Archive for 2008
Christmas in Latin America via Commercials
10:57 am By Maegan La Mala · Colombia|Latin America|Marketing|TV · Comments Off
23 Dec 2008In such a consumer-oriented time of year, Christmas, what better way to get in touch with Latin American pop culture than through the ads run on television back in the motherland. VL’s been scouring the web to find a few of the best, and I present to you this first installment from Colombia, a Pepsi Christmas commercial with the theme of diversity and acceptance during the holiday season.
Via / YouTube
Mexican Army Responds to Beheadings
9:43 am By Maegan La Mala · crime|Drugs|mexico|military · Comments Off
23 Dec 2008
It was a bloody weekend in Guerrero, Mexico. As the country fights to come to terms with what occurred there on Sunday — the beheadings of 9 military men — the Mexican army is speaking up, and with a warning to the suspected culprits: los narcos.
The army’s commander in the state of Guerrero, Enrique Jorge Alonso, called the killings “a grave error” on the part of organized crime, and issued this warning:
There won’t be the slightest bit of consideration. There won’t be a concession of any sort, nor will we rest until we see these delinquents where they belong,” he said. “This is sick and despicable act of vengeance.”
2008 has shaped up to be Mexico’s bloodiest year yet with regards to narco-related killings. Back in July, the death count rose to 600 in one Mexican state alone. And with these killings, the death toll, according to the Mexican Secretary of State has doubled from last year, with 5,376 victims of drug-trafficking related murders.
Via / Diario de Yucatán
More Proof T.V. is Crap : Racist Sherriff Arpaio to Have Own Show
9:24 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Immigration|TV · 1 Comment
23 Dec 2008There’s a reason it’s said that t.v. rots your brain. Most of the time, even when tuned in to alleged reliable news channels, we are being distracted with tales of violence and sex that are disconnected from complicated relationships among sex, class, race, ability, and gender (among other things). No wonder FOX is trying to make a star out of asshole Sheriff Arpaio.
Alvaro Uribe Says Thanks pero no Gracias to Outside Help in FARC Hostage Release (Especially You Hugo!)
8:45 am By Maegan La Mala · Colombia|Venezuela · Comments Off
23 Dec 2008
Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has rejected any help from other countries in negotiating the release of 6 FARC hostages.
“The government will not permit our foreign relations to be put at risk by involving personalities from the international community,”
Specifically Uribe likely meant Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez who was suggested by Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba as possible facilitator.
Martes Morning Musica : Feliz Navidad
23 Dec 2008She’s not really Latina, pero Charo playing up her accent and sexuality sure makes everyone think she is. Here she is on an episode of Pee Wee’s Playhouse singing Feliz Navidad.
Via / The Latin Americanist
Mainstream Media: Compassion first, truth last?
22 Dec 2008This story was interesting to me–I wondered at what was not said. *What* masked men, specifically, committed this horrible atrocity? Were they somehow connected to the invasion of the U.S? And even more to the point, why could this boy’s injuries be taken care of in Iraq? Is it because the hospitals there have been so bombarded and their supplies so depleted that they simply are unable to help?
And considering that few Iraqi’s are actually allowed into the U.S., why was this boy? Was it because the U.S. knew that his story would make us all feel really darn good and happy that the U.S. is in Iraq, helping those poor, unmodern souls?
(to be clear, I am *extremely* happy that this child is getting the help he needs, and as far as I am concerned, it’s the *least* the U.S. can do for him–but at the same time, I think it’s vitally important to be critical of these feel good immigration stories. Why is it ok and actually a *good* thing for certain people to immigrate to the U.S. but not others? Why are certain parts of people’s immigration stories so radically dismissed or left out of the public sphere?)
OMG SHE’S NAKED!!!!
5:58 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities · 3 Comments
22 Dec 2008Are we supposed to be stunned by Ms. Aniston’s nakedness? Impressed? First of all, Salmita can kick Ms. Aniston’s ass at any time. Thank you. Second of all–are we as a culture so freaking denied that a *picture* of a naked woman turns us all into bumbling fools that masturbate behind big desks (Matt Lauer, get a damn grip)? It’s a naked chick, my friends. If you haven’t seen one recently, please surf some porn and calm down.
