CatNap Dialogues

How many of you were born in a place you don’t even really know, This is the story of many including myself or my guest, who was born in NYC, but heavily identifies as Puerto Rican (where his parents are from). Over the years Puerto Rico has become more and more of a popular destination, but what makes Puerto Rico so special? The answer can be found in its super strong and adaptable people! Join me and Dr.DeJesus Rivera in a cultural conversation about PR! Dr.DeJesus Rivera is a professor of Spanish at the University of Houston-Downtown he is the Director of the Humanities Lab, 20th Century Contemporary Latin American Literature, U.S. Hispanic Literature. I promise you will learn a lot from this one! 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know! For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Check me out: https://linktr.ee/milofalconi

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Yo naci en Puerto Rico by Angel Canales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRznkxRTOz0

Hello world! 

I apologize for my absence, but I have been working on my Thesis defense (which I passed!). Anyhow, there are a couple of episodes left before the end of season 1. Until then I have a special guest, State Representative Hubert Vo. Who is that you may wonder well, here is a short bio from the good ol' gov.com

"State Representative Hubert Vo proudly represents District 149 in Harris County. District 149 is located in southwest Houston encompassing most of Alief, and parts of West Houston and Katy. He has been part of the Alief community for over 30 years, Hubert Vo currently serves on the Alief Super Neighborhood Council. In the private sector, Hubert Vo is a successful businessman, real estate developer and entrepreneur in the Houston area. After attending the University of Houston during the daytime and as a machinist in the evenings, Hubert received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Hubert has devoted his time, inside and outside of the Legislature, as an advocate for education, health care, public safety and economic development. Speaking Spanish, Vietnamese, French, and English Representative Vo can seamlessly communicate with a vast spectrum of District 149 residents.
Representative Vo is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Texans. He stresses the importance of education and healthcare in the cultivation of a flexible and reliable workforce for the 21st century economy. He believes strongly in the role of business within the community and the need for collaboration towards the goal of retaining American jobs while expanding job creation and development. Representative Vo is committed to working across party lines, and partnering with his constituents, to help District 149 achieve its goals and maximize its potential."

SOURCE: https://house.texas.gov/members/member-page/?district=149

I met Mr.Vo back when I was in High School. He is pretty relatable to me--he had to flee Vietnam, for safety reasons, a former refugee who is now a state official, now that is what I call being an overachiever. 

Enjoy! 

PS: I do not endorse any parties or candidates, this interview is educational

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know! For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Happy Valentines day! 

Thank you so much for the support! I promise this episode was worth the wait. Meet Ulises, Ulises was born in New York City, however, he was taken back to the Dominican Republic to live with his grandparents as a baby in a little town called San Juan de la Maguana. Ulises was then brought back to NYC at the age of 6, but he didn't speak English--so he had to learn on the go! Ulises is a very smart young man, he shares his scholastic journey and how he felt navigating predominately white educational spaces. We dive deep into language, identity, speech communities and more! Join us as we talk about all these intersectionalities.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Meet Anne Marie, an MD from Haiti. Dr. Anne Marie is a medical doctor who practiced pathology and is now retired. In our conversation, we talk about her job trajectory, her family, and of course, language! As the interview runs its course, she recalls the weird linguistic differences and difficulties of learning medicine in English (lexicon). I was waiting for this “issue” to arise, medical language. I learned a lot, and I am sure you will too! So, sit down and relax! 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Hello Listeners, today's episode is a little different, I wanted to share one of my most recent research presentations! On November 27-28, 2021 I had the privilege to present, here is a summary (abstract). 

Twitter, Memes and Re-Circulation, by Milo Falconi 

"Memes are a new format of ‘jokes’ that display an image or a series of them in one slot with various topics, some directed towards ‘reactions’ of a wide variety of topics. Sometimes people use ‘memes’ as a form of response, reaction, moods, feelings, opinions, jokes, etc. Usually memes are shared via social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram among others, so they re-circulate constantly and at times the content either changes meaning or an ‘original meme’ is slightly modified with the purpose to fit in another similar but ‘slightly different’ context. Along with the use of hashtags these memes travel from platform to platform which provides an immediate chronotopic disjuncture within the semantics of an original post, they feed of a nexus of users—thus losing the intertextual value within a fixed shift that travel in flash conversations. This paper will focus am on how Memes within Tweets work as flash conversation, relatability, analyzing similar written pragmatics on the images and how it creates a chain of replies with other users."

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! 

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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After a little break, we are back. Extend your welcome to Satome from Japan. Satome is doing some cool work in the deep Amazons at the moment, but she was raised in New York City. Her journey is like many of our generation's "0.5" peers. As we grow in a "foreign country" we realize that we don't quite look the same, and in the middle of all the confusion, we question the language and cultural aspects in our young journey. As we grow older, we take a look back and reflect on these moments and maybe question "where are you from", am I a New Yorker? an American?...

