Archive for February, 2006
Border Crossings Erase Identities
5:51 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration · Comments Off
28 Feb 2006
They came in search of a better life for themselves and their families. They came with dreams of jobs and being able to send something back to those they left behind. Since 1993 at least 1,000 of them have ended up in unmarked graves along the U.S.-Mexican border. They are those “illegals” you hear Lou Dobbs screaming about everyday on his television program. According to Katarina RodrÃguez of Human Rights Coalition/Indigenous Alliance without Borders:
The situation is getting steadily worse, every year there are more dead migrants, and they are very difficult to identify, as sometimes only their bones are found.
Alejandro Fernández: a “real man”
4:41 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|GLBT|Music · 2 Comments
28 Feb 2006
Don’t go calling him gay. Apparently “El Potrillo” Alejandro Fernández has been the target of criticism and speculation lately regarding his sexual orientation because he and his father engage in kisses on the mouth as a show of affection. Alejandro counters:
“Esta es una costumbre familiar y no nos interesan las crÃticas. Yo a mis hijos también los beso en la boca, tal y como me lo enseñó mi padre, y eso no significa nada sobre nuestras tendencias sexuales, por el contrario, somos muy hombrecitos“, expresó el artista en rueda de prensa.
It’s pretty lame that he’s basically saying he’s a “real man” as opposed to a “gay man”, who aren’t considered “hombres”. Lame because I liked him and thought he’d be beyond the typical of Mexican machismo BS of gay men are “locas”. I guess guys who kiss their dad on the mouth…we’ll, they’re just chest-beating machos who can do that.
As for the speculation, how ridiculous is it to think that a man is gay because he kisses his dad? I mean do gay men make out with their fathers? Ugh.
Via / AZ Central and Ticias
Latino techno? You’re kidding!
1:32 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Media|Music|Newspapers · 4 Comments
28 Feb 2006
As evidence of the fact that mainstream media continues to see Latinos as retrograde, this snippet from a very “surprised” article about the Latino techno movement:
Electronic and Latin music would seem to reside at polar ends of the music spectrum. One is precise, the other passionate. One is the brutalist Bauhaus beats of Kraftwerk, the other is the languid romanticism of the Buena Vista Social Club.
Why Buena Vista Social Club? Why is that the quintessential “Latin music”?
La Hermana de Eva
9:14 am By Maegan La Mala · Celebrities|Chismes|TV · Comments Off
28 Feb 2006
Add this to the celeb with a cause file except for Eva Longoria, it’s also personal. The Desperate Housewife star recently spoke out against disabled prejudice citing the example of her 37-year-old sister Elizabeth, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Longoria said:
People think that if you are mentally retarded then it’s a great shame and you can’t play any part in life. I would like to educate people because that just isn’t true. It is never about what Elizabeth can’t do, it is about what she can do.
Via / Female First
Gael GarcÃa Bernal: El Director
6:35 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|mexico|Movies · 1 Comment
27 Feb 2006
Mexican actor Gael GarcÃa Bernal is branching out. In December, Mala reported that in addition to his acting, Gael was a spokesperson for the international humanitarian organization Oxfam. Now it seems that the muli-faceted Gael will show yet another of his faces — that of director:
Mexican actor GarcÃa Bernal will begin shooting this week on his first film as a director, in which he will also act as protagonist.
The project was born a few months back as a made for TV movie , but with time Gael managed to get financing to turn it into a feature film.
…The film is about a group of young people, children of rich parents, who think they know everything and have everything, but who after a journey discover they have nothing.
Sounds intriguing, and a break from typical Mexican film plots of late. Best of luck, Gael!
Via / LaBotana.com
Parlez Vous Reggaeton?
2:16 pm By Maegan La Mala · Internet|language|Music · 2 Comments
27 Feb 2006
Reggaeton is not just a Latino thing or a Caribbean thing. It’s grown to become a worldwide musical trend. Have doubts? Entonces all you need to do is look at how the genre is taking root in of all places, Europe. Reggaeton.fr has been bringing reggaeton news in French since November of 2005. The site gives information on reggaeton parties (many which seem to tale place in Amsterdam), a history of the development of the musical style, an alphabetical listing of reggaeton artists, a listing of online reggaeton radio stations, and a reggaeton dictionary.
La guerra sucia: Mexico was not immune
12:15 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism|Justice|mexico · 3 Comments
27 Feb 2006
For those of you that think that “la guerra sucia” — the “dirty war” — only occurred in South America, think again. While perhaps not as widespread and surely not as publicized, police and government engaged in tortuous acts and murder against regular Mexican citizens who were thought to be enemies of the state. The BBC talks about a report produced for President Fox’s eyes only, but leaked by an American NGO:
A US NGO has printed material saying Mexicans had a right to know.The army kidnapped, tortured and killed hundreds of rebel suspects, says the report, which covers 1964 to 1982.
Red, White y Azul
8:27 am By Maegan La Mala · Dominicans|Events|New York City · 1 Comment
27 Feb 2006
The tourists snapping pics of the red, white, and blue lit Empire State Building in New York City this weekend probably thought the color scheme had to do with good ole’ patriotism towards the USA. Well they were half right. The Empire State Building was lit this past weekend, February 24 through 26, in red, white and blue but to celebrate Dominican Independence Day and Dominican Heritage Month. The lights of the Empire State Building can
be seen from as far away as 80 miles. The lighting of the Dominican colors was made possible thanks to the support of the Empire State Building Co. LLC and the office of New York State Assemblyman Adriano
Espaillat. Felicidades Dominicanos!
Via / The Empire State Building Official Site
A piece of me for you
6:51 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Health|race · 1 Comment
24 Feb 2006
For all of you who are feeling negative about Latino-African American relations in light of recent news stories, here’s a little story that reminds us — pardon the cliché — that we are all just human and we need to help each other out:
The two men each needed a new kidney. Both had been looking for a donor. Paulette Chandler and Alfreda Torres told the Chicago Tribune they each had been separately asking for help for their husbands.
“Lord, bring us a donor,” Chandler said.
“Lord, help me find a way,” Torres hoped.
Undocumented futbolistas and sports “racism”
2:17 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration|race|Spain|Sports · 1 Comment
24 Feb 2006
I was talking to a journalist this morning who was bringing me up to speed on a story that’s been buzzing about New York media in the last few weeks: that Mets coach Omar Minaya is being called a racist for saying that he feels more at home with Latino players. And apparently Minaya is a racist just for the mere fact that he has brought so many Latin American players to the club. I know nothing about baseball, but if they are playing well, who cares? And what’s wrong with “helping a brutha out”? People do it all the time. It’s called cultural affinity and it’s sometimes the only thing that keeps immigrant populations united in places where they should feel isolated.
Sports and immigration aren’t really topics that tend to cross much, but my eyebrows raised at a headline in today’s 20 Minutos newspaper from Spain: Futbolistas “sin papeles” debutan en la División Regional Preferente de Melilla
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
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