Two years after her untimely death, Cecilia Gentili remains a legendary trans icon. As International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia approaches, we celebrate it by revisiting our conversation with Gentili. 

In 2022 she spoke to Latino USA about her memoir, “Faltas,” written as a series of letters to people in her hometown in Argentina. 

Cecilia goes back to her youth, growing up in the 1970s and 80s, a time when few people in her community understood her gender expression. She also recalls the people who healed her, like her grandmother, and others who hurt her.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Grammy award-winning Mexican artist Julieta Venegas just released an album and a memoir all about being a Norteña. But like many growing up in the north of Mexico, near the U.S. border, she was also heavily influenced by music and pop culture in English. She loved The Cure as much as she loved Juan Gabriel. 

Listen to Julieta Venegas talk about her iconic sound, strict Mexican dads who get softer with time, the unusual choice to pick up the accordion while writing angsty 90s songs, and how her roots are always at the border despite not living there. 

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Governments worldwide are restricting press freedom, with the U.S. experiencing a drastic decline under the second Trump administration. Funding cuts to public media, lawsuits, federal censorship, and confrontations with ICE have become the norm. Journalists of color, Latino and immigrant journalists are disproportionately impacted. In this episode, we are joined by Maritza Félix, the founder and director of Conecta Arizona, and José Zamora, the regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists to discuss the state of press freedom and what it means for our democracy. 

This story is part of our democracy and election coverage: The Latino Factor: How We Vote.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Estefany Rodríguez, a Nashville-based journalist from Colombia, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this past March. In this episode, Estefany gave Latino USA a shocking account about her detention and the inhuman conditions she experienced and witnessed. Estefany’s lawyers argue that her detention was retaliation for her reporting on immigration enforcement and ICE operations.

We discuss what Estefany’s case shows about the conditions of immigration detention, and what it means that immigrant journalists could be targeted for their reporting in the United States.

This story is part of our democracy and election coverage: The Latino Factor: How We Vote.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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In this intimate reflection, Colombian-American producer Tasha Sandoval takes listeners with her as she returns to her native Colombia, after a lifetime of living in the United States. For a few years, Tasha has had a growing desire: to find out what life would be like if she relocated to the country her parents left, to go back to her homeland. And she’s not the only one– Latin American diasporas in the U.S., including many U.S.-born Latinos, are seeking connections to their ancestral homes  Tune in as Tasha tries to answer a question: What happens when you are willing to return home?

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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After World War II, Puerto Ricans began settling in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, drawn by economic opportunities among Mennonite farming communities. Several generations later, they’re honoring their history and reclaiming their identity as “Dutchiricans” within the Mennonite church—and beyond. 

Tune in to listen to the story of a Dutchirican matriarch —from her family’s migration from Puerto Rico to their adoption of the Mennonite faith— and how spirituality, work, and resilience forged a new cultural identity.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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“If Hamilton is an Obama-era hope musical, we are a Trump-era protest musical," said Nygel D. Robinson, co-creator of “Mexodus.”  

“Mexodus,” a high-energy Off-Broadway show that explores a lesser-known part of U.S. history: the Underground Railroad, south into Mexico. In the 1800s, thousands of enslaved Black people fled to Mexico, where slavery had been abolished decades before the United States.

Maria Hinojosa speaks with “Mexodus” co-creators and stars, Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, about what they hope their hit show can teach audiences today about cross-racial and cross-border solidarity.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Shortages of food, fuel, and basic goods are deepening the crisis in Cuba. For many families living on the island, survival now depends on an outside connection. In Miami, an entire economy has sprung up, with people sending packages of food, medicine, and even motorcycles, trying to fill the gap, while Trump keeps saying that “Cuba is next.” Latino USA’s Peniley Ramirez takes us to South Florida to understand how this economy of survival works, why this moment feels worse than anything Cubans have dealt with in recent decades, and, with the U.S. midterms approaching, what is up next for the island and the people living there. 

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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John Leguizamo is back on our screens—though he never really left. For decades he has played characters that have become comedy cult classics: Chi Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, to Benny Blanco in Carlitos Way, and Tybalt in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. He’s the voice of Bruno in Encanto and Sid the Sloth in Ice Age. Roles that he argues would have skyrocketed any white actor to stardom. In this episode we break down his roles, why he thinks entertainers have a responsibility to speak up and get a peek into his new Hulu show where he plays Pablo Escobar. 

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Petrona Martínez is one of the most important Black singers in Colombia's modern history—and she didn't get her big break until she was 60! She’s known as “the queen of bullerengue,” an ancestral music tradition that goes back to times of slavery in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. For much of her life, Petrona dealt with isolation, poverty and invisibility as a Black woman from rural Colombia. In 1998, she became internationally known and in 2021 she won a Latin Grammy. Press play and join us in her journey.  

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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Real Estate duo Miss Jamie Zapata and Kasandra Alicea went viral on social media in 2025 after showcasing luxurious homes as themselves: “Big ass trans women from South Texas.” Their content has raked in millions of views and people especially connected with them because they called themselves “The Real Estate Dolls.” The two are using their newfound virality to fight transphobia. "A lot of people wonder: 'Why do you always have to say you're trans?,'” Miss Jaime told Latino USA. “Because it matters to the people who are underrepresented.” 

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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