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https://www.essence.com/celebrity/victoria-monet-coachella/

COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: <> on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken) By Rivea Ruff ·Updated April 21, 2024

Victoria Monét is having her moment.

Hot on the heels of picking up multiple Grammys, the songstress hit yet another solo career milestone by shutting down the Coachella stage. Her Weekend 1 performance delighted her hardcore fans and won the hearts of many more in the crowd and across the livestream as she performed her hits.

ESSENCE caught up with Monét as she prepared to hit the iconic Heineken House and take the Mojave stage by storm once again for the festival’s second weekend to chat through jitters, tweaks, and remaining present in this magical moment.

Congratulations on your first Coachella performance, first and foremost! What was it like for you to hit the Coachella stage for the first time last weekend? You’re a veteran performer, of course, but were there any jitters hitting a stage of this size?

I was definitely pretty nervous. I know how big Coachella is, and you actually find out about being a part of the lineup during the summer, so I’ve been anticipating the performance for quite some time.

So there’s a lot of emotional buildup and it was very exciting to do, even just knowing who’s done it before. Being in the audience from previous Coachellas and how I felt watching other people, I just wanted to make sure that I delivered that same feeling. So overall the feelings were excited and nervous, but it was really fun.

It’s like the festival of all festivals. So it was definitely a dream come true.

COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken)

Now, are you a “Coachella mom?” We’ve seen over the years it’s become more standard for people to bring their small kids along. Did you bring Baby Hazel along so she could see the performance, or did she stay home for this one?

She was in a lot of the rehearsals, but for this Coachella weekend, I just thought it would be better for her to stay home because it was like a three-hour drive, and then I wouldn’t bring her to the festival so she would basically go to Palm Springs to be in the house. My mom came down to watch her, so she had some grandma time, but she did watch the show, apparently, and was locked in all for 45 minutes of my set on the live stream. So she was still a part of it. She was also in the show because we used her vocals as a countdown, and then there’s a visualizer of her on the screen too. So it was like she was there.

Which was too cute, by the way! What song were you most excited to perform last weekend and what did you get the best crowd reaction from? What was the most fun and what are you looking forward to performing this weekend?

I think the dance breaks are always really fun because I bring in other people’s music and just kind of vibe with the crowd and have fun and dance really quick. But I definitely enjoy performing “On My Mama,” just because I think it’s the song that people are most familiar with and I can see their faces light up. They’re doing the choreography in the crowd and it’s just a good time. And I’m really excited to do the show all over again. The 45 minutes kind of flies by, so I’m going to try to remain present within this set as well.

COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken)

So going into your second weekend, do you feel like some of the pressure’s off, or do you think it’s going to be a different feeling hitting the stage this time doing it again? What’s the feeling of gearing up to retread the steps of this performance?

The feeling really is…I have notes. I have things I want to fix. There were a lot of little things, and I think it’s normal for a festival performance just because it’s not your environment and there are lots of changeovers and performers in one space. So I have some things that I want to fix, and then I have more rehearsals just to fine-tune certain things and troubleshoot things from set design mishaps and wardrobe things that we can tweak. Just fine-tuning the set, so I’m hoping that this weekend is even better than last. The pressure is really just to come back and do better than the first weekend.

Now, you’ll be stopping by the iconic Heineken House on the festival grounds this year. Who are you looking forward to seeing perform?

I really wish I was seeing BIA! I love BIA. I love Channel Trés, and I love Lupe [Fiasco] also, but during Lupe’s performance, I’ll be on the Mojave stage. So I’m excited for Friday to be introduced to performers that I haven’t seen yet, so it’s going to be a treat. I get to just observe and be a part of the exciting environment and see other performers do their thing, which sounds really, really fun.

COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 19: Victoria Monét attends Heineken House at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 19, 2024 in Coachella, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Heineken)

Coachella is following a long line of successes for you in just the first quarter of the year. You’ve been working hard toward solo superstardom for years, and it all seems to be finally happening, and in quick succession. What does it feel like to have so much coming to fruition at once, and what do you have coming next?

