Vanguardia with James Garcia

Host James E. Garcia interviews Belinda Acosta, director of Canto Mundo at Arizona State University. Canto Mundo supports Latinx poets and poetry from across the nation  and is housed at Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU. Acosta discusses the organization's mission and events ahead of it's upcoming event on Nov. 17, 2024: Latino Poetry Anthology Reading featuring Alberto Rios an...

Vanguardia America's James Garcia speaks with Luis Miranda about his book, RELENTLESS: My Story of the Latino Spirit that is Transforming America. Miranda shares the poignant narrative of his life and career—from his early days as a radically-minded Puerto Rican activist, to his decades of political consulting, problem solving, and life as the father of one of the most playwrights in the world, Li...

Vanguardia host James Garcia interviews Richard Ochoa of Motorsport Showcase Events . The company hosts Lowrider car shows across the nation. Ochoa is the 10-city tour manager for Lowrider Magazine, which caps off a year of shows in Las Vegas in October. We talk about this weekend's show in Superior, AZ, the national tour he manages, and the history and continuing popularity of the lowrider car sc...

Roberto Reveles is running for AZ Legislative District 7 against ultra-right Republican Wendy Rogers. A longtime Democratic activist and civil rights leader, Reveles, who is 91, is a former president of the ACLU of Arizona. He was the founding president of Somos America, an immigrants rights coalition that organized a massive march in Phoenix by protestors in support of immigration reform in 2006....

The University of Arizona has ceded ownership of a historic home in Nogales that once served as the residence of the state's only ever Latino governor, Raul H. Castro , and his wife Pat. The home is now back in possession of the late governor's family. Host James E. Garcia speaks to Beth Castro, daughter of the former governor, and Nogales attorney Briana Ortega about the Castro family's claim in...

In this episode, we remember a leading figure in American politics, someone regarded as a giant in the Latino community, the late Bill Richardson , who died at 75 on Sept. 1 at his summer home in Chatham Massachusetts. Among his many achievements, Mr. Richardson served as a member of Congress, governor of New Mexico, Ambassador to the United Nations, and Secretary of Energy under President Bill Cl...

A new report by UnidosUS finds hundreds of thousands of Latino families have lost  Medicaid coverage since the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration. Medicaid is the national health insurance program, funded jointly by the state and federal governments, for low-income families and individuals. Vanguardia America's James E. Garcia's speaks to Stan Dorn, Senior Health Polic...

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia talks to LULAC Interim-CEO Juan Proaño  about the organization's 2023 convention happening in Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 31 to Aug. 5. Mr. Proaño discusses highlights of this year's convention, including a town hall featuring Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, D- TX. Rep. Escobar is co-sponsoring a bi-partisan bill called the Dignity Act ( H.R. 3599 ) with R...

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviews David Castro, vice president of communication and marketing for UnidosUS, about the highlights at this year's UnidosUS annual national convention in Chicago, including the appearance of Vice President Kamala Harris and other top Biden administration officials. (13 mins.)

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviews Rafael Collazo, executive director of the UnidosUS Action Fund, about the state of Latino politics across the nation as his group's parent organization, UnidosUS, gathers for its annual national conference in Chicago. Collazo's organization also addressed the recent allegations of abuse against  immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border by state autho...

Vanguardia America interviews Ithamar Enriquez, an El Paso native and now California-based actor and writer who's done television and film in L.A. for the past 15 years, even as he tours his comedy, "Ithamar Has Nothing to Say." The show is called that because Ithamar actually doesn’t utter a single word in the show. Inspired by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mr. Bean, and the long-running improv s...

Vanguardia America host James Garcia interviews Director KJ Sanchez and actors Sarita Ocon (Sybil) and Brady Morales Woolery (Victor) from the Arizona Theater Co. production of "Private Lives" which runs through May 28 at the Herberger Theater Center. The play, written by Noel Coward in the 1930s, comes with a twist. Sanchez has set the play in Argentina and Uruguay and features an all Latino cast...

