2007 January 12 | VivirLatino

Archive for January 12th, 2007

Mexican state approves gay civil unions

3:34 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · GLBT| mexico · Comments Off

12 Jan 2007

While Human Rights Watch is shining a light on human rights injustices in Mexico, gays in Mexico’s Coahuila state are celebrating a small triumph: the legalization of civil unions:

The northern Mexican state of Coahuila became the first in the country to approve gay unions yesterday. Mexico City passed similar legislation in November.

The Insititutional Revolutionary Party were responsible for bringing the bill before the legislature, where it passed by 20 votes to 13.

Sounds fantastic, but according to Crónica, the senator sponsoring the bill was quick to point out:

“…que no permite la adopción y que no es equiparable al matrimonio”

Via / PinkNews.co.uk and JoeMyGod

Human Rights Watch Looks At Mexico

1:20 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Justice| mexico · 1 Comment

12 Jan 2007

According to a report released by the organization Human Rights Watch, police ins Mexico have a problem with torture and excessive force. The report points the finger largely in part at former president Vicente Fox, saying that he left most of his promises of fighting corruption within the country unmet. Excessive force claims had to do mostly with the police handling protesters. Additionally many women were sexually assaulted by state officials when being transported to detention facilities. The larger justice system within Mexico was also criticized.

“Más de 40 por ciento de los prisioneros en México nunca han sido condenados por un delito”, informa HRW, señalando que están a veces años encarcelados en espera de su juicio.

“El sistema de justicia penal rutinariamente fracasa en ofrecer justicia a las víctimas de delitos violentos y tortura”, afirma HRW. Señala sobre todo el caso del asesinato de cientos de mujeres en Ciudad Juárez en que, después de más de una década, aún continúa sin resolverse.

I haven’t read the whole report but I’d be curious to see what solutions the report offers for what is far from a new problem in Mexico.

Via / La Jornada

Bored at work? May I suggest…paperdolls

12:48 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities · 2 Comments

12 Jan 2007

TGIF! Ladies (or gentlemen), if you are bored in your cubicle just waiting for this week to come to an end, why not revert to your childhood and play around with some Latino celeb paperdolls? I just dressed up Shakira and Eva Longoria. Granted, they don’t look much like themselves, but it’s fun anyway.

For the guys, why not take a stab at making over Ronaldinho? He certainly needs it, and his paperdoll, unfortunately, looks strikingly like him. Other Latino celebs include Christina Aguilera, Ronaldo, Salma Hayek, and Penelope Cruz.

All this nuttiness can be found over at StarDolls.com. You can even play around with the stars’ makeup.

My favorite StarDoll happens to be Justin Timberlake. It looks just like him, boxer briefs and all. And I think he needs a makeover given his recent breakup.

Via / StarDolls.com

Colombian couple denied baby name in Spain

11:45 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Immigration| Justice| Spain| children · 7 Comments

12 Jan 2007

Immigration to Spain from Latin America is huge these days, with many people choosing to emigrate to the Iberian peninsula instead of the U.S. since Spain makes it a lot easier. But one thing some courts are not making easy is naming your baby what you want to name it:

Lina and Newar came from Colombia 5 years ago with their son, Steven 11. They settled in Las Rozas [Madrid] and afterward had two more children: Malcolm, who is now 4, and Beliza, an 8 month-old girl.

The problem, Lina explains, “came about when we went to sign the papers confirming Beliza’s Spanish citizenship. In the Civil Registry they told us that we had to change the child’s name because it didn’t exist and didn’t go with either sex.“

The Tax Man Cometh in Spanish

8:00 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Internet| Money · Comments Off

12 Jan 2007

I like to get my taxes taken care of as soon as I can after the new year, which means I send them to someone else to take care of them. But there really are a wide range of products and services out there on the market that make filing your own taxes a little less scary and some of them even allow you to do your taxes in Spanish.

eSmartTax provides an easy and convenient tool to help Spanish-speaking taxpayers prepare and file their tax returns electronically. And it supports the significant efforts of the IRS, California and other state tax agencies to serve this specific population. Electronic filing of tax returns is quick, accurate and convenient for the taxpayer while it reduces errors and processing costs significantly for the government.

And look you can even do your taxes in my favorite language, Spanglish! I’ve never filed my own taxes, much less done it online but have to admit I’m tempted now.

Via / Hispanic PR Wire

Image Via / U.S. Treasury

Leah Lakshmi: Thank you, beautiful culo-kicker. I miss you. We miss you. xoxox [...]

Link Cariño | Hissip: [...] Who’s your mama? [...] [...]

la Macha: I agree totally with you bubbles. [...]

Bubbles: Re: "Many women have mental, emotional instabilities which cause them to end up in abusive relations [...]

la Macha: and whaaaa? women who have mental health issues are suddenly to blame for getting beaten? [...]

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Archive for January 12th, 2007

Mexican state approves gay civil unions

Human Rights Watch Looks At Mexico

Bored at work? May I suggest…paperdolls

Colombian couple denied baby name in Spain

The Tax Man Cometh in Spanish

Hola!

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