no evidence of his gang membership, and he has never been charged with a crime. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bonilla to run for Manchester Ward 5 alderman; Ruais raises more than $400K
The calendar flipping from March to April means municipal elections in Manchester brought two more announcements on the local political landscape this week. Jason Bonilla, school board member from Ward 5, announced he will run for alderman this year, while Mayor Jay Ruais announced his reelection campaign has pulled in an impressive financial haul in just a few weeks. Bonilla announced his candidacy for the Ward 5 alderman seat this week in a video posted on social media. Speaking in both Spanish and English, Bonilla said he's ready to move 'on to the next chapter.' 'I'm running for alderman in Ward 5 to support all of our city departments, including our public schools, and to strengthen our businesses, especially our local ones,' Bonilla said. 'I will fight to keep our streets and parks clean and safe, to ensure our sidewalks are accessible and our roads are well maintained, and work with law enforcement to remove fentanyl and opioids from our streets.' Bonilla said he is also committed to tackling the housing crisis, ensuring affordable options and reducing homelessness. 'I will do this by collaborating with local organizations and city departments, because no one in our community should be forgotten,' Bonilla said. Bonilla was appointed to the Board of School Committee in 2021, after Jeremy Dobson resigned his seat prior to moving out of the city. Bonilla was elected to the school board in 2023. Bonilla, a Salvadoran American, worked with AmeriCorps for two years in the Boston and Washington, D.C., public schools 'showing black and brown youth that we existed, that we were out here ready to advocate for them, to listen to them, and to push to them to follow their dreams.' Bonilla landed a career as a recruiter for City Year in Manchester, going from 'squeegeeing throw-up at Forest Hills' in Boston to recruiting young people of color across the region to serve as peer mentors in the Queen City. Bonilla was nominated for the Ward 5 school board seat by current Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza. Attempts to reach Sapienza for comment on whether he intends to seek reelection this fall were unsuccessful. Also this week, Ruais's campaign said nine weeks after formally launching his reelection bid, the incumbent mayor has raised more than $400,000, with more than $350,000 cash on hand. Campaign officials said Ruais has already knocked on more than 250 doors, and placed more than 25 yard signs. 'I am humbled by the continued outpouring of support we have received since launching our reelection campaign,' Ruais said. 'We have always campaigned like we are 10 points behind, and will take nothing for granted as we ask the people of Manchester to place their trust in me to lead our beloved city for another two years.' pfeely@
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Yahoo
High-profile hostage negotiations often grab headlines, but the arduous process of setting hostage Americans free has been kept secret — until now
We independently evaluate the products we review. When you buy via links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read more about how we vet products and deals. Take No Prisoners, a documentary that premiered at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, follows the Salvadoran American family of Eyvin Hernandez in Los Angeles as they fight to free him from a notoriously brutal prison in Venezuela where he was wrongfully held hostage after going on vacation. It spotlights the work of Roger Carstens, who worked as a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs in the United States from 2020 to 2025. He spearheaded Hernandez's case and by allowing a crew to follow him throughout the process, gave audiences a glimpse at the complex and clandestine negotiations that must occur to set hostages free. Directors Adam Ciralsky and Subrata De spoke with Yahoo Entertainment about the film. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you uncover this story and decide that it was a good subject for a documentary? Ciralsky: It started with a rooftop conversation with Roger Carstens in August 2022. He mentioned in passing that 25% of his workload as a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs involved people in Venezuela. I thought, 'That's unusual, tell me more!' Long story short, a month or so later, I end up on the tarmac down in San Antonio when two planes came in carrying seven people — five Citgo executives, plus Osman Khan and Matthew Heath. Seven people walked off an airplane, and it was an unbelievably emotional reunion that was very difficult to capture on an iPhone. I was crying and everyone was crying. I've never been hit with seven families reuniting like that. But that joy very quickly turned into something else when we realized Eyvin Hernandez had been left behind. He's an L.A. County public defender who our government left in the House of Dreams, this hellhole prison in South America. De: Throughout our collaborative relationship, which has spanned over 20 years, the stories of hostages have haunted us. In every historical moment — every story in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela — we've seen it as a brutal, geopolitical kind of swordplay with human lives. It was really important for us that it was more than just a talking point, for people to understand the true cost of it. We all know the headlines about high-profile hostages, but there are always countless others. Who are those families