2009 March 25 | VivirLatino

Archive for March 25th, 2009

Real life effects of border militarization

6:17 pm By la Macha · Immigration · Comments Off

25 Mar 2009

bordercrosssingdeath From Mary Cueves comes the details of her trip down to see the work a border crossing group does to help immigrants

It’s a typically horrifying story–death, desperation, gendered violence, and ineffectiveness riddle the pictures and words.I’ve never suggested that our border policies were either perfect or completely horribly wrong, but I must say that it’s important to note that people don’t risk death without very very good reason. If there is any person in the U.S. who would say that they wouldn’t attempt a border crossing if it meant keeping food in front of their children, I’d say that that person is not a parent.

There has to be a better way.
And thank God for the few people who truly are acting as Christians.

Migrants outside of the U.S.

3:03 pm By la Macha · Immigration · Comments Off

25 Mar 2009

Believe it or not, migration is a normal state of the world. Enforcing borders is a fairly recent event, not happening in some areas until post-WWII and/or post-USSR.

So it’s interesting to me to see how poorly migrants are treated world-wide. How similar so many of the problems are. How nativism helps to create a permanent underclass–specifically, violence is used to create a permanent underclass.

Believe it or not, Mr. Nativist–immigrants are not coming to the U.S. to steal your way of life or rape your children. They are coming for jobs.

You want a job, they want a job. When we know the motivations of both sides–can we come up with a better response to border problems than increased militarization?

George Lopez Goes Late Night

11:48 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|TV · 4 Comments

25 Mar 2009

georgelopeztp At a time when late night talk shows are in a period of transition — what some might call a renaissance — a familiar Latino face is emerging to shake up the genre even more. George Lopez is getting his own late night talk show, which is set to air on TBS and seems to be much more than just a monologue and a guy behind a desk:

Lopez and his producers approached TBS with a pilot episode filmed on an outdoor soundstage, with Eva Longoria, Dane Cook and Samuel L. Jackson as guests. Lopez sat audience members close to the stage, let them ask questions and didn’t sit behind a desk.

“The music was from salsa to Led Zeppelin,” he said. “Look, you can either go to Nieman Marcus or you can go to a flea market. When you go to a swap meet, there’s just a ground-level feel that you can find anything there. At Nieman Marcus, you’re not going to find tube socks and pliers. This will be a flea market feel.”
TBS was sold by the pilot, said Michael Wright, the cable network’s programming chief.

I’m not a huge fan of Lopez’s comedy, but I appreciate what he’s trying to do: represent some diversity in late night, so I’ll be watching. I must admit I’m also attracted by what he said he’s shooting for:

He said he wants to be inclusive, not divisive, in much the same way as Arsenio Hall’s early-1990s talk show.

I loved me some Arsenio!

Via / Yahoo Entertainment News

Poetry y Cultura for Your Soul at Capicu’s 2nd Anniversary Showcase in NYC

11:14 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Arts|Culture|Events|Lo Que Hay|New York City · Comments Off

25 Mar 2009

n50643554762_4465 We do lots of politics here at VivirLatino pero the cultural is the political and each feed into each other. Which is why if you are in the NYC area this Friday, you should come through to Brooklyn to celebrate Capicu’s Poetry & Cultural Showcase and not just I’m gonna be there.

What do you get when you mix a trendy lounge, mojitos, a dynamic host, visual artists and some of the hottest poets & comedians in NYC with a crowd that is ready to feed their souls and then party the night away…

CAPICU POETRY & CULTURAL SHOWCASE @ NOTICE LOUNGE IN BROOKLYN!
Friday, March 27
7 pm
Notice Lounge & Cafe
198 Union Ave (across from 90th Precinct)
Brooklyn, NY

Join Capicu Poetry & Cultural Showcase as we celebrate their second anniversary at Brooklyn’s own Notice Lounge.

Here’s just part of our Special Line-Up! (Confirmed):

Flaco Navaja- multitalented performer that has graced the stages as a feature of Nuyorican Poets Cafe, HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and is also the lead vocalist for Boricua Roots music group YERBABUENA
Americo Casiano- Award-winning and Founding Poet

c/o PRSUN Radio:
Americo Casiano Jr. is one of the original Nuyorican poets and a key founding activist for the Nuyorican arts movement. He has promoted, produced and coordinated numerous readings and performance series for key arts and cultural organizations in New York City. Among them: El Taller/galleria Boricua (The Puerto Rican Workshop, Inc.), El Museo Del Barrio, Inc., New Rican Village, Inc. the Bronx Council on the Arts and the NuyoRican School Original Poetry Jazz Ensemble, Inc.

