Written by Joel Frieders PHOTOS: Alberto Trevino | 09 March 2010

The story you are about to read takes place in a kitchen: any kitchen, every kitchen.

From taco joints, beef stands and breakfast cafés, to the Walnut Room and eventually landing at a Chicago culinary school, Paul Zavala has probably cooked something for you over the past decade. Zavala has been traipsing through the innards of the food industry since before he could drive.

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Written by Christina E. Rodriguez PHOTOS: alBerto Trevino | 09 March 2010

Yuanl Larrondo, 31, comes up from his home basement holding jars, pots and stone sculptures. As he lays them on the wooden floors, he moves them around and goes back downstairs for more. His wife Rosie, 43, joins him and helps situate them on the floor. There are even more in the basement. Some of them are covered with decorative cloths. These are orishas, saints in the santería religion, which Larrondo, a babalao or high priest, uses in his practice and consultations with his clients.

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Written by Elisa Santana PHOTO: Jillian Sipkins | 08 March 2010

José López-Acevedo could make a good cup of coffee with his eyes closed: intrinsically roasting coffee beans, grabbing the cup and filling it to perfection. “If the barista doesn’t know what they’re doing, then they will ruin your cup of coffee…Every stage, from seed to drink affects how your coffee tastes,” he says.

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Written by Alejandro Riera PHOTOS: Anthony Tahlier and Julieta Alvarez | 01 March 2010

She likes to think of herself as a gypsy. He, point blank, classifies himself as a mutt. She was born in Cuba, went to Rome to study art history and restoration and chose New York over Barcelona to pursue her career as an artist. He was born in Venezuela, his family is from Argentina, he carries a German passport, studied for awhile in North Carolina before going back to Venezuela, and obtained a full scholarship at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving permanently to New York.

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Written by Michael Puente PHOTO: Marta Garcia | 01 March 2010

Ten years ago, the Latino population hit a milestone by becoming the largest minority group in the United States. Since hitting that 35.6 million mark, the Latino population has surged past 44 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That number is expected to increase, but if Margaret Carrasco has her way, it won’t go up as much as others would like it to – which could mean millions lost in tax dollars to municipalities and perhaps diminished representation in Congress for certain areas of the country.

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Written by Angelica Herrera PHOTO Jillian Sipkins | 01 March 2010

Wearing an Illini sweatshirt and jeans, Rosaura Maldonado laughs when asked if she openly talks to her Latino parents about dating and relationships.

“Oh! You’re being serious,” she says, apologizing.

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Written by Mio Santana | 24 February 2010

When it comes to music, Miami has always been the kind of city you either love to love or you love to hate. There has always been something lacking when it came to the city’s musical landscape. But the city that was founded on swampland and marshes, industrialized by drug lords and extorted by countless politicians, is now contending with other major cities when it comes to distinct art, music, fashion, performance and cuisine.

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Written by Gloria Elena Alicea PHOTOS: Lynda Guillu | 22 February 2010

Once upon a time, Graciela Perez, a pretty 14-year-old girl living in Mexico City with her parents and eight brothers and sisters, dreamed of celebrating her quinceañera dressed in a blue chiffon gown and swirling to a Viennese waltz in the arms of a dashing young man under the twinkling lights of glass chandeliers.

Seeing the princessy balls given for her cousins who lived in the better parts of town fanned her imagination, and she would rehearse her dream birthday ball over and over in her mind.

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Written by Christina E. Rodriguez PHOTOS: alBerto Trevino | 22 February 2010

A group of citizens rides the trains every night in Chicago. They can be seen on the Red, Blue and Green lines anytime after 8 p.m. They dress in an unmistakable style: red berets, red jackets, white t-shirts, black pants and military boots. They look like they own the place — which in a way they do.

They’re not members of the Chicago Police Department. They’re not vigilantes. They’re not gangbangers, nor are they going to cause any harm. They’re private citizens who call themselves the Guardian Angels, and they’re out to protect their city.

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Written by Sue Ter Maat PHOTO: Marta Garcia | 22 February 2010

As tax season approaches, the opportunity to get into trouble for not filing, filing a false claim or getting burned by a tax scheme becomes more likely. Experts say those who try to skirt the law or are ignorant of it face stiff penalties and fines for years to come. Imprisonment is possible for the most egregious violators.

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