Archive for September, 2009
The Story of Angeline Hassell : The Double Victimization of Survivor’s of Domestic Violence
11:05 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Family| New York City| Violence| Women| children · 4 Comments
30 Sep 2009Angeline’s story isn’t new to us here at VivirLatino. Her struggle to assert her mami rights and her struggle against violence perpetuated first by her partner than by the family court system here in NYC is something I’ve posted on before.
Here’s Angeline, in her own words, with her own voice speaking about domestic violence and not from a place of theory but from her own personal experience. Angeline goes back to court here in Queens, NYC on October 19th.
This week is Banned Books Week (September 26−October 3, 2009). From the American Library Association:
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
And since the United States has such a love/hate relationship with Latinos/immigrants, I decided to look at the banned/challenged books written by Latino/Latin-Americans, or with Latin American themes in the last year (2008-2009).
Published in 1972,” Bless Me, Ultima” , a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, was banned from high school English classes in a school in California after it was deemed anti-Catholic and profane. I’m ashamed to admit that this is one of those books that I have been meaning to read since forever and never have.
I wrote about “Vamos a Cuba” back in 2006 when it first created controversy and apparently it hasn’t stopped. After the book was pulled from all Miami-Dade schools because it depicts an “inaccurate” version of life in Cuba, The ACLU filed a lawsuit and won an injunction allowing the book to remain on shelves (and all the books in the series). The injunction was overturned earlier this year when an appeals court found that the first amendment hadn’t been violated.
Vivirlatino’s la Mala at Hispanic Panic NYC Tomorrow Nite!
3:05 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Culture| Events| Linking Latinos| New York City| literature · Comments Off
29 Sep 2009
I am so excited to be a part of Hispanic Panic tomorrow nite and I hope that some of you in the NYC area can join this fabulous collection of Latino poets and writers that Charlie Vazquez, the host, has brought together.
HISPANIC PANIC! w/ Brandon Lacy Campos, Maegan ‘La Mamita Mala’ Ortiz, Erasmo Guerra, Robert Vázquez-Pacheco, Cristy Road, and Claudia Narvaez-Meza.
Wednesday, September 30th @ Nowhere, 322 E 14th St, NYC, 8PM, 21+
Roman Polanski: The Illegal?
1:26 pm By la Macha · Celebrities| Immigration| children| race| society · 3 Comments
29 Sep 2009
Anybody who follows the immigration debate knows the tired old explanation as to why undocumented immigrants are really “illegals” or “aliens.” They committed a crime! They are here illegally! They deserve the label!
Well, as I am sure many of you have heard, director Roman Polanski is currently in the news because 30 years after committing the crime of raping a 13-year-old girl, he was arrested in Switzerland and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. He has continued his life since his arrest and admission of guilt in a pretty unadulterated way. He works. He lives in multiple houses. He won a prestigious award. He has friends and supporters. And he lives (and has lived) quite openly as a man who likes to fuck young girls.
In short, if the U.S. really wanted him, the U.S. could’ve gotten him. And yet…it didn’t. And as I mentioned, after committing a crime, Polanski received no small level of support from others, up to and including “liberal” presses like NPR calling his crime “sex with a thirteen-year-old” rather than “rape.”
So, you have the case of families coming to the U.S. to get a job and help support families here and in other countries–and those people are no longer people. They are illegals. They are aliens. They deserve what they get.
You have the case of a man who *admits* to drugging and raping a thirteen-year-old child, and you have a “troubled genius” who, well, maybe isn’t that bad. I mean, not a rapist rapist. Just a regular rapist. A not bad rapist.
What is up with this difference? Why isn’t Glen Beck going after this scumbag? Why isn’t Lou Dobbs? Why isn’t the U.S. mobilizing an entire department to go after all the rapists? The illegal rapists? Why don’t we have an entire system of detention centers set up exclusively for all the rapists and their families to sit in until we can figure out what to do with them? If the rapists didn’t want their children locked up, they shouldn’t have raped, right?
I am not the only one who notices the differences in standards here. What I am wondering is will any of the “they are illegals” troupe be brave enough to account for the differences? And lest men think they are not the problem here, will any men be brave enough to account for why crimes against women and girls are so easy to forgive?
