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Back In The Game

Although I’ve been rather active in Twitter, through @LatinaComm, my blogging habit has gone down the drain. Lingua Franca Weekly, my previous blog, was very well received among freelance translators and it has been hard not dedicate any time to it—not to even mention the fact of deciding to let it die and moving my “headquarters” here—. Well, truth be told, after 6 months the adaptation period is over and now I’m ready to get back in the game.

Just like with “Lingua Franca,” the difference between English and Spanish writing and style will definitely be part of this blog. Enjoy this rap version of William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White’s classic Elements of Style, which serves as a fun way to start this 2012!

Kudos to Mark Ragan for sharing it on Twitter (@MarkRaganCEO).

In Support of @Laurita86′s Cause: Spina Bifida

Every time I witness what technology can do for us, I’m just thankful that I’m part of the generation that is making it happen. The virtual world makes the world smaller, allows us to learn new things and meet amazing human beings; one of the people I’ve been able to virtually meet through #Latism has been Laurita Tellado. I might not interact with her every day, but I do follow her blog closely, which allowed me to learn about the congenital disorder known as spina bifida. Today, the blogging world comes together to support Laurita. Educate yourself and support a great cause!

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October is an eerie month, filled with monsters, mummies, and the macabre. But while the occasional witch or skeleton might freak you out, one must concede that there are indeed more frightening things– like finding out your child will be born with spina bifida.

And yet, each day in the U.S., an average of eight families welcome a child with spina bifida into the world. Annually, an estimated 1,500 infants are born with spina bifida each year in the U.S.

I was born with spina bifida nearly two and a half decades ago. The diagnosis came as a total shock to my family, along with an entire set of secondary complications. I was also born with hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain.” During the first ten years of my life, it seemed I was in the hospital every other week with a bladder infection or shunt malfunction. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t really scary at times.

But then, at age ten, I discovered a fantastic way to defeat my worst fears– knowledge. I vowed I would educate myself and read up on the condition that, up until that point, seemed to be taking over my life. Much like a child who imagines a ghost is in his closet, grabs a flashlight and realizes it’s only an old coat, I had come to the realization that, when you take the time to learn about something, no matter how terrifying it may seem at first, everything is less scary in the light of knowledge.

According to the Spina Bifida Association of America, “spina bifida remains the most commonly occurring birth defect in this country.” Just how common is it overall? PubMed Health, the Web site of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, reported in March of this year: “Myelomeningocele [the most severe form of spina bifida] may affect as many as 1 out of every 800 infants.”

As a 21-year member of the Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida, I’m doing my part to shed light on this condition by raising money for the Walk-N-Roll for Spina Bifida. When my parents and I moved from Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida in search of better educational and healthcare opportunities for me in 1990, we found a support system away from our family and homeland in joining the SBACFL. My personal search for a public spokesperson for the spina bifida cause, as well as my work as a current member of the SBACFL board of directors, have helped me find my true purpose– galvanizing as many people as possible to support the spina bifida community.

So, in the spirit of shedding light on a little-known condition, and in honor of October, which is Spina Bifida Awareness Month, here are some statistics about spina bifida that might spook you a bit:

• Spina bifida is more common than muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

• Latinos have the highest incidence of spina bifida out of all the ethnic groups.

• Ireland is the country with the highest incidence of spina bifida in the world.

• About 50 percent of babies with spina bifida areselectively aborted after being diagnosed with spina bifida.

• Doctors recommend that every woman of childbearing age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida up to 70 percent of the time. In spite of this, there are currently an estimated 166,000people in the U.S. living with spina bifida– up from just 76,000 just last year.

• About 90 percent of people with spina bifida are also born with hydrocephalus. Many need a shunt inserted near the brain to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid– and many requiremultiple shunt replacements during their lives.

• Other very common secondary conditions include bladder and bowel incontinence, as well as frequent urinary tract infections.