Third, is there some reason why classy pictures of near naked *women of color* are not fawned over to this extreme? I mean, the last ‘fawning’ came in the form of Jessica Alba’s “fat” body being downsized for a post-baby shoot. What kind of fawning in that? Oh, and I guess that JLo got some good press off her ass–but what happened to the rest of her body?
Will women of color ever be “known” for their whole bodies AND their work AND their complete and total sexiness?
Affidavits from Postville ICE Raid Tell of Abuse
1:15 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Iowa · Comments Off
22 Dec 2008No one should be surprised that affidavits from two workers deported after the Postville ICE raid, tell of abuse at the hands of the agents. Two Guatemalans, Marvin Danilo Perez-Gomez and Mardoqueo Valle-Callejas, describe being kept awake for more than 48 hours, shackled, people being humiliated when taken to the bathroom, threats and violence.
From the affidavit of Marvin Danilo Perez-Gomez:
That day they had us suffering hunger. I had started my shift at 4:00am, and they didn’t give me anything to eat until 10:00pm. I felt my head was going to explode. In Waterloo [National Cattle Congress] they kept me sitting down without my sweatshirt and barefoot in the cold from 8:00pm to 2:00am, while they arranged the paperwork. Then they put me in one of the cages where they had the cots for sleeping. But they did not let us sleep at all for 48 hours. They kept coming every so often to run the scanner over the barcode of a bracelet they had put on us. They would come in shouting: “Wake up!” There were also cages with women. Those who asked to go to the bathroom were told not to be such a nuisance, and whenever they were finally taken, it was with four guards or chained, amid mockeries and humiliations. They made us eat and drink in shackles, and you had to lean way over sideways on the chair in order to sip a bit of water from the bottle. Then they would mock us for the way we walked with the chains, and since our clothes were too long on account of our short height, they would tell us “You look like clowns.” I, when they would tell me all of those insults and humiliations, all I could see were the faces of my daughters, and I would cry.
FARC to Release 6 Hostages and Say That Obama Won’t Fulfill Expectations
11:36 am By Maegan La Mala · Colombia|Politics · Comments Off
22 Dec 2008
Yesterday the FARC announced via a news agency that they were set to release 6 hostages, two politicians and four members of the Colombian military.
The politicians are Alan Jara, governor of Meta province until he was abducted in 2000, and former deputy Sigifredo Lopez, kidnapped in 2002.
No release date has been announced.
The FARC also updated their official website, saying among other things, that U.S. President Elect wouldn’t live up to expectations.
Via/ France 24 y FARC Website
According to the AP, many of the banks who were given millions of dollars, were throwing money away as the economy tanked.
Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.
The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines.
So the banks, who in large part are responsible for this crisis by creating a whole subprime mortgage system and inventing types of trade transactions basically rewarded themselves for a job well done, while the average working person struggles to survive.
Merry Christmas.
Via / Yahoo!
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.
About | Advertise with us | Contact | Twitter
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
- Karen: Have you see the census figures for 2010? Latinos are not all that diverse. Most" Latinos" are Mexic [...]
- Maegan La Mala: Hi Karen, I agree but only in part. I think that people do get up in cults of personality but th [...]
- Maegan La Mala: I haven't heard anything about a rally being held Jose Luis. i know Presente.org is organizing a pet [...]
- Karen: Also, Al Sharpton, now a host on MSNBC, brought attention to the Trayvon Martin case because he knew [...]
- jose luis: when the rally is going to be held in SAn Diego..if there is on??? [...]
- Washington DC Bound
- By Land & By Sea Drawing Attention to Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera
- Welcome to NY Secure Communities
- DOJ Puts Sheriff Arpaio on Notice. Who Will Put the DOJ on Notice?
- VL at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival: Babygirl
- 45th Precinct Residents to File Complaint Against Abusive NYPD Officers
- Monday Musica : Maga Bo – Quilombo do Futuro
- NYC : Confronting Police Violence in the Courts – May 19, 1-3pm – Justice Committee Workshop
- Passage of NYS DREAM Fund No Dream Come True
- No Surprise in the S-Comm Task Force Sham
