Historias Unknown

In 2017, Diane Marie Rodriguez Zambrano was the first trans person to be elected to the National Assembly of Ecuador. Additionally, she made history in Ecuador by setting legal precedent that paved the way for trans people to be able to legally change their birth given names. Listen to this episode to learn more about Diane and her trailblazing activism and career. If you have topic suggestions, f...

If you’re a Mana fan, you’ve probably heard the Cuando Los Angeles Lloran song, which is about Chico Mendes, but maybe you’ve never learned about Chico’s story beyond Mana’s song. Chico was a rural workers’ rights activist and environmentalist who fought to protect and preserve the Amazon rainforest, and was unfortunately killed for his activism. In this episode, Carmen tells Cristina about Chico...

By the mid 1800s, the population pf Puerto Rico increased to half a million. Despite the increasing population, literacy rates for all of Puerto Rico were about six percent. Only six percent of the population on the island could read and write. Celestina Cordero and her siblings, sought to change this in Puerto Rico and for their entire life, they fought for the education of all. The Cordero sibli...

Comandanta Ramona was born in 1959. She was a Tzotzil Mayan woman & a revolutionary Zapatista who championed indigenous women’s rights. In this episode, Carmen tells Cristina about Comandanta Ramona’s legacy and Cristina has a Bukele/El Salvador update.  If you have topic suggestions, feel free email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/ W Sou...

Juana Ramirez was born in 1790, she was a soldier, a heroine of the Venezuelan war for independence and a formerly enslaved Afro-Venezuelan. She earned the name La Avanzadora (the Advancer), a title earned because she was the first to courageously advance during battle. On this episode, Cristina tells Carmen about Juana La Avanzadora and Carmen has a Bukele/El Salvador update If you have topic sug...

Maria Remedios del Valle is an Afro-Argentine woman, born in 1766 in Buenos Aires and through her brave fighting in the war for independence, she earned the title of "Mother of the Homeland", la madre de la patria. She had to fight for her pension and thanks to the work of Black organizations in Argentina, she is celebrated yearly on November 8. In 2013, November 8th was declared the “Day of Afro-...

In 1976, Azucena Villaflor's seemingly normal life, changed forever. Her son Nestor, and his girlfriend disappeared, during a time when many people were disappearing in Argentina. She looked for him and when she was ignored by local authorities, she and other mothers began gathering at the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, all holding images of their missing loved ones and demanding answers. In Decem...

One woman, one Black Mexican woman, made history singing Boleros and in Mexican music. She had a voice like no other. She was Toña la Negra.  She was a Black Mexican woman, of Haitian ancestry, performing, singing, dancing, in a culture that denied her existence. Mexico didn't count Afro-Mexicans in the census until 2010. She proudly sang of her culture. In today's episdoe, Cristina tells Carmen a...

The Young Lords started as a street gang in the Lincoln Park in Chicago, but not long after, they became a political organization, working with the Black Panthers and other groups in the Rainbow Coalition. They still fight today for neighborhood empowerment and self-determination for Puerto Rico, Latinos, and colonized people. Denise Oliver-Velez became an integral member in the Young Lords Organi...

Usually when discussing the enslavement of Africans, the United States immediately comes to mind and many, don't even think about Latin America. The trafficking of enslaved Black people in Mexico was thriving, especially from 1509 to 1619. In that time period, at least 120,000 enslaved were trafficked to Mexico. Of course, as with all oppression, there were uprisings and revolts. One successful re...

Despite numerous human rights violations, fraud, authoritarianism, and corruption, the Salvadoran President, Bukele, has immense support from Salvadorans, but even among intense oppression, there are also brave dissidents who oppose Bukele. In the episode titled El Salvador: the History of Bukele, Carmen shared how Bukele rose to power and in the episode titled El Salvador: Bukele and the State of...

During chaos, disasters and loss, it seems that you can look and always see a furry friend, there to help. Hero dogs like Frida, who rescued many after earthquakes, but also unofficial rescue dogs like Citla, who was known to help lost mountain climbers in Mexico. On today's episode, Carmen and Cristina tell each other about these historic and heroic puppers. If you have topic suggestions, thought...

