VivirLatino

Living & Luchando la Vida Latin@

Executive Power to Kill but Not to Stop the Separation of Families?

May 31st, 2012

The Obama administration has said, directly or though its mouthpieces like Cecilia Munoz, that it’s hands are tied when it comes to providing some sort of administrative relief to certain classes of undocumented immigrants, namely DREAMers. Advocates, activists, and community members at large have been told that the president has to follow the laws, even if they are broken, and that the real power is in Congress.

And yet, just this week the world is learning about the type of executive power that President Obama can execute – and yes I chose that word intentionally. Earlier this week the New York Times reported on what is being called the president’s Secret Kill List, an internal executive branch process that allegedly satisfies due process standards. This allows Obama to personally sign off on targets of drone attacks in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. You can check it Democracy Now’s excellent coverage here ( link opens to a YouTube video).

It appears that in this election season, Obama is more interested in appeasing the right than doing what is right. An even more scary possibility is that Obama, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, actually thinks this is an appropriate course of action. His administration has no problem wielding executive power to decide if someone labeled a “militant” should die, but throws his hands up in the air when it comes to separating families and destroying lives on two sides of a border via deportation.

What is spectacular, but not surprising is how many alleged liberals take this information, like Obama’s inaction on immigration reform, as an opportunity to press play on the canned responses that work well for both instances of the use (or lack) of executive power :

He inherited this from Bush

It would have been worse under a Republican President

It will be worse under Romney

This is why electoral politics will not save anyone’s life.

Martes Musica : Rebel Diaz “Soy Rebelde”

May 29th, 2012

I’m not a huge hip hop head but I am a huge fan of musica with a message. In the case of Rebel Diaz and the street single “Soy Rebelde” off their long anticipated debut album Radical Dilemma, the message is that struggle against the status quo has a history that needs to be continued.

True to the group’s bilingual form, the song samples a late 60s spanish pop ballad, “Soy Rebelde, porque el mundo me hecho asi..” (I’m a Rebel, because the world has made me this way…”).
Produced by G1 of Rebel Diaz. Performed by G1 and RodStarz of Rebel Diaz.

Directed, edited and filmed by internationally acclaimed liberation photographer Pocho1, the video’s documentary style follows Rebel Diaz’s recent tours throughout Europe and Latin America, as well as images of their community arts work in the South Bronx and beyond.

What Makes a Model Latina? Nuvo TV Will Try and Tell Us Tonite [Sponsored Post]

May 28th, 2012

Model competitions are a trend unto themselves among the deluge of reality shows. From the more traditional long running and successful America’s Next Top Model to the fabulous over the top RuPaul’s Drag Race, each have their niche drama, catty competition, and elimination challenges. Honing in on the Latina niche, Nuvo TV is presenting it’s fifth season of the competition reality show Model Latina South Beach premiering tonight at 10 pm.

Based this season in trendy South Beach, Miami, the show has 10 Latinas competing for a chance to win a $25,000 cash prize, a role as nuvoTV’s spokesperson and a contract with international modeling agency Q Management.

Judging the wannabe models as they go through a series of challenges, including an underwater photo shoot and a photo shoot that seems more like a stunt show, are Puerto Rican actor and singer (some would sy heartthrob) Carlos Ponce, Victoria’s Secret supermodel and Argentina Ines Rivero, and fashion photographer Franco LaCosta. Puerto-Rican sports reporter Jocelyn Pierce, hosts.

Here’s a sneak peak.

In looking at who will be declared THE Model Latina – I wonder if the cast/contestants will be judged on mainstream standards of beauty : super skinny, light skinned or if they will reflect some of the ethnic, racial and physical diversity of Latinas. From the Meet the Models page it’s hard to tell. Most of the women seem to fit the “normal” model standard as opposed to breaking new ground or pushing boundaries but I guess we will have to see the first episode to find out. The teaser promo prominently features some of the contestants talking about wanting to represent their curves, but it remains to be seen what that actually means and if like I have seen on other shows, there is a token “bigger” woman competing against more traditional model types.

The majority of the contestants are from the Caribbean, with three Cubanas (including a Cuban Italian), two Puerto Ricans, two Dominicanas, one Mexican, una Colombiana, and one Guatemalan/Bolivian.

