LatinXperts

Proyecto Latino and the lead up to the Texas Midterms

In this episode of Latinxperts, the research team behind Proyecto Latino at UT Austin discuss their recent polling results of Texas voters leading up to the 2026 midterms. Discussing a survey of 1,515 registered voters in TX with oversamples of 500 Latino and 500 Black registered voters, the research team compares candidate support and discuss the issues that are driving the overall Texas electorate and the issues and concerns of the Latino and African American electorate in the state of Texas.

View the data at https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/sca/projects/proyecto-latino/research/data-hub.html

Traveling Abroad to Look Within: An Interview with Victor Sáenz about his Mexico Maymester

Roxanne Schroeder-Arce interviews Victor Sáenz about a Mexico Maymaster he has run for several years. She asks questions about the content of his course, the impact on students, plus how he has grown as a teacher and person through leading this program.

Read Victor’s book, Ensuring the Success of Latino Males in Higher Education: A National Imperative: https://www.amazon.com/Ensuring-Success-Latino-Higher-Education/dp/1579227880/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.n55rda5EWrQwu29tUm86FiMUcxC0cGb50USv64fNHsLD9AQ5y7tQLC3LkaeuPfup.ckoiSVgh3ioBfNVSJGPUiYCPdSMvI1dprdS-7cN_i3s&dib_tag=se&qid=1754358451&refinements=p_27%3AVictor+B.+S%C3%A1enz&s=books&sr=1-1

Ep. 41 – Asserting Humanity Through Art

In this episode of the LatinXperts Podcast, Alfonso Ayala III, a doctoral student at UT’s Mexican American and Latina/Latino Studies department, engages in a conversation with Julio Salgado, a queer undocumented artist based in Los Angeles, California. Julio, who rose to fame for his 2012 “I am Undocuqueer!” artwork shares his journey as a queer, undocumented artist and the role of art in activism. Julio’s work is a bold testament to the vibrancy and humanity of jotería and undocumented life. Using his own life experiences and the stories of those around him, Julio creates art that deals with themes of joy, hope, and resilience. The discussion covers Julio’s influences, his evolving understanding of art as a catalyst for change, and his commitment to highlighting the humanity of undocumented and queer communities. The conversation provides profound insights into the power of visual art in advocating for marginalized voices and the future trajectory of queer art and activism.

Julio Salgado is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift and the Migrant Storytelling Manager for The Center for Cultural Power. His status as an undocumented, queer artivist has fueled the contents of his visual art, which depict key individuals and moments of the DREAM Act and the migrant rights movement. Undocumented students, organizers and allies across the country have used Salgado’s artwork to call attention to the migrant rights movement. Salgado is the co-creator of The Disruptors Fellowship, a program at The Center for Cultural Power for emerging television writers of color who identify as trans/and or non-binary, disabled, undocumented/formerly undocumented immigrants. His work has been displayed at the Oakland Museum, SFMOMA and Smithsonian.

Ep. 40 – 14 Years Inside, A Lifetime of Latinx Advocacy

Michael Hames-Garcia speaks with Steven ‘Humble’ Mangual, a former prisoner who has become a national civil rights leader. Steven shares his harrowing experiences in solitary confinement, the trauma of his early life, and his path to transformation through education, self-reflection, and community. Now a Justice Advocate Coordinator for Latino Justice–PRLDEF, Steven discusses his work in criminal legal reform, health advocacy, and restorative justice. Through his story, we learn about the systemic challenges faced by the Latinx community and the importance of community support and advocacy in achieving reform and justice.

Steven Mangual is a long-time advocate and activist in the fields of health, social and criminal justice both from behind the walls and in his community. He started his career in 1997 as a Facilitator, Peer-Educator and Organizer from within the New York State Department of Corrections while serving a 14-year sentence. Upon his release in 2006, Steven worked with the NYS Department of Health and Department of Corrections as well as several nonprofits. Steven volunteered for thirteen years as the Latino Affairs Producer/Co-host for “On The Count: The Prison and Criminal Justice Report,” a 60-minute talk, news, and interview program featuring criminal and social justice subjects on radio station WBAI, 99.5 FM. He is now based in Florida, working as the Southeast Region Justice Advocate Coordinator for the national civil rights organization Latino Justice–PRLDEF.

Ep. 39 – Queer Brown on Both Sides of the Lens?

A conversation with self-taught photographer Fabián Guerrero: a queer, first-generation Mexican American born in Dallas, TX. Fabián’s work both reflects and is inspired by his upbringing as a first-generation immigrant and a queer brown individual; taking from fashion, film, poems, and music, the lifestyle and everyday survival, to shed light on his family’s history and the meanders of the brown and queer communities. “Queer Brown on Both Sides of the Lens” delves into Fabián’s emergence in photography, his artistic process, and the importance of place, Texas and the Mexican-Texas borderland in his work.

Fabián Guerrero is a queer, first-generation Mexican American born in Dallas, TX. He works with film and photography to document and create images that reflect on pasts, presents, and possible futures of our generation. Fabián’s work both reflects and is inspired by his upbringing as a first-generation immigrant and a queer brown individual; taking from fashion, film, poems, and music, the lifestyle and everyday survival, to shed light on his family’s history and the meanders of the brown and queer communities.

Laura Gutiérrez is Associate Professor in Latino Studies in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Public Practice in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin.

Ep. 38 – Writing Truth in Times of Fear

“Writing Truth in Times of Fear” spotlights the MALS’ first inaugural Writer-in-Residence mónica teresa ortiz. Ortíz talks with Karma Chavez, Chair of the Department of Mexican American Latina/o Studies, about the importance of land, Texas, as well as ethnic, racial, and queer identity to their creative practice. They also offer important insights for students wanting to pursue their passions.

mónica teresa ortiz is a poet born and raised in the rural Panhandle of Texas, between Oklahoma and New Mexico. mónica’s work includes three poetry chapbooks, “muted blood” (2018) from Black Radish Books, “autobiography of a semiromantic anarchist” (2019) from Host Publications, and “Do You Dream of Flamingos?” (2023), winner of the Garden Party Collective Chapbook prize and selected by fellow Texas poet Laura Villareal.

Karma R. Chávez is Chair and Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at UT Austin.