Blogente

Well, after seeing Cameron on the cover lookin’ gorgeous and innocent of any traffic violations which might result in her being asked for her “papers,” I had to know: How long is one Hispanic? I blew in a call – to the wise man himself.

“Every group has had to face that transition, it’s not a unique phenomenon,” said Dr. Jorge A. Girotti, himself a real-live Hispanic, who isn’t usually pegged Hispanic at first sight. Aside from being a cool Argentinian around town he’s also a top dog at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Medicine. He hopes Latin-American descendents can find a better way to describe ourselves, since the terms have been hijacked into negative-ville by those who think “we” all illegally drag ourselves over the Mexican border (my imagery, not his). He notes it gets especially hairy when kiddies are involved. “I married a Venezuelan woman and I know my kids feel allegiance to both my ancestry and my wife’s, but those lines are going to keep blurring.”"*

Lately, there has been an inordinate amount of articles written about the Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his chances with the Hispanic electorate.

It seems McCain must be reading these articles because yesterday, for Memorial Day, his campaign released a new web ad supposedly honoring Hispanic soldiers and hitting at the heart of what Latinos hold dear — patriotism.”*

Now the magic, mystery and beauty of Mexican music will be celebrated at a special concert Saturday night at the Instituto de Mexico Auditorium.

The event is billed as Mexico, Mexico, Mexico. The concert is being presented by Proart Interlatin USA and the Instituto de Mexico.”*

George Burciaga Chief Executive Officer of smarTECHS.net

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
You need a great idea as well as the focus and passion to turn that idea into reality. You have to be ready to risk everything to win it all.”*

This year, four United States based advertising companies specializing in the Latino market are participating in a student internship program offered by the Miami Ad School. Although 240 of the school’s students participate in the internship programs every year, only a handful of agencies offer Hispanic market and Spanish language oriented opportunities. Miami Ad School student interns receive a scholarship and academic credit. The agencies sponsor the student’s tuition and housing costs for the quarter.

“In Miami, we teach our classes in English but about half of our students and teachers speak Spanish and/or Portuguese as well as other languages,” said a Miami Ad School representative. “We have students from all over the world. It is a very multi-cultural environment. Our Quarter Away and internship programs offer our students the opportunity to enter the work force with a global perspective on advertising.””*

When the rumor first broke that Noticiero Azteca América was moving to Mexico City in mid-March, VP of news María Elena Jáuregui (shown left) vehemently denied it. While she admitted there were changes coming, including some personnel cuts, she insisted that the local and national newscasts would continue to be produced in Los Angeles, with the TV Azteca news department in Mexico City “supplementing” the U.S. programming.”*

Sylvia Moreno, who covers affordable-housing issues in the District of Columbia is also saying good-bye to the Washington Post.”*

Q. Did you see that Indiana Jones movie, just about a buncha white men looting our culture?

A. Whoa, Nelly! (No, not really “Nelly,” though that is a popular name in Latin America.) Take a chill pill, will ya – not everything is about “da man” trying to keep us down.

Monday morning I sat in an audience of predominantly white movie-goers practically vibrating with glee that the long-awaited summer blockbuster chose to highlight my beautiful ancestral South America.”*

Food Network and FoodNetwork.com, established almost two years ago, executives hope to capture Latino food aficionados’ interest with a television program that began airing in the summer of 2007; and an online Latin Cooking Series, featuring videos, recipes and tips from Food Network hosts Ingrid Hoffmann and Bobby Flay.

Website promoters promise visitors will be able learn how to use zesty native ingredients to create recipes for dishes such as Colombian Chicken Soup, Brazilian Feijoada, Argentine Stuffed Flank Steak, Cumin Pork-Potato Filled Tamales and Enchilada Lasagna; and desserts like Chocolate Cornpone with Hot Mexican Chocolate Sauce or Banana Quesadillas. They can also explore the site’s glossary of ingredients and terms commonly found in Latin cooking, suggestions for ingredients Hispanic cuisine fans should keep in their pantry to add a Latin flair to their meals.”*

Sources tell me Ibra had a conference call with all the managers to tell them he had not reached a contract renewal agreement with Telemundo and therefore, decided to leave. His last day on the job is May 30th.”*

Lucía Navarro, the lead anchor of Telemundo-52 in L.A. for the past 7 years, was taken off the job the day after sweeps.”*

With the help of a small publishing company to walk him through the publishing process Texas native Brian Naranjo will share with readers his fiction novels. His first book describes the experience of a Latino family in a residential neighborhood in Middle America.

Vanilla Heart Publishing, a small, independent press based in Everett, Washington, will publish two of Naranjo’s novels, The Tamale List, released April 2008, and Childish Things, due for re-release May 2008. The novels will be available in bookstores and online.”*

As promised to the panel and audience, here are the fleshed out remarks and internet links relating to my presentation. Lydia Gil kindly provides links to her internet resources. Be sure to visit nmviewpoint.typepad.com/ to view Dr. Richard Griego’s elegant site.

