I had to determine this week what my favorite Spanish word is. The yellow pad on my desk is full. From soñar to dulce to cuento to cultura to merengue, I had a hard time …

Latinas on Natural Birth, Gentle Mothering and Acceptance
When I was pregnant, the support for a natural birth and breastfeeding came, not from my community of gente, but from non-Latina friends I met in birth class — …

What is That?
Who doesn’t have grade school memories of trading lunches with their friends?
Sitting at the long lunchroom table, face to face across from your classmates, excitedly chattering while pulling out the contents of what …

Ed. note: Please click the headline link to see the Celia Cruz music videos
La Sonora Matancera as Life Coach
The other afternoon, my daughter was catching bugs outside while I was cleaning the kitchen. I blasted …

Update, Get your free Ebook:
We’ve published all the Abuela Week essays, plus two additional essays, in a free ebook, Celebrating Abuela, which you can download here.
Celebrating Abuelas
A few years ago, I learned a science fact …

Craving Culture
It surprises people to learn my company, Los Pollitos Dicen, was founded in Nashville, TN.
Same crazy surprise face when they learn the Tiki Tiki is based here too — in the Buckle of the …

I complain a lot about the cold.
“Que freaking frio,” I say, clinching.
My husband usually responds with “It’s not cold.”
And I usually respond with “But I am from Miami!”
And I clinch some more.
I complain all Fall …

Happy 2011, everybody! All ready for goodness? Got your goals all lined up? Here at the Nashville offices of el Tiki Tiki, we always get jazzed about the possibilities and potential of the …

So, this Fall, I dropped my Caja China off at a Cuban-American friend’s house so  she could use it during a party and pig roast.
La Caja China (Chinese Roasting Box) is a genius, portable, wooden …

I recently introduced a half-Puerto Rican friend to a totally cubana friend and watched as the Puerto Rican sheepishly admitted she didn’t speak mucho Spanish.
I joked with her that we’d get rid of her complejo …