Where We Are: The Theater

My latest for The New York Times was a look into a film troupe out of Guatemala called Desobediencia Perfecta. A group of mostly queer, trans teens, the group seeks to explore the lives of lower-middle class Guatemalans who are often caricaturized or outright neglected in Guatemalan media locally and abroad.

Race/Related: An Iranian Curator on Art’s Power in an Uprising

This is a Q&A with Nazy Nazhand, an Iranian curator who has brought many Iranian artists to the forefront of the the art world. We spoke about how art is both a reflection and vehicle for struggle among the Iranian diaspora.

A Chance Encounter Helps Return Sacred Artifacts to an Indigenous Group

For this story I spoke to leaders from the Yaqui Nation, an Indigenous group in Mexico and the United States, who worked tirelessly for decades to repatriate religious and cultural artifacts found in a Swedish museum back to the tribes with the help of the United Nations.

“The Golden Age of Thrifting is Over”

A in this story, I explored how the glut of fast fashion has made its way into local thrift stores, making it hard for women who have been purchasing secondhand for decades to find quality garments they can wear. I spoke to women who have been thrifting for decades to get a sense of wether or not the quality of thrifted items has declined in recent years and it turns out it did.

‘Think of Groundhogs’: For Life Advice From a Grade Schooler, Press 2

A California elementary school put together a hotline where people could call to get a pep-talk from a kindergartener. Well, listen to a motivational message from a kindergartener.

Años Viejos: Torching the Old Year to Toast the New One

This is near and dear to my heart. Got to explore the tradition of burning old rag-dolls to banish the old year and bring in the new.

U.S.C. to Issue Honorary Degrees to Displaced Japanese Students

It was really important to me when covering this story that I got at the decades of work it took to get these honorary degrees for Nisei students. Since 2007, Jonathan Kaji, the former president of the Asian Pacific Alumni Association at the University of California had been pushing the school to apologize for the treatment of Nisei students. In 2021, they listened.

‘Sexist,’ ‘Racist,’ ‘Classist’: Georgia 8th Grader Challenges School Dress Code

After being cited for a rip in her jeans on the first day of school, Sophia Trevino has led a protest seeking changes to the district’s dress code, which she says unfairly targets girls, people of color and lower income students.

Video of Officer’s Collapse After Handling Powder Draws Skepticism

After a police department claimed that one of their officers suffered from a fentanyl overdose after handling a white powder, I spoke to medical experts to figure out if that was even possible. It’s not.

U.S. doses top 2 million per day, but there’s a big racial disparity: The week in vaccine news.

This is an example of the weekly roundups I would do for the international Covid-19 live briefing, which ran 24/7 during the hight of the pandemic.

How to Vote in the 2020 Election

I was a part of a small group of reporters who gathered the voting information of each state to compile a guide for our readers. You’d be surprised at how many states don’t have readily accessible voting instructions, especially in a a year where vote by mail was so confusing during the pandemic. I’m really proud of this one.

Charles Booker Says Progressives Should ‘Show Up and Listen’ to Deep Red Districts

An interview with Charles Booker when he lost his race for senate in Kentucky.

Black Trans Women Seek More Space in the Movement They Helped Start

At no point have black trans people shared fully in the gains of the L.G.B.T.Q. or racial justice movements. This may be changing.

What It’s Like to Run for Congress Without Health Insurance During a Pandemic

Elections are rarely level playing fields for candidates coming from working class backgrounds, the pandemic exacerbated the differences. Some candidates left their jobs to run for office, also leaving behind healthcare. Add to that the rising costs of campaigns, meaning that some candidates could not afford to put money aside for healthcare to be competitive in their districts.

To This Group, Labor Is More Than a ‘White Man Who Works in a Factory’

Care in Action, the advocacy branch of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, hosted a presidential forum in Las Vegas in February 2020 during the Nevada Caucuses. I traveled to the forum to hear candidates speak and ask them questions about their platform.

Meet the Latinos Trying to Get Latinos to the Polls

This project was one of my first long haul pieces for the Times. I interviewed all the Latine outreach directors of the Democratic campaigns to get a better sense of who they were and what motivated their outreach.

Women Running for Office Have to Worry About One More Thing: Their Phones

In the wake of Katie Hill’s impeachment for being in a relationship with a staffer, another ethical violation was being debated outside of Washington — the fact that her partner leaked private photos of Hill. This raised the fear among young women candidates about yet another thing they’d have to worry about when running for office, anything they post on social media, or even send as a text, could be used against them.

Why Some Young Voters Are Choosing Democratic Socialism Over the Democratic Party

This is the first feature I got to travel for the Times. I went to speak to a group of Democratic Socialists during the Democratic debate in Ohio. The spoke about how they felt abandoned by the Democratic Party, and that not many candidates had platforms that could address their needs.

New York Times Work

Linking to my author page at the Times, realistically it was too many articles to copy into the website.