I will admit that I am not a huge fashion reality tv follower but as the daughter of a woman who studied fashion and who spent her life in the fashion retail world it’s going to be hard not to be sucked in a little. I hope the show doesn’t play into too many stereotypes about Latinas like those aforementioned curves or cattiness that reality tv seems to be about. I certainly hope there is no shaming or making what seem to be beautiful women trying to put their best face forward feel bad about who they are as they try to move their chosen careers forward.

You can follow the action tonight at 10 pm at or via facebook and twitter.

*This post is compensated in collaboration with nuvoTV and Latina Bloggers Connect*

The Devil is in the Details, Not the Party

May 27th, 2012

Last week there were a lot of gasps from people who couldn’t believe that President Obama was being compared to Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Not only was Obama compared to the Sheriff who is facing a federal lawsuit for refusing to allow oversight of his department over accusations of racial profiling against Latinos and general poor management, Obama was called worse when it came to immigration.

Democrats and Obama supporters are quick to point out that the accusation is coming from a conservative strategist, Alfonso Aguilar, in an effort to gain votes for Republicans in key swing states like Nevada, especially since assumed GOP presidential candidate Romney is trailing in polls among Latino voters.

But is the accusation so off base? Obama’s detention and deportation policies have been built on the legacies of presidents before him. Secure Communities has been expanded and made mandatory under Obama’swatch and responsible in large part to record deportation numbers topping over a million. Comprehensive immigration reform, a promise made to Latino voters during Obama’s 2008 campaign, has failed to make an appearance. Weak willed face saving actions like pushing the DREAM Act and announcing prosecutorial discretion haven’t lived up to expectations nor the demands of immigration advocates and the Latino electorate.

Maricopa Country Cheriff Joe Arpaio’s power has been bolstered by federal immigration policies that lack real oversight on the state level. The soon to be faded out 287(g), allowed Arpaio to turn his police force into defacto immigration enforcement agents. Secure Communities bolsters this. So it’s not a matter of if Obama is worse than Sheriff Joe, it’s a matter of what polices allowed Sheriff Joe to become who he is. The role of state laws like SB1070 cannot be ignored, which is why the Feds are trying to shut parts of that law down, not on the basis of how they violate the rights of immigrants, especially immigrant Latinos (and non-immigrant Latinos as well) but on the basis of how those laws step on federal immigration enforcement toes.

Obama is in a bad position. He has an immigration record that can be scrutinized while Romney is all talk. And while Romney’s talk sure ain’t pretty, it’s not surprising. It follows the same hard-line anti-immigrant, enforcement first agenda that was set back during McCain’s presidential run. If Romney really wants to win the Latino vote in Nevada or any other state he’s gonna need to do better and chances are he won’t and no brown face, not Marco Rubio’s or Alfonso Aguilar’s, is going to help just by pointing out what Latinos already know. Yes, the Obama administration has failed massively and miserably when it comes to immigration reform. What is the GOP offering that is any better?

Let’s see some real policy proposals and less party pointing.

Occupy Wall Street and the Latino Vote

May 26th, 2012

A recent study from the Applied Research Center looked at what drew people ages 18 to 30 to the Occupy movement.

The University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras is conducting research looking into Occupy Wall Street in NYC and it’s relationship to Occupy in Puerto Rico. Specifically the study wants to look at the role and relationship of Latinos/Hispanics in OWS and what draws/drew them into Occupy. The researchers are looking for anyone who has been a part of the movement whether it is online through debates and blogs or in person.

I personally am going to participate as a Rican in NY who can and has admired aspects of the Occupy struggle nationally but who has also deeply questioned the role of people of color in general and personally – Latinos/Ricans.

To take the survey in English click here.

Si quieres tomar la encuesta en español, haz clic aquí.

LATISM/Top Bloguera Retreat Reflection II : Yes There a Place for a Latin@ Political Blog

May 25th, 2012

I inherited VivirLatino if you will. The Spanish (as in Spain) company that started it left and eventually so did my co-editor/owner. There was no bad blood but running a blog as a business is hard work and I never became a blogger to be in business. When I became a blogger, the term didn’t even exist. I was a frustrated young single Rican activist mother searching for others like me – other young Ricans who wanted to change the world and weren’t afraid to be on the streets or in jail to do it, young Ricans who wanted to perform poetry and date and yes raise a kid and who knew that there was something political in that,knew that at the core, the root it was all political. So what was I some 12 odd years later sitting in a boutique hotel in Washington DC with bloggers wanting to work with brands like Disney, Mcdonald’s and make money writing about the products they use with their kids and you should too?