It definitely feels like a big whirlwind of great things happening. And so my main focus is really just to try and stay present. Because there’s so many things to celebrate, but also so many things to do and work on. So it’s kind of this balance of realizing that I’ve gotten to where I want to be, but also knowing that there’s more that I want to do and just kind of having that duality and making sure that I’m grateful always, but also hungry still, and working towards more things.

TOPICS:  Coachella victoria monét

The post 10 Minutes With Victoria Monet As She Preps For Coachella Weekend Two appeared first on Essence.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/tecoyame-village-black-mexico-poverty-climate/

Tecoyame, regarded as Mexico’s oldest Black village, is grappling with poverty and the existential threat posed by extreme climate changes.

Situated in the city of Oaxaca, the village is part of a region of the Costa Chica, a 250-mile stretch along the Pacific Ocean that is home to many Afro-Mexicans. According to Al Jazeera, recent years have witnessed longer and more intense dry seasons, resulting in severe droughts that have left the land and neighboring towns parched and cracked. The hardened soil is unable to absorb the rainfall during Mexico’s rainy season, causing the water to run off the concrete-like surface, eroding the foundations of village homes.

“Our home is the last of its kind here,” resident Don Amado said, who was raised in the village at his mother, Mama “Cointa” Chavez Velazco’s iconic “El Redondo house. “But it may not be around next year. There is no support to help us, no money to maintain it as the climate becomes more extreme and threatens us more.”

This predicament extends beyond Tecoyame. In Cuajinicuilapa, a town north of Tecoyame with a 75% Afro-Mexican population, a first-of its-kind Afro-Mexican history museum has been unable to pay its staff for 15 years and now faces closure. Abad Campos Rodriguez, a leading dance and music teacher, fears the Danza de los Diablos, a cultural tradition, “won’t continue to the next generation” of children.

With each rainless day, the vegetable and fruit harvest that sustains four generations of families is imperiled as climatic conditions worsen, exacerbating the need for financial aid. Institutions that once offered protection from Spanish slave traders are also on the brink of collapse.

The crisis stems from within the community’s social and economic marginalization. In 2015, the government census allowed Blacks to self-identify as Afro-Mexicans, and four years later, a constitutional amendment added Afro-Mexicans to the list of 69 distinct cultural identities. Natives now pin their hopes on the June presidential elections, with Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum as the frontrunner, to provide long-awaited relief.

Last September, The Yarbros lifestyle YouTube channel explored the Black community in Mexico, from Cuajinicuilapa to the Danza de Diablos, delving deep into the culture.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/healthy-tips-impulsive-impatient-2/

Originally Published  Oct. 14, 2012.

One of the things I find most mystifying about the  holiday season is why people want to waitpeople rushing around completing last minute tasks. See, I’m impatient. And impulsive. The two traits combined have resulted in many a comical life disaster (ask me about the time I showed up to a job interview wearing a dress that I had shortened with a pair of scissors ten minutes beforehand in the parking lot.  However, the good thing is that once I decide to do something, I do it. Right then. Even if it is the middle of the night. People love this about me. So much so that my husband now takes sleeping pills and refuses to discuss anything important with me after 10 p.m.

So in the name of immediacy,  I offer you seven healthy changes that you can do right now. Today! Maybe even this very second! Why waste a month in waiting?

Move your fruit bowl to the middle of your table.

It’s a pretty centerpiece so people will think you decorate and you’re more liable to eat it if you see it first thing when you walk into your kitchen. Studies show that the average American eats less than 2 servings a day of fruits and vegetables. We could all use a fiber pick me up during the day.

Call your sibling.

In the famed Harvard longevity study, one of the most surprising correlations they found was that people who had a good relationship with a sibling — particularly a sister — lived longer and were happier. I’m fortunate to have two very smart sisters, whose sole purpose in life seems to be entertaining me via the hands-free attachment of my cell phone. It’s gotten to the point where my kids think Aunt LaLa is really my imaginary friend who appears during Mommy’s Crazy Time (i.e. the hours between dinner and bedtime) to talk me down from the ledge.

