Support Grows for Central American Refugee Children – The tens of thousands of Central American children who have fled alone from the violence in their countries and are detained on the U.S. border have unleashed waves of hate in some places, like Murrieta, California, where a group of residents blocked the entry of federal buses carrying the detained children. At the same time, a movement is growing in support of the children. Manuel Ocaño reports that in Southern California, there are more people calling to give shelter to the minors than there are conservative residents who reject them.
Can Your Boss Decide About Your Birth Control? – The United States Supreme Court decided that some companies can refuse to pay for coverage of health insurance for birth control, as the Affordable Care Act calls for, arguing that this violates their right to freedom of religion. The decision dramatically divided the court, and hot debate is growing in public opinion as well. Many women rights leaders say the decision allows bosses to get involved in what should be personal decisions of their employees. Marco Vinicio González prepared this report of some of the concerns detailed on a recent edition of Radio Bilingüe’s national talkshow Línea Abierta.
Barrio Strings Adorn Musical Instruments Worldwide – Plucked or strummed string instruments such as the guitar, vihuela, jarana, or mandolin, depend on the quality of their strings, that give a kind of voice to the instrument. In the barrio of East Los Angeles, a group of Latino musicians has been handmaking strings for these and other instruments for close to a decade. Their strings have found clients all over the world and are used by famous groups such as Mariachi Vargas, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, and Los Tigres del Norte. The artisans are training others in the craft so that the art of stringmaking is not lost. Our correspondent in Los Angeles, Rubén Tapia, visited the group during a work session. This feature is part of our series Raices: Stories About Grassroots Artists.
