Author: ANNA LOPEZ

Host Intro:  Dia de los Muertos is a holiday that is celebrated in the central and southern regions of Mexico and is meant for remembering family members and friends who have passed away. This year it us a bit more powerful for those who celebrate the holiday because of COVID-19. Anna Lopez has more on the story from Mexico City.

AMBI: *Cards shuffling*

Act: Stefany: Now you are going to repeat after me, I and your full name, ask humanly to the oracle to reveal me my past, my present, and my future. And everything and anything that is good for me to know.

TRACK: This is Stefany Rocha from Wáay Wáay, an online tarot reading business that started in the midst of the pandemic so her customers could stay socially distanced. As someone who believes in the supernatural, el Dia de Los Muertos is an especially important day for her.

Act: Stefany: Dia de los Muertos for me is the opportunity to connect with people that have departed the physical world. Even though I believe that you do have a connection with them throughout the whole year, though el Dia de los Muertos is their special day, but overall I think it gives and brings hope to the Mexican culture.

Track: Stefany says that as much as the government may intervene, in small towns people will still do what they have to do and even in cities as big as Mexico City, affectionately known as CDMX, COVID won’t affect any celebrations because they already are used to celebrating and setting up the altars in their house. There have been a total of 93,228 deaths in Mexico and 11,824 deaths have been just in Mexico City.

Act: Stefany: A lot of people in Mexico have been affected, most population of Mexicans they live all together in big families and like three or four or five people died from that family just within two weeks, so I think that I really like Mexicans that we laugh about death, though I think it will have a bittersweet flavor this year like it’s different to celebrate Dia de los Muertos for your 90 year old grandma who died because she was viejita. For those families who have lost a lot of family members, it will be intense for them but in a bittersweet situation .

Track: She thinks that this tradition is so important to many Mexicans that COVID-19 won’t stop them from celebrating together.

Act: Stefany: If I’m really honest I don’t think Mexican people they care about Covid. Obviously the government they  have to set up rules or like cancelling the parade that’s like the government doing, but if I’m really really honest I don’t think that’s enough of a reason for Mexicans not to celebrate. And I bet you in the pueblitos they’re still going to go to the cemetery and they’re still going to do everything because it is a Mexican thing and we don’t care.

Track: Stefany says that Mexicans laugh at death because for them it doesn’t mean the end given that everyone has to die and when they do it just means that they will get together in the afterlife and party with their families. For Baruch College, I’m Anna Lopez.

 

Introduction: I had the chance to have a conversation with Stefany Rocha from Wáay Wáay, an online tarot reading business that started in the midst of the pandemic, to talk about Dia de los Muertos and how COVID-19 has affected anything.

AMBI: *Cards shuffling*

Act: Stefany: Now you are going to repeat after me, I (say your full name), ask humanly to the oracle to reveal me my past, my present, and my future. And everything and anything that is good for me to know.

Track: Stefany started an online tarot reading business during the pandemic to connect with people who need of her services, while socially distancing. It was interesting for me to get her perspective on the upcoming holiday Dia de Los Muertos, given how much she believes in the supernatural.

Act: Stefany: Dia de los Muertos for me is the opportunity to connect with people who have the departed the physical world. Even though I believe that you do have a connection with them through the whole year, though el Dia de los Muertos is their special day, but overall I think it brings hope to the Mexican culture.

Track: She says that Mexicans do not care about COVID-19 and they will be no changes to how they will honor the dead.

Act: Stefany: If I’m really honest I don’t think Mexican people care about Covid. Yeah the government has cancelled public gatherings and the parade, but if I’m really really honest I don’t think that’s enough of a reason for Mexicans not to celebrate. And I bet you in the pueblitos they’re still going to go to the cemetery and they’re still going to do everything because it is a Mexican thing and we don’t care.

Track: Stefany says that as much as the government may intervene, in small towns people will still do what they have to do and even in cities as big as CDMX, COVID won’t affect any celebrations because they already are used to celebrating and setting up the altars in their house.

Act: Stefany: A lot of people in Mexico have been affected because most of the Mexican population live in big families and because of that three or four or five people from that family have died just within two weeks, so I think that even though Mexicans kind of laugh at death, it will be bittersweet because as easy as it is to celebrate Dia de los Muertos for your 90 year old grandma who died because she was viejita. For those families who have lost a lot of family members, it will be intense but in a bittersweet way.

