Archive for January, 2007
MySpace Mexico to become a reality
11:31 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Internet|Marketing|mexico · 2 Comments
25 Jan 2007
Since the meteoric rise of MySpace.com, many have speculated on whether the company would take advantage of the enormous potential in Latin American markets, where there are users just dying to take part in the site but feel isolated because it isn’t available in their language of choice (let’s be honest, the interface is terrible even if you do speak English). Never the one to miss a chance at earning some millions, NewsCorp’s Fox Interactive is making moves to launch the Mexican version of MySpace:
Word of “MySpace Mexico” began to spread on Tuesday when information about the site leaked to entertainment news site Billboard.com.Travis Katz, head of international media for News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media, of which MySpace is a subsidiary, on Wednesday confirmed the development of the site to CNET News.com. According to Katz, the site has been “soft-launched,” meaning that a preliminary version is live but that MySpace doesn’t inform anyone of it and does not direct any traffic there.
According to ZDNet, the original MySpace already has 1 million Mexican users, and that these users will be phased into MySpace Mexico once the site begins beta testing. MySpace is also currently running beta sites in Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.
Via / ZDNet
Image via markuz’s Flickr page via Global Voices
Ecuador’s Defense Minister, Guadalupe Larriva, died in a helicopter crash in the port city of Manta, some 150 miles southeast of Quito. Larriva, 50, along with her 17-year-old daughter, Claudia Avila, and two pilots were killed when two helicopters collided midair.
President Rafael Correa briefly addressed the press, by saying:
“This is a major tragedy. We ask everyone to join us in prayer for the souls of Guadalupe, her daughter, the pilots and the government of Ecuador.”
Larriva was the first appointed female defense minister ever in Ecuador, and she had only been on the job for nine days. Regardless of political views and opinions, this is a truly sad event for Ecuadorians and all Latinos alike.
Mexican gay leader murdered
4:51 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · GLBT|mexico · Comments Off
24 Jan 2007
There have been a lot of small strides in gay activism in Mexico in the past several months. The largest was Mexico City’s passage of a law allowing for civil unions, and more recently Coahuila’s acceptance of a similar law. But the struggle is far from over for Mexico’s LGBT community, and gays and lesbians in one Mexican city have just lost their leader to violent crime:
The spokesperson for the gay-lesbian community in Matamoros, José Ernesto Leal Rodríguez, was found murdered, with 8 stab wounds, in his home, according to the state authorities.The discovery of the body of the 42 year-old hairstylist happened at 3:00 pm on Monday when a relative went to the home…and found him with his throat slit in the living room.
The cold heart facts
24 Jan 2007
What is the leading cause of death for women in the United States? If you guessed heart disease, you’d be right. Yes, that includes Latinas as well. Because I have nothing but love for all of the mothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters out there, I’d like to share what Trisha Calvo of Shape Magazine has to say about prevention:
1. Women are lacking ‘me’ time – Between kids, the husband, and work, women hardly stop to take care of themselves. Take a breather and focus on you.
2. Eating the wrong kinds of fat – Fat is actually good. Just make sure it is the right kind. For example, avocadoes are a great choice.
3. Thinking good habits cancel the bad ones – Just because you ‘behaved’ during one meal, doesn’t mean you can go out and negate that without feeling the repercussions.
4. Skimping on dairy – One of the major key factors missing from women’s diets.
5. Not reading nutrition labels – Many women tend to focus on the calories or fat, and not focus on all of the facts on the label.
Obviously, you should speak to a doctor and see what is right for you. The bottom line is that women need to take care of themselves and often times they only focus on the outer physical self and not on the inside. Your Corazon needs some TLC as well.
Angry mob tries to oust Latin Kings from Madrid
11:22 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|Spain · 15 Comments
24 Jan 2007
Back in September we told you about how the Latin Kings — a Latino group some call a street gang, others a cultural organization – had made progress in gaining acceptance in Spain by registering themselves as a non-profit organization in Barcelona. Now it seems that citizens of at least one neighborhood in Madrid have had enough of the Kings, and took to the streets to try to eliminate them, after a massive confrontation between the two groups which left 7 injured:
Shouting “Latin Kings out!” and “We’re going to get them, we’re going to kill them”, some 600 young people from Alcorcón met up on Avenida Alcalde José Aranda in response to the brawl between Spaniards and Latinos that left 7 hurt, three seriously injured, and another seven arrested [the latter from] the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Bus Drivers Learning Español
9:50 am By Maegan La Mala · Bilingualism · Comments Off
24 Jan 2007
Bus drivers in Clayton County, Georgia are taking advantage of the Spanish classes that are being provided by the department. Bus drivers in that county have often felt disconnected from parents and students that don’t speak English or are just beginning to learn it.
