Our Lust For Durian + More
| This Week In Mash-Up America |
The week of June 22, 2024 was weird things in the desert; trying to resist the fakes online; and snarfing tacos in Compton.
THE MASH-UP AMERICANS:
Four years ago this month, we were deep in the fight for Black liberation and racial justice. Four years later, the fight remains. We’re taking this summer to revisit our reading list to inform our work — perhaps you will too?
MASH-UPS IN THE NEWS:
China’s Lust For Durian Is Creating Fortunes In Southeast Asia
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Durian-mania has caught hold of China, which imported $6.7 billion worth of it from Southeast Asia last year. Pound for pound, the fruit has become one of the most expensive on the planet (!).
Williamsburg Changes, But Toñita Still Reigns
HELL GATE
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Toñita, the only remaining Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn. The reason behind its long reign as the center of Latine life in Williamsburg: founder Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay.
The Dead Admonish
HARPER’S
In this long-form essay, writer John Ganz shares his experience visiting the gravesite of his great-great-grandparents in Cologne, which stirs up complex feelings about his ties to Germany, Zionism, and even his own ancestors.
Through Connection To Their Land, Tarahumara Runners Are Among Mexico’s Most Beloved Champions
AP NEWS
“Long before marathons existed, the Tarahumara people were already running… Lacking vehicles, paved roads and services such as clinics and telephone lines, communities got used to running to cope with long distances, scarcity and isolation.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis stays doing the least. In the same breath that he announced an initiative to help cities cope with record rainfalls and rising sea levels, he also signed a bill to ban the phrase “climate change.” Priorities.
