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Author: Ruby Rodríguez

20 Latinx Advocates, Activists, and Conservationists You Should Know About: A Latinx Heritage Month Celebration 

por Christian La Mont

Beginning on September 15th (the Independence Day for several Central America nations) and serving as a bridge between the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall, Latinx Heritage Month (or Latino Heritage Month, or Hispanic Heritage Month, or LHM, or HHM) ended on October 15th. But the celebration is far from finished, and it doesn’t need to last just one month. 

Under the mountains of branded and marketed feel-good profiles of Latinx employees and artists this past month, there continues to be ongoing and serious internal conversations (entre nos) about our heritage: the term Latinx, about latinidad, about erasure, about colorism, about machismo, about generational prejudices and a lack of inclusion within our own community, about the lingering and painful legacies of colonization, about acknowledgement of Indigenous roots, about who we were, who we are, and who we want to be. 

While we, as a global Latinx community, continue to have these important conversations to dig into some potentially painful truths and explore our heritage, it’s also incredibly important to celebrate our differences, our common bonds, and our unique cultural identities, and contributions to the world as Latinx folks. Whether we are outdoor leaders or activists, whether we prefer the forest or the screen, whether we always feel seen or are yearning still for some sort of authentic representation, it’s important to remember that el pueblo unido jamás será vencido. The people united will never be defeated. Next week, the glow of HHM or LHM will have dimmed across marketing and communications departments, so it’s up to us (once again) to continue to acknowledge, appreciate, amplify each others’ voices, share and retweet, and celebrate Latinx heritage: past, present, and future. To keep the celebration going, I compiled a list, in no particular order, of 20 Latinx Advocates, Activists, and Conservationists You Should Know About:  

Teresa Martínez

As a Latina in conservation, Teresa Martínez has devoted her life working throughout the entire National Trails System. She is currently the Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition: “To know that I’m a small part of something that, for 50 years, has been protecting landscapes like this is pretty amazing…So there’s just this deep commitment to give back to that.”

Xiuhtezcatl Martínez

He’s an Indigenous climate activist, author, and hip hop artist who was most recently on the frontlines of the Climate Strike and Climate March in New York City. As the Youth Director for Earth Guardians, Xiuhtezcatl has been an active voice conservation since he was only six years old and he was chosen to serve on President Obama’s Youth Council at age twenty four: “youth are rising with the oceans to lead the movements that will shape our future” 

Álvaro Ugalde

Ugalde was a Costa Rican conservationist and is widely remembered as one of the fathers of Costa Rica’s system of national parks: “Without a vision and a sense of mission, there can hardly be a saga to tell or follow in any human endeavor…I believe, at least in conservation efforts, that there is no such a thing as a one-person show. The role of the leaders is to motivate and to enroll as many humans as possible in the pursuit of her or his vision, thus transforming it into a socially run mission.”

Katherine Lorenzo

Unapologetically owning her Afro-Latinidad, her heritage, her black girl magic and “Sazón Dominicano”, Katherine Lorenzo works to create spaces for underrepresented, marginalized and often ignored communities: “Owning my Afro-Latinidad has made me feel less alone, too. Yes, I work to give a voice to the Latino communities I organize in Nevada, but also to help other Afro-Latinos demand a place within the fight for a healthier environment. This space should belong to all of us. We have work to do.” 

Fabián García

As a first-generation college student at UCLA, specifically Chicana/o studies, Fabián became an employee of the U.S. Forest Service where he currently spends a lot of time inspiring and encouraging Latinx youth and families to get outdoors: “We’re a high-touch community…If we don’t see it in our community, we’re not going to pursue it. If our uncle isn’t taking us hiking in the woods, or our neighbor isn’t taking us out there — we’re not going.”

Solimar Fiske

You may recognize Solimar’s storytelling and narrative-changing talents from her Instagram account @takingupspaceoutdoors, a platform she uses to highlight the beautiful amount of diversity that is already outdoors: “Speaking for myself, in the outdoors I am taking up space as a member of each of these under-represented communities: women, women of color, immigrants, people with indigenous heritage, people of mixed heritage, working class people, people with large bodies.”