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviews California-based playwright Jose Cruz Gonzalez and Ricky Araiza of Tempe, AZ's Childsplay Theater Company. The duo will be talking about a play by Gonzalez titled “Tomas and the Library Lady,” which opened Feb. 4 and runs through March 12 at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix. Childsplay produces shows aimed at young audiences, mainly childre...

Vanguarida America host James Garcia interviews Joel Goldenthal, the Executive Director of The Nash, a nightclub and educational center in Downtown Phoenix, and the club’s namesake, jazz drummer and Arizona State University  professor Lewis Nash. Downbeat Magazine calls the Nash one the great jazz venues in the world. It recently marked its 10th anniversary.  But the Nash is more than a jazz club....

In this episode, Vanguardia America welcomes some of the folks behind the national coalition, Green Latinos, about an impactful report called the Latino Climate Justice Framework. The report takes an in-depth look at climate and environmental issues affecting the Latino community nationwide. Our guests include: Irene Burga is the Climate and Clean Air Program Director for GreenLatinos; Catalina Go...

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia talks to Chris Chavez, the director of La Ruta, the latest production by Stray Cat Theater. The show opens Dec. 2 at the Tempe Center for the Arts and runs through mid December. La Ruta, written by Isaac Gomez, was a smash hit at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. The play tells the story of six women in Ciudad Juarez on the Mexico border. The story is told agai...

Monica Villalobos, president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has been selected to co-chair the transition team for Arizona's incoming Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs. Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia spoke to Villalobos, a Republican, about her goals and assignment as co-chair and why she's still a Republican, despite her condemnation of the party's hard tilt toward e...

Vanguardia America invited three experts on national Latino politics to talk about the fallout of the 2022 midterm elections, including the current and future impact of Latino voters. What brought Latinos to the polls? What role did abortion rights play? What can Democrats and Republicans learn from this election? Hear what Rafael Collazo of UnidosUS Action Fund, Yvonne Gutierrez of Latino Victory...

ARIZONA - The results of the 2022 midterm election surprised many who predicted a Republican rout at the polls, but Democrats in Arizona and across the nation were generally very happy with the outcome. Vanguardia America host James Garcia got a post-election take about the results in AZ from a roundtable of political analysts, Joe Garcia of CPLC Action Fund, Elizabeth Salazar of UnidosUS Action F...

Vanguardia America with James Garcia talks to Alana Hernandez, executive director of the Cala Alliance in Phoenix. The organization returns with its latest iteration of Crossfade LAB, which returns to its home venue at the Crescent Ballroom on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 from 7:00–9:00 PM. Get tickets at calalliance.org . This iteration of Crossfade LAB features Cuban-born, Mexico City and New Yo...

Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviewed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs over the weekend about her campaign and how, if elected, her agenda will impact Arizona Latinos, especially when it comes to education, abortion rights, immigration, and the state's economic future. Our interview with Hobbs is immediately followed by our roundtable of election analysts: Elizabeth Sal...

Playwright Miriam Gonzales, composer and lyricist Daniel French, and actress Jillian Saenz, who plays the lead in "Selena Maria Sings," spoke with Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia about the play's themes of personal loss, family bonds, Latina empowerment, and the story's ties to the legacy of the late pop music icon Selena Quintanilla.

Vanguardia America host James Garcia spoke with Rafael Collazo of UnidosUS Action Fund and Dorian Caal of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund about Latino voting trends ahead the upcoming midterms. Collazo and Caal talked about the top issues for Latinos this year, Latino voter turnout, and the growing prevalence of mis-information aimed at H...

Kathy Hoffman is the incumbent, Democratic candidate for State Superintendent of Public Schools in Arizona, where nearly 50 percent of K-12 students are Latino. Vanguardia America's James Garcia interviewed Hoffman about her goals for a second term if she is able to get reelected on November 8. Hoffman is running against Republican Tom Horne. Photo: Flipboard

Rosie's House is the largest free music edition program in the nation. Eighty percent of the children it serves are Latino. Vanguardia America's James Garcia recently took a tour of the organization's new 15,000-square-foot facility near downtown Phoenix with CEO Becky Bell Ballard ahead of its grand opening celebration on November 5.  For more information on how to attend the grand opening celebr...