Community Stories 

BY BECCA HAYDU ON DECEMBER 21, 2023

On December 4. Juntos and the ICE Out of Courts Coalition hosted a critical press conference at the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice in South Philadelphia.

The focus? A disturbing uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests targeting over a dozen immigrant community members with pending criminal charges.

BY BECCA HAYDU, CLAUDIA CEBALLOS, JENNIFER HERNANDEZ, GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT & KIANNI FIGUEREO, ON NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Join us in this heartwarming short documentary as award-winning Mexican Chef Cristina Martinez opens up about her inspiring path as an immigrant entrepreneur. Discover the power of a strong support system and the impact of programs by the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

BY KIANNI FIGUEREO, ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

On August 15, and in collaboration with Esperanza Health Center, Power Street Theatre reunited community members to share their stories of immigration, migration, diaspora, and displacement. The ultimate goal was to connect the community around a central theme: home.

POR KIANNI FIGUEREO, TRADUCCION POR GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT EL 5 DE SEPTEMBER DEL 2023

El 15 de agosto, y en colaboración con Esperanza Health Center, Power Street Theatre dedicó un espacio en Kensington a reunir a un grupo diverso de inmigrantes, latines de primera generación y filadelfianos para que compartieran sus historias de inmigración, migración, diáspora y desplazamiento. El objetivo final era conectar a la comunidad en torno a un tema central: el hogar.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT & KIANNI FIGUEREO, ON JUNE 20, 2023

Spanish is one of the most common languages spoken in Philly yet there aren't sufficient city services and programs translated into Spanish. That’s why ¡Presente¡ Media was on the ground to explore how this issue will be addressed by Democratic-Elect Mayoral Candidate, Cherelle Parker.

BY KIANNI FIGUEREO, ON JUNE 12, 2023

¡Presente! Media team attended the Rec It Philly’s Post Primary Meeting where action plans and policies were formulated for the next Philly mayor around their wants for safe and clean sites, more rec programming, and growing the urban forest.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT, ON MAY 9, 2023

¡Presente! Media team attended Congreso’s event “Tu Voz, Tu Voto:” a bilingual conversation about the issues that matter most to our community and how the upcoming election is an opportunity to make our voices heard.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT, AND STEFFANY EL BAROUKI ON MAY 2, 2023

¡Presente! Media team interviewed Philadelphia mayoral candidates at the Latino Mayoral Forum at Esperanza.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT, MICHELLE MYERS AND BECCA HAYDU ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Latina immigrants navigating motherhood is a ¡Presente! Media short documentary about the experiences of three Latina immigrants becoming mothers in the United States.

BY BECCA HAYDU ON NOVEMBER 2, 2021

In 2020, ICE detained an immigrant mother as she was taking her child to school. The community, along with JUNTOS, responded by organizing a campaign to create Sanctuary Schools to address the education inequities that uniquely affect children with immigrant parents. On June 2021, the Philadelphia Board of Education approved the Sanctuary School Resolution.

BY LAURA ANAYA-MORGA & KRISTAL SOTOMAYOR ON MAY 13, 2021

Mike Africa Jr. spent most of his life fighting to free his parents from prison. Both were incarcerated and convicted as members of the MOVE 9. The HBO Documentary, 40 Years a Prisoner, outlines the stark similarities between policing in Philadelphia today compared to the 1970’s.

BY BECCA HAYDU ON FEBRUARY 18, 2021

On Monday, February 8, public elementary schools in Philadelphia were set to reopen. Teachers, students and the community came together to protest against unsafe conditions in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT, MELISSA BEATRIZ AND LAURA ANAYA-MORGA ON FEBRUARY 9, 2021

In this interview, Philly-based multidisciplinary artist and performer Daniel de Jesús shares their inspiration behind making art and its importance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel de Jesús, intérprete y artista multidisciplinario de Filadelfia, habla acerca de qué les inspira a producir arte y su importancia durante la pandemia del COVID-19.

POR MICHELLE MYERS EL 2 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2020

A medida en que Pennsylvania se convierte en un campo de batalla electoral, la comunidad latina tuvo que aprender a votar por sí misma. Solo en Filadelfia, 12.3% de los Latinos son elegibles para votar, pero la falta de información en español puede influenciar en el número final. Teniendo eso en cuenta, Philatinos Radio, ALA PHL y Philly Boricuas lideran iniciativas para informar a la comunidad.