Please join Satome and me in her language journey. 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

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So many people think Costa Rica is an island, but it's not, though much of the culture is indeed Caribbean! Meet Irwin, unlike some of my guests who were born abroad, Irwin was born in Queens, NY--however, he was raised in Costa Rica, making Spanish his first language. Soon at the age of 15, he would find out he was actually American! Join us in his language learning adventure! 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know! For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

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Mainstream has us thinking that Filipinos are 'just' all from 'Manila', but the reality is that it's more than just it's the capital city. Come and join this conversation with Teresa, a multilingual Filipina, she knows so many languages she doesn't remember which ones! Her experience living in the south vs. the north is super relatable! Don't miss it!

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

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To wrap-up our special Colombian Week, I have Ælien!!

Hey Listener, this week I will be posting 4 interviews of 4 people from Colombia, two Industrial workers, a doctoral/writer, and a chemist/activist--all of whom are from Colombia.

In this episode I have another fellow intersex activist and chemist Ælien R. She/they currently resides in Auckland, New Zealand. Our guest speaks about 5 languages, though they previously had “learned” English in their homeland (Colombia)—though they quickly came to the cold realization that they really didn’t know “much English”. As a result our guest had to really get to learning upon their arrival to NZ. Ælien currently works at ILGA and occasionally works in conjunction with the United Nation on Intersex Activism, but that does NOT limit them EVER--they create spaces EVERYWHERE they can get their hands on! Come and join us!

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Hey Listener, this week I will be posting 4 interviews of 4 people from Colombia, two Industrial workers, a doctoral/writer, and a chemist/activist--all of whom are from Colombia.

In this interview, we get to know about Cristina's experience navigating New York and now MD. Cristina holds a Ph.D. in Botanical Sciences and has specialized in Tropical Botany. When she first arrived in New York, she was a scholarship recipient and had the chance to work at the famous Botanical Garden in NYC. She thought she "knew" English, she was always at the top of her English classes in Colombia! Oh my! She also is a writer and has a book you should check out called: El Pueblo Dulce y la Hija Prodiga. (The link down below) 

https://www.amazon.com/Pueblo-Dulce-Hija-Pr%C3%B3diga-Moniquir%C3%A1-ebook/dp/B087TMZDJM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=el+pueblo+dulce+la+hija+prodiga&qid=1632425618&sr=8-1

Synopsys in Spanish:

Este libro es una compilación de historias ancestrales. Comienza con la Guerra de los Mil Días, que ocurrió en Colombia entre 1899 y 1902, entre los Partidos Liberal y Conservador conllevando a la gran devastación económica del país y una migración interna. Entre los migrantes a Boyacá llegaron mis ancestros. Mi abuelo paterno, Pompilio García Palomino de familia pudiente, era parte del 15% de personas que sabían leer y escribir. Casó con Ana Blasina Forero Franco, y se instalaron en Moniquirá, el Pueblo Dulce de Colombia.Creó el Teatro Libia, el primero de cine de Boyacá. Mi abuelo tenía conocimiento de música clásica, así que antes de la presentación de cada película, ponía música clásica en el altoparlante. Así él educó a una población campesina a escuchar y conocer música clásica. Posteriormente, el teatro pasó a ser herencia de Leonor, una de sus hijas.Luego escribo sobre mi abuela materna Margarita Ríos y su una hija Isabel llamada "Chaba". En 1908, en una romería religiosa ellas viajaron de Moniquirá a Tunja. En Tunja, la niña desapareció y fue recogida por la familia Patarroyo y la llevaron con ellos al pueblo de Zetaquira. Pasaron décadas antes de que madre e hija se reencontraran. Chaba la hija pródiga tuvo once hijos y finalmente, fue a Moniquirá y se re-encontró con su madre Margarita. Fueron momentos felices pero la vida de Chaba se complicó y la separó nuevamente de su familia biológica cuando el candidato presidencial del Partido Liberal fue asesinado en Bogotá en 1948. Luego escribo referente a los amores de mis padres. Ellos se quisieron mucho y se casaron, pero las condiciones de trabajo de Luis Eduardo forzaron a la joven pareja a vivir separados durante mucho tiempo. Mi padre falleció a los 43 años. Estudio y educación fueron axiomas que nuestros padres nos enfatizaron y fue una promesa que todos logramos cumplir.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Hey Listener, this week I will be posting 4 interviews of 4 people from Colombia, two Industrial workers, a doctoral/writer, and a chemist/activist--all of whom are from Colombia.