Melissa Cristina Márquez

Communicating on Twitter and Instagram, Melissa freely uses the hashtag #LatinaInSTEM. She is a Puerto Rican and Mexican marine biologist, founder of FinsUnited, and travels the world speaking about conservation and about the importance of diversity and inclusion in science: “I am a huge believer of “you can’t be what you can’t see” so I hope that through the platforms I am privileged to have, that I can not only showcase to people that scientists come in all shapes and sizes, but that I can shine a spotlight on other normally underrepresented backgrounds.”

Bamby Salcedo

As the leader of the TransLatin@ Coalition, Bamby’s work is aimed at changing the structures that marginalize the transgender community and is forming a multi-state coalition of trans-led organizations that provide services, space, and resources for trans and gender non-conforming Latinx people: “The most fulfilling part of this work really is seeing once-shattered souls blossom, watching gloomy eyes begin to shine and seeing your community thrive.”

Héctor Manuel Ramírez

Héctor is a Latino Chiricahua Apache, Two Spirits, who has autism and bipolar disorder. His work as an activist and community organizer focuses on the intersectionality of issues affecting people, families, and communities with disabilities. He sits on the Board of Directors at the National Disability Rights Network: “Maybe it’s about time we start dealing at things like hate, cruelty, and discrimination as public health issues.” 

Ana María Ruiz

As the General Manager for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, this trailblazing Latina oversees 170 staff members and is responsible for the implementation of the organization’s mission. After receiving degrees in geological and environmental sciences and then in urban and regional planning, she began her career with Midpen in 1998 and worked her way up to her current position. 

Griselda Galindo-Vargas, 

As the Principal at Brooke Elementary School, one of Vargas’ primary concerns is maintaining a safe and sustainable atmosphere for the kids in her after school programs. She has provided her students with beekeeping, gardening, and a butterfly gardening club in addition to keeping some chickens and rabbits around for kids to play with during recess:  “Being a high-poverty school, we have a lot of children with trauma and a lot of anxiety…so it really helps to have animals.”

Liliana Madrigal

An expert in clean water, environmental sustainability, human rights, responsible supply chains and more, Liliana is a native of Costa Rica and is the co-founder of the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT): “There is a codependency between indigenous communities and the rainforest. Without the rainforest, these people cannot practice their traditions and lose their sense of identity. Without these people, there would be no traditional stewards to watch over the land and the forest.”

Jessica Jiménez

In addition to being a Mexican American advocate for disability rights, human’s rights, the environment, and young people, Jessica Jiménez is also an alumni for YO! Disabled and Proud, is part of the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities and builds youth power in cities like Long Beach and San José. 

Claudia Pineda Tibbs 

This Salvadoreña-Americana is a scientist, birder, nature lover, ocean conservationist and sustainability advocate. “In a world where the majority of environment and conservation advocates tend to be white, I thought it was vital to share my point of view and experience as a person of color in order to turn the tide and create equity within this field.”

Marcos Trinidad

Marcos has spent his life making the world a more just and equitable place through his outreach and community engagement efforts. He currently works as the Director of the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles: “I pay close attention to our feathered friends in the sky, I listen to the songs they sing. I listen because birds tell us a story about our neighborhoods.  They tell us about the health of our communities. We just have to listen. Urban nature is such a joy to follow because our lives are overlapping with so many different species that are so magical. If we can appreciate the magic in them, we start to appreciate the magic in ourselves.”

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Environmental Activists Under Threat 

Many activists for the environment and for their community are under daily threat. Some have lost their lives. Some continue the work despite the dangers they face. Environmentalist deaths are rising at an alarming rate around the world, many of them Latinx and Indigenous.

