Essays

The Borders Between My Mexican and American Identities

I Went Searching for Documents to Validate My Binationalism. I Found Something More Complicated

This essay publishes alongside this week’s Zócalo and Universidad de Guadalajara event, “Are the U.S. and Mexico Becoming One Country?” Register here to join the program in person at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes or live online at 11 a.m. PDT on Saturday, September 21.

My favorite pecan pie recipe is from a Methodist cookbook sold at a church not far from the Virginia farm where my grandmother grew up. The pie’s perfectly gooey consistency comes from an obscene amount of Karo corn syrup; …

by Alejandra Ibarra Chaoul |

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Joseph Gatto standing to the left of Mike Gatto, both wearing black tuxedos. They smile toward the same direction to the left.

What Came After My Father’s Murder

A Decade Later, a Former State Legislator Is Still Wrangling With Police and the Criminal Justice System

by Mike Gatto |

It was the first and only murder in Silver Lake that year.

I picked up the phone at our house in Sacramento, where I was serving my third year in the …

Does My Neighborhood Want Me to Drop Out of College?

A Student in Watts Asks Why She’s Spent a Decade Choosing Between Survival and Her Degree

by Shanice Joseph |

Zócalo celebrated its 20th birthday recently! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of our most …

Is Birth Control Under Attack?

Moves to Limit Contraception—From IUDs to the Pill—Are Following the Anti-Abortion Playbook

by Megan Kavanaugh |

Zócalo celebrated its 20th birthday recently! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of our most …

‘Navigate’ Is an Overused Metaphor

And Other Observations From a Native English Speaker Who Relocated From India to the U.S.

by Ashwini Gangal |

In the 15th century, Italian merchant Amerigo Vespucci undertook many a voyage—navigating rough seas for months, sometimes years, between Europe and the New World.

There’s nothing I would change about that …

Small and big dogs playing at a beach while a 'No Dogs Allowed' sign is visible on the left.

I’m Autistic and Scared of Your Dog

Some of My Favorite Summer Places Feel Perilous When People Flout Leash Laws

by Jason Jacoby Lee |

It’s a beautiful summer day in Venice, California, and everyone seems to be out enjoying the beach—except for me.

I am profoundly autistic. As a result, I may jump up and …


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