Stories by Erica Gunderson

Ale Gabino and David Acevedo are both lifelong dancers. After meeting at a 2003 Polynesian dance competition in Hilo, Hawaii, they married in 2009. A year later, they opened Hōkūle’a Academy of Polynesian Arts, where together, they teach their other great love – Polynesian culture and dance.

Music is an integral part of any celebration – and that includes Hispanic Heritage Month, which officially began this week, and Enchúfate’s Sandra Treviño wants to get you ready to party.

This month, the Shriver Center released a report based on interviews with low-wage workers across Illinois. It found people like home health aides, rideshare workers and warehouse workers struggle with not just low wages but a lack of benefits, insufficient safety protections and job security.

The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s annual festival “Destinos” returns this month to showcase Latino theater companies, artists and stories. 

Estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate that the rates of traffic-related deaths are the highest they’ve been in 20 years. An analysis by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests Latino and Black Americans are disproportionately affected by vehicular fatalities. 

The acting career of Raspy Rivera was derailed by an injury in 2020. But she says that injury wound up being a life-changing gift. 

This week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the names of seven interim commissioners who will make up the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, Chicago’s first civilian police oversight board. The group is charged with a tall order: rebuilding public trust in the department.

Jorge Garcia wasn’t always a bird paparazzo – in fact, he’s only been at it for a couple of years, after a gear upgrade for his job as a technologist took an unexpected turn. The fledgling interest soon hatched into a full-blown hobby.

According to city data, 60% of Chicagoans live in rental properties, and a June report by real estate platform Domu finds the median rent for one-bedroom apartments in Chicago is up 8% since January. With fierce competition for apartments, the city’s renters – many of whom are Black– are more vulnerable targets for scammers and shady landlords.

Former U.S. Congressman Luis Gutierrez is coming out of retirement to announce the formation of a new immigration reform organization. His group Our Nation's Future aims to help people with green cards become naturalized citizens by educating immigrants on the path to citizenship and advocating for a modernized immigration system.

As school starts back up, students especially rely on the internet for everything from research to turning in their homework. But for some of those students, reliable internet access is still tough to come by. A few area programs are looking to change that.