LatiNola and the Latino Forum

I figure since I may be getting more visitors than I usually do following the Rising Tide III conference, I'm going to take the opportunity to let the NOLA Blogosphere know (if you don't already) that there are two very good blogs that can keep you abreast of just about any issue or initiative being promoted by the Latino activist community in New Orleans.

The first blog is affiliated with a group called LatiNola. The LatiNola website is full of great information, including an online volunteer sign-up page. Check it out and consider volunteering. But what I really want to point out is the LatiNola blog, called "LatiNola Speaks." Here you'll find some very interesting and thoughtful postings on a wide variety of topics from a number of folks. For instance, my friend and colleague, Lucas Diaz, has a wonderful reflection on what it means to him to be a Latino in New Orleans. And there are other great blog postings to check out there as well.

The second blog is not really a blog per se, but is more of an information clearing house. It is affiliated with the Greater New Orleans Latino Network known as the Latino Forum of New Orleans. The Latino Forum meets about once a month in locations alternating between downtown New Orleans and in Jefferson Parish.

I not only encourage you to check out both of these sites, but I exhort all of you to add them to your blog rolls. As for me, I have no excuse for not having these sites placed in my own blogroll. But I'm rectifying that problem immediately after I make this posting. In fact, what I'm going to do is to set up a new blogroll category called "LatiNola Network" and start compiling a collection of all Latino/Latin American focused websites/blogs centered in the Greater New Orleans Metro Area and websites/blogs which discuss issues of importance specific to the Latino/Latin American community in New Orleans. So, if you know of any websites/blogs that should be added to the list, please do let me know.

In the meantime, let's not overlook this community that is so vital to the culture and recovery of our fair City, but which often times flies under the radar screen of local political and social activist networks and leaders. The Latino community of New Orleans is in the midst of a political awakening; and the Greater New Orleans area is about to witness a significant power shift over the next few years as the Latino community wakes up, mobilizes, and begins to exert the influence that its growing numbers represent. Pay attention to it. Better yet, be a part of it.