Outside of the basic phrases like “hola” and “buenas tardes”, other safety terminology is also being taught. For example, “no corran” for “don’t run” and “caminen” for “walk” are some of the important phrases for the bus drivers.
The fact that employees of Clayton County are being so proactive in learning Spanish is great, but it shouldn’t mean that the Latino kids and parents, especially parents, of that area become complacent and not attempt to learn English themselves.
Will a hunky Brit hook L.A. Latinos?
4:07 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Culture|Los Angeles|Marketing|Sports · Comments Off
23 Jan 2007
David Beckham: the one soccer player that people who know nothing about soccer can identify. His model good looks and requisite skanky wife have made him more like a Hollywood star than a sports star, and perhaps that’s why his new bazillion-dollar gig is for L.A.’s futbol team, the Galaxy.
While we know that soccer isn’t the biggest sport in mainstream America — far from it — is still much appreciated by Latinos in this country, who shell out big bucks to see Mexican and other Latin American and Spanish teams play stateside. AP reports today on how Latino fans in L.A. are reacting to the multi-million dollar player’s export from Madrid to Los Angeles:
Latino recognition in Hollywood
4:05 pm By Maegan La Mala · Entertainment|Movies · 2 Comments
23 Jan 2007
So the topic on everyone’s mind in Hollywood today is just how many Latinos (yes, I’m including Penelope) are nominated for an Academy Award this year. While this may be refreshing for some Oscar followers, I have to say that it is about time that we level off the playing field a bit.
It all started with Rita Moreno in 1961, winning for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in West Side Story. Nobody knew that it would be years, make that decades, before another Latino graced the red carpet nominated for an Oscar, let alone win one.
It got to a point where no Latinos were ever recognized for their acting. Even Cher and Oprah Winfrey were being honored, but nope, no Latinos. Finally, in 1990, we saw Andy Garcia nominated for his role in Godfather III only to be followed up a few years later by Rosie Perez in 1993 for her portrayal in the film Fearless. They didn’t win, but that didn’t matter so much. Honest.
Penelope nominated, Almodovar out, Mexico in
12:47 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · dance|Movies|Spain · Comments Off
23 Jan 2007
Hollywood has been buzzing about an Oscar nod for Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver since Cannes. Most of thought it was a given, but we were wrong. Almodóvar (who missed the Golden Globes this year) has been passed over and his film has garnered only one nomination, that of Penelope Cruz:
With the nomination of Penelope Cruz to the Best Actress category, the protagonist of Volver becomes the first Spanish actress to be nominated for this award. The precedent was set by Javier Bardem, who, in 2001, was nominated in the Best Actor category.
In happier news, Mexico can celebrate the multiple nominations of its paisanos. Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Babel and Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pan’s Labyrinth have been nominated for numerous awards, and once again Argentino Gustavo Santolalla is in the running for his amazing score.
See the full list of Latinos published by The Gossiper earlier today.
Via / 20 Minutos
Oscar Nominations Announced
23 Jan 2007
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and they basically mimicked the Golden Globe nominations with a few slight differences. This year, there is an expected high number of Latinos nominated for their work in Hollywood. While we can all be guilty of focusing in on only a few of the categories (Best actress, Best Film, Etc…) there are many nominations that we need to be celebrating. Like the following:
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Achievement in Art Direction
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
Achievement in Cinematography
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
Achievement in directing
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
“Pan’s Labyrinth” A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production (Mexico)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo Santaolalla
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
Original screenplay
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse)
Written by Guillermo del Toro
Achievement in Film Editing
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
Adapted Screenplay
“Children of Men” (Universal)
Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
Congratulations to all of the nominees! See the full list of nominees after the jump.
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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