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Shameless Self- Promotion : Maegan la Mala Spits Poetry Tonite in Queens, NYC

29 Sep 2008

If my posts have taken on a poetic quality, you will please be excusing la Mala. Here in NYC we are in the middle of the 5to Encuentro de Poesia “Poetas en Nueva York

Tonight at the Centro Humanista de la Culturas, 76-11 37ave Jackson Heights,Queens, NYC at 6pm, I am honored and blessed to be a part of the Noche de mujeres, sharing the stage and spitting palabras with

-Irma Galido
-Claudia Barragán
-Daniel Reyes y Nilko Andreas

Come through if you can.

Friend the event on Facebook.

I Am Latino…Ask Me: Americanos ask about the power of the Chancleta…

23 Jul 2008

Dear Urban Jibaro,

I work in the toy department of a major retailer in a pretty diverse part of Pennsylvania. I see a lot of Latino families and I am curious about something. Whenever a kid throw a tantrum in my department, I hear their mothers threaten them with “John Kletter” and they immediately start behaving in most cases.

I have 3 kids myself and I would love to know how John Kletter can help me when they act up.

My question is “Who is John Kletter, and why are Latino children so afraid of him?

“Gracias” (thats all the Spanish I know)

Misty (Lancaster PA)

***************************************************

Ok…so being that fact that I am completely new at this, I honestly did not know what the hell Misty was talking about. I googled “John Kletter” and did not find much…and was about to move on to our next submission…that is until I mentioned the question to one of my friends (she made me swear not to reveal her name) who has a thick accent and she said “que eso de jon kleta?”and then it hit me me like a ton of bricks…we had a phonetic translation issue here….John Kletter doesn’t exist…at least not in the Latino universe what Misty actually witnessed was the power of the almighty “CHANCLETA”.

This whole ASK A LATINO thing is gonna be fun…

So now that we got that squared away…Click below to read my official response to the first “ASK A LATINO” question.

Attorney Referral Site for Spanish Speakers

2:34 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Justice| language · Comments Off

19 Jun 2008

Sadly, this is how many Spanish speaking Latinos get their legal help.

1800 cantaso (electric chair)

Enter as a solution Legal Match, an online attorney referral website that has begun the process of translating a few of the 4,000 pages on its legal matching website into Spanish with the goal of targeting Spanish speaking Latinos searching for legal advice, especially for immigration issues.

So far the company has translated its homepage, intake processes for each category of law and some pages of its law library. Plans are in place to translate the remaining pages in the coming months.

“Finding the right lawyer in the United States is difficult enough if you speak English and know something about the law,” said Anna Ostrovsky, general counsel and co-founder of LegalMatch. “If you are not familiar with the United States legal system, and don’t speak English, it’s even harder. We created LegalMatch to empower consumers seeking the right attorney for their legal needs. Making LegalMatch available in Spanish was a logical next move for us.”

I can’t say if Legal Match is a good service or not, and apparently they have had some issues, pero it has to be better than the above alternative.

Via / Hispanic MPR

Latino Books Month, Viernes May 16th Pick : Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo

12:36 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Books| Women| language| literature · Comments Off

16 May 2008

Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo is one of the most worn books in my personal library. This fictional narrative of Chicana love, disability, and the struggle to fit in through those lenses is one of the most beautifully written books I have read, that I often return to it, not just because of it’s very real portrayal of modern love and lust but because of the way the words read off the paper, as if your amiga were relating what has happened to her. The her in this case is Carmen “la Coja” Santos, a Chicana flamenco dancer.

Buy Peel My Love Like an Onion Here.

Latino Book Month, Martes May 13 Pick : Me llamo Gabriela by Monica Brown. Illustrated by John Parra

13 May 2008

I haven’t included any children’s books in my Latino book suggestions until today. Me Llamo Gabriela: My Name is Gabriela by Monica Brown and illustrated by John Parra, is a beautiful book about the Chilean Nobel Prize winning poeta Gabriela Mistral. Winner of the 2006 International Latino Book Award, the bilingual English and Spanish book is a mini biography of Mistral. It tells, through lyrical writing and bright illustrations, the story of Mistral’s childhood in Chile, her becoming a teacher,a poet, and a traveler. It is a story about dreams coming true and recognizing the beauty of things all around us. The pictures are interesting enough to capture the interest of a toddler and the story is interesting enough for older school children as well and is a great way to introduce them to Latin American writers.

You can purchase Me Llamo Gabriela here.

My Bilingual Kids Are Smarter Than Your English Only Kids!

10:27 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Education| language · Comments Off

24 Apr 2008

Nanny, nanny boo boo. The fact that I speak English and Spanish to my children is actually boosting their English language skills, according to one article.

“Speaking two languages opens up a whole new world to children,” says Laurie Weaver, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Bilingual and Multicultural Studies at University of Houston-Clear Lake. “Not only will they be better prepared to understand others, they will also understand themselves and their own language better.”
Weaver is one of many parents who believes in the value of their children speaking two languages. Research has shown that kids who are routinely exposed to a second language from an early age, consistently score higher on English tests as an older child. Apparently learning a second language not only makes you bilingual, it also increases English proficiency.

Does Something Being Also in Español Bother You

10:40 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Blogs| Internet| Politics| language · Comments Off

16 Apr 2008

Most of our readers probably aren’t bothered by websites being available in Spanish as well as English, in fact many of you are pleased with that option that includes a large, growing portion of our population. The Hillary Clinton campaign website and Barack Obama campaign websites both have Spanish language versions available from their main page (not so for John McCain). One U.S. Senate race in Texas however, is getting heat for offering information in Spanish. Texas Democrat Rick Noriega’s site is being called offensive for having an en Español button. One blogger asks:

Is it just me, or is the “en español” button on Noriega’s site highly offensive?

Obama Goes After Latinos Using Online Novelas

12:37 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| California| Immigration| Internet| Politics · 1 Comment

16 Nov 2007

Barack Obama is going after California Latino voters through mini online Spanish language novelas. Using You Tube and the website, Tu Voz, Tu Voto, the little films are just as poorly acted out as real life novelas. They also rely on the same zero sum stereotypes about what choices Latinos have. The Ortiz family (no relation) here basically is telling other Latinos to choose between voting and marching, instead of highlighting how both are weapons.

I have to see the rest of the episodes but as a Latina, I’m a little offended at being told their is one path and one path only towards change and action.

See the rest of the videos yourself at Vote Hope.

Got Misa?

12:59 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bilingualism| Religion| language · Comments Off

14 Sep 2007

When I was growing up as a good little Latina Catholic girl, the Spanish language masses were always more crowded and always more fun than the English language masses. They were just livlier and had better music. Unless of course the Latino priest wasn’t there and you had the gringo padre who had done missionary work somewhere and spoke really bad Spanish. Well churches of all denominations are sending search parties across Latin America to find Spanish speaking clergy to serve the growing Latino population so that no one will have to sit through a poor quality Spanish language misa ever again. Gracias a Dios!

Some Roman Catholic dioceses send recruiters to Latin America to bring priests or seminarians to the United States. The Episcopal Church, through its Central and South American Province, has a direct connection to Latin Americans who want to serve here. And Southern Baptist churches rely on word of mouth to find Latin American ministers.

The issue, according to an article on MSNBC, goes beyond language, it goes to cultural competency. A Puerto Rican mass isn’t the same as a Chilean mass and Salvadorians say the rosary a whole different way.

Via / MSNBC
Image Via / Church Sign Generator

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