About the Author

Kristina Puga

  • Bio:

    Kristina Puga, Web Producer: A graduate of Barnard College and The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Kristina is the product of an Ecuadorian father and a Russian mother. Raised in culturally diverse Queens, NY, she has been covering the Latino community for about a decade for publications such as the New York Daily News, AOL Latino, NYRemezcla.com, and Urban Latino. She loves to travel and experience different foods and cultures while discovering interesting characters along the way and telling their stories. After a long stay in Oaxaca, Mexico, she now considers it her second home. According to legend, she will be back since she ate chapulines there.

  • Twitter: @kristinapuga

Most Recent

Placido Salazar, of Universal City, Texas, center, as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, before the House Veteran's Affairs Committee hearing on mental health issues and suicides facing veterans. (AP Photos/Susan Walsh)

Placido Salazar receives Bronze Star, 48 years after Vietnam War

By

Teary-eyed and joyful after waiting 48 years, Tech. Sgt. Placido Salazar, a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, was finally handed his well-earned Bronze … Read More

Justin Vélez-Hagan heading home from Afghanistan on November 1, 2012. (Courtesy Justin Vélez-Hagan)

A veteran remembers his Memorial Day last year in Afghanistan

By Justin Vélez-Hagan

Memorial Day last year wasn’t the same as I remember growing up:  There were no backyard BBQs. There was no salsa music. There were no pool parties, or girls … Read More

Isabel Sobozinsky-Wall and her husband, Scott Wall (Courtesy StoryCorps)

StoryCorps Historias: How a couple met 20 years ago in NYC

By StoryCorps

Isabel Sobozinsky-Wall with her husband, Scott Wall, met in New York City 20 years ago. Isabel had traveled from her home in San Francisco to celebrate New … Read More

IsmaelMiranda

[VIDEO] Ismael Miranda, of the Fania All Stars, says the future of salsa is bright

By

Ismael Miranda used to be the one of the youngest members of the iconic 70's salsa band, Fania All Stars. Now he’s one of the few left, with the passing of … Read More

(Photo/Getty Images)

Teen Hispanic birth rates decline 40 percent, but more needs to be done, says expert

By Associated Press

The nation's record-low teen birth rate stems from robust declines in nearly every state, but most dramatically in several Mountain States and among Hispanics, … Read More

Actress Romi Dias who plays Loreta Velazquez, the Cuban immigrant who fought in the U.S. Civil War. (Courtesy of Gerard Gaskin, graphic work by Hayley Parker)

[VIDEO] Filmmaker brings attention to a Latina soldier who fought in the U.S. Civil War

By

The U.S. military may have recently lifted the ban on women in combat, but Loreta Velazquez, a wealthy Cuban planter’s daughter who immigrated to New Orleans … Read More

A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., and passed along to rescuers after Monday's tornado. (Photo/ Sue Ogrocki / AP)

Pastor helps family after barely surviving tornado at Plaza Towers elementary

By

Johan Torres, pastor of Iglesia Camino Nuevo in Moore, Okla., literally watched as one of the most treacherous tornadoes in history headed towards his church … Read More

Poet Richard Blanco shaking hands with President Barack Obama at the Presidential inauguration in January. (Photo/AP)

President Obama invites his inaugural poet Richard Blanco for intimate chat

By

Poet Richard Blanco says he was more nervous today than when he recited the inaugural poem, “One Today,” to nearly one million people this past January. … Read More

Dr. Maria Abreu (Courtesy UHealth)

Latina Leaders: A Cuban-American founds a Crohn’s and Colitis Center in Miami

By

If there’s one thing Dr. Maria Abreu loves more than being a mom and running half marathons, it’s making sure everyone’s gastrointestinal tract is in … Read More

Health

7 tips on how to prevent/slow down osteoporosis

By

Osteoporosis is not something that often crosses one’s mind often, but perhaps it should as it’s a growing public health issue in the Latino … Read More