THIS WEEK'S FIVE:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made the cover of TIME magazine. Read it, buy it, frame it lol. My favorite sentence talks about what you can find in her office (she's my kind of gal): There’s a picture of Wonder Woman leaning in one corner of the office and a giant cardboard cutout of Cardi B’s face in another. A quote from the story:

Ocasio-Cortez has become the second most talked-about politician in America, after the President of the United States. Since beating 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary to represent New York’s 14th District last June, the 29-year-old former bartender has pressured 2020 presidential candidates into supporting her Green New Deal, made campaign-finance reform go viral and helped activists banish Amazon from Queens with a couple of tweets. No lawmaker in recent memory has translated so few votes into so much political and social capital so quickly. Her Twitter following has climbed from about 49,000 last summer to more than 3.5 million.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold is set to hit theaters Aug. 2nd and you can now watch the trailer here (almost 2M views in 1 day!) Yes, it seems corny that a children's cartoon was turned into a live-action movie - but this is an amazing opportunity for us to go support an all-Latino cast (including Eva Longoria, Michael Peña, and Eugenio Derbez) in U.S. theaters.

This article features actress Isabela Moner, who talks about using her role in the film as an opportunity to connect more deeply to her Peruvian ancestry. Dora's adventures will take audiences to Machu Picchu where they'll explore the Incan culture. She learned Quechua to speak it in the movie. With this film, Peru is being represented in Hollywood in a way it never has before.

Yea - another Latinx on a cover of a major magazine! Read it, buy it, frame it lol p.s. shout out to music critic/writer Eduardo Cepeda on writing this cover story! And with this my crush on Bad Bunny grows and grows....

Twenty years after Ricky Martin led the so-called Latin explosion onto U.S. radio waves, Bad Bunny ranks as one of music’s most exciting new stars, no “crossover” qualification necessary. His ascent -- from a small town on the northern coast of Puerto Rico to the biggest U.S. arenas in two years -- certifies Latin music’s now-central role in American pop, beyond novelty singles and Bieber features.. Holding off on releasing an album as he fired off single after single, he charted 34 tracks on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, twice as many as Ozuna before his Odisea dropped in 2017.

Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein (formerly Ariana Sauceda) started Lil’ Libros in 2014 because they had trouble finding children’s books in both English and Spanish. They started with a few titles like a picture book about Frida Kahlo & Loteria, a bingo game popular in Mexican culture. They used their savings to start it, finding a printing company and hiring an illustrator. They soon sold 1,000 pre-orders & landed a deal with Target, where they have 6 shelf spots in the books section. Learn more about the company & shop for their books here.

As one of Latin America’s most influential businesswomen and philanthropists, Angélica Fuentes has been a CEO for over 20 years, working mainly in male-dominated fields. She’s also an advocate and impact investor, fighting for women’s rights. Fuentes shares some choice words of wisdom on pursuing your wildest dreams including:

• “Don’t let anybody decide what you want in life. It’s yours and you should run with it and you should do whatever you want with it.”

• “The mistakes do not define us. It’s OK to fail.”

SPOTLIGHT SERIES:

Cafe con Libros is a feminist bookstore located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Owner Kalima DeSuze's mission is to provide space for anyone seeking a community of readers and thinkers and, to spread the love of reading as a source of healing. Check out the local calendar of events, which include author readings, writing club and book club meetings. According to Kamila, she represents "an intersection where many of us live: Black race and Latina ethnicity, and often, we bridge the two communities, whether it is a chosen responsibility or not." Read more about her in this BESE profile, and visit the bookstore's website here.

Appreciate you reading this week’s issue. Forward this to friends or family so they can join you in celebrating the every day contributions the Latinx community is making. You can also:

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