Archive for June, 2010
VL At The Cine: Despicable Me
30 Jun 2010
This review isn’t going to be too long because I absolutely adore the film Despicable Me! It is a children’s film and in 3D, which seems to be the new route films are going these days, but it’s the kind of 3D film that is amazing!
When I first was invited to attend a screening I didn’t think there would be too much I’d enjoy about the film. The trailers didn’t really give a good idea of what the film was about or the humor that was presented. So when I arrived at the screening and sat in a theater filled with children under the age of 10, I really asked myself: “Bi, are you ready for this?”
And the answer was: No I wasn’t ready.
Conviction in Second Trial Against Second Killer of José Sucuzhanay
4:42 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|New York City|Violence · 1 Comment
30 Jun 2010As racially profiling Latinos gets more legal backing across the country, in New York City, where there is often an assumption of safety for Latinos, Keith Phoenix, the second accused killer of José Sucuzhanay, an Ecuadorian immigrant who two years ago was attacked along with his brother (who survived), was convicted of second-degree murder as a hate crime as well as attempted assault as a hate crime. Phoenix and Hakim Scott yelled anti-Latino and homophobic slurs at brothers Jose and Romel as they walked home from a party.
The first trial against Phoenix ended in a mistrial after the jury couldn’t come to a unified decision. Phoenix now faces life in prison.
In Custody in Tennessee? Show Me Your Papers Please.
8:49 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Nashville · 1 Comment
30 Jun 2010Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law House Bill 670, which requires any person arrested in the state to be able to prove legal status within three days or else la migra gets called in.
The only way a county can be exempt is if they already have an immigration enforcement agreement with the Feds like 287(g) or Secure Communities.
This law has the potential of looking like it’s not as bad as other measures because it would only impact “bad” people, that is people arrested for committing a crime. Of course this simplistic binary approach assumes that every arrest in the United States is conducted in good faith without an ounce of racial profiling involved.
We must also remember that Tennessee already has the fear of I.C.E. within the immigrant community there as evidenced by the terror of the Gurrolla familia.
Sources : Border Action Network, Memphis Commercial Appeal,
Breaking : Obama Cares About Immigration Reform, Again
6:28 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Obama|Politics|U.S.-Mexico Border · 3 Comments
30 Jun 2010Tomorrow, the President is expected to make a public statement declaring his support for comprehensive immigration reform, again. On Monday, Obama met with immigration advocates, again, although details of the meeting have not been released, at least not to me, beyond what has been reported in the press and that is Obama and his Democratic party blaming the Republicans. On Tuesday, Obama met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
And all of this action is supposed to impress us, the Latino voters. This action and a memo released by I.C.E telling them to remember to deport only the “bad immigrants” not the “good ones” is suppose to impress us and make us forget other actions, like National Guard troops on the U.S. Mexico border and the death of an unarmed child at the hands of border patrol.
The Last D in the Triple D Immigrant Reform Strategy : The Rising Death Toll
6:44 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Immigration · 2 Comments
29 Jun 2010As news of I.C.E. raids continues to reach my ears and no real human rights centered immigration reform plan in sight, I have started to call the combination of increased enforcement and emphasis on border security over valuing the lives of immigrants, The Triple D Immigration Reform plan: Detain, Deport, & Disappear/Dead.
While SB 1070 doesn’t officially go into effect until next month, it’s effects and the effects of the eventual deployment of additional National Guard troops at the border are already being seen in the desert between Mexico and Arizona, with migrants taking more dangerous routes into the United States and losing their lives in record numbers.
According to an article on Arizona Central, forensic anthropologists in Pima County, Arizona have seen an increase in the number of dead they are finding in the desert.
[Trigger warning : The article from Arizona Central may be very graphic for some with it's description of the dead found in the desert].
There had been 88 already this year, an increase of more than a third over what it was a month ago and well above the norm for this time of year.
Here in NYC, far from the desert, the new summer has already brought near record heat so I cannot even fathom the heat in the desert on the frontera. I suspect that this will be a long, hot summer for the migrantes who continue to risk their lives in hope of a better future and it means we need to keep the heat on states like Arizona, places that strive to copy their anti-immigrant policies, and the U.S. federal government that continues to sit on it’s hands on the dead backs of migrantes and their familias.
