as you know, i was in DC earlier this week with the amazing and inspiring group of
#topblogueras for the first ever latina blogger conference. i hear next year will be in my home state of texas, but i digress.
as far as i know, CYLRAB was the only blog i noticed that focuses solely on an active lifestyle. if i am mistaken, blogueras
please correct me. and i noticed a lot of smiles and eyes lighting up when i told the blogueras i met which blog i write for. that was cool to observe! the woman below is a DC resident and told me she loves & uses the DC bikeshare!
IMMIGRATION
although what i am going to say may seem out of the scope of this blog, i promise it isn't. i'll get to the biking in my lil diatribe, i promise.
so back to the white house. there was a panel of obama administration latinas who were championing for their chief. over here in the bubblelandia of san pancho, we are not necessarily obama cheerleaders, so i was definitely interested to hear his adminstration's latina representatives talk about
immigration.
immigration is a big topic here in califas, so my ears were definitely ready to listen.
HOWEVER, we are not obama haters either. we just expect more of him and hope that he truly has the best interests of US latinos (documented or not) at heart. but with over
1 million deportations under his administration's belt,
he has some 'splainin' to do.
POLICY BRIEFING
the briefing started with Cecilia Muñoz, the Director of Domestic Policy, who had some unanswered questions after a particularly fierce bloguera,
Maegan La Mala asked some questions relating to
secured communities and its affect on survivors of domestic violence. Muñoz notably left right after answering that question.
the panel of latinas consisted of Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Associate Director, Office of Public Engagement; Alejandra Ceja, Chief of Staff, Office of the Under Secretary; Department of Education, Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of the Department of Agriculture; and Marissa Duswalt, Associate Director for Policy and Events, Let’s Move! Initiative.
CALLING ALL LATINOS: LET'S MOVE!
as far as i know, CYLRAB was chosen to go because of the health topics on the panel, particularly the
Let's Move! Initiative. i personally think that health care has become a social justice issue. i'm not insured, and i know i'm not alone as it is ever increasing. i use biking to keep myself healthy as i can for preventative measures. i know that latinos (documented or not since your body doesn't check for papers) in particular are at high risk for diabetes and high blood pressure. and i have borderline high blood pressure, despite all the biking i do, so i've had to start to eat better as well. i do love that salt...but i've cut back on it considerably.
also, i didn't know you could use what was once called food stamps, EBT, etc., to buy seeds so you can grow your own garden. that's really cool. a lot of work, but really cool. especially in "
food deserts" like the place i used to live in brooklyn 10 years ago. horrible food choices in my neighborhood was my first introduction to access to food as a social justice issue.
i know that it helps to have role (or ROLL) models for healthy active lifestyles, and you just don't see a lot of brown faces out there doing that sort of thing. i am fortunate to have my mom as a role model for healthy living. she has run nearly every day for the past 25 years. believe me, that sort of dedication and discipline doesn't go unnoticed, even if your kid is brooding indoors, listening to music and reading.
i haven't found many latino blogs that are like the great ones in the african-american community like,
black girls run!, and
outdoor afro. i do hope that meligrosa's and my presence show other latinos that we can still be ourselves and active too. and not only just active, but really enjoy and LOVE the active lifestyle. i also hope that adrienne's posts about biking with her family show what an enjoyable and wholesome activity it is for all 5 of them.
access to outdoors is something that is hard to come by is something i grew up thinking.
but actually it really isn't if you just take a walk around your neighborhood. i saw a video recently called
23 and 1/2 hours, that was trying to reframe how people think of exercise. the narrator posits,
"can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 and 1/2 hours a day?" pretty powerful question, don't you think?
i'd like to thank everyone that made it possible for me and all the
#topblogueras to go to the white house. it was an amazing experience, and i am forever grateful. one of the most powerful experiences of my life thus far.
