2005 October 18 | VivirLatino

Archive for October 18th, 2005

How the Internet Has Made My World Smaller

3:37 pm By Maegan La Mala · Internet · 2 Comments

18 Oct 2005

Today as I sat in Miami, making calls across the US without worrying about my long distance bill and writing blog posts in my living room, I started thinking about how the Internet and technology in its current state has really changed my life. We all know that so much has changed in the past 10 years in this respect, but I thought I’d take a few minutes to discuss what it has meant for me personally.

Back ten years ago, I was a freshman in college taking a computer course, and I received an assignment to find some information on the internet. A guy at the help desk told me about a cool search engine called Yahoo!…I was fascinated by the name alone, and later by what I could find.

Now we switch to current day, where I spend my days in the “blogosphere” talking and working with many people, none of which I have ever met face-to-face. Also, I utilize wireless internet so that I can walk around my house without worrying about cables and connections.

In my home in Miami, I have Vonage as a telephone provider, which allows me unlimited long distance calls across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico for $25 a month. I also pay another $5 a month to have a “virtual” Mexico City phone number, which means our family can call us without spending a dime (or a peso, I should say). To talk to people in other countries, or others online, I use Skype, which also helped me call family and friends in the US while I was living in Mexico.

Being new to Miami, I still don’t know where everything is, so I’m about to look up Publix grocery stores online to find one close by. And when I was house hunting from afar, Google Satellite Maps teamed with Craigslist posts were invaluable.

So basically almost every part of my life has been affected by this change…I would say for the better. For one, I have been able to be closer with my family; not worrying about long distance bills, we talk every few days instead of every few weeks. I’ve also entered in to a completely different arena “career-wise” than I ever would have imagined.

For Latinos in the US, these technologies can be an incredible way to keep ties to family that remains abroad. Now there is no excuse not to keep in touch!

Katrina cleanup brings work and racism

3:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration|mexico|Politics · 9 Comments

18 Oct 2005

Throughout the Katrina ordeal, America’s eyes were opened to two ugly realities of our country’s Gulf Coast region: poverty and racism. We’ve come to know that in many cases, these two things go hand-in-hand. Community leaders were vocal about the link between the goverment’s slow response and the fact that the affected area was largely populated by poor black people.

Now Katrina is over a month behind us. Cleanup is moving along, slowly. New Orleans is getting back to normal, but there is still a lot to do. So much, it seems, that FEMA isn’t able to find enough workers to keep up with the demands of the job.

Enter: Mexican immigrants. Hundreds of Mexican workers have arrived to New Orleans to do the job that no one else can do or wants to do. This is nothing new. Hard labor is no fun, and few us of would sign up for this kind of a job. We aren’t signing up. In the meantime, Mexicans are picking up the slack, and the Mayor of New Orleans screams “invasion”:

The new norm for New Orleans in terms of demographics is what concerns some city officials. Earlier this month, both Nagin and City Council President Oliver Thomas weighed in on the topic. Nagin was widely quoted as asking local business people, “How do I ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers?” But the mayor later sought to distance himself from that remark. His comments were focused on the question of whether Louisiana companies were getting their fair share, Nagin said.

“Overrun by Mexican workers”. Words that evoke images of chaos. Words charged with racism. Ironic.

Workers, Mexican or not, will be responsible for restoring New Orleans and giving Mayor Nagin (who, incidentally, won’t have to worry too much about the invasion, since he’s purchased a home in Dallas) back his once non-Mexican city. But for those who’d rather not hear Spanish in the streets or see brown faces on their block, life just isn’t that simple. After the reconstruction of the city is behind us, Latino workers will be in New Orleans. They will be in Mississippi and in Georgia. They will be everywhere because their labor is what is behind that glass of Chardonnay you are sipping and that faux French meal you’ll be sitting down to later tonight. Like it or not, Latinos are here to stay.

Via / Nola.com and Hispanic Tips

Latina Wants You to be the Perfect Lover

2:27 pm By Maegan La Mala · Books · 1 Comment

18 Oct 2005

Mabel Iam, a Latina in Miami by way of Argentina, makes a bold entrance into the Anglo-American literary world with her first book to be translated into English: Sex and the Perfect Lover. The self-help book offering tips about sex and love based in the ancient Eastern traditions of Tantra, Tao, and the Kama Sutra, was first published in English in 2003 under the Llewellyn imprint. Now in October it was republished with a sexy new look thanks to Atria Books, a division of Simon and Shuster.

While the book is not specifically aimed towards a Latino audience, it is refreshing to have a Latina willing to step out of the Puta/Madonna paradigm and write about sex in a candid and intelligent way. And anyway, who doesn’t want to add a little more sabor in the bedroom and be a perfect lover?

Mabel Iam is touring the country with her book. Be sure to check out her website to find out when she will be near you and also to learn about her other books and work around issues of el amor y el sexo.

Sex and the Perfect Lover Website

WAMU says no to driving cards as I.D.

12:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration|Marketing|Money · 2 Comments

18 Oct 2005

If a report read on a local Utah television station’s web site is to be believed, it seems that bank Washington Mutual is not accepting government-issued “driving privilage cards” as identification for immigrants interested in banking at their establishment:

Latinos that have driving privilege cards are finding that Washington Mutual Bank location won’t recognize their cards as a legitimate form of identification.

Community Activist Tony Yapias says he’s heard about the problem in Ogden and Salt Lake City branches. “I think it’s unfortunate for Washington Mutual Bank to not accept it.”

I think it’s unfortunate, too. WAMU is one of the banks that I do my banking at, and I have been a rabid consumer evangelist for them for years, talking them up to my friends on their excellent customer service, low fees and all-around no-hassle way of doing business.

On a less personal level, we are talking about a business that spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising campaigns targeting not only the Latino market, but the monolingual Spanish-speaking market (read: immigrants), and that is competing in that arena with every other major bank in the U.S.

Bad move, I say. People need to feel safe when dealing with their money, not judged. Not accepting a card that has been accepted by the government as a legitimate form of identification seems to me to be not only as bad business, but bad community ambassadorship. A standard rule of business: don’t piss off a community to whom you are spending millions to market, and don’t burn the bridges you’ve worked so hard to build.

Via / Hispanic Tips and KSL.com

Kissing and Telling: LESBIRADAS

9:06 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Events|GLBT|Guatemala · Comments Off

18 Oct 2005

There are some things Latinos still don’t speak about in public. Some aspects of our daily lives and identities are relegated to dark corners. One Latina in Guatemala is challenging the silence and coming to the U.S. to share her story and struggle. Claudia Acevedo is the co-founder of LESBIRADAS, the only public lesbian organization in Guatemala. She helped create the organization to carve out a women’s only lesbian space in a society where being out is not only considered shameful, it is dangerous. The organization organizes public kiss-ins, counseling, monthly parties for lesbians, advocating for non-discrimination legislation, and work against violence against women regardless of their sexual orientation. Because of her work, Claudia and other members of LESBIRADAS have received serious threats of physical and sexual assault.

The self proclaimed ‘ladina’ (a mixed-race person, Indian, Black, White) and co-mami will not be silenced and will be in the United States to share her experiences and perspective and to raise fund specifically for legislative work LESBIRADAS is currently doing. Claudia will be in NYC on October 21, 6:00pm – 9:00pm at Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, 208 West 13th St. (between 7th Ave & 8th Ave. Claudia will also be in Amhurst, Massachusetts on Thursday, October 27, at 7:30 pm at Campus Center 904-08, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her appearances are part of a nation-wide tour sponsored by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala.

Via / Idealist.org

Lopez + Prinze Does NOT = “Latino Hour”

7:53 am By Maegan La Mala · TV · 6 Comments

18 Oct 2005

A recent article calls attention to ABC’s 8pm-9pm Wednesday night line up. It quotes:

Let’s get one thing straight: Just because George Lopez and Freddie Prinze Jr. are Hispanic men with their own sitcoms on ABC, and their shows just happen to be scheduled consecutively on Wednesday nights, doesn’t mean there’s a new “Latin hour” on prime-time television.

Now, I have to say, I agree with part of this statement. You couldn’t come out and say “It’s Jewish Time”, or “African American Line-Up”…but many people are referring to The George Lopez Show and Freddie as the “Latino Hour”.

Here’s the only part I really don’t agree with of the quote mentioned above:

…and their shows just happen to be scheduled consecutively on Wednesday nights…

Their shows are not accidentally lined up next to each other. I’m sure the ABC had planned on marketing this either officially or unofficially as a “Latino Hour”. And, Prinze thinks so, too. In another article he states:

“I’m not so sure that the network should be creating a Latino hour,” he said. “Maybe our two shows should stand alone.”

Maybe he’s right. You don’t have to know that Freddie is a “Latino” show. You just have to know if you like it or not. If you laugh, keep watching. If not, then find something else.

[Lopez says:]“Just watch because you think the shows are funny. Don’t watch because we’re a couple of Latino guys.” To which Prinze added: “I have no patience for that. Because Latino is cool, all of a sudden, they’re like, we’ll say this and we’ll be cool. Shut your face, man. It’s TV.”

It’s no secret that corporations are finally aware of the power of the Latino/Hispanic audience. But there are still a lot of lessons to learn. Maybe today’s lesson to big business is this: If you want to focus on an audience, a target market, then do it. Research everything there is about it, and create your campaign based on those needs. But by throwing around the words Latino and Hispanic in situations that it could feel discriminating, you may be hurting yourself more than helping.

Via / Buffalo News

Prinze complains about “Latino Hour” in another interview.

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Archive for October 18th, 2005

How the Internet Has Made My World Smaller

Katrina cleanup brings work and racism

Latina Wants You to be the Perfect Lover

WAMU says no to driving cards as I.D.

Kissing and Telling: LESBIRADAS

Lopez + Prinze Does NOT = “Latino Hour”

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