Since I moved to Canada, I cannot go a spring without someone asking what I will be doing to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The first time I heard it, I was pretty confused. Now I am just annoyed. You’ll see, Cinco de Mayo is a civic holiday in Mexico. We commemorate a battle won against […]

In Mexico City there is a neighbourhood called Santa María La Ribera. The area was an affluent neighbourhood during the 19th and early 20th centuries; however, since the 50s it has become more of a lower-middle class vicinity. Yet, the old mansions remain as a permanent reminder of the city’s aristocratic history. At the centre […]

This is not the first time I have discussed media coverage of ‘Latin’ Converts to Islam. In fact, I have written about how they are depicted in terms of their relationships, the ways in which Indigenous converts from Latin America puzzle the media, and how ‘Latina’ women are said to be the new face of Islam. […]

What do you think when you hear the word Latin? Or Latina, to be more exact? Spicy? Or perhaps “loud,” “flamboyant” and “sexy”? Maybe the word just inspires images of women like Salma Hayek and J-Lo. Many of us are, sadly, very familiar with the image of what “Latinas” are supposed to look like. Just […]

It’s been a busy Eid week, readers. We’re sorry to divert from the normal Friday links, but are presenting a shortened version this week. We’ll be back to our regular programming next week! A Latina fights stereotypes in her own community about what happens when a woman converts to Islam: “As soon as I started […]

Melinda wrote a while ago about negative media representation of Latina Muslim women.  She described a lot of the common one-dimensional assumptions attributed to Latina women who become Muslim, such as the idea that: in Latino culture, men are macho jerks and women are sex objects. In Islam, they are covered up and immediately respected. […]