THIS WEEK'S FIVE:

This is a really beautiful interview with photographer Kayla Reefer, who talks about how the photoshoot was intentionally focused on how her family wanted to be presented to the world. Kayla Reefer is the daughter of Panamanian immigrants and grew up in California. Last year, Reefer visited Panama for the first time in almost 5 years & devoted time to photographing her extended family, 3 generations, over the course of multiple weeks. The series strikes an interesting balance with the images being fit for a gallery and scrapbook. Reefer calls the series a gift to her family, a chance for them to see themselves. “I don’t know if they’ve ever had a their pictures formally taken,” she says. But these photos are also a gift for viewers. The series serves as a powerful example of pride; an attempt to combat the erasure of Afro-Latinx identities in Latin America. If you want to hire her, here's her website.

There are about 11,000 Latino businesses in Philadelphia in sectors including hospitality, accounting, law, architecture, engineering, and banking. There's also a growing presence of Colombian and Venezuelan start-ups, adding to the robust business community created by Dominican and Mexican communities. These business owners got together for the first time last week with the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to share ideas for how the city could support the growing community of business leaders.

Great piece that shares the history of female Latin trap and reggaeton artists and how consumers, as well as the music industry, and streaming services like Apply Music, Spotify and Pandora, can help to solve the gender imbalance in the genre.

*Shout out to the writer Jennifer Velez for the submission*

Here's a great list by Bustle that includes everything from modern classics to contemporary reads from various genres that all teens should have on their radar. Frankly, I've already read a bunch of these and can confirm they are excellent reads for non-teens as well lol

So many high school students around the U.S. don't get to experience a wide range of literature or see themselves represented in what they read in school, thanks in large part to our old-fashioned idea of the literary canon that make up so many English curriculums: books like The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and The Catcher in the Rye. Yes, those books have merit, but it's time to rethink curriculums and how they reflect the world as it actually exists.

Spotlight Series:

Here's a cool story on PRI about a revamped version of Lotería, which is a bingo-like game of chance that's mega-popular in Latin America. The way it works is that each of the traditional playing cards shows a concept based on a riddle with a moral or social innuendo — the sneaky little devil warning of bad behavior, a beautiful mermaid warning to keep a clear head or the drunk and his bottle to caution against addiction. Mike Alfaro, who grew up playing the traditional version in Guatemala, has modernized the cards to reflect millennial Latinx cultural references with his card set called Millennial Lotería. For example, his game reimagines La Dama as La Feminist, El Catrín as El Hipster, and Las Jaras as La Hashtag. His Instagram for it went viral, which you can follow here, or you can go support Mike and buy the set of cards on Amazon here.

Appreciate you checking out 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:

• View the archive here

• Don’t forget we built this directory of Latinx business owners. Email your info if you'd like to be added. If you’re looking to hire or purchase products or services of any kind, browse the directory and buy directly from the businesses.

• Here’s a tweet you can post about us.

• If you share any of the articles from the newsletter on social media, tag us! We’re on Twitter as @latinxcollectiv & Facebook as @thelatinxcollective.