The music of Nishi Rajan

Born in New Delhi, India to Malayalee parents from Kerala, Nishi Rajan moved with her family to New York when she was five and quickly found her voice – from singing in church until she was singing for the world...

The Top of The Mountain

I grew up learning daily from my parents, relatives, and elders from my community about our values of caring, respecting, reciprocity, solidarity, giving a hand and support to others, greeting people properly, and caring and preserving the Mother Earth...

Khalid's Bodega

Khalid’s eyebrows fly up to meet the brim of his checked flatcap. “No, no we don’t want to talk about anything.” He throws his hands up in mock dismay, but I think he’s got actual suspicions. This has been my bodega since middle school...

Beyond Barriers

Leap, and a net will appear. I had come across this saying a while ago and it has been my motto ever since. My encounter with my newly found sister and what ensued in the following few months were just that. We took a leap and a net did appear!

Tipi: You Have No Idea

A true source of delight in our life at this time was our pet pigeon Tipi (pronounced tee-pee).  I have to tell you about him because he was a real character.  As I mentioned, in front of our little pioneer house were two enormous palm trees.  Nobody had taken care of them for a long time before we got there...

A Return To Cuba

At the heart of almost every Cuban-American family is a tragedy. Most of us were torn apart from loved ones by the passions of ideology. In some cases, this included fear of reprisals and imprisonment. Many also lost personal property. Wounds like these do not heal easily. So my first visit to Cuba after 52 years in exile began with heavy apprehensions...

Mani Kongo Lukeni

An excerpt from the art book: 
Banned and hunted down by a jealous Queen and aunt, a young fisherman, Lukeni, is forced to find a new home in a constant-war era in pre-colonial austral Africa. His journey will lead him into knowing about his true origins and the evil spirit sleeping inside him...