Utah

Utah immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, other countries push anti-communist message bill

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

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Utah immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, other countries push anti-communist message bill

Estimated read time: 5-6
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SALT LAKE CITY — Living in Cuba, says Gabriela Puckett, was anything but idyllic.

Now living in Orem, some people remark enthusiastically about the beaches and sun when she tells them she’s from the Caribbean island nation. Her memories, though, are of scarce food, government control and limited professional opportunities.

She ultimately fled the communist nation and is now part of a contingent of immigrants in Utah, most from Latin America, pushing a message bill in the Utah Legislature calling for the condemnation of socialism and communism.

“It’s like a cancer that’s spreading all over the country,” Puckett, a naturalized U.S. citizen, told KSL.com. “We need to teach children and young people about communism, the reality, the truth.”

The aim of SJR5, she and others behind the measure say, is to shed light on what they believe to be a slow creep toward socialism in the United States and to stop it. Sen. Michael Kennedy, R-Alpine, is the sponsor, and the resolution received a favorable recommendation in a 3-1 vote of the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee last week.

Carlos Moreno, originally from Venezuela and now living in West Jordan, reached out to Kennedy to get the bill on the lawmaker’s radar screen. In Venezuela under the late socialist President Hugo Chavez, Moreno said, guns were taken from private residents and school curriculum was changed to reflect socialist values. Cuban revolutionaries like Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Fidel Castro were put forward to kids as heroic examples to emulate. President Nicolás Maduro now leads Venezuela, following the footsteps of Chavez.

“When you escape from that type of regime, you don’t want to see it in your new home,” said Moreno, a naturalized U.S. citizen running as a Republican for the District 2 seat on the Salt Lake County Council. The other hopefuls for the seat, now held by Republican Dave Alvord who’s not running again, are Republican Daniel Thatcher and Democrat Katie Olson.

After coming to Utah as a student in 2009, Moreno said, he created a student group challenging changes implemented by Venezuela that impacted the finances of students abroad, incurring the wrath of the government. “Overnight, I became an enemy of the state and I had to apply for political asylum,” said Moreno, who, like Puckett, testified on behalf of SJR5 at last week’s committee hearing.

SJR5 doesn’t call for any specific action — it has no teeth. It reads as a statement of resolve by the Utah Legislature that the body “celebrates the enduring principles of the United States Constitution, reaffirms our commitment to the free market system and condemns the destructive and oppressive nature of socialism and communism.”

But it reflects the concerns of some immigrant newcomers about what’s happening around the world and their contentions that socialism is gaining a foothold in the state. Among other things, Moreno pointed to the creation of a Salt Lake branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which espouses “the socialist transformation of society,” and, on a larger scale, moves toward socialism in Latin America.

“Socialism doesn’t come overnight. It’s a process like what happened in Venezuela,” said Moreno, who runs an energy consulting firm.

Venezuela and Cuba may be the most overt countries in their embrace of socialism and communism, but Moreno said other nations in the region are making incremental policy changes in the same direction. In fact, other backers of the push for SJR5, he said, include immigrants, asylum seekers and naturalized citizens originally from Paraguay, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Alvin Guo, originally from China but now living in Provo and studying at Brigham Young University, is also involved in the effort. He spoke at the committee hearing of repression by the Chinese government against Christians — burning of crosses, jailing of people for showing the Bible — and Uyghurs, among other things. “Communists are the biggest adversity for humankind and the (Chinese Communist Party) is the alpha wolf of the global threat to America,” he said.

An anti-communist message may resonate strongly in a conservative place like Utah. Kennedy, the resolution sponsor, said the measure “is vital in protecting the American dream and ensuring that our nation remains a symbol of freedom and opportunity for all.”

But Utah Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, voiced reservations about SJR5 during the committee hearing, ultimately voting against recommending approval of the measure. She proposed a substitute version of SJR5, changing some of the language though maintaining

She doesn’t support communism or socialism, she said, but questioned the timing of the measure, drawing parallels to the recent legislative debate about HB261 and overhauling diversity, equity and inclusion programs at universities. That contentious measure, signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday, espouses academic freedom on college campuses and prohibits discrimination.