Gum or forms of gum have been used by people for the longest time, but the commercialization of gum is relatively new, in terms of history. In the Americas, indigenous peoples have been chewing gum for, well, forever. In the Yucatan region, their gum is chicle based and chicle is the milky latex of the sapodilla tree. These trees were abundant in southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. What does ch...

On March 25, 2022, until the 28th, 87 homicides took place in El Salvador. These 3 deadly days led President Nayib Bukele to enact a State of Exception. The state of exception is temporary, to address emergency situations, but Bukele has continuously extended the 30 day exception. As of today, 1/12/22, the state of exception is still in place. Thousands have been arrested and hundreds have reporte...

A democratic two party government was put in place after the long Salvadoran civil war. These parties were the FMLN and ARENA, but throughout the years, both parties have seen a number of corruption scandals. From these scandals and mistrust, one politician was able to rise to power, but had his own share of corruption . This episode is part two of a series of episodes on El Salvador. Last episode...

On December 11, 1981, the US trained Atlácatl battalion descended on the village of el Mozote (and surrounding villages) and enacted one of the worst human rights violations in Latin America. They murdered women, children and village. After their attack was over, it is estimated that at least 1000 civilians were killed. Survivors of the attack are still trying to seek justice. In this episode, Cri...

A peaceful Palm Sunday parade turned deadly in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1937. 21 Puerto Ricans were killed and more than 200 wounded, all at the hands of US funded Insular Police. In this episode, Cristina tells Carmen about this dark chapter of Puerto Rico history. If you have topic suggestions, thoughts or any comments feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com  Instagram: https://www.ins...

Thousands of Chilean Children were stolen from their mothers during the Pinochet regime. They were sent abroad, to adoptive parents, to countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany and the United States. These adoptive parents had no idea their children were placed under adoption through coercive methods. Carmen tells Cristina about the dark history and corruption behind intern...

El Cri-Cri is a fictional cricket created by Francisco Gabilondo Soler. El Cri-Cri is arguably the most famous Spanish singing character, at least for the generation of millennials and above. His more than 200 songs hold a special place in history, but his songs are not without controversy. In today's episode, Cristina tells Carmen about the history, legacy and controversy behind El Cri-Cri If you...

Prudencia Ayala was an indigenous woman, writer, social activist and in 1930, she dared to run for president, in a time when women couldn't even vote in El Salvador (or in all of Latin America). In today's episode, Cristina tells Carmen about an amazing woman who made history by daring to run. If you have topic suggestions, thoughts or any comments feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail....

Latines had a huge role in WWII, from filling in work shortages to filling in ranks in the United States Armed forces. Many Mexican and Puerto Rican members of the military were sent to the Philippines or different Latin American countries. Puerto Rican soldiers that were sent to Panama, participated in mustard gas experiments. They, along with Black and Japanese-American soldiers, were sought out...

From 1909 to the 1970s, the state of California performed one third of all sterilizations in the United States. 20,000 sterilizations were performed during these years, to people that did not consent. The case of Madrigal v. Quilligan, took place in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Many unsuspecting women were coerced to sign paperwork to perform their sterilization, while others were told that the proce...

The Guatemalan Syphilis experiments were conducted in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948. They were led by John Cutler, who would go on participate in the Tuskegee Experiments. This was unknown, until Historian and Professor Susan Mokotoff Reverby found Cutler's archives, while she was researching the Tuskegee Experiments. Guatemala has condemned these experiments as crimes against humanity. Carmen tells...

Eugenics was developed largely by Sir Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, eugenics was increasingly discredited as unscientific and racially biased during the 20th century and it also informed many policies in California. In California, Mexicans were targeted by eugenic policies, making up the majority of people sterilized in during the 1900s. Cristina tells Carmen about eugeni...

Cliserio Reyes was a young boy in Mexico when the Torreon airport was built. He loved airplanes and dreamed of flying. This is the story of his dream. Since Carmen and I were busy to record together for this week, enjoy this mini-sode! If you have topic suggestions, thoughts or any comments feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/historiasunknow...