Track: Stefany says that Mexicans laugh at death because for them it doesn’t mean the end given that everyone has to die and when they do it just means that they will get together in the afterlife and party with their families. For Baruch College, I’m Anna Lopez.

Introduction: I am here with Henrique Marcelino, who recently picked up a new hobby during the quarantine, to ask him a few questions on that matter.

Act: Henrique: I started playing tennis during quarantine because my girlfriend and I needed a way to stay fit and busy, all while socially distancing.

Track: I asked him a few basic questions on how often he plays and where.

Act: Henrique: I play about five times a week and I play in the local tennis courts by my house. And whenever those are full, my girlfriend and I usually drive uptown and test our luck up there.

Track: He says that while he is a very sporty person, adjusting to playing tennis wasn’t a very easy transition.

Act: Henrique: I wanna say I am between a beginner and an amateur. I play a variety of sports, but I grew up mostly on baseball so there has been a handful amount of times that whenever I swing at a tennis ball I completely forget that it’s a tennis ball and not a baseball– so I swing at it and hit a home run *laughs*.

Track: It seems as if his love for tennis could almost surpass his love for baseball.

Act: Henrique: It’s the way you can just get lost hitting the ball back and forth with your partner. And unlike the majority of sports I grew up playing: baseball, basketball, lacrosse. With tennis you’re solely just depending on yourself to score a point. And any mistake that’s made during your set it’s solely just depending on you, so I love how you can control the game. Solely for yourself.

Track: Taking tennis up as a hobby, seems to really be worth it. Reporting for Baruch College, I’m Anna Lopez.

For my radio pitch, I would like to do it on “El Día de los Muertos”, which in English translates to  “The Day of the Dead”. Día de los Muertos is a holiday that is meant for remembering family members and friends who have passed away. This holiday is primarily celebrated in the Central and Southern regions of Mexico. Interestingly enough, I will be traveling to Mexico in the next two weeks which would be the quintessential way to have this radio story executed. Every year without fail, on November 1st, which is considered, All Saints Day, and November 2nd, which is considered, All Souls Day, something special takes place in many areas of Mexico. Mexicans have huge unique traditions when it comes to honoring their families on this holiday and most of it deals with getting all of the family together, up until this year when COVID-19 struck. I would like to ask a random local person or maybe even a small business owner how will COVID-19 affect their traditions on the Day of the Dead and how will they cope with the differences or maybe even with the chance of not even celebrating it at all. I would also like to see since COVID-19 is such a different threat unlike any that we’ve seen and took so many lives, will they be doing anything different to honor those who have died from the virus given that celebrating the dead is all this holiday is about.

For my photoville assignment, I attended the Creativity in Unprecedented Times webinar. This was my first webinar that wasn’t strictly focused on anything school-related, which is why I found this one especially interesting. There were four eccentric photographers on the call and they spoke about how has the pandemic affected their creativity and how with such limited resources they were able to still take some great pictures. One of the photographers, Alexis Hunley, mentioned that she was able to remain creative throughout the pandemic by exploring more of her local environment instead of doing her normal route. Another photographer, Elinor Carucci, said she starting taking portraits of her family members. But before getting into how they have been managing their creativity throughout the pandemic, they showed their artwork before the pandemic. I was especially impressed by the photographer, Bri McDaniel, who takes very candid pictures of mothers. I saw a variety of mothers breastfeeding and mothers harnessing their children. However, what’s more, important to her is the act of taking pictures of mothers because they are often overlooked and neglected. After all, you rarely see them being photographed. What I learned is the power of staying creative and how even in the toughest times one shouldn’t let their creativity die. I at the beginning of quarantine was excited with the newfound time I would have to indulge in my personal projects, but grew increasingly uninterested as the months went by given the massacre we all survived.

For my photo essay, I will be focusing on the spectrum of styles present in East and West side Harlem. I would like to give an overview of how an essential part of society is the visual expression of its people and how fashion and beauty plays a major role in the way people convey their thoughts and emotions. I would like to try and capture images of the best non-verbal communication that exists in society. It is interesting to me how people’s clothing can leave an impression on people without even physically saying a word.

Such as the crossing guard woman who accessorizes over her uniform or the teenager who wears too much makeup to show off her personality or the mom who tried out a new braided hairstyle or maybe even your local tennis player who adds his own dazzle to his tennis outfit. I look forward to seeing the many styles of fashion and beauty actually present in the East and West side of Harlem.