J
    Joyzel Acevedo

    Joyzel Acevedo

  • Zulu: Racist Blackface or Mardi Gras Tradition?

    In the city of New Orleans near the mouth of Jackson Avenue as it crosses South Claiborne Avenue, families adorned in purple, green and yellow sit in rows of foldout chairs lining the lawns of single-story homes. It is mid-March, and they chat with each other to pass the time, some holding drinks in their gloved hands while others clutch their phones, all the while making sure to keep an ear out for the inevitable slap of drums and trumpet blows that will mark the start of an unusually chilly Mardi Gras day. The anticipation of something magical about to happen electrifies the crowds on either side of Jackson Avenue.

  • Puerto Rico’s crisis inspires stay-at-home mom to fly out the sick and injured

    Hours earlier, when the same flight left from Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport to the Mercedita Airport in Puerto Rico, the sound of the engines were there as well — but mixed with the lively Spanish of 30 medical personnel and four volunteers, all organized by the nonprofit Warrior Angels Rescue, discussing what they would do once they landed in the town of Ponce. As the coast of Puerto Rico slowly came into view, she trembled. Valerie Edmondson Bolaños was born in the town of Isabella, and she named her 3-year old daughter after the city.