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Rosalie Aguilar-Santos

Rosalie Aguilar Santos, MS, is Salud America!'s national project coordinator. She is passionate about nutrition, physical activity, and opportunities to engage communities in advocacy actions to promote Latino childhood health.


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Articles by Rosalie Aguilar-Santos

“CicLAvia, Let’s Go!”



Community members who attended CicLAvia 2010 share their thoughts on what CicLAvia was like and why CicLAvia should continue. Bike advocate Adonia Lugo addressed the community alongside Mayor Antonio Villagairosa and founder of the original ciclovia, Jaime Ortiz. See more in the video below. http://vimeo.com/15783859 Read more about this event ...

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“Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and public health: What does race have to do with it?”



In a recent report from the New York Times, 66 of Hispanics living in New York, were found to be either overweight or obese. Still, big soda companies continue to target minority groups by signing celebrity endorsements. According to this article, Coca-Cola has reportedly signed a contract with Christina Aguilera to boost sales, among the Hispanic market. After filing a lawsuit against the city of New York for its recent soda ban, minority organizations such as the N.A.A.C.P. and the Hispanic Federation-- who receive money from big soda companies--do not appear to have weighed out the public health costs and consequences of obesity--which affects African Americans and Hispanics disproportionately. ...

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“Commissioner: Manatee school playgrounds will be open to the public”



Commissioner Michael Gallen announced that every elementary school playground in Manatee County will be open during nonschool hours, weekends, summers, and holidays. According to Gallen, school playgrounds are considered open space under the county's comprehensive plan. However, it is still up to each principal to open the playground up to the public. Already 13 out of 33 elementary schools in the county are open. Now the school district will hold meetings with each school principal to discuss any concerns they might have. The changes are also expected to be brought up during a future school board meeting. ...

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“Baldwin Park Selected as Playful City USA Third Year In a Row”



According to this article in 2011 KABOOM!, a national non-profit organization that builds playgrounds, designated the city of Baldwin Park as a Playful City USA. Helen Hernandez, a program supervisor at the Baldwin Teen Center, describes her experience in helping create the city's action plan for getting children to use parks and playgrounds. As a result of being recognized as a Playful City USA, Baldwin Park will now have the opportunity to apply for exclusive grants which could bring more parks and playgrounds to the community. ...

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“Beacon Hill celebrates new linear park”



Phase I of the Beacon Hill Linear Park has now been completed, thanks to the collaboration of neighborhood members and officials from the City of San Antonio. ...

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“Bicycle lane education gears up”



By October of 2005, the city of Amarillo had begun to make bike lanes available to the community. In order to get residents active and using these bike lanes city officials would have to create a plan for educating the people on how to use bike lanes appropriately. Because the bike lanes were new to the community, bike lane proponents discussed practical ways to make residents aware of the city's bike ordinance. Ideas like increasing bike signage and including information on the water bill were some methods proposed. ...

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“Bills Aim to Stop Diverting Funds Meant for State Parks”



For the fiscal year 2014-2015 the House and Senate included funds for only 84 state parks. This means that the state would have to shut down 7 parks. Park advocates and state legislators in support of state parks are currently seeking ways to keep these parks open. ...

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“Bringing Bicycle Education to Spanish-Speaking Communities”



In 2001, BikeTexas, formerly known as the Texas Bike Coalition (TBC), commissioned Fernando Martinez to translate its Texas SuperCyclist curriculum into Spanish. Because of the large Spanish speaking population that exists in Amarillo, this material was later used for the Safe Routes to School program and distributed to 60,000 Amarillo residents by mail. ...

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“Brownsville Zumbatomic Record Class Pictures”



The Brownsville Biggest Loser Challenge has encouraged adults to live healthier lifestyles and lose weight. As this video demonstrates, anyone can dance Zumba, even children. After the adult Zumba event, children wanted to demonstrate their dance skills in the same they saw the their parents do. With the support of local community partners, individuals working with the city of Brownsville, the UT School of Public Health, and Tu Salud Si Cuenta! were able to create the Brownsville Biggest Loser Challenge. ...

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