“I do have a lot of concerns just on the timing and as we are evolving on some of these difficult conversations. Like I said, I certainly agree in concept with some of these pieces. But It’s when they connect to everything else that is happening … that’s hurting many members of our community that I do have a big hesitation,” she said.

Puckett, meantime, touted the import of pushing back hard against communism, alluding to the toll it takes on the people of Cuba.

“We don’t want people to lose the hope like in Cuba,” she said. “They don’t even dream. … The only dream in Cuba is to leave Cuba because you’re not living.”

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL.com. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Jazz Injury Report Rules Out 7 Players vs. Raptors

Published

7 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Jazz Injury Report Rules Out 7 Players vs. Raptors

The Utah Jazz are set to face off against the Toronto Raptors to kick off their new week for their second of two meetings across this season, where the Jazz in particular have ruled out a total of seven names on their injury report.

Here’s what the injury landscape looks like for the Jazz and Raptors rolling into the night:

Utah Jazz Injury Report

OUT – Isaiah Collier (hamstring)

OUT – Keyonte George (hamstring)

OUT – Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee)

OUT – Walker Kessler (shoulder)

OUT – Lauri Markkanen (hip)

OUT – Jusuf Nurkic (nose)

OUT – Blake Hinson (two-way)

QUESTIONABLE – Cody Williams (shoulder)

It’s much of the same from what the Jazz have been dealing with across the past couple of weeks.

Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen still remain out with their minor injuries that they’ve suffered past the All-Star break, and Walker Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jusuf Nurkic remain out for the year with their respective season-ending injuries.

However, the two names that stick out on this injury report against the Raptors in particular are their two first round picks from the 2024 NBA Draft; Isaiah Collier who’s out with a hamstring injury, while Cody Williams is the latest to be among those listed with a shoulder issue.

For Collier, it’s set to be a third-straight game that he’s been out due to what’s been labeled hamstring soreness, and thus leave the Jazz without both their starting and second-string point guard for the night.

That could lead to either two-way signee Elijah Harkless getting a starting nod for a second straight game following his elevation against the Philadelphia 76ers, or that spot could go to 10-day signing Kennedy Chandler, who played 35 minutes in that same game for a career-high 19 points in his team debut.

Mar 21, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Kennedy Chandler (0) warms up before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

As for Williams, he’s been downgraded to questionable for the action due to shoulder soreness; something that could leave him still able to go before tip-off, but remains to be seen based on how he feels before gametime.

The second-year forward has been on a hot streak as of late. In his past five games, he’s averaged an impressive 19.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, shooting 50.0% from the field throughout.

If Williams is out of the mix, it’ll leave their frontcourt a bit more shorthanded from what they’ve been used to across the past couple of weeks, and might lead to even more minutes for guys like 10-day signee Bez Mbeng and two-way big man Oscar Tshiebwe to fill those minutes.

Toronto Raptors Injury Report

OUT – Immanuel Quickley (foot)

OUT – Jakob Poeltl (rest)

QUESTIONABLE – Collin Murray-Boyles (illness)

When it comes to the Raptors, they’ll be without a couple of guys on their roster, Immanuel Quickley who’s slated to miss out due to a foot injury, while Jakob Poeltl won’t be playing for Toronto’s second leg of a back-to-back following their previous battle against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Collin Murray-Boyles, on the other hand, has been upgraded to questionable against the Jazz with an illness after previously being out against the Nuggets over the weekend.

Tip-off between the Jazz and Raptors lands at 9 p.m. MT in the Delta Center, where Toronto will have their chance at a 2-0 series sweep over Utah depending on the results.

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Utah

POST-GAME: André Tourigny 3.22.26 | Utah Mammoth

Published

19 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

POST-GAME: André Tourigny 3.22.26 | Utah Mammoth

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Utah chef’s cake didn’t have enough booze, Food Network judges say

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Utah chef’s cake didn’t have enough booze, Food Network judges say

After hitting a snag and suffering through what he called “the biggest embarrassment” on national TV, chef Adalberto Diaz managed to narrowly avoid elimination during the premiere episode of Food Network’s “The Ultimate Baking Championship.”

“I’ll make you proud,” Diaz told the judges when the show revealed he would be claiming the final spot in the top 10 and moving forward in the competition.