First Dems Throw Immigrant Health Under the Bus, Now Reproductive Health
8:12 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Health| Politics| Women · Comments Off
29 Sep 2009When President Obama presented his health care reform plan, two points made me want to throw a shoe at my computer screen. One which I discussed in depth, was the treatment of immigrants. The second was reproductive health, specifically abortion. The President said clearly that the undocumented wouldn’t be covered and that abortions wouldn’t be covered. Now that the actual legislation is being worked on, I am nearly banging my head against my keyboard this morning as I read a New York Times article that lays out how some Democrats are working their asses off to make sure my uterus can’t have access to an abortion.
Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion…At least 31 House Democrats have signed various recent letters to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, urging her to allow a vote on a measure to restrict use of the subsidies to pay for abortion, including 25 who joined more than 100 Republicans on a letter delivered Monday. Monday.
Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, a leading Democratic abortion opponent, said he had commitments from 40 Democrats to block the health care bill unless they have a chance to include the restrictions.
6to ENCUENTRO DE POESÍA POETAS EN NUEVA YORK
12:07 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Books| Culture| Events| Linking Latinos| Lo Que Hay| New York City| literature · Comments Off
27 Sep 2009
6to ENCUENTRO DE POESÍA
POETAS EN NUEVA YORK
27 de Septiembre – 4 de Octubre 2009
PROGRAMACIÓN
27 de Septiembre, Domingo
Revolution Books –Manhattan-
4:00 p.m.
Presentador: Nicolás Linares
Micrófono abierto.
Juan Nicolás Tineo (República Dominicana)
29 de Septiembre, Martes
Rose Café –Williamsburg, Brooklyn-
6:00 p.m.
Presentador:
Ricardo León Peña-Villa (Colombia)
Gema Santamaría (Nicaragua)
Iván Cruz Osorio (México)
Guido Cabrerizo (Bolivia)
30 de Septiembre, Miércoles
Cafesito Bogotá –Greenpoint, Brooklyn-
7:00 p.m.
Benjamín Morales Moreno (México)
Nicolás Linares (Colombia)
Iván Cruz Osorio (México)
1 de Octubre, Jueves
Terraza 7 Train Café –Jackson Heights, Queens-
7:30 p.m.
Presentadora: Claudia Barragán
Jimmy Valdés (República Dominicana)
José Jesús Osorio (Colombia)
Benjamin Morales Moreno (México)
2 de Octubre, Viernes
Centro Julia de Burgos –Harlem-
6:30 p.m.
Presentadora: Natalia Aristizábal
Carlos Aguasaco (Colombia)
Diego Vargas (Colombia)
Myrna Nieves (Puerto Rico)
Alfredo Villanueva (Puerto Rico)
3 de Octubre, Sábado
(2 presentaciones)
NY Book Expo –Flushing, Queens-
Queens Museum for the Arts
3:00 p.m.
Presentación Colectiva ‘Poetas en Nueva York’
Sucre Café
520 Deklab Ave (Brooklyn)
7:00 p.m.
Presentador: Ricardo León Peña-Villa
Luis Henao (Colombia)
Natalia Aristizábal (Colombia)
Yrene Santos (República Dominicana)
Lena Retamoso (Perú)
Who has the best chest in Hollywood?
26 Sep 2009I’m not even sure how this could be called a fair contest. In fact, I’m not sure how it could be called at contest at all. The winner is so *clearly* mi Salmita. How on earth could it be anybody else?
Nuff said.
Postville Raids Documentary
1:26 pm By la Macha · Immigration · 1 Comment
25 Sep 2009Remember the Postville Raids?
When the US government stormed a Kosher meat plant in the American heartland, arresting nearly 400 undocumented workers, a Guatemalan village wept. The biggest immigration raid in US history severed an economic lifeline to one of the poorest corners of the Western Hemisphere while pushing an Iowa farm town to the brink of collapse.
Well, there is a new documentary out about the raids:
In the Shadow of the Raid – trailer from Streetdog Media on Vimeo.
Documentaries like “In the shadow of the raid” have the potential to change public support of deportations because we don’t often hear about the impact on families, friends and communities of the workers who were detained.