Latino Outdoors Volunteers and National Team Leaders

As a volunteer for Latino Outdoors, I can gladly say that I am surrounded by outdoor leaders, activists, and changemakers who inspire me every single day. As a national organization that has teams in regions from the East Coast (welcome aboard, LO Connecticut and LO Arkansas!) to the Southwest and up the West Coast to the PNW, there is no shortage of reasons to celebrate. Our volunteers spend their week organizing and engaging in community outreach so that on the weekends we can introduce familias and comunidades to the outdoors – whether it’s an urban garden, a visit to a local park, a city meeting to advocate, or helping maintain trails in beautiful open spaces. On our website, you can click on the “Our Team” section and learn all about the amazing storytellers, activists, advocates, teachers, conservationists, and community members that make up the LO family. 

Every individual story above is part of a larger canvas of stories and histories: that of Latinx folks fighting the good fight. We’re not a perfect people, there’s always room for growth, but community, caring, and culture are part of our heritage. Let’s never stop celebrating that. 

Happy Latinx Heritage Month. #RethinkOutside

Statement of Solidarity

Latino Outdoors inspires, connects, and engages Latino communities in the outdoors and embraces cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative ensuring our history, heritage and leadership are valued and represented. 

The history of Latinx people in the United States predates the founding of our nation, with roots in the land as indigenous people. Since becoming the United States, Latinx communities have shaped the fabric of this country  through contributions in the arts, food, civil rights, technology, government, and the environmental movement.     

As one of the most recognized National Monuments, the Statue of Liberty serves as a symbol of freedom and democracy and welcomes immigrants arriving from abroad. The plaque inside its pedestal reads,

        “Give me your tired, your poor,
        Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
        The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
        Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
        I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

Migration is a natural and vital occurrence in the world. From the iconic monarch butterflies, whose migration path is enriched by their role as pollinators, to our immigrant kin who make the difficult, life-altering decision to flee from their home countries to seek a better life. We stand united with all people who desire opportunity for themselves and their families, and we believe in the imagination, resilience and perseverance of immigrants and refugees. 

We call for the protection, safety and dignity of all immigrant and refugee communities and urge those in positions of privilege and power to do the same.  We stand in solidarity with the majority of Americans calling for an immediate end to the separation of families, the closing of children detention camps, and the establishment of a compassionate process for refugee/asylum requests.

Latino Outdoors strives to make the outdoors a safe and welcoming place for all people, regardless of  race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, ability, language, and nationality. This extends beyond our outdoor programming to our core values as an organization, especially one that understands the history and power of public policy and legislation in protecting public lands and landscapes that we enjoy today, but that many times came at the expense of communities that were marginalized and displaced. Latino Outdoors welcomes the full spectrum of people and stands in solidarity with all individuals, organizations, and societies that uphold this value.

Suggested Actions for All:

  • Lead a fundraiser and/or a drive to gather food, resources, and supplies for immigrant-serving organizations

Suggested Actions for LO Outdoor Leaders:

  • Create more inclusive, migration-themed programming (monarch butterfly, etc.)
  • Work directly with immigrant-serving organizations to provide wellness programming for families

Consider Supporting:

  • CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights)
  • RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services) 
  • No More Deaths – No Más Muertes
  • LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
  • NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) 
  • MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • UFW (United Farmworkers)
  • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

Latino Outdoors is a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Initiatives

Hiking, Car Hopping, and Unconventional Outdoor Recreation

Por Luis Villa

Last month I asked Latino Outdoors volunteers to share the most unconventional form of outdoor recreation that they have been a part of or are aware of.  Some expressed that this was not an easy question to answer. Completely understandable. “Unconventional” after all, is subjective.  

And that is the point.  With Latino Outdoors, we are all part of an effort to redefine the notion of what is considered “mainstream” outdoor recreation or conversely, what is seen as out-of-the-ordinary.  Some LO volunteers shared that music festivals, dancing, spiritual ceremonies (e.g. summer solstice), nature drawing, and meditating are unconventional forms of outdoor recreation. Others pointed to slack-lining high above the ground, overlanding, or geocaching.  What’s interesting is that within the Latino Outdoors comunidad, there are some who may find a family carne asada outing to a local park to be outside-the-box, while others may consider it a quintessential manner of recreating outside.

