Pedacito de Tierra: Music and the Puerto Rican Diaspora in Minnesota
Chicago and New York usually get the spotlight when it comes to Puerto Rican communities. But Minnesota? That might surprise you. Puerto Ricans are actually the state’s second-largest Latinx community, with more than 20,000 people calling it home. And for these Puerto Rican Minnesotans, music is a powerful way to stay connected to their heritage.
In our opening episode of season two, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodríguez explores this link with her guests. José Antonio Zayas Cabán is a multiple Grammy®-nominated saxophonist, whose latest work interweaves the voices of Puerto Rican storytellers and music. She also speaks with Tearra Oso, a bomba artist and culture protector who teaches and enhances one of Puerto Rico’s oldest musical traditions. Together, they reflect on how Puerto Rican Minnesotans have told their history through music, cultivating ties to both Minnesota and Puerto Rico, and finding harmony in that complexity.
--------
1:00:51
--------
1:00:51
We're back! Season 2 begins October 9
We are continuing our journey across the North Star state to follow the threads that pull us into the past and reveal our interconnected stories.
This season, we’ll shine a light on the histories of boxing and the foodways of the Iron Range. We’ll take you along to a Minneapolis jazz club and discover how members of the Puerto Rican community use music to tell their stories. And we’ll explore the important role beavers have played in shaping the Minnesota landscape, from the ice age to today. These topics, and many more, will start hitting your feed on October 9.
--------
1:03
--------
1:03
Shared Roots: Hmong Foodways
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey here.
Think of your favorite meal. It’s so much more than just what you see on the plate. It’s the history of the ingredients, the recipes passed down from family members, the memories you have with the tastes and smells of it all. For the Hmong community in Minnesota, food sits at the intersection of community tradition, culture, and history.
In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez speaks with three Hmong community members: Chef Yia Vang, of the restaurant Vinai, Pakou Hang, co-founder and executive director of the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), and Zongxee Lee, a Hmong herbalist. In each conversation, guests share the role food and foodways have played in their families, and the ways they’re looking to carry that forward for future generations.
--------
50:17
--------
50:17
Mapping History: Lesbian Feminist Cooperative Farms in Greater Minnesota
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey here.
Many histories of the LGBTQIA+ community are focused on metropolitan areas, but a recent mapping project has elevated the stories of a group of Lesbian feminist cooperative farms in rural Minnesota in the 1970s.
In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez explores how living off of the land gave Lesbian Feminists a sense of freedom, safety and community. Chantel spoke with two guests: Leila Stallone, a researcher who works on the The Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit LGBTQIA+ History Map Project, and Meadow Muska, a photographer who documented life on the farm. Together, they share stories about how the decision to move into rural areas and build cooperative farms was an act of self-determination, community building and defiance.
--------
57:41
--------
57:41
Brick by Brick: The African Americans who Built the Capitol
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Minnesota Unraveled! Please fill out our survey here.
The Minnesota State Capitol is a gleaming marble building sitting on a hill — an ode to the Italian Renaissance, topped with an impeccably crafted dome. You’ve probably heard of the mind behind the design, Cass Gilbert, plenty of times. But how did Gilbert’s design influence how the building was made, and just who was it that built the capitol itself?
In this episode, historian and host Dr. Chantel Rodríguez uncovers the unsung builders of this Minnesota monument — African American stone masons. Who were they, and how did they come to the Twin Cities? To answer those questions and more, Chantel spoke with three experts, each of whom pulls from a different well of historical knowledge: Brian Pease, the Site Manager at the State Capitol, John Sielaff, a labor historian, and Marvin Anderson, the grandson of a stone mason who worked on the site.
About Minnesota Unraveled: Pulling on the Threads of Minnesota History
Minnesota history is a rich tapestry, weaving together the diverse experiences, cultures, and events that tell the story of our state. It’s a story that affects—and includes—all of us. Minnesota Unraveled, a podcast by the Minnesota Historical Society, pulls on the threads of the past to reveal new perspectives and expand our knowledge of the history we share. Host Dr. Chantel Rodriguez and her guests invite listeners to think like historians and recognize that learning about other people’s lives in the past can be a powerful way to reveal our place in the present. Join us on a journey across the North Star State as we take a look around us and ask questions that pull us into the past.
Listen to Minnesota Unraveled: Pulling on the Threads of Minnesota History, Short History Of... and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
USA