BY MICHELLE MYERS ON NOVEMBER 2, 2020

As Pennsylvania turns into an election battleground, the Latinx community must teach themselves how to vote. In Philadelphia alone, 12.3% of Latinos are eligible to vote, but the lack of information in Spanish could tip the balance. Philatinos Radio, ALA PHL, and Philly Boricuas are leading initiatives to inform the community.

BY MELISSA BEATRIZ & FARRAH RAHAMAN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

The Shut Down Berks Coalition held an action in response to Judge Gee’s ruling that children be released from immigrant detention centers by July 17th, 2020.

BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT AND MELISSA BEATRIZ ON JULY 27, 2020

On June 13, Philadelphia-based immigrant justice groups, Juntos and New Sanctuary Movement, formed 'Marcha en Solidaridad con las Vidas Negras,' to join the protests against systemic racism. They marched in solidarity with other grassroots groups that organized 'Defund the Police: The Whole System is Guilty!,' a protest to demand that the City revise its proposed budget by investing in community-based services and defunding the police department.

BY MELISSA BEATRIZ ON JUNE 20, 2020

El 16 de junio, la Coalición de Artistas para una Filadelfia Justa, organizó la Acción de Arte de Emergencia para financiar los Futuros de Afro Descendientes en los escalones del Museo de Arte de Filadelfia. El objetivo de la acción era para "utilizar el poder de la expresión artística en forma de música, danza y artes visuales para exigir un presupuesto de la ciudad que financie los futuros Afro Descendientes, desfinancie la policía, y salvar el Fondo Cultural de Filadelfia.”

BY MELISSA BEATRIZ ON JUNE 20, 2020

On June 16, the Artist Coalition for a Just Philadelphia hosted the Emergency Art Action to Fund Black Futures! on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The action’s goal was to “use the power of artistic expression in the form of music, dance and visual art to demand a city budget that funds black futures by Defunding the Police and Saving the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.”

SEGMENT PRODUCED, SHOT AND EDITED BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT

PRODUCED FOR PHILLYCAM/ATRÉVETE

Production Assistants: Claudia Ceballos, Kat Garcia

This segment was part of PhillyCAM's show Atrévete.

PRODUCED BY GABRIELLA WATSON-BURKETT

PRODUCED FOR PHILLYCAM/ATRÉVETE

Producer Gabriela Watson-Burkett visited the northeast region of Philadelphia, where the Brazilian community is located. She interviewed Amabilis Silva, owner of Picanha Grill restaurant and Felipe Haubrich, CEO/Publisher of the magazine Alô Você.

DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT

CREATIVE PRODUCED BY MELISSA BEATRIZ

Baobab Flowers (Documentary, 40 min, Brazil/USA) is a personal documentary that blends poetic and observational footage following the journey of two high school teachers: Storm Foreman (Nyanza Bandele) in Philadelphia, United States, and Priscila Dias in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Director, Gabriela Watson-Burkett, immerses herself in a journey to make the connections between communities of the African Diaspora.

BY NEMESIS MORA ON FEBRUARY 27, 2024

‘Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden' is the first comprehensive retrospective of 20th-century African-American sculptor John Rhoden and is currently open at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA). To continue the artist's legacy, PAFA celebrated on Saturday, February 10, the launch of the catalog book on the life and work of the award-winning sculptor, featuring seven essays and more than 90 pages of photographs.

BY DAISY MURGUIA ON FEBRUARY 13TH 2024

The Bok Building is widely recognized as a hub for artists and a place for community events to be held without charge. Community leaders and artists share their experience with the Bok Building and the impact it has on the community with journalist Daisy Murguia. Artists share the need for a space where people can come together to collaborate and organize.

POR DAISY MURGUIA. EL 13 DE FEBRERO DEL 2024

El edificio Bok es ampliamente reconocido como un centro para artistas y un lugar para eventos comunitarios que se llevan a cabo sin costo alguno. Líderes comunitarios y artistas comparten su experiencia con el Edificio Bok y el impacto que tiene en la comunidad con la periodista Daisy Murguia. Los artistas comparten la necesidad de un espacio donde las personas puedan reunirse para organizarse y colaborar.