• After the onset of puberty, young people with spina bifida are more prone to clinical depression than most people. Researchers think this may be due in part to social isolation.

Being able to share this information with all of you today is without a doubt the most empowering and inspiring aspect of my life. I’d love nothing more than to give you that very sense of empowerment. Please publish this post on your own Web site(s), and feel free to add your own personal intro that will make it relevant to your blog followers. As many people as I’ve managed to rally in support of this cause, you have an advantage that I don’t–your audience. So, please share this information with everyone you come into contact with.

Below is a video that explains just why the Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida means so much to me, and why I’m participating in the Walk-N-Roll.

I will be raising money online for Team Holdin’ Out for a Hero until October 29th, when we have our Walk-N-Roll event. Donations can be as small as $5 or as large as $50,000. (Yes, I do like the $50,000 better!) Every cent counts! Every cent of every dollar will go towards supporting families affected by spina bifida in 22 counties in and around the Central Florida region and supporting educational and awareness efforts.

Yes, to the new parent, or even to the already-grown individual, spina bifida can seem like a scary thing to deal with. But there’s a power in numbers and a strength in awareness– a strength that gives us the courage to open the closet, shine the light in the ghost’s face, and reduce it to nothing but an old coat.

Thank you for helping me conquer my biggest fear– ignorance of spina bifida.

~ Laurita Tellado, HoldinOutforaHero.org

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A Thank You Note for My #LATISM Community

If you are reading this post, you probably just read my note On The Importance of Engagement (Social, Civic … You Name It!) in the Latism’s website. What are YOUR experiences with community engagement?

Welcome to my new blog! Read my introductory post and feel free to leave a comment below together with your Twitter name or any other way through which I can identify you as part of our #LATISM community to enter the drawing of a $25 Amazon gift card. Please, take this as a thank you note for supporting our community … an effort that shows results. I will leave this section open for 2 weeks.

I hope this is the beginning of a great way of exchanging ideas and experiences. In the meantime, you can learn more about me by heading to my previous blog: Lingua Franca Weekly. I will keep Lingua up as much as my new responsibilities allow me to do it. LatinaComm will be my new “headquarters.” Thanks for stopping by!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

 

A Life-Changing Opportunity

While growing up, I always knew I was going to become a lawyer. My paternal grandfather was probably putting that into my head from the minute I was conceived, amid instilling his political views and Peñarol as his soccer team of preference in Uruguay. This “must be lawyer” simply crumbled when I moved to the U.S., in 2004, and decided to become a Spanish/English translator. Neither college nor graduate school stopped me from practicing my profession, first on a part-time basis and, as of last year, as a full-time freelancer. But, last week, something rather unexpected happened…

After an entire week of tests and interviews held in Miami, I was hired as a Community Manager at Alma DDB, an advertising agency specializing in the Hispanic market. So, how is my life changing? Location: Tallahassee to Miami. Job type: Freelancer to full-time, in-house position. Job description: Linguist to community creator, social media expert, market researcher, writer, etc. Salary: Let’s put it this way: Not having to pay for health and retirement benefits out-of-pocket is just a peace of mind! Cultural environment: Going back to Latin America.

Throughout my years in the U.S., I’ve become more and more in tune with my Latin inheritance. Not only because I’ve had the need to somehow maintain it alive in a household where nobody else speaks Spanish, but also finding myself in a country where Uruguayans barely appear in formal U.S. statistics related to the Hispanic community (see the complete report). For all these reasons, and the fact that my son is struggling with his non-existent Spanish, I’m looking very much forward to being in Miami next Friday. The fact that I got an amazingly interesting job that will allow me to express my creativity, stimulate my brain, and give me the opportunity to fully immerse in research and writing activities is just an added value!

I hope to see you here often not only to share information about the social media world and the Hispanic/Latino culture and market in the U.S., but also to learn together the intricacies of the advertising industry… and everything in between.