Nebraska Town Follows Farmer’s Branch to Create Unlivable Conditions for Undocumented
2:42 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration · 1 Comment
28 Jun 201057 percent of voters in the meatpacking town of Fremont, Nebraska passed Ordinance 5165, a measure last week that makes it clear that the undocumented are unwanted. They passed a measure that bars landlords from renting to the undocumented and businesses would have to use a federal database to make sure none of their employees are undocumented. The town essentially used the same defense that Gov. Jan Brewer used in defending SB1070, that the Feds failure to enforce immigration laws has caused the town to take matters into it’s own hands.
The A.C.L.U. has said that they would file a lawsuit against the ordinance. Measures like Ordinance 5265 have passed in other towns, like Farmer’s Branch, and have been declared unconstitutional.
VivirLatino.com Statement in Support of Moving the MLB All-star Game from Arizona
12:17 pm By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Immigration|Sports · 4 Comments
28 Jun 2010For Immediate Release
VivirLatino.com Statement in Support of Moving the MLB All-star Game from Arizona
New York, NY. June 28, 2010. Last month, numerous community activist and immigrants rights groups joined forces to show their opposition of Major League Baseball’s 2011 All Star game being held in Phoenix, Arizona, due to the state’s recently adopted anti-immigrant policies. Today, VivirLatino.com, the leading Latino daily blog covering politics, entertainment and issues of interest to the Latino community, has announced that it is part of that coalition.
In response to state law SB 1070, which requires police to ask for papers from anyone they decide meets an undefined “reasonable suspicion” standard, these groups — among them America’s Voice, AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union and People For the American Way — composed and sent a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to convince him to move the game from Arizona, as well as move training practices normally held there to another state.
As a far-reaching online Latino publication, VivirLatino believes that it has a commitment to its readers to speak out in favor of immigrants rights, and, in addition to the daily editorial coverage of SB 1070, strongly believes that voicing its opposition to this law via the letter is one way to do that.
“As a political, news, and cultural online space dedicated to the perspective of those born in the US of immigrants, we felt it was important to publicly support efforts that fight against anti-immigrant and anti-Latino hate legalized through SB1070,” said VivirLatino Managing Editor Maegan Ortíz.
“The power and reach of the Internet is vital in successfully campaigning against acts of hate towards immigrants and we plan on using our large reach and readership to continue to speak out against these acts,” added Ortíz.
VivirLatino.com joins a long list of fellow bloggers and community leaders in the cause, such as: Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director, America’s Voice; Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO;
Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga, Founder and Publisher, Daily Kos; Julio Pabon, Publisher, LatinoSports.com, among many others.
VivirLatino Managing Editor Maegan Ortíz is available for statement on the topic of relocating the All-Star game, as well as for interviews on the issue of immigration in general.
Copa Mundial Update : Mexico v. Argentina
8:47 am By Maegan La Mala · Argentina|mexico|Sports · 1 Comment
28 Jun 2010I have been chastised by some readers for not doing better coverage of the World Cup compared to the last World Cup.
Mala indeed has been watching and tweeting when I have access to wifi where I am watching the game, which has included in Casa Mala, at a local bakery and yesterday I took it to a huge beer garden in Queens to watch Mexico vs. Argentina. It was packed and it was hot and not just in terms of temperature. There were at least three physical altercations that I witnessed not to mention all the trash talking which often was based on notions of which Latin American country was superior. Alot of the trash talk twisted pro-migrant chants and there was tons of homofobia while the pride parade marched right across the East River.
While you could hear the “no se puedes”, you couldn’t hear the chants of “culero” which depending on who you ask means “asshole” or is a homophobic slur.
In case you didn’t watch the game, Argentina beat Mexico 3-1, eliminating Mexico from the World Cup.
Today is Chile v. Brasil at 2 pm EST.