who don't have the same resources to get that time and attention? Ciralsky: We knew that the family got a call from the U.S. government saying, 'Your loved one, Eyvin, is not coming home,' and it was for a very bureaucratic reason. He wasn't technically designated as wrongfully detained. When someone is wrongfully detained, it's like a bomb goes off in the family. De: You can't really live a life. There are a lot of Hollywood versions of this, but the reality is far more stark and brutal. Ciralsky: By having cameras present, I think we saw two things: One was the incredible faith that this family has that somehow, some way, Roger was going to find a way to get Eyvin out. We had no idea how long this would take, how much it would cost and where we would have to go. I went to seven countries and we filmed in three of them. The other thing is that Eyvin's family from Compton, whose interactions with the federal government had been minimal at best like most people, goes from having no political power — no juice — and they transform into this incredibly powerful lobbying shop. It's an amazing thing for someone like Pedro, Eyvin's father, who was not born in this country and has limited education, to be invited to the White House to make his case and it works. I was struck by the opening of the documentary, which states that dozens of Americans are currently being held hostage and the methods used to effect their release have been shrouded in secrecy until now. Why do you think that is? De: The government and all the people at the heart of this will tell you it's because the risk is so high because it involves a human right. I think they say, 'There's just too much back and forth.' But once you take a peek at the actual process, you realize that despite all of the heart that goes into it, there is also a lot of bureaucracy. Like any institutional thing where different organizations are meant to cooperate, there can be roadblocks to that. And nobody wants that to be public, right? But families talk about that a lot. Out of respect for the process and because the end goal is to get a family member out, everybody just kind of goes with it. Also, if you look at what happens when hostages get released, you are often trading really bad people for really good people. That's a hard thing to see, but that's the reality of it. Ciralsky: The countries that take Americans hostage are not our allies. They're our worst, most fraught adversaries. It's a really bitter pill to swallow that we have to move to their beat and make deals, whether it's the 'Narco nephews' and Alex Saab [traded for the seven hostages freed from] Venezuela or Victor Boot for Brittany Griner in Russia. The government likes to keep this top secret because it's an asymmetric weapon. Why do you think Roger — and the U.S. government — spend so much time dealing with hostages in Venezuela, specifically? Ciralsky: At the time we were filming, you have to look at the results that a leader like Nicolás Maduro has had in detaining U.S. citizens. He was able to get attention from the U.S. government and backchannel conversations about some things that were personally important, and some high-profile convicted criminals held in the U.S. De: Venezuela is a strategic adversary, but it's not at the top of the list — North Korea, Iran, Russia and China come first. But by taking Americans captive, this is their way of ringing our bell. They get our attention. Ciralsky: Some actions by our government led their government to take Americans. The detainment of Alec Saab was on their minds as a motivator to take Americans. It's a very medieval practice that continues. Hostage-taking is a biblical plague that continues to this moment. I know you didn't know how the film would end — that Eyvin would be reunited with his family — when you started filming. Would you have kept following the story until he was back home? De: When it began, we knew that we were going to follow Roger's work, and then we became committed to Eyvin's family. That carried us through. Take No Prisoners is about both the promise and the peril of documentary filmmaking. Ciralsky: It promises you can have a hell of an ending, which we got, but I'll tell you — there was a lot of peril. There was a six-month period where it was not only ugly, it was unsafe, and our relationship as a country with Venezuela was just cratering. It's like the floor opened up and there was another dungeon. We had nothing between June 2023 and December 2023 when we heard that a deal was in the works. I read that Roger Carstens is no longer working as a special envoy since President Trump took office. What's he doing now? De: He's an amazing American patriot and public servant and he will continue to be that. But not having him on the case anymore is part of why this story is so important. He brought a lot of people home. Ciralsky: This is the hostage enterprise — victory knows a thousand fathers and failure's an orphan. Roger felt that every day. He would go home every night and all he'd think about were the people he was failing. Every time he'd get out someone like Brittney Griner, Evan Gershkovich or Paul Whelan, other people would take credit for it, but they weren't the ones at 2 a.m. taking calls from the family. This has become a sexy area of foreign policy where everyone seems to run for the soccer ball. There's a scene where he's in their living room — what other area of government is there an official who's coming to your house to cry with you, drink with you, eat with you and plan with you? Roger took that on. You could see him, over the course of this film, aging. premiered on March 8 at South by Southwest.
