December 2012
3 posts
6 tags
Media lesson about the coverage of Jenni Rivera...
When Whoopi Goldberg on The View mentioned Ms. Rivera’s passing with affection I was stunned.
Then Good Morning America, Jezebel, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and other English language media outlets started to create tributes. I was gobsmacked.
We, Latinos have arrived. When one of our number one selling artists of a regional music suddenly gets the type of coverage she...
5 tags
La Diva de la banda
I am not a banda fan, or norteño music. I was a fan of Jenni Rivera. Not just cause her willingness to just keep on striving, but her bi-cultural intelligence.
As the daughter of Mexican parents born and raised in Southern California she chose to have a career centered on serving Mexico and Central- America.
Rather than assimilate or integrate, she differentiated. She did not consider singing in...
October 2012
1 post
September 2012
12 posts
Day 6- The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
Day 6 - Immigration: For or Against?
Open borders can create under the right conditions open minds. Here is one of my many immigration experiences that have helped me come to this conclusion. It has to be a two way street otherwise it becomes a tool to oppress cheap labor.
Japan:
I studied Japanese in High School and College. It was a part of me being a geek, a culture vulture, a search for...
6 tags
Day 9 - My Feelings on Arizona- The first place...
I have family in Arizona. I should say my Aunt was part of the first non-Native Latino wave in the 70’s. She saw how it went from a rural state with its’ sleepy but vibrant cultural community to a state now overrun with part-timers. People not from there, living there only part-time who had nothing but complaints about Arizonan’s.
She could handle the good-old-boy...
5 tags
Day 8 - What Latino Stereotype do I hate the most
Miss Menudo
Miss Cerveza
Miss Universo
Miss Culito
To many misses and not enough ambitions for women. If you are too busy worrying about being 90-60-90 you have no time to realize that you are being underpaid and overworked. If the length of your skirt is more important to you than the length of your resume then you will always come up short.
7 tags
Day 5- The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
Due to a tech snafu I was unable to post this on time. My apologies to all.
For me the question is not Romney v.s. Obama. It is whom do I think will listen to when I call.
Yes I do call. I have become that lady that calls, tweets, & emails my representatives. An important vote is coming up, and I am not sure how my local or state Representative is going to vote, I call. I call to find out and...
6 tags
Day 4-The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
Day 4 - What Latino Blog I recommend
I love Spanglish Baby!: http://spanglishbaby.com/
I have loved this site for several years. I have come back to it time and time again to look for answers to my questions. As my family has grown so has the site. It has been reformatted and restyled but its’ content has always been of high quality.
It is a treasure trove of materials. It has helped...
6 tags
Day 3 -The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
Favorite Latin Cuisine
Choosing a favorite Latin cuisine would be like choosing my favorite color. I love the rainbow and all of its’ colors. My fave depends on my mood, accessibility and what I can afford. Here are some of my top faves.
Empanadas- I used to crave these small pastries in all the time. Partly based nostalgia and not being able to find them anywhere. Suddenly they are a...
4 tags
Day 2-The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
What Latin American Country/Island have I been to:
Due to a small cold I fell of the wagon. Sorry.
Here is a list of the places I have had the priviledge to visit in Latin America:
Colombia- The nation of my ancestry and were I spent part of my childhood.
U.S.- I can consider the South West of the U.S. to be a part of Latin America. To not add it would be a mistake on my part.
Mexico- The...
4 tags
Day 1- The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge 2012
Day 1 – What I love most about being Latino in America.
This is a great but difficult question to begin the 30 day Latino Blog Challenge 2012. I go back to my post What Do I Call myself in English http://latinainca.tumblr.com/post/30911787812/what-do-i-call-myself-in-english
If I were to define American as the Americas then this is what I love most:
I am the cultural bridge between North &...
The LatiNegr@s Project: The 30 Day Latino Blog... →
lati-negros:
We are happy to bring back The 30 Day Latino Blog Challenge. 30 days, 30 blogs, 1 message to celebrate Latino Heritage Month. We challenge oursleves and any Latino blogger to write everyday for the next 30 days. The rules are simple. The blog must be at least 2 paragraphs on the selected topic,…
3 tags
6 tags
What do I call myself in English?
A colleague recently posted, that she has realized that the word “American” is a loaded term…for the rest of the Americas. What do we call ourselves she asked?
This is a concept I have struggled with since I was 5 years old. True story:
I arrive back to Barranquilla, Colombia after one year apart from my mother in New York City. I am no longer a baby, now having grown in...
August 2012
5 posts
7 tags
Wrong kind of Brown
In my proposal with Small Brown Girl (http://smallbrowngirl.blogspot.com/) to go to SXSW we ask several questions.