M/others, Mamaz and Community Care-Givers Unite Through Truth-Telling at the AMC
6:38 am By Maegan La Mala · Allied Media Conference · 4 Comments
28 Jun 2010There were many reasons for my attending the Allied Media Conference, including to see dear friends but I also went to help present, specifically this workshop:
M/others, Mamaz and Community Care-Givers Unite Through Truth-Telling!
Presenters: Rachel Caballero, La Semilla Childcare Collective; China Martens; Future Generation & Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind; Kidz Space; Katina Parker, New Orleans Labor of Love; Maegan “la Mamita Mala” Ortiz, VivirLatino/la Mamita Mala
Facilitator: tk karakashian tunchez, To tell You the Truth/New Mythos Project
TRACK: INCITE! / To Tell You the Truth
M/others (self-identified single, teen and welfare mamaz), mamaz and community caregivers around the country are telling their truths through zines, blogs, printed media, performance work etc, and using this process of truth-telling to create stronger selves, families and communities. In this 3-part, interactive workshop, we will share practical skills and organizing models, then strategize on how we can support each other year-round through a national network of mamaz and community caregivers. Come share your questions and your knowledge with us!This session will take place in three one hour parts. Part one is a knowledge fair, showcasing the many incredible projects in the room. Part two is a skill share, giving you a chance to learn some specific truth-telling and organizing techniques, including: zine-making, social media, on-the-go-video-how-to, blogging 101, and building a radical childcare collective. Part three is a strategy session for all us m/other, mamaz & community cargegivers in the room to think, dream, strategize, and envision specific ways we can work together over the next year. We will explore questions like; What do we bring to the tables as mamaz? What support do we need? How can we fortify our national community and our families? How can alternative media-making further our movements and transformations?
This session prioritizes the participation of mothers and community care-givers of color, but is open to all.
The session started with TK Karakashian Tunchez, of To tell You the Truth/New Mythos Project introducing the audience to the session, how we got here, who we are are, and what we will be doing; basically laying the foundation.
G8/G20 Summits Begin
1:20 pm By la Macha · Immigration|Money · 7 Comments
25 Jun 2010It’s been a busy time around here with all the conferences (AMC and now the USSF) and now the G 8 and 20 summits are blasting off with rounds of protests. I was most interested to hear about this protest, which involved (as near as I can tell) indigenous peoples and immigrants.
In the days leading up to the G8/G20 Summits, activists and community organizers have been co-ordinating events and actions around Themed Days of Resistance, which highlight different issues each day, as a build-up to the Days of Action that are scheduled for June 25-27.
The theme for June 24 was Indigenous Sovereignty and the streets of Toronto saw a First Nations led march of over 1500 people.
Later in the day a press conference was held, and members of Defenders of the Land and No One is Illegal (two groups involved in the march) spoke to reporters in front of the three kilometre, $5.5 million security fence that has encircled the area around the summit site in downtown Toronto.
Here’s another good one:
We’ll be keeping our eyes out for more interesting news, let us know if you’re at the protests!
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
- vikki: I'm so sorry for your loss. Warm wishes, vikki [...]
- Scrying Nicki Minaj, Stupid Hoe, and #Afrofutures | Nuñez Daughter: [...] forest of things that seem to matter a lot–like fingers waving in presidential faces [...]
- Karen: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/01/09/120109fa_fact_auletta [...]
- Karen: I just read this about Rubio. Let's see the GOP make him a VP nominee. LOL http://www.democraticu [...]
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup, | VivirLatino: [...] last week’s liveblog of a conversation on cervical cancer and Latin@s, Bianca Laureano s [...]
- Sexy Singing and Scary Primetime TV Latino Stereotypes : Glee & The River
- Explaining the Sudden Hiatus
- Eye on the Florida Primary : Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Most Anti-Immigrant of All?
- Live Blog/Tweet of Obama’s SOTU Address Tonight 8:45 EST
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup,
- VL Pelicula Giveaway!
- Today at 1 pm EST : Conversation on Latinas and Cervical Cancer
- Today in Latin@ History : Birthday of Martha P. Cotera
- Mistaking Immigration Proposals for Policy in an Election Year
- Casa Blanca Camino 2012: DREAMing of Hypocrisy in Iowa
