César J. Baldelomar

Jan 17, 2025 | commonwealmagazine.org | César J. Baldelomar |Santiago Ramos |Vanessa R. Corcoran |Jonathan Malesic

In his recent response to my review of Paola Ramos’s Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America, Santiago Ramos (no relation) registers a few disagreements. But his criticisms actually bolster my main point: identities are complex, and cannot be reduced to simple labels.

Dec 3, 2024 | commonwealmagazine.org | César J. Baldelomar |Mary Gordon

The morning after the election, my social-media feed was flooded with posts expressing shock and dismay over Donald Trump’s return to office. But there was also relief and joy, and even celebration over what some hailed as a victory for Christianity. Many of those celebratory posts came from Latinos, including some of my own family members. I’m a close follower of voting trends and take pains to speak with people outside of my “bubble,” so I was not surprised by the results of the election.

Mar 27, 2024 | commonwealmagazine.org | Dominic Preziosi |César J. Baldelomar |Brad East |Paul Baumann

In mid-March, four months after my father died, my son got married. My father had been in declining health for a few years, during which time my mother took on the role of full-time caretaker (as a lifelong partner might be expected to). Resisting entreaties to accept regular outside help, she also stubbornly and preemptively ruled out any kind of travel, even for a grandson’s wedding. That she was able to be present after all made everyone happy, including her.

Mar 25, 2024 | commonwealmagazine.org | Regina Munch |César J. Baldelomar |Brad East |Paul Baumann

In recent weeks, Haiti has been engulfed in gang violence, with more than three hundred gangs taking control of most of the country, including 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. These groups, which had been at war with one another for years, took advantage of President Ariel Henry’s absence from the country in early March to band together and force his resignation.

Mar 23, 2024 | commonwealmagazine.org | Miles Doyle |César J. Baldelomar |Brad East |Paul Baumann

In early March, in response to a 45 percent spike in major crimes on the subway at the beginning of the year, New York governor Kathy Hochul deployed 750 members of the National Guard, as well as 250 state and Metropolitan Transit Authority police, to help the New York City Police Department patrol 472 stations across the city’s subway system.