Women of Juarez

Yvette Cabrera is an Orange County Register local news columnist who writes about the Latino community in Orange County, and also serves as the newspaper’s Latino coverage coordinator.

She has tackled health issues such as diabetes and alcoholism among Latinos, explored the obstacles facing Latino immigrants, and dealt with topics ranging from the cultural taboos tied to AIDS/HIV in the Latino community to the bicultural lifestyles of today’s Latino youth.

Prior to the Orange County Register, Yvette worked at the Los Angeles Daily News as a metro reporter covering immigration, Latino issues and the communities of the Northeast San Fernando Valley.

Previously, she worked as a news reporter at The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and at the Los Angeles Times.

While at the Los Angeles Daily News she received a first place award from the California Chicano News Media association for her news-feature "Fighting Chance," about a young Sylmar boy's struggle to receive a bone marrow transplant to fight his leukemia. The story highlighted the need for the Latino community to step forward and join the national bone marrow registry to help other Latinos diagnosed with cancer.

In 1998, Yvette was honored by the Comisión Femenil of the San Fernando Valley, a chapter of the national Latina organization, for her work in covering the Northeast Valley's Latino community.

In 2003, she was honored with a Crystal Award from the Orange County chapter of MANA, a national Latina organization, for contributing to the positive image of Latinas in the media. She was also a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2003.

The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Yvette was born and raised in Santa Barbara, Ca. She graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles, majoring in history with an emphasis on Latin American studies and a minor in anthropology.

She is currently a statewide board member and professional vice president for the California Chicano News Media Association, as well as a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Minerva Canto covered immigration and U.S.-Mexico issues for the Register from 1999 to 2004, reporting in both countries on topics such as the effects of Mexico's crackdown along its border with Guatemala, unemployment in the maquiladora industry and Vicente Fox's presidential campaign.

From 2004 to 2005 she was a local columnist. She is a native of Mexico City and was a former staff writer for The Associated Press in Los Angeles and San Diego and worked for daily newspapers in New Mexico, Washington state and Oregon.

Rose Palmisano a Register photographer, has covered border issues for 12 years. She documented the lives of migrant workers on both sides of the border and of illegal immigrants living in the United States. She spent several months photographing homeless children in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. 

She also has worked in Latin America, covering cultural issues and the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua. She joined the Register in November 2002.