The film will be premiering at the Morelia International Film Festival, in Mexico between Oct. 3 and Oct. 11, but we at RaceWire can’t wait for it to come to the other side of the border.
For more information on screenings of “In the shadow of the raid” visit Street Dog Media.
Protests at University of California Campuses
1:01 pm By la Macha · California · Comments Off
25 Sep 2009In the face of huge budget cutbacks that many argue are little more than an effort to privatize public foundations, the students and faculty in the University of California system protested in huge numbers yesterday.
Daniella, a petite second-year Latina undergraduate sitting quietly in the shade echoed what many making the rallying calls were articulating. “My whole life I wanted to come here. If they increase the fees I will have to drop out. We have to fight this.”
Among those in the crowd was third-year psychology major Vico Melgoza of Santa Ana. He said he was skipping two classes today to be there. “This is more important. That’s my personal belief,” said Melgoza, 21, adding that he was worried about how fee increases will affect not only his future but also future generations of low-income students. The fee hikes and cutbacks, he said, “are beating the people who are already beaten.”
The demonstrations did not disrupt schoolwork. A spokesman for UC President Mark Yudof said most classes were held and that “most of the action was at the rallies.” But there will be more rallies. Protest organizers at Berkeley said that discussions are under way for a march on Sacramento that would include participants from the UCs, the 23-campus Cal State University system and the states’ junior colleges. “This is just the beginning,” says Miller. “It’s a wake up call to students about what is happening to their education.”
Vivir Latino will keep you updated to future happenings!
Michael Moore Sightings
1:17 pm By la Macha · Health| Uncategorized · 1 Comment
24 Sep 2009I already wrote that I can’t wait to see the new Michael Moore movie–the following clips show why. Especially pay attention to the Colbert video: if we had universal health insurance, we wouldn’t be in the middle of this economic crisis right now.
So I made this movie to do a number of things. One, to just go head on at this system. I’m not a reformer. I’m not looking for Congress to pass a few new regulations, which, by the way, it’s been a year since the crash, and they haven’t passed one of these things, which is what they said they were going to do right away, right? “All we need is a few rules. Don’t get rid of capitalism, just a few rules, and we’ll get everything back in shape.” Of course, they have no intention of doing that, and the banking industry has lobbied them successfully over the last year to leave them alone so that they can keep doing their crazy schemes. That’s one reason.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Capitalism’s Enemy – Michael Moore | ||||
|
||||
I wonder what the politicians (and my Libertarian friends) response to that assertion is.
Hola!
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.
About | Advertise with us | Contact | Twitter
- Nelson G.: Did Ruben show up? [...]
- Transgender Day of Remembrance and Latin@s | VivirLatino: [...] America still painted as more transphobic than the good old U.S. of A, all we need to do is lo [...]
- Maegan La Mala: intellectual jism....ja ja. I love you [...]
- Maegan La Mala: Chip, Thanks for the info I will add this above. I don't have any other info about the Sunday vi [...]
- dr3373: Please join "Justice for Jorge Steven López - End Hate Crimes" on facebook: http://www.facebook. [...]
- Pedro Julio Serrano on the Murder of Lopez Mercado
- Bay Area Community Members to Hold Vigil and Release Statement about Murders in Maryland and Puerto Rico
- Transgender Day of Remembrance and Latin@s
- Dear Troll(s):
- Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man
- Vigils for Justice y en Memoria de Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado
- Russell Athletic rehires fired union organizers
- When Things Go Wrong…Terribly Wrong.
- Official VivirLatino Statement on Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN
- Sexual Violence Against Women in Immigrant Detention
VivirLatino RSS Feed
- Bay Area Community Members to Hold Vigil and Release Statement about Murders in Maryland and Puerto Rico
- Transgender Day of Remembrance and Latin@s
- Dear Troll(s):
- Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man
- Vigils for Justice y en Memoria de Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado
- Russell Athletic rehires fired union organizers
- When Things Go Wrong…Terribly Wrong.
- Official VivirLatino Statement on Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN
- Sexual Violence Against Women in Immigrant Detention
- Nadya Suleman Speaks Again