POR MICHELLE MYERS TRADUCCION POR DAISY MURGUIA EL 30 DE ENERO DEL 2024

Mientras aclaraba mi confusión mental— en parte cuestionando mi identidad más allá de mi carrera, y en parte cuestionando si existía un lugar donde podía hacer periodismo que le diera importancia a las comunidades a las que iba a cubrir— me hice la compañera de gerente editorial para ¡Presente! del año 2021. Lo que debió ser nada más un compromiso de tres meses se convirtió rápidamente en siete meses de trabajo significativo y sanador.

BY MICHELLE MYERS ON JANUARY 30, 2024

While sorting out my mental fog —half questioning my identity beyond my career, half questioning if a place to do journalism that cares about the communities it reports on truly existed — I became ¡Presente!’s 2021 Managing Editor Fellow. And what was supposed to be a three-month commitment, quickly turned into seven months of meaningful and healing work.

POR CARLOS JOSE PEREZ SAMANO EL 24 DE NOVIEMBRE DEL 2023

Alto al genocidio. Cese inmediato al fuego en Palestina. Estamos siendo testigos de un genocidio histórico y tenemos que detenerlo.

POR JENNIFER HERNANDEZ TRADUCCION POR ERICKA CONANT EL 6 DE NOVIEMBRE DEL 2023

La candidata demócrata a la alcaldía Cherelle Parker y el candidato republicano a la alcaldía David Oh discutieron sus planes para hacer frente a la epidemia de opioides en Kensington durante un debate privado con Tina Stankiewicz, una adicta en recuperación de fentanilo, heroína y tranquilizantes vinculada a la comunidad de Kensington, y Frank Rodrigues, un adicto a la heroína en recuperación y defensor de la adicción, moderado por ¡Presente! Media, Kianni Figuereo, natural de Kensington.

BY JENNIFER HERNANDEZ ON OCTOBER 26, 2023

Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker and Republican mayoral nominee David Oh discussed their plans to address the opioid epidemic in Kensington during a private discussion with Tina Stankiewicz, a fentanyl, heroin, and tranq recovering addict with ties to the Kensington community, and Frank Rodriguez, a recovering heroin addict and addiction advocate, moderated by ¡Presente! Media multimedia producer Kianni Figuereo, a Kensington native.

BY JENNIFER HERNANDEZ ON OCTOBER 25, 2023

Power Street Theatre (PST) hosted the 1st Annual Souletri Fest on Saturday, October 7th, 2023, at the Lighthouse Sports Complex Field to honor Philadelphia’s vibrant arts scene and amplify dynamic voices across the city.

POR NIGEL THOMPSON EL 7 DE OCTUBRE DEL 2023

La semana pasada, un juez retiró todos los cargos de asesinato presentados por el fiscal de distrito Larry Krasner contra el oficial Mark Dial, lo que marcó otra mancha más en la historia entre la justicia penal de Filadelfia y la comunidad latina. Es una relación similar para muchas comunidades latinas en todo el país.

BY NIGEL THOMPSON ON OCTOBER 7, 2023

This past week, all murder charges filed by District Attorney Larry Krasner against Officer Mark Dial were dropped by a judge, marking yet another stain on the history between Philly criminal justice and the Latine community. It’s a similar relationship for many Latine communities across the country. 

POR DAISY MURGUIA EDITADO POR SILVIA FERRER EL 8 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2023

Reyna Guzmán Casarez habla sobre su trabajo como líder comunitaria, las barreras que ha tenido que superar y las razones por las que el Desfile de Carros Alegóricos significa tanto para los latines de Filadelfia.

POR SILVIA FERRER EL 7 DE JUNIO DEL 2023

Las comunidades de inmigrantes de Filadelfia no se quedarán en silencio: el próximo alcalde debe escucharlas

POR VALERIE DOWRET EL 16 DE MAYO, 2023

¡Presente! Media habló con cuatro artistas latinos locales sobre lo que les gustaría ver del próximo alcalde. Más espacios de arte, contratos municipales y ser escuchados están en la lista de pedidos de los artistas.

BY VALERIE DOWRET ON MAY 16, 2023

¡Presente! Media spoke to four local Latine artists about what they’d like to see from the next mayor, more artistic spaces, city contracts, and being heard are on the roster.

BY SILVIA FERRER ON MAY 12, 2023

Philadelphia residents talk about the hurdles that are preventing immigrants from casting their vote, what grassroots organizations are doing to help, and what candidates owe Philadelphia’s immigrant community.

BY ERICKA CONANT AND GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT ON MAY 9, 2023

Young Latines discuss the issues that matter most to our community and how the upcoming election is an opportunity to make our voices heard at Congreso’s event “Tu Voz, Tu Voto.”

