Culture

She Wasn’t About Spend 4 Months Eating Canned Food, So This Boricua Figured Out How To Make Puerto Rican Food On Mars

By March 8, 2017 at 3:10 pm

You might not have heard of Dr. Yajaira Sierra-Sastre, who earned her doctorate in nanomaterials chemistry in 2009, but she is quite the hero. In 2013, Sierra-Sastre, the only Latina among her group of six scientists, participated in a four-month-long simulated mission to Mars. One goal of the mission was to examine how food could improve the well-being of astronauts on long missions in space.

As the Huffington Post pointed out, Dr. Sierra-Sastre made sure the other scientists were well fed by using recipes for Puerto Rican dishes.


“I was able to create a recipe for Puerto Rican beans cooked from rehydrated ingredients.” Dr. Sierra-Sastre told NBC Latino in 2012. “It was surprising to me the amount of meals we are able to cook.”

Traditionally, astronauts have relied on canned goods and freeze-dried food to get them through their missions. But Dr. Sierra-Sastre was not about that.


According to the Huffington Post, the proud Puerto Rican prepared dishes like paella and beans with cilantro and annatto.

Dr. Sierra-Sastre says her fascination with outer space began when her father would wake her up to “gaze at the stars.”


She also credits elementary and middle school science fairs as influencing her interest in the subject.

Though Dr. Sierra-Sastre faced obstacles over the course of her career, she never stopped pushing herself.


In an interview with Ciencia Puerto Rico, Dr. Sierra-Sastre spoke about one of the “major obstacles” she had to overcome:

… It was my difficulty speaking English. During college, I suffered a lot with professors that would teach engineering and science courses in English. Sadly, my inability to communicate in English closed some doors at the beginning of my career. That was the main reason why I decided to continue graduate studies in the United States. I wanted to be bilingual and prove myself that I could achieve success in my career.

After pursuing her passion for many years,  Dr. Sierra-Sastre has advice for other women looking a career in science.


Dr. Sierra-Sastre gave Ciencia Puerto Rico’s readers some important advice on how to approach their career.

Be bold, brave, determined and strategic. Find mentors that encourage you and constantly remind you that can do achieve your goals. Safeguard your heart while pursuing your university career because a relationship with the wrong person or at the wrong time could negatively impact your professional goals.

Adding:

Become part of professional organizations for women and find the support that you need. Do not compare yourself to anyone because you are unique! Know the skills and personality traits that distinguish you from the rest of the work force. This also entails to be faithful to your passions.

Be sure to follow Dr. Sierra-Sastre on Facebook.

[H/T] YAJAIRA SIERRA-SASTRE: I AM A BORINQUEÑA AND MATERIALS SCIENTIST

Isn’t she amazing? Don’t forget to hit the share button below. 

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A Human Rights Attorney Is Being Accused Of Falsely Posing As A Latina During Her Career

Culture

A Human Rights Attorney Is Being Accused Of Falsely Posing As A Latina During Her Career

By January 8, 2021 at 1:03 pm
BY  | January 8, 2021 AT 1:03 pm

Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan is the outgoing president of the National Lawyers Guild and her departure has taken a sudden turn. After years as an attorney, many are now accusing the attorney of posing as a Latina.

Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan is facing mounting scrutiny and backlash for her claims that she is Latina.

According to a post on Prism, Bannan has a history of claiming her Latinidad. The post points out several interviews the attorney has given over the years with different publications where she explicitly claims that she is part of the Latino community. In one YouTube video with ¡Voice Latina!, Bannan explicitly says that “as a woman, as an individual, as a Latina” she is inspired to do the work she does because of her hero Oscar López Rivera.

People are calling on others to do better about who they choose to represent various communities.

Representation matters, especially when it comes to the issues that are facing our various communities. It is important to make sure that the representation reflects those being represented. According to Prism, Bannan has been pushing a narrative that she is of Puerto Rican and Colombian heritage for over a decade. She has even spoken out as a Puerto Rican woman that is fighting for the island’s statehood.

There are multiple media moments when Bannan claimed Latino heritage, according to reports.

Prism points to an interview conducted in 2007 where she allegedly told “El Diario” that her heritage was “a little bit Spanish, a little bit Colombian, and a Sephardic Jew.”

“I am racially white, and have always said that. However my cultural identity was formed as a result of my family, both chosen and chosen for me, and that has always been Latinx,” Bannan wrote on Facebook Monday following the story. “My identity is my most authentic expression of who I am and how I pay honor to the people who have formed me since I was a child.”

The story is garnering so much attention because of Hilaria Baldwin and her claims of being Spanish.

