The first step towards change, writes journalist and activist Paola Ramos, is for us to recognize who we are. In an empowering new work of reportage, Ramos embarks on a cross-country journey to find the communities of people defining the controversial term, "Latinx." Many voices—Afrolatino, Indigenous, Muslim, queer, and undocumented, living in large cities and small towns—have been chronically overlooked in how the diverse population of almost sixty million Latinos in the U.S. has been represented. In her debut book, Finding Latinx, Ramos calls to expand our understanding of what it means to be Latino and what it means to be American. A host and correspondent for VICE and VICE News, as well as a contributor to Telemundo News and MSNBC, Ramos was the deputy director of Hispanic media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and she also served in President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. She’ll be joined in a dynamic conversation with LA Times Audience Engagement Editor Fidel Martinez, who currently writes for their new Latinx Files newsletter. Shining a light on the evolving Latinx community, we’ll hear stories from individuals across the United States who are redefining their identities, pushing boundaries, and awakening politically in powerful and surprising ways.
Paola Ramos is a host and correspondent for VICE and VICE News, as well as a contributor to Telemundo News and MSNBC. Ramos was the deputy director of Hispanic media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and a political appointee during the Barack Obama administration. She also served in President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. She’s a former fellow at Emerson Collective. Ramos received her MA in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and her BA from Barnard College, Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn.
Fidel Martinez is an audience engagement editor at the Los Angeles Times, focusing on sports. Previously he worked as a politics editor for Mitu, as a social storytelling producer for Fusion Media Group and as content curator and managing editor for Break Media. He is a proud Tejano who will fight anyone who disparages flour tortillas.