When I began blogging I don’t even remember the word “monetizing”. I wanted to extend my reality in the hopes of making connections and conversations with others and I wanted to write. I always wanted to write and blogging first for myself and then for VivirLatino was a way for me to do it. But 2012 is not 1998, 2000, or even 2008. Non-profits don’t take the risks with their budgets the way they did in the pre and post-Obama glow. Gone are the days when I would/could make a few hundred dollars a month blogging. The other blogueras, ambitious women, mamis, activists, fashionistas, and foodies all seemed a little shocked when I told then that I was lucky if I made $50 a month.

That’s not to say I haven’t had opportunities and experiences. Because of my work on VivirLatino I have written for local and national publications, been on tv and on the radio and been given awards and scholarships. But I still couldn’t afford my small one bedroom apartment.

After attending the White House Briefing and portions of the retreat, I was more crystal clear than ever that my job, my role isn’t to be a mouthpiece for a political administration nor a brand spokes mami. But I sure am a mouthpiece for my own experiences as a struggling working single Latina mami and my vecinas and if there is one thing I can sell shamelessly is the fact that I am pretty damn valuable. I don’t begrudge anyone the right to make a buck, to feed their families, to go after their ambitions. Hell here at VivirLatino we have reviewed tech, tequila, films, and music. But that’s not the heart and it always needs to come from there.

At the LATISM Top Blogueras Retreat, I saw a wide range of types of bloggers at the Top Blogueras retreat (with the glaring exception of bloggers reppin LGBTQ gender non-conforming sites). What I took away is that yes I am different and that yes I need to be a better business person and value my skills more. Can I do that from a place of love and justice? It’s the only way I know how. I let go of some judgements as people who have been reading the site for a long time reached out to me in support. I agreed to come to the retreat but with many reservations in my heart and in my head but I left with a deeper respect for my own work.

What I took away from the experience is that I have a unique voice and I just need to get better at some business prac

Top Blogueras at the White House : Beyond Puppetry and Pendejas

May 24th, 2012

I almost didn’t make it to the Latinos in Social Media Top Blogueras Retreat in Washington D.C. this Monday. It felt like the airline goddesses were giving me signs but I made it just in time to attend a special policy briefing at the White House. Neither the President nor the First Lady would be there since they were in Chicago for the NATO Summit, but I snagged a seat close to the front just in case. As I walked to the briefing room, I passed by the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and thought, “Too bad Cecilia Muñoz isn’t in that office anymore so I could speak with her”. Then I saw the agenda.

And she would be taking questions. Those who have been reading VivirLatino or following my work know that I have written here and in other places about Muñoz and the role she plays as a Spanish language cheerleader for President Obama’s immigration polices. I quickly crafted my question in my notebook.

Muñoz opened up the briefing speaking about how important her job was in terms of representing not just Latino interests but all interests and how her position and the positions of so many other Latinas in the Obama administration were proof of the importance and power of the Latino community. Then she took questions and my hand shot up.

“Hi and thank you for taking my question. I’m Maegan Ortiz from VivirLatino.com. Given how you are held up as a role model for Latinas because of your success in the non-profit world and now government, how would you answer critics who question your promotion of policies that have proven to harm Latinas, especially undocumented women, for example survivors of domestic violence being put into deportation because of Secure Communities, the thousands of kids put into foster care because their mothers were deported, and a lack of both real prosecutorial discretion and administrative relief for DREAMers?”

Photo Credit : Chantilly Patiño.

Washington DC Bound

May 20th, 2012

Update to the update: I’m on a plane (yay) but lightning has the plane stuck on the runway (boo). Maybe I wasn’t meant to go?

Monday morning update: I missed my original flight and was unable to get on any flights last night on standby. I’m en route to the airport again, trying my luck again, hoping I can catch a standby spot. If I don’t make this flight, I likely will not be attending the event

Mala will be in Washington DC for the next two days, as I was selected by Latinos in Social Media (#LATISM) to receive a scholarship to participate in their first Top Blogueras Retreat.

