Paola Manzano

Paola Manzano

Bio: Paola Manzano is a Puerto Rican writer majoring in English Lit at the University of Puerto Rico. Her love for writing came from being infatuated with classic literature. She is passionate about her culture and protective of her island. Therefore loves to hike, surf, and explore nature; she considers herself a nomad. She is looking forward to pouring out all that passion into her writing for NYC Tastemakers and is immensely grateful for being a part of this beautifully diverse team.
Beauty

Op-Ed: The Subjective Nature of Beauty Over the Years

Growing up in a Pentecostal household, there were a lot of beauty trends that passed me by that I wasn’t a part of. For those who don’t know what Pentecostal is, it is a Christian, Protestant-based religion. It also, depending on the church, follows some strict rules when it comes to a women’s appearance. Whatever each church’s case may be, I did not partake in makeup, dyeing my hair- and cutting anything except the ends of it- plucking my eyebrows, wearing certain jewelry, etc. This was of my own doing; of course, I wasn’t forced, but it was something that was introduced to me pretty early on. Therefore, I underestimated the effects of not partaking in the, at the time unknowingly, yet still fleeting beauty trends of my high school.

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Latest News

Man In Southwest Ranches Faces 29 Charges Over Dead and Starving Animals In His Property

39-year-old man Arnold Musgrove; a citizen of Southwest Ranches, a town in Broward County, Florida; was arrested due to an animal neglect and cruelty investigation involving dead and uncared-for farm animals on his property. He was charged with three counts of cruelty to animals and 26 counts of unlawful abandonment or confinement of an animal.

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Fashion

Op-Ed: The Collateral Damages of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is the quick and cheap production of merchandise; it is also described as the production of “clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to take advantage of trends. The collections are often based on styles presented at Fashion Week runway shows or worn by celebrities.” In other words, it is the perfect combination of cheap and convenience for the customer that can’t imagine a life where they’re not staying in the loop. This fast-production of clothes, however, has so many collateral damages, damages ranging from the exacerbation of climate change to the industry’s connection to sweatshops.

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Sports

Chicago Blackhawks Will Not Be Wearing Pride-Themed Jerseys: Here’s Why

In December of last year, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of Russia, signed expanded LGBTQ laws, one of which is the LGBTQ propaganda law. This bill makes it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggests that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.” This is, in part, a defense against US influence in Russia since the president equated the US’s LGBTQ freedom to devil worshipping and did not understand the need for that freedom to be expanded worldwide: “Let them live there, do not touch us.”

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Sports

Op-Ed: Football: The Field of Concussions

While American football is seen as an extremely popular, fun, and worldly-viewed contact sport, it is also the demise of a myriad of brains. And, I believe, an inhumane way of slowly and subconsciously targeting quality of life through tackles and body slams. A sport responsible for the deterioration of not only the brain but also human life.

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Latest News

Another Death at Fort Hood Military: The Host to Multiple Homicides and Suicides

Now Ana Basaldua Ruiz, a 20-year-old female soldier, has been found dead at the Fort Hood military base. According to the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, “at this point in the investigation into the death of Pvt. Ana Basaldua Ruiz, no foul play is evident, and will remain under investigation.”. However, Ana’s parents are saying she repeatedly complained, only weeks before her death, about recurrent sexual harassment by other service members which, include one of her superiors.

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TV

Chris Rock Gets Back at Will Smith with His Netflix Special “Selective Outrage”

After the famous comedian and host of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, Chris Rock, gets slapped in the face during the said event by also famous comedian and actor Will Smith, we all started waiting for Rock’s reaction. And waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Then when nothing happened, the waiting stopped because we didn’t think it would take almost one whole year for him to finally acknowledge it. Or that he would do so with a Netflix special.

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Sports

The Prize Money for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Will Increase By 300%

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 coming up this July, FIFA President Gianno Infantino announced; at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday; that the prize money will increase to 150 million dollars. That is supposedly 10 times more than it was in 2015 (before Infantino was president) and 3 times more than the 2019 prize. However, not more than the 2022 Men’s World Cup prize money.

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Latest News

Five Planets Will Be Visible from Earth in March

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus are all set to align and be viewable to stargazers on planet Earth on March 28, 2023. It is not unusual to see maybe two or three planets in the sky, but for a total of five planets to be visible from Earth is not as common. All five planets are expected to line up together in a small section of the sky just after sunset.

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Beauty

Miss England Finalist Makes History by Being the First to Compete Makeup

Melissa Raouf’s goal is to inspire girls and women who have been victims of insecurity due to the fact that we live in a society that profits off them by marketing beauty products with photoshopped images and filling beauty pageants with women’s cosmetically altered faces. When taking this into consideration, why wouldn’t one think that beauty is synonymous with distortion? However, Melissa Raouf opens their eyes by becoming the first competitor in the 94-year history of the beauty pageant to compete without makeup.

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Latest News

False “Ghanaian Prince” from Ohio is Sent to Prison

Daryl Robert Harrison from Dayton, Ohio, falsely went by Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe for around six years until being found out and convicted of it a few months ago. This false persona was the cause of over 800,000 dollars worth of fraud, by conning people into making safe investments with the Ghanaian Prince and Prophet. Due to this, he was finally sentenced to 20 years in prison this Wednesday.

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Sports

Puerto Rico Enters the Quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic After Well Awaited Victory Against Dominican Republic

There had been various US media coverage of Puerto Rican fans and their energetic loudness and commitment in the first round of baseball games. Puerto Rico’s pride for their baseball team is clear as day, especially since iconic baseball player Roberto Clemente rose from said small island. The fans’ dedication shines through in videos from MLB Fox on social media with comments like “Puerto Ricans are LOUD in Miami” and in New York Times articles referencing their dancing and drumming: “Puerto Ricans celebrate their wins and the losses.”

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