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Archive for July 10th, 2008

Puerto Rican Grand Jury Resisters Need Your Help

7:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism| Justice| New York City| Puerto Rico · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

map-of-puerto-rico.gifVia a personal email : We are calling on all members of the HOSTOS GRAND JURY RESISTANCE CAMPAIGN and supporters to make generous donations to cover costs. The grand jury cases have become more complicated requiring hiring of additional legal help to engage in researching, typing and payment of court fees. The legal
team is requesting donations to cover these costs and we need donations to cover the travel expenses of family members from Puerto Rico to New York.

It is imperative that family members be present in these proceedings.

Your donations can be sent directly to the leading legal team: Remember to write on the memo of the check that your donations are for the grand jury resisters legal and travel expenses of the families.

On the letter, write

attention: Grand Jury Resisters

Sent your donations (any amount) to:

Martin R Stolar
Attorney for Tania Frontera
351 Broadway, 4th floor
New York, NY 10013
(212) 219-1919

Susan V. Tipograph
Attorney for Christopher Torres
350 Broadway, Suite 700
New York, NY 10013
(212) 431-5360

resistgrandjury@gmail.com

Yes, This is President Bush of the United States

5:32 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Funny| language · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

bush_stupid2.jpgI asked my 10 year old daughter: “What language do they speak in Italy?”

She answers: “Italian”.

Now if only the U.S. lame duck President Bush knew that.

At the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia two years ago, President Bush was caught in a candid moment on an open microphone, complaining that some of his fellow world leaders “talk too long.” Though the G8 summit was in Japan this year, the open microphones during lunch were still there. As the New York Times’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports, Bush had a bit of a language mishap when speaking to “one of his best buddies in Europe,” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi:

“Amigo! Amigo!” Mr. Bush called out cheerily in Spanish when he spotted the Italian prime minister. “How you doing, Silvio? Good to see you!” Later, the president wondered about his former Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin. “Did Putin come to see you since I saw you?” he asked Mr. Berlusconi. (He had not.)

Shout out to Matt Ortega for this.

Unofficial LAMC Action Nacotheque Style

3:32 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Events| Music| New York City · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

lamc_cumbia_queers_png.pngNo one does a party quite like Nacotheque does. Stray off the official LAMC path a bit. You won’t regret it.

Popular Mexican comic book, “Memin Pinguin” was recently pulled from the shelves of Wal-Mart due to complaints of racism:

burgos_memin1.jpg

“We understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico,” the company said in a statement. “However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores. We apologize to those customers who may have been offended by the book’s images.”

This is not the first time Memin stirred up controversy: this is the same character that was put on Mexican stamps in 2005 and subsequently protested against by many in Mexico and the U.S., including President Bush.

There are defenders of Memin, many have argued that people in the U.S. simply don’t understand the cultural significance of the character for Mexicans.

But for some reason I’m reminded of the joke an anti-racist Chicano activist told me was a good way to understand race relations in Mexico: A Mexican returns from the U.S.. People ask him how his trip was. He replies fine, except the ‘goddamn racists and pinche blacks’ were tough to deal with.

“Cultural significance” can also mean reinforcing racism. I think now is the time for all of us Chican@s and Mexican@s to start thinking about our assumptions of what racism can mean.

LAMC/ GoTV Indie Showcase : Last Night at the Mercury Lounge

12:37 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Events| Music| New York City · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

Mercury LoungeI don’t know what was more fun last night. All the amazing music I heard and danced to, or all the amazing people, including indie musicians, I met and spoke with. But why choose? Let’s just say both and be done with it.

Forro in the Dark
was the ultimate culo shakers! And if you just think these guys are one trick ponies with Brazilian beats, you’d be very wrong. They had peeps dancing to cumbia and all their music has a little bit of rock in there (plus all the musicians are hot)
LAMC Indie Showcase at Mercury Lounge

Guajiro, a Miami based rock, pero rock duro band, had people moshing. See for yourselves.

For more photos and videos of the LAMC events, check out my Flickr LAMC set. I will be continuously updating as the LAMC continues.

Your YouTube Habits No Longer Safe

11:30 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Internet · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

A federal judge has ordered Google to turn over information about every user who has ever watched a video on YouTube. The ruling came as part of a lawsuit brought by Viacom over the posting of copyrighted material on YouTube. Google is resisting the request, saying it would allow Viacom to “likely be able to determine the viewing and video uploading habits of YouTube’s users.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the judgment “a set-back to privacy rights.”

Hmm and here I am uploading videos to YouTube like there’s no mañana. What are some good alternatives?

Via / Democracy Now

LAMC Tonight : DJ Showcase Latinoamericano at S.O.B’s

10:08 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Events| Music| New York City · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

djshowcase1.gifIt’s not just all live bands at the Latin Alternative Music Conference, it’s also DJ’s, spinning Latin American beats in all their diversity. Check some of them out tonight.

DJs like Oro 11 and Disco Shawn, who recently founded their own Bay Area label, Bersa Discos, mix traditional latin rhythms like cumbia with bass-heavy beats for a completely original and unique sound that has entranced Latino youth on dancefloors across Latin America on the United States . Toy Selectah, the mix-master wizard for Monterrey ’s “Hip Hop en Español” pioneers Control Machete, created a whole new hybrid by mixing Mexican soundscapes with contemporary urban beats. Lately he has been galloping the rural rhythms of Colombian-Mexican Cumbias, hip hop, breakbetas and Reggae creating his own trademark sound, live Soundsystem and Band called Sonidero Nacional. Zizek, which originated as a bi-weekly party in Buenos Aires and toured the U.S. this Spring, including a packed show at SXSW, keeps crowds on their toes with emerging Hip Hop, Dancehall, and Reggaetón records, mixing them with electronic sounds like Grime, Crunk, Bastard Pop and Mashups.

Francisca Valenzuela : Afortunada : Live Tonight at SOB’s

9:30 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Chile| Music · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

Later today, I’m gonna interview Chilena musica/songwriter/poeta Francisca Valenzuela. Her bio is pretty impressive as is her musical talent. Some compare her to Julieta Venegas (with whom she’s performed). I would say maybe closer to Tori Amos.

Tonight she is one of the featured artists at the LAMC/Cycloop Acoustic Showcase (204 Varick Street).

Check her out……Afortunada

Iran Keeps Testing Missiles : US Issues Warning (Is War Far Behind)

7:36 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · iran · Comments Off

10 Jul 2008

iran-missle.jpgWhile I’ve been dancing around to the beat of the LAMC, Iran is testing missiles and the U.S. government is getting antsy about it.

Iranian state media reported that Iran test-fired more long-range missiles in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, bringing a pledge from the United States to defend its allies from an Iranian attack.
Iran state television is reporting that the missiles have what it called “special capabilities,” but the report did not elaborate on what they were. The missiles were launched throughout the night, with another report saying the new tests included the Shahab-3 missile.
Officials have said the Shahab-3 could reach targets almost 1,250 miles away. It was the second day in a row that Iran conducted missiles tests.

After Wednesday’s military exercise, Washington called on Tehran to halt further tests if it wanted to gain the world’s trust. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.

“We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies,” Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.

The U.S. has said it wants to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically, but neither it nor Israel has ruled out a military option against Iran. Iranian officials have said the tests are intended to show the country can defend itself.

I’m not saying that what Iran is doing is not provoking. Clearly they are aware of the reaction such testing would cause. Is their going forward anyway a misguided attempt at showing their national sovereignty?

Via / NPR


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VivirLatino is a daily publication published by 2 Mujeres Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse and influential Latino and Latina community in the U.S.

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