The retreat, sponsored graciously by such outstanding corporations including Johnson & Johnson, Univision, McDonald’s, Mary Kay, Southwest Airlines, Procter and Gamble, Comcast, Fleishman Hillard, Disney/Babble, Macys, Porter Novelli, and Consumer Reports, will include opportunities for bloggers like me, to be mentored. The retreat, organized in partnership with Latina Bloggers Connect, will include a visit to the White House and meeting with such influential advocacy organizations as National Council of la Raza (NCLR).

If all of this sounds like it’s the antithesis of what I’ve been about for my blogging career, it kind of is and that’s precisely why I am going. As a political mami media maker (not a mom

blogger, not even just a blogger) I have covered everything from the Latin Grammy Awards, to the presidential debates, to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Our team coverage has included live blogs of Netroots Nation, The Allied Media Conference, and reviews of films, musical acts, congressional votes and always with big uncensored mouths, always unsponsored, unbought. I am attending this blogeura retreat because as I wrote last year on the 6th anniversary of VivirLatino, the Latino blog landscape has changed and continues to change. Many of my media making and rabble rousing friends have stopped because of shift in the accepted definition of “blogger”. Those of us who found ourselves courted in the pre-Obama era, have felt the walls of the non-profit industrial complex and corporate personhood closing in on us. It’s been a struggle for us to continue. So who are considered the top voices and who is not? What are those voices saying and what does that say about the future of truly independent media?

I and by extension, VivirLatino has had a complicated relationship with non-profits, lawmakers, and companies who want parroting instead of critical analysis. I will be the first to admit that I am a bad capitalist and my personal and business finances are essentially one and the same because blogging is more of an extension of who I am than a separate money making venture. This has led to a less than sustainable career but a career/life none the less and for that reason, with many years of experience under my belt, I claim my position on top shamelessly.

Please follow me here on VivirLatino and on twitter accounts : @vivirlatino and @mamitamala as I look at all these issues. And I want to hear what all of you think about the direction of Latin@ blogging and online media.

For more information about the First-Ever Latina Blogger Retreat, visit http://blogueras.latism.org/

By Land & By Sea Drawing Attention to Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera

May 17th, 2012

Many activist organizations on both the international and national level point out the problem of political prisoners. When it comes to looking at Latin American and Latinos and people incarcerated for their political beliefs, such as self-determination or challenging the way the government works, most people will point to Cuba and/or Venezuela. What they won’t often acknowledge the existence of prisoners of conscious in the United States. Puerto Rican activists from both the island and the U.S. are trying to change that.

Puerto Rican activist Alberto De Jesus, known as Tito Kayak, announced earlier this week intention to kayak from Venezuela to Puerto Rico. The maritine voyage, to begin on June 5th weather permiting, will row from Venezuela, island by island thoughout the Antilles following the tragectory taken by the indiginous Arawak people who originaly populated the Antillies. This effort will be carried out to honor and bring world attention to the case of the longest held Puerto Rican, U.S. political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera.

Welcome to NY Secure Communities

May 14th, 2012

Despite efforts by local and national advocates and activists, the Secure Communities deportation program will go into effect in New York and other states tomorrow.

S-Comm is a Department of Homeland Security program that requires states to identify immigrants for deportation. While NY governor Cuomo and other governors across the country have expressed concerns regarding the difference between what how DHS says the program is implemented and what statistics show regarding the deportation of non-criminal undocumented immigrants. There have been mixed messages and allegations of a cover up regarding the mandatory nature of the program. The intense roll out of the program despite complaints and protests seems to make the mandatory nature of the program clear.

Given the latest report of racial profiling by the New York City Police Department which showed that 87 percent of those stopped were blacks and Latino, the implementation of S-Comm especially in urban areas with large immigrant populations is extremely concerning. Immigrants account for more than one-third of the city’s residents and 29% of all voters in New York.

While the federal government attempts to make an example of Arizona by challenging parts of SB1070 in the Supreme Court and by suing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for racial profiling, it continues to fast track a program that has contributed to racial profiling.