But during the second episode of the season, the Utah chef behind the Salt Lake City bakery Fillings & Emulsions once again found himself in a far from ideal situation.

Adalberto Diaz faces criticism on ‘The Ultimate Baking Championship’

After an intense first episode that eliminated six of the top pastry chefs from across the country, Diaz found himself in the competition’s top 10.

The first challenge of the episode tasked the remaining bakers with putting a modern twist on a classic dessert. Diaz did OK in this round, creating strawberry shortcake canapés that put him in a three-way tie for fifth place with 11 points out of 20.

But like the premiere episode, things took a turn for the worse during the second challenge.

Diaz and his fellow bakers each had 2.5 hours to create a geometric layered mousse cake. The Utah chef’s specific assignment was to give his cake a tropical and boozy theme — something he said he felt confident about given his Cuban heritage.

The chef went to work creating a blueberry mojito gelée cake with mango mousse, topped off with a chocolate hibiscus flower. He gave it an ocean look with dark blue coloring.

In a blind taste test, celebrity guest judge and pastry chef Amaury Guichon said Diaz’s final product wasn’t the right interpretation for a boozy dessert. There wasn’t enough booze in the cake, both Guichon and judge Duff Goldman said. Guichon also criticized the amount of dark blue coloring Diaz used and said it wasn’t a natural look.

“This cannot be served in a restaurant,” Guichon said.

Chef Adalberto Diaz Labrada puts a batch of macarons into an oven in the kitchen of Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

Diaz, who was watching the judging on a screen in another room, became emotional as he heard the feedback.

He told his fellow pastry chef and competitor Juan Gutierrez that it hurt to get that kind of criticism on the show because as an older competitor, he doesn’t have as much time for improvement in his career as the younger chefs.

“We should be already there,” a visibly upset Diaz told Gutierrez.

After all of the judging, host Jesse Palmer revealed that Diaz was once again among the bottom competitors for the round. And, just like the premiere episode, the Utah chef ended up narrowly avoiding elimination.

Diaz received a 15 out of 30 for his cake, bringing his cumulative score for the episode to 26 points.

Oralia Perez, a pastry chef based in Houston, got eliminated from the competition with a cumulative score of 25.

Contestants Sarah Craichy, Christopher Teixeira, Rochelle Cooper, Clement Le Deore, Lasheeda Perry, Molly Coen, Robert Gonzalez, Oralia Perez, Juan Gutierrez, Arlety Estéves, Florencia Breda, Steven Weiss, Casey Doody, Cesar Sajulan, Julian Belon and Adalberto Diaz on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Baking Championship.” | Rob Pryce

Now, Diaz moves forward as one of nine remaining chefs competing for $50,000 in “The Ultimate Baking Championship.”

The show airs Monday nights on Food Network, with episodes available for streaming the following day on Discovery+ and HBO Max.

Who is Adalberto Diaz?

Diaz’s colorful macarons and fruit desserts are on display at Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City — which the chef has described as an “eclectic Latin bakery with a French flair.”

“The last 12 years I have invested everything I have, everything, into my pastry shop,” Diaz said during “The Ultimate Baking Championship” premiere episode, which included footage of his new location that features bright murals painted by his brother to highlight their Cuban heritage.

Chef Adalberto Diaz Labrada hands customer Cameron Dryg a cup of coffee at Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

“When I win this competition, it will be a dream come true and that money is gonna go straight into my business and my amazing team of chefs and pastry chefs,” he said during the premiere episode. “I want to make sure that we make it out of these harsh economic times.”

Diaz emigrated from Cuba in 2000 and made a home in Utah, where he quickly began working in the food industry. He worked at a few places around Salt Lake City over the next decade, and earned the American Culinary Federation’s title of Pastry Chef of the Year in 2012. He opened Fillings & Emulsions the following year, as the Deseret News reported.

The chef’s appearance on “The Ultimate Baking Championship” comes on the heels of being nominated as a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard award for outstanding pastry chef or baker.

“I am part of this community and this community has welcomed me to be part of it, and even bigger, this country welcomed me when I came here, and gave me an opportunity to be more where I am today,” Diaz told the Deseret News last year after his James Beard nomination. “And I wish that opportunity was given to more people because you don’t know how they would change the world.”

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