In this interview, we get to know about Rafaela's experience navigating New York. Enjoy!

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Hey Listener, this week I will be posting 4 interviews of 4 people from Colombia, two Industrial workers, a doctoral/writer, and a chemist/activist--all of whom are from Colombia. 

In this interview, we get to know about Alex's experience navigating New York. Enjoy! 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Meet Dawa, a native of Bhutan (The Land of the Thunder Dragon). Bhutan is a fascinating country, their language and writing are complex and somewhat unique. They have the greatest ecosystem, it's the only country with a negative carbon number...and so much more! Come meet Dawa, who now lives in NYC.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

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At the age of 84, Rosita and I met working out at a local 'street gym'; she says, "I'm not embarrassed by my age; I'm proud." Rosita has been ass-kicking for a while now; she was born to Armenian parents, so she considers herself Arminian and Argentinian even though she was born in Argentina. Rosita has wicked stories about her migration into Argentina, Russia, Armenia, and the United States. If you thought you had it hard, think again. Come and join Rosita and me to uncover her language journey experience. 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

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Rossana is a native of the Dominican Republic; she arrived in the United States at the age of 17. Despite her not knowing a word of English, financial struggles, cultural shock, and challenging Dominican traditional norms of women and "their roles in the family,"--she pushed forward. Come and join us in this very inspiring journey. 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Check out Rossana's son's artwork on Instagram: @Thinkster, https://www.instagram.com/thinkster_art/?hl=en

https://thinksterart.crevado.com/

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Alexsander is a native of Russia; he is open about his intersex variation, an activist, refugee, and openly queer human being. Alek came to the United States about 7 years ago and worked non-stop for the Intersex community in Russia and America. Now, with a master's in hand, a boyfriend, and a cat, he is pursuing his doctoral studies and is well on his way into Academia. Come and join us in this very educational and heartfelt episode! 

Alek's Intersex Advocacy work: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflW4pBIm5_MpecZxwmJ61EZVaXp9LwJcEjEGnkZW6nbFdjoQ/viewform

https://www.instagram.com/arsintersex/?utm_medium=copy_link

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Meet Silvia aka, La India Charrua. Silvia was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and immigrated to New York at the age of 12. Come and join us to learn more about her, her English learning experience, and Uruguay! 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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As Aristotle said, “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” But marriage is more like your wife inhabiting both bodies. HA, just kidding. Meet Carlos from Guatemala and Janeth from Peru, a married binational couple; they have been together for a while! They both arrived in the United States during their early teens, almost within a couple of months apart...later life would bring them together and create a family. Carlos and Janeth share how they felt "robbed" from learning both English and Spanish, come and find out if you ever felt this way! (well, if you're an ESL learner). 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please get in touch with Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Meet Camila, the living definition of "The New York Hustle State of Mind." MC or Camila was born in Cali, Colombia, but she grew up on Long Island, New York--she works in the mortgage industry, she's a licensed Real Estate Agent and a graphic designer. Like many, Camila was brought to the United States as a child; her language learning experiences are certainly relatable to those of us who came so early in life, you wouldn't be able to "hear" the difference. Join us! 

If you're interested in buying a house in Long Island (Or need a reference for other states) or in some cool prints, here is MC's info:

Sold by MCV: 

Michelle is a State of New York Government worker; she was born in Taiwan and attended CUNY! Learn something fun about Taiwan and my guest. 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Sonal Mohan is my former math tutor; we originally met in Houston, Texas. Sonal is an awesome and brilliant person. After finishing her master's, she moved to New Hampshire, where she is now an independent business consultant. She was born in beautiful India; she has a to say about the English educational system of India that was pretty insightful!   

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Meet Dago, a Physical Therapist and Photographer based in New York City, NY. Dago/Dale was born on the Island of Cebu, Philippines. Cebu is located in the Central Visayas region, surrounded by other islands. Come and join us for some fun anecdotes and learning. 

Check out Dago's art: http://www.dagosantos.com/

Check out Dago's NFTs: https://opensea.io/DAGOSANTOS

Follow him on Instagram: Dagorotype

If you or anyone you know would like to participate, let us know!

For any further questions about this project, please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com.

Follow me on Instagram: Falconi.Art

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Catnap Dialogues is a show that aims to explore Language and Culture through the everyday narratives of non-native English speakers.

Conversations seek to analyze how language acquisition varies from person to person based on their linguistic competency, experiences, and backgrounds. 

Through the lens of Linguistic Anthropology, the host, Milo Falconi investigates the various aspects that individuals have traversed in their personal timelines to adapt to American Culture as immigrants. 

If you or anyone you know would like to participate let us know!

For any further questions about this project please contact Mr.Falconi at: uh.researchesl@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: falconi.art

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