Author: Mi Blog es tu Blog

Playing with dolls

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What is it with grown-ups and dolls?

It turns out now that the “teenagers” featured in Rebelde and RBD, the telenovela and music ensamble brought to you by Televisa, will now be immortalized by Mattel in the form of three new Barbie dolls: Mia, Roberta and Lupita, each dressed in their signature school uniform consisting of a blazer, a tie and a not-very-long denim skirt. Read the story, in Spanish, here.

Not that I care too much for dolls, but the news of Barbie going Rebelde came almost at the same time as a retired U.S. Force Hispanic woman announced the creation of Gabriella, an 18-inch “truly Hispanic” doll, who wears nothing fancy (jeans, a turtleneck sweater) and has long, straight black hair and, of course, big brown eyes.

In an interview with a local newspaper in Belleville, Illinois, Mary Alvarez-Pearson says she came up with the idea of Gabriella because she wanted to make sure that when a Hispanic girl looked at her, she could see herself. Well, while that’s a very noble thought, I am sorry to inform her that thanks to television and advertising, Hispanic girls don’t want to look anything remotely like them (or their mothers, grandmothers, etc.) In fact, they’d rather look like Barbie, regardless of its encarnation.

And that is why most likely sales of Barbie Rebelde will go to the roof (just like anything else associated with that uninteresting telenovela) and Gabriella might just as well become a nice, collectible item for the nostalgic type.

Breasts vs. brains

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In his self-published book, Secretos de Impacto, former Univision reporter Pablo Padula speaks of rivalries among celebrities, “biased” news coverage and even some juicy sex gossip involving top executives during the 14-plus years he worked at the Spanish-language network. Read the full story here.

Granted. I am not going to take a blank check from someone who worked at Primer Impacto to begin with. But some of Padula’s reflexions are just too amusing to ignore.

Take the cleavage factor. 

Does Univision really want us to believe that Jackie Guerrido got a job thanks to her weather expertise? Or that Barbara Bermudo and Myrka Dellanos would be the network’s favorite damiselas if they were over 50, overweight or flat-chested? Does Roxana Franco spring to mind as your ultimate sports expert? Mmmm. I’m not so sure. As they say in my family: “Piensa mal y acertaras.” (Think wickedly and you will be right). Click here to get a taste of what gringos have to say about “Ms. Univision”. (Ladies beware: not politically-correct stuff here).

But I disgress. Padula says he’s surprised Univision has not yet come forward with a lawsuit. And he actually sounds quite disappointed about it. However, from his tranquil refuge in Barranquilla, he says he’s working on a second book on the Univision saga. Stay tuned.

Full disclosure: Though I’ve never been employed by Univision, I did write a small piece today on “En el hoyo,” Juan Carlos Rulfo’s wonderful documentary on the workers of the Second Deck of el Periferico.

Shut up Vicentito!

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If you thought Vicente Fox was out of the picture for good, sparing Mexicans –and the rest of the world– from his infamous “foxisms,” think again: During a press conference Monday night in Los Angeles, Mexico’s former president invited Latin Americans to escape from the perfect dictatorships, quoting “Colombia’s Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas-Llosa.”

Of course most people know that 1) Mario Vargas-Llosa has never won a Nobel Prize, 2) He was born in Peru and later adopted the Spanish citizenship and 3) his famous phrase about the “perfect dictatorship” was a reference to Mexico, not Latin America. But what’s most surprising is Fox’s ability to say the wrong things, at the wrong time, and in front of the wrong crowds.

One can only admire his efforts for quoting literary figures. How can we forget that time when he quoted famed writer “José Luis Borgués?”

Other jewels from our former president:

Change will not come from above, it will come from below, from the small and medium size businesspeople.

Comes y te vas.

Said to Fidel Castro when inviting him to the Summit of Monterrey

Gracias mi rey.

Fox reply when King Juan Carlos of Spain called to congratulate him after winning the 2000 elections

Se sienten ñáñaras.

when asked by an 11-year old girl how he felt about being President.

Y yo por qué?

When asked his opinion about a legal conflict between Televisa and TV Azteca

And one of my personal favorites:

Pemex is like the Virgin of Guadalupe, they are symbols for Mexicans that must be handled with care

Globalization has never tasted better

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Move over Taco Bell. Mexican food (and I mean real Mexican food) is coming to China. And thank God is going to taste like the real thing.

This weekend, one of my favorite taquerias, El Fogoncito, announced it opened its first restaurant in China, which will be followed by the gradual openning of 25 more, making it the first real taqueria in the country. Quoted by The Associated Press on Friday, Sergio Rosas, operating manager for El Fogoncito, said the company was investing US$1 million to have five restaurants in Beijing by next year, in time for the 2008 Olympics.

By the way, besides working on its expansion, El Fogoncito might want to hire a gringo to proofread its English-language site, which greets visitors with a warm “Wellcome”.

Language matters aside, it’s great to know that finally, the Chinese will know what a good taco is all about. Buen Provecho

Mi Casa es tu Casa

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My grandmother used to say that la ociosidad es la madre de todos los vicios (Idleness is the mother of all vices.) While no one can ever dispute that, I would like to add a modern twist to her very wise insight: “Unemployment is the mother of all blogs.” (Of course, there’s also my friend Diego who says: “Idleness is the vice of all mothers,” but that’s a whole other story.)

Now that you’ve read this far, I might as well let you know who I am: I am a bilingual, not-yet-acculturated Mexican journalist and editor specialized in media, marketing and advertising. I’ve lived in a bunch of places, including Singapore, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Paris, Santiago de Chile and New York City.

In my most recent position, I was the founding editor of Marketing y Medios, an English-language trade publication devoted to explaining the Hispanic market to a non-Spanish speaking audience of executives and marketers. I left that company in December of 2006, following its sale to a new owner.

Prior to my wonderful two and a half years there, I was responsible for creating and launching the Spanish-language edition of The Wall Street Journal, as well as coordinating and editing their Spanish-language Web edition at americas.wjs.com. Before joining the Wall Street Journal, I had worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines in Mexico, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles.

And last but not least, I’d like to add that before graduating with a BA in Journalism at the Escuela de Periodismo Carlos Septien Garcia, in Mexico City, I completed my high-school education at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore.

Throughout my career, I have developed extensive experience and industry contacts in journalism, marketing, and advertising. I am fluent in English, Spanish and French and have promised myself to take up Mandarin some time soon. You never know.

So bienvenido a mi blog. Welcome to my blog. Mi casa es tu casa or, as my friend Carlitos suggests I’d say, Mi Blog es tu Blog.