Venezuela, Puerto Rico & the Stories Our Communities Can't Ignore

Hola BoldLatina Community 💌

What can we say, this week - tough - our hearts ❤️ are heavy for Venezuela.

Deadly back to back earthquakes on the magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5 west of Caracas have left hundreds+ dead, thousands injured or missing, and entire communities searching for loved ones. Here at BoldLatina, we have one of our own, a Caraqueña writer-journalist who has brought you many stories - please send positivity and prayers to the Universe.

We put on our climate and environmental hats to learn that Venezuela's last earthquake of this magnitude was back in the 1800s killing about 30,000 people! Another in the 1960s with 240 people. Venezuela lives on a tetonic plate and two factors make Venezuela vulnerable 1.) Structures and informal buildings and self-built houses on loose sentiments, not seismic retrofitted for decades and 2.) warming planet - climate change, a study links them and guess what, Latin American is incredibly underprepared for climate disasters.

In the region of Caracas, the building floors are stacked onto each other, damage to the country's Caracas International Airport is extensive - the humanitarian crisis unfolds beyond disbelief, we've compiled trusted relief resources for those looking to help or support affected families.

🇻🇪 Read: Our coverage and humanitarian relief resources.

💧 In Puerto Rico, clean water remains far from guaranteed. Our latest investigation looks beyond broken pipes to uncover decades of mismanagement, federal investigations, and infrastructure failures fueling the island's ongoing water crisis.

Read: Puerto Rico's Water Crisis Is About More Than Water

🎬 Looking for something meaningful to watch? We rounded up 8 powerful documentaries exploring civil rights, LGBTQ+ equality, immigration, democracy, and social justice—stories that challenge, educate, and inspire.

Till next week BoldLatinas 👋