Baldwin misled people into believing that she was of Spanish descent when she was a white woman born in Boston. Prism was able to decipher that Bannan is a white woman born in Georgia whose family immigrated from Ireland, Italy, and Russia.

READ: Why Do People Care If Hilaria Baldwin’s Spanish Accent Is Fake Or Not, Anyway?

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AttorneyIdentityNatasha Lycia Ora BannanPuerto Rican

Ricky Martin Opens Up On Being A Queer Latino And Talks New Music In Powerful New Interview

Entertainment

Ricky Martin Opens Up On Being A Queer Latino And Talks New Music In Powerful New Interview

By September 23, 2020 at 11:46 am
BY  | September 23, 2020 AT 11:46 am

Ricky Martin has long been an international superstar – even long before ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ took over virtually every airway in the world. But it’s hard to deny that with that song, the Puerto Rican singer entered the global mainstream and ever since he’s been a pop icon.

From being one of the first major pop stars to publicly come out as gay, to acting in popular TV series, and getting married and becoming a father of four, Ricky Martin has always been a very busy man.

And despite a global pandemic that has forced all of us to stay at home and find a ‘new normal,’ Martin has forged a path forward. He recently sat down for an interview with Billboard to discuss everything from new music, the global Coronavirus pandemic, and his identity as an out and proud gay Latino.

Considering we’re all still living amid a global pandemic, the Billboard interview started on this very relevant topic.

Billboard points out that Martin and his family live in a very big and beautiful house in Beverly Hills, which likely makes staying at home a bit easier compared to the rest of us. However, Martin points out that he has a very loud home – with four kids and his mom all living under one roof. But he admits, “…I am very lucky. I am in a comfortable home where my kids can play.”

Ricky Martin is also working on new music. He released Pausa in May, and now as he works on new music the world is a very different place. He told Billboard: “I started working on my music maybe nine months ago. In my mind, the album was going to be called Movimiento, which means movement. But with all this [pandemic], it just told me… “The way it was, was not working. Let’s do it differently.” I have music with rhythm, but I was not going to tell people to move! So I named it Pausa.”

He also speaks about his close relationship with fellow Puerto Rican, El Conejo Malo.

Shortly after Billboard released its history-making cover with Bad Bunny on the the cover, Martin described San Benito as a “Latin queer icon.” Many people – of all backgrounds – took issue with that. But Ricky Martin tells Billboard that “allies are so important. Without them, our fight for equality is impossible. It really tickles me to see Bad Bunny as a gay icon — just like Cher could be. Why not?”

The Puerto Rican singer shared what his coming out experience was like and reveals he never tires of sharing it.

In the interview, Martin is very open about his coming out as gay. The singer came out as gay in 2010, married husband Jwan Yosef in 2017, and together the couple is raising four children.

Rolling Stone asked Martin, 48, what it was like to remain closeted during “the most public, exposed period” of his life.

“I had moments of extreme positivity, and not so positive [moments],” Martin answered. “Life was a bit on steroids in those days. Everything was really intense, but I could take it! I come from a school of military discipline when it comes to training for music, dance, and acting. I started when I was 12. So for me, it was about not being ready to open [up]. When you open an egg from the outside, what comes out is death. But when the egg opens from the inside, what comes out is life. It’s something that needs to come from within. Every time someone forces someone to come out, what you’re doing is you’re destroying the natural flow of the self-discovery.”

When asked what motivated him to come out publicly, Martin said that a kid somewhere in America needs to see positive headlines about coming out.

“Today I woke up to this beautiful headline that I know someone out there is in need of. The headline was something like, ‘I came out. And ever since I’ve been the happiest.’ Something like that, something… My heart is beating faster because I know today a kid somewhere in America woke up needing to hear those words. A lot of people say they get tired of talking about the same thing. Why would I? Are you kidding me? For so many years I had to keep it inside. And then the effect of someone… What people are getting from it in their healing process?”

Billboard also asked Martin his feelings on how the media is profiting and accepting Puerto Rican and Latinx culture.

When asked if he feels that the American media has gotten better or more open to understanding Puerto Rican culture, Martin responded: “We certainly have a long way to go, but the important thing is that we see that there’s an audience that is interested. And it’s up to us to bring [the] education.”

And he’s absolutely right. This year has seen several Latino artists rise to the top of all sorts of charts. Bad Bunny and J Balvin are among the most streamed artists globally and Bad Bunny is one of the most streamed artists on YouTube as well.

Meanwhile, Maluma and Jennifer Lopez are working on a film that will be out early next year. The Emmy’s, VMAs, and other award shows finally had decent representation of artists of color – particularly among the Latinx community.

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BillboardLGBTQPuerto RicanRicky Martin