The Latinx Collective: 🙋🏽👨🏻👱🏾👩🏾👱🏻‍♀️the "Level Up" edition

THIS WEEK'S SIX:

This is the definition of a LEVEL UP.

Frank Baez was a teenager when he started working as a janitor at New York University's Langone Tisch Hospital, cleaning patient rooms, bathrooms and hallways. He was encouraged by the nurses he worked with to apply to NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing so he entered an accelerated program that allowed him to graduate with a nursing degree in just 15 months. Last Monday, Baez, now 29, graduated with a nursing degree from NYU.

"I could barely speak English at the time when I started working at NYU," said Baez, who moved to New York from the Dominican Republic with his mom at age 15. "Now I reflect on it and I feel very proud of how much I accomplished."

*Thank you to the wonderful Carolina Moreno for the submission❤️*

The writer calls out five singles to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. If you don't want to click through, I linked to the 5 singles he calls out (music videos):

With the Memorial Day weekend holiday now behind us, chart watchers and music media types have begun to hypothesize and pontificate on this year's contenders for the proverbial Song of the Summer.

1) Daddy Yankee feat. Snow, "Con Calma"

2) Lunay feat. Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee, "Soltera (Remix)"

3) Nicky Jam and Ozuna, "Te Robaré"

4) Sech featuring Darell, "Otro Trago"

5) Pitbull, Natti Natasha, and Daddy Yankee, "No Lo Trates"

Netflix will release “Stories From Our Future,” three shorts aimed at Spanish-speaking audiences inspired by fan homages to the Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones’ anthology series “Black Mirror.” They will star a host of Latinx social network luminaries offering their take on the franchise, including YouTube influencers Rudy Mancuso (who also directed and scored the series), Lele Pons and Juanpa Zurita. On June 10, Rudy, Lele and Juanpa will release all three videos on their YouTube channels simultaneously.

A story usually hidden behind a more glamorous front, "Harvest Season" probes the lives of the multigenerational Latinos, temporary laborers, and permanent residents intimately connected to the production of premium wines in the Napa and Sonoma regions of Northern California — in the midst of one of the most dramatic grape harvests in recent memory.  The film made its debut on PBS on May 13th and is available until June 12th - watch it online here!

This is a really beautiful essay I discovered via the Es Mi Cultura newsletter (I spotlighted them in issue #35). It's no secret that beauty standards favor straight hair, light skin and "European looks." It is also no secret that Latinx communities often uphold those same standards (especially in previous generations) even though they are not reflected in them. While we do need to call out people who uphold these backwards standards, we also need to celebrate those that are moving us forward. I spent a lot of time in the hair salon as a young child (not by choice) because of my so-called "pelo malo" and it was to the detriment of my natural curls (they're gone now) so I love that this writer received positive messages from her mother and grandmother about her Afro-Latinidad. Read it!😭

Just found out there is a new show called "Alternatino" - a sketch show that follows Arturo Castro (“Broad City,” “Narcos”) as he attempts to navigate life as a modern millennial Latino man – whatever that means. According to Comedy Central, it will debut on June 18th. *I heard about this at long-time subscriber Noelia de la Cruz's amazing HBO event last night*

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:

• 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, please tag us on Twitter at @latinxcollectiv or Facebook at @thelatinxcollective.