ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin (Pasadena, CA) -- Received the coveted PEN
Nomination for her poem, The Many Faces of La Llorona, published in the
Altadena Poetry Anthology Review 2024. I also read Spanish translations from her
book, Mi Amor (September 2024) at
Los Libros in Lincoln Heights. I recited Nopal, Muse, Medicine and
Sustenance from my thrice winning International Latino Book awarded Chicana On Fire (December 2024) at the
Xicana Exhibit, El Camino College. AND! She exhibited portraits (August-December
2024) at The CASA 0101 Art Gallery and an altar dedicated to recently deceased
Gloria Molina, First Latina elected to the CA assembly.
Andrea Arroyo (New York, NY) – Was a guest at art conferences and
exhibitions in Italy and France last year. Her solo exhibition "Faces
& Façades" at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum in Manhattan
(https://morrisjumel.org/exhibitions/faces-facades/) was featured in the NY
Amsterdam News and is on view through March 23, 2025. Please email me for a
QR code that grants free entrance to the museum; email amae347@yahoo.com.
Julieta Corpus (Weslaco, TX) – Her book, Of Love And Departures/ De Amor Y Despedidas, is a bilingual
poetry book available through Amazon. It is a collection of poems in English
and in Spanish about love and loss and grief written during and after the death
of her late husband Arturo Saldana, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in
2014 and passed away in March 2016.
Yanelba Ferreira (Bronx, NY) – Happy to announce her recent acting
roles! (1.) Performed as Jury Foreperson
(co-star role) in Law & Order, Season 23, Episode 4 which aired on February
8, 2024. (2.) Performed as Rosa Castillo (supporting role)
in the short film “Hello Brooklyn!” directed by Dustin Prestige,
premiered at Stuart Cinema in Brooklyn, NY on October 8, 2024 and is also
available for viewing on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_wlJzVUmTU0. (3.) Performed as Mami (supporting role) in
the short film “Niña Linda” directed by Ashley Morales, premiered at
Rider University on December 8, 2024. Film is currently not available for
viewing online as it is being submitted to film festivals.
Lourdes Ortiz (North
Attleboro & Massachusetts) -- Graduates with an MBA in May 2025. She has three
small children – 6, 4 and 1. She works a
full-time job; cares for her three kids; and stays up many late nights,
sometimes ‘til 3am, studying. Lourdes is very happy and very proud of
herself. [We are too!]
Mirtha Perez
(Cedar Park, TX) -- The week before Christmas, Mirtha and her daughter went to
San Juan, Puerto Rico, to kick off her gymnastics season with Acrotex Cedar
Park. She competed in the Puerto Rico Classic
and got 1st in Bars, 3rd in Beam and 3rd All Around. She qualified for the
Laurie Hernandez Champions Challenge the next day where she got 5th place All
Around, and Laurie was there to give some pep talks to the gymnasts. It was an amazing experience for both!
Susana Sandoval
(Denver /Chicago/Los Angeles) – Won a Scholarship for her annual grantsmanship
training (recertification).
Leonor Vargas (Austin, TX) -- This year, Wisdom En Familias LLC, was
honored to collaborate with the Community Advancement Network to design and
lead outreach for the bilingual mobile Mental Health Outreach Toolkit (Pathways
to Mental Health Healing). This initiative was created to uplift and serve
Spanish-speaking communities, addressing the urgent need for accessible mental
health resources. With the steadfast support of our incredible
partners—Southwest Key Programs, NAMI, our advisory group, and funders—we
worked passionately to empower individuals and families. Through this effort,
Wisdom En Familias delivered 53 presentations and reached 725 participants,
offering knowledge, tools, and hope for healing. (From Leonor: Mil gracias to everyone who
contributed to this transformative work. Together, we are fostering stronger,
healthier communities. Here’s to building on this important mission in 2025 and
beyond!)
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COMADRE AUTHORS
Congratulations
to our COMADRE AUTHORS for
their latest publications.
NOVEMBER 2024
Nimia
Maria Ramos Beauchamp (Bayamon, PR) – Nimia and Kimia Shahrokhi, known for a series
of coloring books as Drs. Kimia & Nimia, have new book available, AyurPermaVerse Coloring Book, based on
Ayurveda, Permaculture, Botany principles for children from 5-14 but all ages
can color!
DECEMBER
2024
Anjanette Delgado (Florida)
-- published a book this month with a small independent publisher in Puerto
Rico. It's called El sexilio,
mostly in Spanish, and talks about us women and how sometimes we are forced to
exile because of the violence against the feminine.
JANUARY
2025
Dr.
Melba Salazar-Lucio (San Antonio, TX) – her memoir, WHERE I AM FROM, will be published
by Storyworth.
Las
Comadres Para Las Americas (Austin, TX) – published COOKING WITH
LAS COMADRES cookbook. 60 Comadres
contributed 130+ recipes from main dishes to soups to pastelones to surrollitos
to carne guisada to flan to sangria to coquito.
This cookbook is a fundraiser for Las Comadres, all proceeds go to fund 2025
programs. Order your copy here.
