Mosaic

In this special episode of Mosaic, our podcast on immigration, we introduce Chiqui Versace: a Rhode Island resident who came to the U.S. at 16, looking for work and hoping to support his family back in Colombia. He also came here to be his true self – to not have to hide anything about who he is. From the outside, Versace lived what appeared to be a normal life. For decades he was gainfully employed, paid taxes every year, and volunteered his time for charitable causes. But to stay here, to live the life he had always wanted to live, he had to carry a very big secret.

The Public's Radio's podcast on immigration, Mosaic, has a series of community essays. This one is by an anonymous contributor with sound design by Tracy Jonsson of Newport, Rhode Island.

 The Public's Radio's podcast on immigration, Mosaic, has a series of community essays.

It's been 20 years since the September 11th terrorist attacks changed everything. In this episode of Mosaic, we'll hear from four different people about their experiences with 9/11.

Highlights from Mosaic's community stage at The Wilbury Theatre's Fringe Fest 2021. Ana sits down with activist Enrique Sánchez and artist Jess Brown to talk about the impact of the pandemic on their lives and communities.

Daniela came from a place that became the mouth of a shark. In just a few months, she went from a teenager praying in her village church to a migrant, traversing half a continent to reach the Rio Grande.

Jon Hope creates music that represents his roots in Rhode Island and Africa. With his new album and a new educational initiative, Hope is moving beyond his past and helping others to realize a new future.

Gloria Greenfield helps undocumented victims of domestic abuse break free from their abusers and get legal status, all without being a lawyer.

Tony Mendez co-founded Rhode Island's first 24/7 Spanish-language radio station, Poder 1110, in 1995. He talks with host Ana González about how radio has empowered the latinx community in Rhode Island to become civically engaged.

Intergenerational conversations within immigrant families are complicated by differences in language, experience, and the trauma of immigration. Ana sits down with playwright Jenny Sánchez to see how she worked through her own family's immigration story with her virtual, Spanish-language play, Abue!

Gisel Bello is a 4th-year medical student and the host of You Are Med, a podcast that unpacks what it means to be underrepresented in medicine.

Professor Beshara Doumani gives new context to the relationship between Israel and Palestine and speaks about what it means to be Palestinian in a world that denies your very existence.

A conversation with therapist Sandra Victorino LMHC about her life and the complexities and benefits of treating mental health from a bicultural perspective.

A conversation with playwright and director Don Mays, who has created a space for a theatrical examination of Christianity in Black and brown communities with his latest audio play.

Asian Americans are seen as perpetual “aliens” in this country. Professor Robert Lee explains how that leads to violence.

Murray Kaplan learned how to bake from his father, who learned how to bake from his father, who started the family bakery in 1917 after coming over from Russia. After this weekend, Murray will officially be retired.

Juan García’s story concludes in Providence, where he finds direction defending immigrant communities.

Part one of Juan Garcia’s life tells a history of revolution, migration, and the strength of the human spirit.

Zenaida García never wanted to leave Puerto Rico. She was forced into the choppy waters of the vaivén and almost lost herself entirely. In this episode of Mosaic, Zenaida reclaims her life.

In Dominican culture, baseball is the only sport that matters. One youth baseball organization in Providence taps into that power to support Dominican immigrant families and build futures for kids on and off the field.

John Gordon’s fate turns into folklore that, 166 years later, causes a group of Irish Rhode Islanders to reopen the trial and seek justice.

There are theories to this day about who killed the powerful mill owner in 1843. But no answers. One family, though, and really just one man, remains indelibly linked to the Sprague murder. In this episode of Mosaic, part one of the story of Irish immigrant John Gordon.

In this episode of Mosaic, we explore what it means to be Cape Verdean in a Black and white America through the story of New England’s most famous R&B family.

Johnston’s history as a Yankee farming town makes it hard for newcomers like Julius Kolawole to feel welcome farming the same soil. He’s doing it anyway.

In this episode of Mosaic, three generations of one family tell a history of Chinese migration, struggle, and the changing politics of identity that go into the creation and preservation of Chinese-American restaurants.

In this episode of Mosaic, we break fast with the Kinjawi family throughout the holy month of Ramadan to understand how living as Muslims in the US has allowed them to become both more Muslim and more American.

We pick up where we left off with the story of Pov Pech: he returns to Lowell after serving his sentence and tries out the straight and narrow life. But Pov’s past has already changed the course of his life and set him up on a path that, decades later, ends in deportation.

Pov Pech came to the US as a refugee and turned towards crime to solve his problems. He stole, fought, sold drugs, and even shot up a high school. Last summer, he was deported back to a country he barely knows, leaving his family and his American identity behind.

The coronavirus pandemic has been especially difficult for undocumented immigrants, like Mikayla’s parents. As a student at Brown University, Mikayla has spent the majority of 2020 trying to forge her own path through the Ivy League and a changing world all while dealing with the stress of her family back home.

Americans often look back on the Industrial Revolution as a time of opportunity, when immigrants came to America with nothing and quickly climbed the economic ladder. But the truth is the 19th and early 20th Centuries were a hard time for many immigrants who faced discrimination and, often, tough odds.

Murray Kaplan learned how to bake from his father, who learned how to bake from his father, who started the family bakery in 1917 after coming over from Russia. Now that he’s close to retirement, Murray faces a choice: continue the tradition of Jewish bakeries in Rhode Island, or hang up his apron strings for good.

For generations, Cape Verdean-Americans have farmed on the cranberry bogs of Southeastern Massachusetts. Despite the challenges, one family in the town of Carver is keeping that tradition alive.

When Hernan leaves Argentina, he doesn’t know where he’s going or if he’ll be back. He travels from one end of the world to the other, but it’s not until he falls in love that he finds a home, for now.

Saleh, an immigrant from Senegal, came to America thinking it’s the land of Michael Jordan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Olympic runners. Then he found out that’s partly true, but it’s also a whole lot more.

Decades after immigrating, Jamaican chef Conroy tells his story through Jamaican patties.

More than 100 years before the founding of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, an immigrant orchestra from Berlin helped put Newport music on the map.

Thanksgiving has a complex and, often, political history. But how much does that matter to newly-arrived immigrants?

Growing up in India, Rupa loved to learn and perform classical Kathak dance. But life and school prevented her from following her passions. That is, until she moved to the US and regained her confidence.

For generations, the triple decker home provided a reliable path for thousands of immigrants who dreamed of becoming homeowners. But, today, things are changing.

The triple decker home is an icon of urban New England that's given a start to generations of immigrants. But what’s life like inside the walls of a three family home?

You walk by them, maybe you live in one. But do you know the triple-decker home was once a symbol of anti-immigrant sentiment in New England?

On one of the most controversial holidays in America, Providence's historic Italian-American neighborhood celebrates its identity.

Connecting with a new place and new people can be tough when you don’t know the dominant language. In this episode of Mosaic, we meet a Chinese immigrant who does it with fun, food, and little bit of fishing.