Maegan “La Mamita Mala” Ortiz- Managing Editor of VivirLatino.com

A Queens born and bred Nuyorican mami, Espanglish poeta, freelance writer, blogger, and all around rabble rouser. Her words and opinions have been featured in the Washington Post, Latina Magazine, The New York Daily News, and National Public Radio.

George Diaz- Comedian- Creator- Producer- Director

As founder of Latino Laughter, Llegamos Live and Llegamos Radio, George has worked with many of today Latin luminaries in the entertainment industry. Through the years, he has collaborated with Daddy Yankee, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Frankie Negron, Brenda K. Starr, Ulysses, Terrero, Paul Rodriguez, and Dave Chappelle. As producer of Llegamos Live, George has launched the careers of many of his former and current Llegamos Players, but he is humble enough to only remind them of this fact daily, George Diaz is firmly committed to making the world a better place- for Latinos. Oh, and non-Latinos as well.

More info very soon!

You helped us build Capicu…it is only right you come celebrate with us.

More Special Invited Guests will be announced soon…

As always we will have special giveaways and lots of surprises…get there early…afterparty included with your $10 admission.

This is double VivirLatino event as one of the organizers/hosts has been a guest blogger here, Sofrito For Your Soul founder, George “Urban Jibaro” Torres. George and I also shared a mentor, so I think a night like Friday was meant to be.

Hope to see you there.

At the Border Security is Privilege

8:27 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · crime|Drugs|Immigration|mexico|Politics · 5 Comments

25 Mar 2009

All eyes are on Mexico with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arriving there. Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano revealed a border security plan that was allegedly less about undocumented immigrants and more about protecting the “us” from the violence coming from “them”. And next month U.S. President Obama will meet with Mexican President Calderon to discuss “their” problem.

I think that it’s important to note that the Obama administration is sending a clear signal that it is going to follow the safety first rhetoric that the Bush administration nearly perfected, that is the rhetoric that before we talk human rights, especially those of immigrants, we need to make sure we are protected from them.

Who are they?

They are the drug cartels and human traffickers. Now don’t get me wrong the violence is horrible but violence in Mexico isn’t anything new. Look specifically at the massive killing of women in Juarez. Pero the U.S. gets down to business when college students worry about their spring break vacation plans being ruined.
350 additional security personnel will be sent to the border including agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST) teams will be doubled and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is to create a special south-west intelligence group to co-ordinate all its efforts to tackle Mexican drug-related crime.

ATF is to send 100 agents to the border within 45 days to crack down on illegal gun transfers from the US into Mexico.

They are the undocumented coming into the U.S. protected by plants that conspire to hide them. So part of the plan includes spraying potentially harmful chemicals to kill the plants that help to hide “them”.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so cynical and hold out hope for the new administration. Napolitano did mention how U.S. drug consumption is helping to fuel the cartel violence. Hmm but no mention of how the current drug policy is the U.S. including mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines have increased the prison population. Napolitano did mention how walls aren’t an especially helpful security plan but that parts of the border wall under construction will be finished and other parts reinforced with technology.

Feel safer yet? I know in my neighborhood, on this side of the border and in neighborhoods across the country, families are growing restless with their growing insecurity. ICE is still conducting raids. Families are still be separated. When will the security of many many U.S. citizen children with undocumented parents matter? How long will they have to wait while the rest of us sit back feeling safe and sound?

Via / Feet in Two Worlds, Para Justicia y Libertad. , BBC, Latina Lista

Maegan La Mala: Hola Juliana and thanks for commenting. There is a dearth in activist/critical thinking Latino blogg [...]

Julio Ricardo Varela: Good for you for asking. I got goose bumps just reading this and yes, yes, yes, to it all. Thank you [...]

julianabritto: The sense that I get is that you might feel a little frustrated at the dearth in activist bloggers? [...]

Maegan La Mala: Hola Ray and thank you for commenting. You are spot on when you say that both parties will exploit u [...]

AngryLatino: Great question! One thing we need to all be very aware of is that throughout this election year, bot [...]

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Archive for March 25th, 2009

Real life effects of border militarization

Migrants outside of the U.S.

George Lopez Goes Late Night

Poetry y Cultura for Your Soul at Capicu’s 2nd Anniversary Showcase in NYC

At the Border Security is Privilege

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