Newsletter: March 2025

Based on original newsletter sent on March 2025 via email.

Grounding Reflections

I started off the year in Mexico, surrounded by besucona lizards, crashing waves, and smokey bonfires. I had been wanting to learn more about how my ancestors lived in Cuba and I found an essence of those past lives in Mexico, where endless laughter, nature, and swallowing the fear of dying came to coexist. In a way, it felt more free than the United States, as if there were less preselected paths. We listened and watched the rhythms of life around us. We knew when to step in and when to back away. The trees had fruit and the dirt roads had bird tracks in the morning. We knew the plants and animals by their names. Working together was naturally ingrained in us and we rejoiced in finding where we fit. Nature was loud and present. When I looked around, it reminded me of Alan Watts’ words on how humans are innately connected to their environment and the biggest illusion is that we are separate from it. We have tried to convince ourselves that independence and non-stop advancement is our key to freedom, but there’s no harmonic rhythm to that way of life. I’m choosing a new rhythm to life - one that although unpolished and imperfect is still beautiful and one that ultimately lives fully in fleeting moments, cherishes joy, and embraces challenges. To me, the key to freedom is in the present moment.

Las Violetas Scholarship

After much consideration, I decided that Las Violetas Scholarship would be a scholarship for creative community projects that celebrate culture, arts, or public services. This scholarship is distributed on an as funded basis, meaning the exact amount each project receives could change based on the total funds raised. Recipients are chosen at random, so no future applications are necessary. 

This being said, a $250 Las Violetas Scholarship has been awarded to Q Siga La Tradición to be used for their third annual dance show! Q Siga La Tradición promotes celebrating our roots by offering dance classes to Cuban youth in Louisville, Kentucky. This third anniversary dancing show will be held on March 23rd at 2:00 PM at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne St, Louisville, KY 40206. You can purchase tickets for $15 each by calling or texting 502-601-8070. If you would like to follow along with Q Siga La Tradición's journey, check them out on Instagram. 

Notable Cultural Mentions

As I try to make sense of the world today by looking at the past for some correlation of events that would help put words to all the feelings I'm feeling, the stories of founding towns and of the building blocks that our ancestors placed for us to work with especially resonated with me. Here's a few works and practices of art have heightened those feelings of gratitude and admiration for those that came before us. 

• Cien Años de Soledad, Netflix series based on novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

• Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Music album by Bad Bunny

• The art of sewing and repairing what you own

Scholarship Consulting

Mango Street Dreaming is entering its third year of offering scholarships to students and I’ve developed a pretty good system for it, but it didn’t just happen out of nowhere. Three years of researching and taking risks has led me to reach this point and I’d love to share this knowledge with anyone that would be interested in creating and distributing scholarships as an avenue to make a change in your local community. You can visit our Scholarship Consulting page for more information. We will be opening up scholarship consulting in the upcoming months!

Other Opportunities to Support Our Local Communities

The Americana World Community Center has put out a call to action to donate to keep their programs and services up and running. Many organizations that rely on federal funds have been put in a limbo these past few weeks as they try to imagine a world where they are able to stay open with significantly less federal funding, however Americana has been one of the first to openly say so. They are a pillar of the South end community in Louisville, Kentucky and each year they:

• host the largest adult English Language Learning program in Jefferson County, preparing over 1,500 newcomers to join the workforce

• provide academic and enrichment opportunities for 125 at-risk youth 

• provide 16,000 meals to youth facing food insecurity 

• distribute $19,000 in emergency financial support for housing and utility assistance 

• distribute over 35,000 diapers through their diaper bank, saving parents $8,750 

• support an ecosystem of 7 other nonprofit organizations, including Family Health Center Americana 

On a personal note, the Americana World Community Center was a 10 minute walk from our first home in the United States. It holds a special place in my heart as the place that provided our first English Language Learning classes and my first internship. When I think about why I want to invest back into our local communities, the Americana World Community Center is one of the organizations that taught me the importance of giving.

Donate today or make a plan to donate at SOS Americana to help continue their important work that impacts real people. 

Si todos ponemos nuestro granito de arena, podemos hacer una gran diferencia.

Gracias, gracias, gracias.

Daniela Gamez Salgado

Mango Street Dreaming