In 1969, thirty-year-old Reyna Marroquín marked three years living in the United States. An immigrant from El Salvador, Reyna moved to the U.S. in search of a promising future after her marriage ended. But one day in January 1969, Reyna — then pregnant — suddenly disappeared. Her disappearance…

Liz Alarcón: Maribel, have you ever been embarrassed about the music you like? Maribel Quezada Smith: Yeah, especially growing up in the United States as an immigrant. I could never listen to my música en español like Mana and Shakira, which I loved. I never felt like I…

On the night of Oct. 2, 2022, 17-year-old Érik Cantú was sitting in the parking lot of a McDonald’s, eating a burger with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. Érik is visibly shocked when then-San Antonio Police Officer, James Brennand opens his car and instructs him to step…

Maribel Quezada Smith: I’m staring at my midwife as she’s giving me instructions, my husband’s to my right and there’s an oxygen mask on my face. Midwife: Push, push, push. That’s it. That’s it. That’s the push. That’s it. Right there. That’s it, Maribel. Good job. Maribel Quezada…

Liz Alarcón: Today we are going to talk about something that means a lot to a whole lot of people, all around the world. Maribel Quezada Smith: And that is? Liz Alarcón: Borders. No matter who you are or where you live, if you want to move around…

Liz Alarcón: So here we are, again, Maribel it’s another Hispanic Heritage Month or Latino Heritage Month, or Latine Heritage Month, or Latinx Heritage Month, or what else? Maribel Quezada Smith: Or all the other things that define us. Liz Alarcón: Exactly. We’re here again, as we know…

Before there was the Wild West, there were vaqueros – the cowboys of Mexico – who taught Hawaiians how to ride, and rope horses and cattle. Few people know the history of the first Hawaiian vaqueros or that Hawaii still has a thriving cowboy culture to this day.…

Maribel Quezada Smith: I remember as a kid, you would leave me at school very late. I would be the last one to be picked up. You wouldn’t come to my assemblies a lot when I was growing up. Do you regret working so hard that you couldn’t…

Liz Alarcón: “Ay, do we really need to talk about this?” I’m gonna be honest, this was my first reaction when we were brainstorming the episode you’re about to hear. Another conversation about Latinos and language? It just gets so contentious. Nuestra gente, you all listening, us -…

MOLLY PETERSON: From Northern California Public Media and Mensch Media, this is Living Downstream, the environmental justice podcast. I’m guest host Molly Peterson.This time, from the Coachella Valley east of Los Angeles, we’re talking about the biggest lake in California — now starved of water — and the…