Laugh.

A popular axiom points out that babies laugh an average of 50 times a day and while it fails to point out that the little nippers also cry 50 times a day, it is worth noting that we seem to lose some of our good humor as we get older. A good belly laugh releases a flood of endorphins and all that fizziness counteracts the bad effects of the stress hormone cortisol. What was YouTube invented for if not to make you giggle? A fast connection and plenty of bandwidth and the world is your oyster!

Meditate.

Quietly pondering life, the universe and everything – or nothing – has many benefits. If you are the kind who doesn’t like to just sit and stare at your eyelids, try moving through a couple of gentle yoga postures. Sure you’ll have to wear those stupid head bands Mischa Barton has been pimping and say things like “groovy” but it’ll be worth it when you can bust out the calming breaths the next time the cashier closes the line right before you.

Write with your left hand.

You know what’s fun at parties? Showing off your ambidexterity! If you’re single you can write down two numbers at once, although how you juggle two dates at once without anyone pulling a Tiger Woods is up to you. Plus it’s like insurance in case you ever have to cut off one hand to save your life (what? It happens!). Seriously though, research has shown that doing small tasks like eating or writing with your non-dominant hand or tying your shoelaces backwards is like steroids for your willpower muscle. And everyone needs beefed-up willpower this time of year whether it’s holding your tongue when your mother-in-law plays Rorshach with the stains in your carpet (“Hmm… this one looks like vacuum! Wonder what that means?”) or the tray of Christmas bon-bons left on your doorstep. My favorite way is to do a my daily crossword puzzle – yes, I’m in the AARP – with my left hand. See? Healthy can be fun

Notice 5 new things.

How often do we rush through our days without really seeing what’s around us? Case in point: yesterday I didn’t see a man behind me who apparently wanted to open a door for me. I opened it myself and he chastised me for not waiting for him. (His exact words, weirdly enough, were, “In Texas women are real ladies.” Ok, then!) Anyhow, we both would have felt better had I noticed him there and allowed him his gentlemanly act. Although now that I’ve just typed that out, the situation seems oddly creepy. So whether you are noticing the creepy gentleman behind you or the way the light shines off the snow on the tree branches, taking note of the novelty around you will sharpen your senses, brighten your day and make you grateful.

Do something kind for someone else.

Nothing will make you feel better faster than this. Need an idea? Abby, the hilarious writer behind the blog Abby Has Issues just came out with her first book and she’s donating ALL the proceeds to the Humane Society to save shelter animals. “Buy a book, save a kitten (or a one-eyed hamster)!”

Written by Charlotte Hilton Andersen for Frugivore.com

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https://blackgirlnerds.com/new-episode-entitled-surprise-of-bluey-premieres-on-disney/

A brand new episode of “Bluey” titled “Surprise” premieres Sunday, April 21 on Disney+ at 12:00AM PT. It will also air on Disney Junior at 7:00AM PT and Disney Channel at 7:30AM PT, with multiple re-airings throughout the day. “Surprise” arrives following the April 7 episode “Ghostbasket,” and last weekend’s extended-length special, “The Sign,” which captivated audiences around the world. 

“Bluey” is starting 2024 as the No. 1 most-streamed series across all audiences*. Created and written by Joe Brumm, the series follows Bluey, a lovable and inexhaustible Blue Heeler dog who lives with her Mum, Dad, and little sister, Bingo. Bluey uses her limitless energy to play games that unfold in unpredictable and hilarious ways, bringing her family and the whole neighborhood into her world of fun. Produced by the multiple Emmy® Award-winning Ludo Studio for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and BBC Studios Kids & Family, the series airs and streams to U.S. and global audiences (outside of Australia, New Zealand and China) across Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney+ through a global broadcasting deal between BBC Studios Kids & Family and Disney Branded Television.