POR ERICKA CONANT Y GABRIELA WATSON-BURKETT EL 9 DE MAYO DE 2023

Jóvenes latines dan su opinión en el evento de Congreso “Tu Voz, Tu Voto”: una conversación bilingüe sobre los temas que más importan a nuestra comunidad y cómo las próximas elecciones son una oportunidad para hacer que se escuchen nuestras voces.

BY JULIÁN CARREÑO ON MAY 2, 2023

2Puntos Platform and ¡Presente! Media visited some of the city's Latine businesses to hear their concerns and challenges, and what they are asking of the future mayor of Philadelphia.

POR ERICKA CONANT Y FOTOS DE ASHLEY ORTEGA EL 26 DE ABRIL DEL 2023

El 16 de mayo, los votantes acudirán a las urnas para emitir su voto por uno de los 12 candidatos a la alcaldía de Filadelfia. La lista de candidatos está grande y competitiva. En este artículo tienes un panorama de los planes de los candidatos acerca de temas relacionados a la comunidad latina.

POR JULIÁN CARREÑO PERIODISTA 2PUNTOSPLATFORM EL MAYO 2 DEL 2023

Visitamos algunos de los negocios latines de la ciudad para escuchar sus preocupaciones y retos, y lo que le piden al futuro alcalde.

POR EMILY NEIL CON CONTRIBUCION DE MICHELLE MYERS EL 23 DE SETIEMBRE DE 2022

Extrañando a la familia, lidiando contra el racismo en los consultorios médicos y forjando una comunidad para apoyarse mutuamente: Tres madres inmigrantes latinas en el área de Filadelfia comparten sus historias de embarazo.

BY EMILY NEIL WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MICHELLE MYERS ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Missing home and family, facing racism in doctor’s offices, and forging community to support one another: Three Latina immigrant moms in the Philadelphia area share their pregnancy stories.

POR MICHELLE MYERS EL 30 DE ENERO DE 2022

GALAEI es la segunda organización latina más antigua del país. Pero después de que sus miembros notarán la diversidad en la sala se dieron cuenta de que sus identidades eran más diversas de lo que el acrónimo inicial de GALAEI podía abarcar. Ahora, después de 32 años, GALAEI ha ampliado oficialmente sus puertas a todas las personas queer de color. ¿Qué significa este cambio para la comunidad latinx queer de Filadelfia?

BY MICHELLE MYERS ON NOVEMBER 4, 2021

In Philadelphia, poet and activist David Acosta took note of this disparity and founded GALAEI to give the queer latinx community a hub for services and linkage to care. Now, after 32 years, GALAEI has officially expanded its doors to all queer people of color.  

POR MICHELLE MYERS EL 3 DE NOVIEMBRE DEL 2021

En 2017 nació YAKU WARE. Yaku significa agua en quechua ,una de las lenguas indígenas de Ecuador, un ingrediente clave para la supervivencia de la palma toquilla que crece en la costa del país.

BY MICHELLE MYERS ON NOVEMBER 3, 2021

In 2017, YAKU WARE was born. Yaku means water in Quechua—one of Ecuador’s Indigenous languages, a key ingredient for the survival of the toquilla palm growing in the coast of the country.

BY SANDRA ANDINO CAMACHO ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Following are the voices of three special Afro-Latinx in Philadelphia that during the ongoing pandemic continue to lead efforts for fair representation and equal opportunity for immigrant communities in the U.S., and above all fighting racism and racist practices from deep within. 

POR EDGAR RAMIREZ EL 1 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2021

Hace 4 años conocí a Dulce Ramirez durante una visita al museo de antropología, para entonces tenía un bebe de 3 años, Alan. Ramirez es originaria de Ciudad de México (México) y llegó a Philadelphia cuando apenas tenía 13 años, junto con sus padres. Su camino no ha sido fácil, pero siempre ha tenido la valentía de enfrentar los retos que la vida le depara, incluso durante la pandemia.

BY EDGAR RAMIREZ ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

I met Dulce Ramirez 4 years ago, during a visit to the Penn Museum of Archeology; back then she had a 3-year-old baby, Alan. Originally from Mexico City (Mexico), Ramirez arrived in Philadelphia when she was just 13 years old, along with her parents. Her path has not been easy, but she has always had the courage to face the challenges that life throws her way, even during the pandemic.