In June, I had an experience that put into focus my own need to be more open-minded about what constitutes “outdoor recreation.”  I attended a “car-hopping” contest in Fresno, CA. A large crowd gathered outdoors to cheer on low-rider enthusiasts who had modified their vehicles, turning them into incredible jumping machines.  When the official measuring stick was rolled out, I laughed at how ridiculously gigantic it was, standing in at nine feet tall or so. It was unfathomable to me how a car’s front tires were going to lift that high off the ground.  Well, not only did several cars’ front tires reach that height, they surpassed it. The giant ruler on wheels was no match for the hopping cars.

“In June, I had an experience that put into focus my own need to be more open-minded about what constitutes “outdoor recreation.”

Luis Villa

I learned a lot that warm evening in California’s central valley, admiring the low riders and the people behind them.  I learned that local parks, beaches, and other outdoor places usually serve as the settings for low rider outings. I discovered that these events are often family affairs.  Marcus, a long time member of the low rider scene, talked with me about the common, but mistaken assumption that lowrider culture is synonymous with gang culture. An association that arose in some people’s minds because these car events during the 1980s sometimes attracted gang members.  Marcus explained that most participants back then were not actually gang members, and today, the atmosphere surrounding these lowrider shows is even more innocuous. Participants from the 1980s are older now and have families. In a way, they serve as today’s moderators, making sure the younger generation keeps it family-friendly.  Fathers and sons take part together. Women are also notable protagonists. In this short video, Marissa Rosales, a child advocate/social worker and low rider enthusiast, shares her story and discusses the cultural aspects of these events.  The parallels and connection to the Latinx outdoors story are evident.

Lowrider events are laid-back.  At the Fresno car hopping contest, we stood or sat around outdoors, ate food, chatted with one another, and enjoyed the show.  This is not so different from a carne asada gathering at a local park, another popular form of outdoor recreation for Latinx families and friends.  These more leisurely forms of being outside seem to be appealing to underrepresented/under-resourced communities.  Ruby Rodríguez, LO’s Outings Program Director, notes that these communities are often made up of people of color, many of whom perform physically demanding jobs in their everyday lives.  Thus, the appeal of more relaxing forms of recreation becomes understandable. Ruby further posits leisurely outdoor recreation as a sort of activism against a hyper-productive society, a peaceful protest actually.

The dominant narrative in our society around outdoor recreation influences our responses to the question about which forms of it are unconventional.  To a certain extent, this makes practical sense because a common point of initial understanding between people about a particular topic or concept is necessary for effective communication.  If that topic is outdoor recreation, everyone who is part of the conversation needs to agree that we are not referring to binge-watching on Netflix or a marathon game of Fortnite.  The conversation is about open-air (or underwater) activities of leisure. However, aside from achieving a consensus, basic definition of outdoor recreation, everything else should be more open-ended.  This is critical for a society made up of individuals with a multitude of interests, passions, and backgrounds. It is indispensable for a multicultural society. Practicing open-mindedness in this particular space will hopefully translate to other areas of our lives, helping us to be more tolerant and accepting in general.  And after all, isn’t open-mindedness and respect something we can all use more of these days?

“That was a memorable day for me, exemplifying the wide-ranging forms of Latinx outdoor engagement and recreation.”

Luis Villa

Hours before the car hopping contest, I was fortunate enough to also enjoy a morning hike at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve in California’s Bay Area.  That was a memorable day for me, exemplifying the wide-ranging forms of Latinx outdoor engagement and recreation.

When no winner was announced at the conclusion of the car hopping contest, I asked Fred, another attendee, about that.  His reply was both simple and powerful, “It’s not about winning. It’s about having fun.”