12:46 pm By la Macha · Celebrities · 5 Comments
29 Jul 2009Seems to be a really slow news cycle these past few days. I’ve been surfing around all the major news sites and all I can find is grisly stories about babies being cut out of dead women and bus riding cats. Oh, and stories about Madonnas biceps. Apparently, Madonna has been spending a lot of time working out.

I don’t know ya’ll. On the one hand, I won’t deny having an immediate reaction to those pictures (ay, dios mio, Madonna, what are you doing to yourself girl?), but on the other hand, in light of the stark picture of how horribly and dehumanizing Michael Jackson was treated throughout his life time only to find out that the man was suffering from serious skin conditions, drug abuse, loneliness and god knows what else brought on by the evils of fame–I kinda feel like these pictures are exploitative. They reduce Madonna to her biceps.
And sure, Madonna is one of the biggest Latinophiles out there–but whatever may or may not be wrong with her, does she deserve to have her entire humanity reduced to the state of her arms? Does she deserve to be turned into another “wacko” so that the public can feel better about itself?
11:01 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Health|society|Women · 6 Comments
29 Jul 2009Summer is here and as we’re starting to don skirts and shorts, some of us (cough cough) might be a little pasty after a long, winter-like spring. And some of us (cough cough) might have briefly entertained the idea of visiting a tanning bed before showing our pale thighs on the beach. If that’s the case (and you know who you are), please take the following as yet another reason why you shouldn’t go cooking yourself in one of those things:
The ultraviolet light used in tanning beds is as carcinogenic as asbestos, arsenic, radium and cigarettes, a special committee of the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded. The use of sunlamps had previously been classified only as “probably carcinogenic in humans.” Moreover, the committee concluded that all types of UV radiation induce cancer, not just the UV-B that has been implicated in the past. Some tanning salons claim to use only UV-A, which was thought to be safer, but the committee said that is not the case.
The World Health Organization also says that the risk of cancer increases up to 75% when people start using tanning beds before the age of 30.
Latinas come in all shapes and colors, some lighter than others. And society pressures all women to look perfect — tanning is part of that — but the price in this case is just too high: your health. So remember, if you get the urge to toast your nalguitas artificially, just repeat to yourself again and again: as carcinogenic as asbestos.
Via / LA Times (how apropos)
10:36 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · crime|GLBT|Latin America|society|Violence|World · 1 Comment
29 Jul 2009
Here at VL we have covered lots of stories about violence against transgender people, and unfortunately many of these cases of violence end in death. What I didn’t know was that the rate at which transgender murders occur worldwide was so high; a recent report by non-profit organization Transgender Europe (TGEU) shows that a transgender person is killed every 3 days. And another disturbing fact is that the majority of these murders are happening in Latin America:
The cases have been reported from all six World regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The majority of cases have been reported from Latin America and North America. On these continents the majority of cases have been reported from Brazil (59) and the U.S.A. (16) for 2008 and from Brazil (23), Venezuela (20), and Guatemala (10) for the first six months of 2009. Moreover, the preliminary results show a total of 11 murdered trans people reported for Colombia followed by 5 for Honduras and 4 for Mexico and Venezuela for 2008, and 6 for Mexico and 3 for Argentina, and the Dominican Republic for the first six months of 2009.In total 91 murders of trans people were reported in 11 Latin American countries in 2008, and 73 murders of trans people in 11 Latin American countries in the first six months of 2009. The reported murders of trans people in Latin America account for 75% and 88% of the world wide reported murders of trans people in 2008 and the first six months of
2009 respectively.
The map associated with the study (image above) for 2009 to date shows the highest concentration of murders in South America, particularly in Brazil.
Spain’s Ambiente G reports on another chilling statistic: in Peru, a gay or lesbian person is killed every 5 days.
Via / Ambiente G and TGEU
9:19 am By la Macha · Arts|Immigration · 2 Comments
29 Jul 2009Via the Latin Americanist comes the news of the 10th New York International Latino Film Festival.
One of the movies being highlighted in the film festival is “The Least of These,” the story of families being incarcerated by the U.S. government in the name of “illegal immigration reform.
A clip from the movie:
I don’t know if I can watch the entire film–the little in this clip has already made my guts heave in disgust and horror. But it’s important work–and if you’re in NY, you need to get over to the festival and support it!
8:51 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Colombia|Politics|Venezuela · 1 Comment
29 Jul 2009
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela announced on Venezuelan TV that Venezuela is withdrawing its ambassador from neighboring Colombia, freezing relations including halting trade deals with Colombia.
The announcement came a day after the Colombia government said weapons bought by Venezuela from Sweden in the 1980s had ended up with Colombian guerrillas.
Mr Chavez denied this and accused Colombia of acting “irresponsibly”.
What’s the U.S. got to do with it? According to Chavez (and many others), plenty.
Read more…
6:58 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|Media|media justice|Obama|Politics|TV · 2 Comments
29 Jul 2009Last night I was honored to speak with a class at the College of Mount St. Vincent on an alternative vision of media and left asking the students to make at least one piece of independent media part of their daily intake, since on a constant level they (and all of us) are fed messages from the corporate media.
Pero sometimes the message being sent is just so out there, such a sad attempt to maintain legitimacy in a changing world, that you have to ask. Why are you still here? That’s the question for CNN’s Lou Dobbs.
His scapegoating of immigrants (racialized as Latinos, especially Mexicans) has turned into a tired old sideshow act or worse, he’s that viejo uncle at everyone’s holiday dinner/family reunion. You know, he’s the one that everyone wonders who the hell invited him again about as they grit their teeth and listen to his ranting. His newest skipped record rant is the “birther” issue, that is that President Obama’s birth certificate isn’t legit and that he’s an…..”illegal”.
Ok that was actually a little scary.
Read more…
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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