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)

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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.

JLo's is in court trying to make sure a tell-all book about her vida sexual by ex-husband Ojani Noa doesn't get published.

"Sadly, no personal detail is too sacred to be sold by Noa for profit," state the papers filed by Lopez's attorney, Paul N. Sorrell, according to the Associated Press. "Noa will do anything within his power to make money off his ex-wife. He is out of control."

Pobrecitos, Argentina lost to Germany in the World Cup Quarter Finals. I know who I was rooting for, so this makes me sad. Now on to Brazil vs. France tomorrow. (World Cup Blog -- a really good site!)

Normally the musical icons we write about on Raices have passed on, so I was happy (yet surprised) to find that a favorite of mine who I thought had left this world is in fact still with us. Yma Sumac, a Peruvian singer with one of the world's most striking voices has been, in recent years (much like Bossa Nova artists) relegated to providing background noise to trendy martini bars and bachelor pads.

It's not uncommon to walk into a tiki-themed bar in San Francisco or New York and hear one of her recordings. But this type of "exotification" was actually the biggest selling point for her throughout her career. Billed as the "Inca Princess", she was Hollywood's (and men's) ideal of what an Incan woman should be. Unfortunately this has made many view her as more of a cult icon than the amazing (4-5 octave range) singer that she is. Some highlights from Yma's Wikipedia entry:

Yma Sumac (born in Ichocán, Cajamarca, Perú September 10, 1922), also earlier spelled Ymma Sumak (quechua translation of "pretty flower") or Imma Sumack is a noted vocalist of Peruvian origin. In the 1950s she was one of the most famous proponents of exotica music. She is remembered chiefly for her amazing voice, which at the time, covered a range of four octaves. She is (with some controversy) credited with singing the highest note recorded by the female voice (surpassing Erna Sack) in the track "Chuncho" in one of her LPs (Inca Taqui 1953).

Yma Sumac may have been born on September 10, 1922 in Ichocán, Cajamarca, Peru as Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo. Other dates mentioned in her various biographies range from 1921 to 1929. Some sources [1] claim that she was not born in Ichocá, but in a nearby village or possibly in Lima, and that her family owned a ranch in Ichocá where she spent most of her early life. It is also claimed that she is an Incan princess directly descended from Atahualpa. The story that she was actually born as Amy Camus (which is Yma Sumac read backwards) in Brooklyn or Canada seems to be a hoax.

Tango isn't necessarily the most popular music among Americans in my age group. I think I'm one of the few people I know who realizes that tango isn't just a dance involving a lot of fishnet stockings and sultry gazes. Tango is poetry, and in my opinion is the musical genre that comes closest to being more literature than entertainment. Its lyrics speak of the culture of which it was born -- that of the arrabales of Buenos Aires -- mysterious to the rest of us and beloved by its sons and daughters for their beautiful grimness and for embodying the porteño spirit in a code that only a native son can truly understand.

Tango has had many, many incredible poets -- alas, too many to name. But one that has to come to mind when talking about the spirit of the arrabal; of the poverty that shapes art, the despair that begets the sublime, is Eladia Blásquez.

I am not a musician, but as a different kind of artist, music is very important to me. The idea for Raíces comes from that; and the fact that I found that many of the Latino musicians that have most impacted my life are largely unknown by the US Latino population.

One of my most cherished artists is the late Elis Regina. An icon in Brazil, she is mostly known here in the United States because of her bossa nova recordings and collaborations with Antonio Carlos Jobim. This is unfortunate, because her range went way beyond bossa nova; indeed, some of her more inspiring music is much darker, with her voice giving life to the work of some of Brazil's most talented poets, dealing with the topics of social complacency, politics, hopelessness and of course, love.

With recent word that her husband, Don Pedro Knight, is in grave health, today we look at la reina de la salsa, Celia Cruz.

Celia was born Ursula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925 in the Santo Suarez barrio of Havana, Cuba to parents Catalina Alfonso and Simon Cruz.

Name: Angélica María Tirado
Age: 29

Location: El Paso, Texas

Profession: Education (Teacher and Softball Coach)

Roots: Mexican-American

Languages: English and Spanish

What does it mean to you to be Latina?

Being Latina means to me that I encompass pride for my family, and myself, love of culture, and a desire to see my people achieve. One of the main reasons that I love teaching in El Paso, where 99% of my students are Mexican and Mexican-American, is that I can instill in them the love for their heritage and the desire to fulfill their dreams.

Name: Iván Vargas-Gatica

Age: 32

Coupled?: Yes

Location: San Francisco, CA

Profession: Graphic Designer

Roots: Chilean

To submit an event, please use our contact form.

Los Angeles

Dia de los Muertos/ Day of the Dead
When: Tuesday, November 1, 5 - 9p
Where: Plaza de La Raza, 3540 N Mission Rd, LA, CA 90031
Cost: $20 online $30 at the door
Call 323.223.2475 for more info

Age:
25

Location:
Rego Park, New York

Profession:
Pre-School Teacher

She may be the President and CEO of a multimedia entertainment company, Latino Flavored Productions Inc., a writer with numerous award winning and critically acclaimed theatre productions, and a mami, but Linda Nieves-Powell doesn’t feel like she’s doing any more than the average Latina. She just wishes there were more hours in the day to do all she has floating in her head and flowing from her pen.

Name:
Monica Chavez

Age:
28

Location:
San Francisco, CA

Profession:
Student Services

Roots:
Mexican-American born in San Francisco. Mom and Dad
from Mexico (Jalisco and Guanajuato, respectively)

Languages:
English and Spanish.

What does it mean to you to be Latino?
Being Latino means being proud and knowledgable of the
fact that you are part of something greater than you.
It means being connected to millions of people inside
and outside the US. It's a duality, the American me
and the Latino me.

Will there ever be a Latino president? Is that important? Why?
Eventually, but not in my lifetime. I think we'll have to wait for a
women to become president first and I don't mean on TV. It took
until the 1920's for women to be able to even vote so we've got a
ways to go. I thinks it's important to get someone who can do the
job well. If that person were Latino then it would be that much
better.