On behalf of my La Bloga colleagues, it’s an honor to be here with you this week. The National Hispanic Cultural Center takes my breath away with its superb facility and potential. Similarly, the National Latino Writers Conference is one of those knock-your-socks-off experiences.”*

As readers of La Bloga know, Michael Nava has excelled as both a writer and lawyer. A Phi Beta Kappa from Colorado College, Nava went on to earn his law degree from Stanford University in 1981. From there, he worked with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, a prestigious private appellate law firm, and then as a research attorney first with the California Court of Appeal and now with the California Supreme Court as a judicial staff attorney for Associate Justice Carlos Moreno. Nava also happens to be the author of nine books.
“*

In honor of Memorial Day, Latina Lista shares a special article that appeared last week in an issue of the magazine Diversity, Inc.

As the highest-ranking active-duty Latino officer prior to his retirement in 2004, Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela has spent 33 years serving his country. He has been decorated countless times for heroism and valor, including receiving the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Bronze Star for Valor. He served across the globe, working his way up through the ranks, eventually serving as deputy commander in chief of the U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, and commander of the U.S. Army South at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.”*

In Mexico (and Latin America), wearing a garment with a slogan doesn’t mean that the individual endorses or agrees with the statement, especially when these slogans are written in another language. For instance, I have seen Hispanic males and females both in Mexico and in the U.S. wearing garments from the RED Campaign or Walk for Breast Cancer without having a clue of the meaning of the message they were promoting.”*

In a new study by the Media Matters Action Network, “Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News,” the authors examine the cable “news” shows of Lou Dobbs, CNN Headline News’ Glenn Beck, and Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. The authors are able to document the number of times these men not only discuss illegal immigration on their shows but slant it in such a way that it fuels mistaken perceptions among viewers about undocumented immigrants and elevates those misperceptions into facts in the minds of people.

Of course, none of these men enjoy being the subject of such a report. After all, in their minds they are looking out for the future of this nation. Dobbs especially takes issue when he’s accused of not being fair or that he’s a lousy journalist, and denies wholeheartedly that he’s a racist or anyone who purposely misleads his viewers.”*

There are three books that I regularly recommend (in no particular order) to those who wish to sell to or communicate with Hispanics, and Mexicans specifically: Distant Neighbors by Alan Riding, The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, and The Children of Sanchez by Oscar Lewis. But I now have an addition to the list: Talk Dirty Spanish by Laura Martinez and Alexis Murnier.

Talk Dirty Spanish offers a non-official guide to the slang, lingo and dirty words of the Spanish language. Through sixteen chapters, each one addressing different social and individual situations, the book presents words and phrases with literal and contextual explanations as well as examples of use within the context of a conversation. “*

In an NPR interview with Washington Post reporters, Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein, responsible for a four part series on the treatment of foreign detainees inside ICE detention facilities, the pair describe how medical care for those detained is decided based on manuals that tell staff what they cannot do rather on what they can do for ill inmates.”*

It has been a while since the Sister Morales last had a CD out.

SistersMorales 5 2008.jpgActually, it’s about six years since their CD, “Para Gloria,” was released.”*

It was going to happen: finally, a robust discussion about the United States’ foreign policy toward Latin America because the “rock star” was going to bring it up. Yep, it was to be an important day in turning the nation’s attention south until someone had to stick her big fat foot - conservative pump and all - into her mouth. Again.

Capitalizing on the occasion of Cuban Independence Day week, Barack Obama seized his moment in the Miami sun Friday to deliver a speech titled “Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas.” He spoke of the promise of hard-working immigrants, of “taking pride in a vibrant and diverse democracy,” of challenging the visions of leftist dictator-wannabes by actually acknowledging those south of the border as more than just U.S.-bound welfare cases or drug dealers.”*

“Tejano music, in general, has reached a certain plateau,”said Tejano singer Elida in a recent interview. “I feel it is not going anywhere. You sort of have to change with the times, get a feel of what is out there.”

Elida has taken her own prescription, so to speak. She’s taken her step in a new direction, on her latest CD “Domingo.” She and her group went for more of a pop cumbia feel, to, as she puts it, “find a new and different sound.”*

Published by Kaplan Publishing, the book was a collaborative effort by Ramirez and business partner Chris Barrett, a documentary filmmaker.

Their production company is called Powerhouse Pictures Entertainment.”*

The opening event of the 6th Annual National Latino Writers Conference featured music, readings, and carnalismo. Here are highlights of the events at the Alburquerque Country Inns hotel.

Organizer Carlos Vasquez and staff arranged a satisfying selection of hors d’oeuvres, as well providing a warm welcome. Staff member Greta–apologies to Greta I’ll get her full name tomorrow.”*

In Washington, D.C. tomorrow, there will be a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections to discuss the impact of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on children and what can possibly be done to prevent the ensuing trauma experienced by these children.

One of the raids that will be used as an example is the recent raid in Postville, Iowa. Deemed the largest raid in the country, by ICE officials, the aftershocks of the raid have been rattling the community ever since, and with good reason.”*