BELatina’s Weekend Recap: Daddy Yankee, Crown Act, And More

Daddy Yankee BELatina Latinx
Photo courtesy of CNN.

Happy Monday, dear readers.

Don’t you ever wake up on a Monday with no memory of the weekend because of how quickly it went by?

That’s our case today.

However, we’ve already got our act together to organize the most important information you need to know to start your week.

From Daddy Yankee’s retirement to the death of Lauro Cavazos, these are the most important news of the weekend.

Mariupol refuses to surrender

Mariupol Weekend Recap BELatina Latinx
Photo courtesy of The Guardian.

Ukraine has defied the Russian military’s ultimatum for its forces to surrender the city of Mariupol, as shelling continued in Kyiv and U.S. President Joe Biden announced he would visit Ukraine’s western neighbor, Poland this week. Although Russian forces have besieged Mariupol for nearly four weeks, the Ukrainian government in Kyiv has given no importance to Moscow’s demand that the city’s defenders “lay down their arms” by 5 a.m. Moscow time (2:00 GMT) on Monday. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there could be no talk of surrender.

Lauro Cavazos, the first Latino member of a presidential cabinet, passed away

Photo courtesy of BELatina
Photo courtesy of BELatina

Lauro F. Cavazos Jr, former U.S. Secretary of Education who was the first Latino to serve in a presidential cabinet, has died. On Tuesday, his death at his Massachusetts home was confirmed by Texas Tech University, where he served as president from 1980 to 1988. He was 95. The cause of death was not provided. A Democrat whose career until then had been spent in academia, Cavazos was appointed secretary of education in 1988, late in Ronald Reagan’s second term, a move that some saw as a cynical attempt to boost George H.W. Bush’s presidential aspirations among Hispanic voters, something Reagan denied.

Daddy Yankee announces his retirement

Daddy Yankee BELatina Latinx
Photo courtesy of CNN.

One of reggaeton’s biggest names, Daddy Yankee, announced Sunday he’s retiring after 32 years in the music industry.

“This race, which has been a marathon, finally sees the finish line. Now, I am going to enjoy what all of you have given me,” the singer said in a video statement posted to YouTube. “People say that I made this genre worldwide, but it was you who gave me the key to open the doors to make it the biggest in the world.”

He will bid farewell to his fans with one last tour and album, “Legendaddy,” out on March 24.

“I’ll give you all the styles that have defined me on one album. ‘Legendaddy’ — it’s fight, it’s party, it’s war, it’s romance,” the singer explained.

House passes the Crown Act banning discrimination against Black hairstyles

Crown Act BELatina Latinx
Photo courtesy of NBC News.

The House of Representatives on Friday passed the Crown Act, which would ban discrimination based on hairstyle. The measure, H.R. 2116, passed on a 235-189 vote along party lines. It was introduced by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey. The acronym Crown stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, and the bill prohibits “discrimination based on the texture or style of an individual’s hair.” The bill now moves to the Senate.

Ariana DeBose says she didn’t feel “good enough” to portray Latinas in ‘West Side Story’

The actress says she felt she shouldn’t talk about her background because she’s not Spanish-speaking. In a conversation with her good friend and former colleague Lin-Manuel Miranda, the “West Side Story” star explained that she didn’t feel she was not capable of representing Latinas because she was not fluent in Spanish.

“You met me when I first got to New York, and I was just trying to be an actor,” DeBose, who worked with Miranda on “Hamilton” seven years ago, said in a Vanity Fair video. “I remember I was like, ‘I’m Puerto Rican,’ and you were like, ‘Ah, soy Puertorriqueña!'” she recalled. “Because I do not speak Spanish. I’m not fluent.”

“And I thought for the longest time that made me less of what I was. And maybe I shouldn’t talk about my background because perhaps I didn’t represent the community well enough,” she added, noting that when the “West Side Story” opportunity came around, she didn’t feel like she could take on the role. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m really what you’re looking for.'”

George Lopez announces the launch of a new book series on Latin American mythology

George Lopez BELatina Latinx
Photo courtesy of HOLA.

The actor and comedian landed a four-book deal with Viking Children’s Books for Chupacarter. The “middle-grade fantasy books” series will be the perfect blend of humor, “Latin mythology,” and childhood memories. Lopez is working with co-author Ryan Calejo and Latinx illustrator Santy Gutierrez.

“With this series, I want to empower children to think, ‘I might feel down, but no way am I gonna stay down!'” Lopez said in a statement.

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