One of them is: Are we the wrong kind of brown when it comes to entrepreneurship?
We asked this question based upon our gut reaction. Never mind all the articles heralding our economic clout. Or the fact that most of our family members have or have had their own businesses. We see...
8 tags
New Latino Papi
This weekend I went to a toddler’s birthday party. It had the usual kiddie festivity activities: bubbles, face painting, bouncy balls and a piñata. It also had more fathers than mothers accompanying their children to the party. Specifically more Latino father’s. All in their 30’s and 40’s running after, cleaning-up, taking care of their children. They took turns taking care...
8 tags
Sin Tetas
For those new readers: my family comes from Barranquilla, Colombia. Yes that country, Colombia. Known for mainly providing the U.S.with its’ favorite stimulant, otherwise known as cocaine. For my Latino readers you know that Colombia is also known for our “edgy” telenovelas.
Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso was a well acted, tale of love, loss and the consequences of providing Lindsay...
8 tags
Miss Culito
Just in case you have no idea who or what Miss Culito is she is called in polite company Miss Colita: http://tv.univision.com/sabado-gigante/fotos/miss-colita-fotos/
She is now become the ubiquitous bikini babe in all Spanish language television. She is like Barbie all of them have same shape but because she comes several colors, and with various professions she has “broad” appeal....
7 tags
SXSW here we come!
I recently proposed with one of the smartest ladies I know, Heidi Hernandez-Gatty, to SXSW to have a duo conversation titled: From Dot Com-y to Altmamí
Since we got to the next step of having the public vote for the proposals, the questions have been coming in form friends and colleagues. The main one? Why? Why this, why now, why you?
Here is why:
For too long I have not put myself out...
July 2012
1 post
Light-Skinned Latino Walks into a Store that Sells... →
mujerinterrumpida:
“This is disgusting,” I say, tearing the poster off of the register and holding it up for the man and woman behind the counter. “This is the reason people hate themselves, people kill themselves, people kill each other. You’re contributing to people dying…how does that feel?” - Carlos Andres Gomez
March 2012
0 posts
February 2012
9 posts
7 tags
“My Father was born in Mexico.” Mitt Romney
Notice how he does not say, “My Father was Mexican.” His word choice indicates one of two things:
Mitt does not want to associate his heritage as Mexican but rather American
He believes you can be born in one country but culturally belong to an another
If the first statement is true then he might feel there is a disadvantage in having his cultural mixed background. He wants to...
4 tags
Skipped a week
I am light, so light, that when I was born my mother was confused. She is a cafe-au-lait shade and has a soft Afro crown. She thought the nurses might have made a mistake and handed her the wrong baby. My family skin hue’s run like a Benetton ad, diverse. Even then my mother was not expecting a pale, almond eyed daughter.
My lack of pigment has led to more sunburns and identity confusion...
5 tags
Sometimes a cold illuminates your thinking
A good friend once pointed out that the issues that the Andean region countries is not just a cultural, or racial but regional. The mountains versus the coasts. Depending on the country it gives the upper hand to the region that has the political power.
Peru: La Paz is on the coast negating the numerous indigenous populations but giving the Afro-Peruvian a place at the table.
Ecuador: Quito up...
4 tags
There are people of African descent in Argentina?
Yes. The land of blond, European complexions Argentina too has people of African descent. This is hard for most Latinos to believe since this image of the Europe of South America is its’ very polished public image.
What most non-Argentinians don’t know is the complicated and ugly history it has had with its African and Afro-Argentinian population. Yet its’ very popular and...
6 tags
Afro-Bolivia
Today I celebrate Afro-Bolivian culture and play a Saya in honor of Black History Month.
Bolivia is an amazing country. It has in its’ compact nation with varying climate and a bit of different types cultures all stacked up on each other. Bolivia most well know for its’ sizeable indigenous population yet it has an important and often ignored population of people African decent.
For more info:...
4 tags
Black History month, what does that mean for...
To answer my title question it should have major significance for us Latinos. Two facts to consider:
More African slaves were brought to Latin-America than the United States.
Brazil is second country with the biggest population of people of African decent.
If you don’t believe me then maybe you can believe Professor Henry Louis Gates:
...
January 2012
2 posts
8 tags
¡Q’Viva! The Chosen
I am not a Univision fan, rather I have a love/hate relationship with its’ programming, company practices and relationship with the Latino community. I will touch on those things on another post.
I was curious to see their latest reality show “¡Q’Viva! The Chosen” to see what all the hype was about. The title alone is our first clue, it starts in Spanish and finishes in English....
