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FRONTERAS: What Now For El Salvadorian Workers; Latina Conductor Strikes Chord

Laila Kazmi /KCTS-TV 9
Paula Nava Madrigal rehearsing with the Ballard Civic Orchestra for 2016 Encanto

This week on Fronteras:

  • Now that temporary protected status for people in the U.S. from El Salvador has ended, hear how workers in Houston are dealing with the uncertainty.
  • Property taxes of adobe homes in Marfa skyrocket (3:50).
  • Muslim Americans honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of service (7:59).
  • A Latina conductor strikes a chord in Seattle (11:40).
  • Mexican-American studies touch the lives of San Antonio students (16:49).

Credit Houston Public Media
Construction site in Houston

SALVADORAN WORKERS IN HOUSTON FACE UNCERTAINTY

The White House recently announced the end of the “temporary protected status” designation for people in the U.S. from El Salvador. Houston Public Media's Davis Land takes a look at what that decision means for Houston, where many workers from El Salvador are helping with Harvey recovery.

Credit Bayla Metzger
Marfa resident Emily Hocker in her adobe home. Hocker says her home appraisal increased by $39,000 this year.

VALUE OF ADOBE HOMES IN MARFA RISE EXPONENTIALLY

Adobe is one of the most humble building materials around: it’s essentially mud, water and straw, shaped into brick and dried in the sun. But if you own an adobe home in Marfa, you may have seen a big jump in property taxes this year. Marfa Public Radio’s Bayla Metzger has more on the cost of owning one of these earth-material homes.

Volunteers with Islamic Relief USA in Dallas hand out hygiene kits to people who are homeless.
Credit Christopher Connelly / KERA News

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MUSLIM AMERICANS MARK MLK DAY WITH DAY OF SERVICE

As below-freezing temperatures settled across Texas this past week, volunteers at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center of Dallas kept warm on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, preparing hygiene kits for the city’s homeless population. KERA’s Christopher Connelly takes us along for the day of service in downtown Dallas.

Credit Laila Kazmi / KCTS-TV 9
Madrigal teaching a Young Strings Project Outreach class at Casa Latina in Seattle, WA. The program provides instruments and free music lessons to Latino youth.

GUATEMALAN CONDUCTOR MAKES MUSICAL WAVES IN THE U.S.

By providing instruments and free lessons to youth in Seattle, Paula Nava Madrigal is hoping to cultivate a new trend in Seattle: Latinos interested in classical music. Hear KCTS producer Laila Kazmi’s audio portrait that traces how Madrigal became a conductor and why she thinks her students will learn more than just music.  

Credit Norma Martinez / Texas Public Radio
Luis Silva holds a sign he designed for his Mexican-American literature class.

STUDENTS GET CLOSER TO THEIR CULTURE WITH MEXICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE CLASS

A movement to include Mexican-American studies as part of the curriculum at Texas public schools  Texas Public Radio recently visited a San Antonio high school that’s implementing a course as an elective.

 

Norma Martinez can be reached by email at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1