This blogger will be taking some time off to embark on a food and drink rampage spiritual retreat to plan for the year ahead and thank my paisanos for all the hard work and for enduring stuff like this, this and this on a daily basis.
Also, I wanted you to know I’m officially kicking off the Guajolote-Reyes marathon, which runs from Thursday Nov. 24 and all the güey through January , 2023.
Why pay full price for chicharrones when you can pay half price?
Today is Black Friday, the day Americans would go out of their way to buy stuff they don’t need, lured by the promise of paying less for said stuff. I’ve always hated this so-called holiday, which pops up on my Apple Calendar (for some reason) mostly because the only thing I like to buy in life (food & alcohol) is pretty much never on sale.
This is why I’ve always been so fond of the dude in this pic (above.) I bet he works his butt off year round (Black Friday included) making sure his product moves by luring customers to the wonderful world of chicharrones on discount.
Of course for Americans of the generation that fought the Mexican-American War, the San Patricios were considered traitors, while for Mexicans of that generation (and pretty much to this day) the San Patricios were heroes.
‘A chilanga without a voting document is like a al pastor taco without pineapple’
Mexican electoral authorities are calling on chilangos (as Mexico City residents are known) living abroad to take part in the 2010 election and vote for a “Diputación migrante.” What this basically means is that migrants hailing from the city capital will be able to cast a vote for representation at the Mexico City Congress.
And what better way to convince chilangos to take part than using some of the things that make our heart beat the hardest? Tacos al pastor; tortas de tamal and trajineras.
As Mexico’s Electoral Institute (INE) inform us on a dedicated Website, being a chilango without a voting document is equivalent to really dull things: Like a taco al pastor without pineapple; a guajolota (torta of tamal) without bolillo or a trajinera without a name.
This blogger better go sign up for this thing ASAP.
‘A chilango without a voting document is like a guajolota without bolillo.’
The bigger, more simple version of a sign advocating for social justice is even better.
Looks like advocating for equality and social justice doesn’t go down well among some people. Take some Iowans, who found a sign posted outside a Mexican restaurant a little too… politically correct.
The story goes like this. Alfonso Medina, owner of La Carreta Mexican Grill in Marshalltown, Iowa, had placed the below sign outside his restaurant as a way to take a stand in favor of science, social justice, equality… crazy, right?
The original sign posted outside La Carreta Mexican Grill in Des Moines, Iowa.
According to CNN, the offending sign brought lots of hate mail to Mr. Medina, including one letter that actually blew up on social media. Said letter came from a customer, who addressed Mr. Medina by name, said he had recently spent a lot of money in his restaurant but that –upon seeing the sign– he’d never eat there again. This person actually ended the misive by calling Medina “a leftist Marxist.”
Mr. Medina took to Instagram to respond by saying: “We’re sorry your burrito had to get political, but it was the only way y’all would listen.” The IG post ended with a bang: “No Love, No Tacos.” Then, just like any genuine “leftist Marxist,” would do, Mr. Medina copyrighted the No Love, No Tacos slogan; adopted it for his restaurant and even paid for a large billboard to display it.
Filing under Mexicans: How can anyhone not like us?
Chances are this blogger will be terribly busy sleeping working on Saturday, July 4, but wanted to let y’all know, I’m all up for diversity. So, without further ado, please enjoy this rendition of The Star Spangled Banner by one of many of the awesome mariachi bands found in Chicago.
Say what you will about my people (i.e. The Mexicans) but they truly know how to let off some steam without being, like, super violent.
Take this children’s party in Chicago, where tiny, adorable children (like this cutie in a Peppa the Pig shirt) are seing hitting an ICE piñata and throwing balls into a painted image of President Trump.
A video circulating around social media is stirring some controversy among “certain sectors” (presumably non-Mexican sectors.)
As for this blogger, I have only one thing to say: ¡Dale, dale, dale, no pierdas el tino, porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino!
I was not going to be the only one not finding the Virgen of Guadalupe somewhere. This beauty showed up in -where else?- my dry Martini at a swanky New York City Terrace.
I was so attached to it, that I took it for a stroll. It was great. [And the beverage was delish]
Say what you will about Texas (and I say a lot of not-so-nice things) but Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke not only has a reported 62 percent of the Latino vote in the Texas senate race (vs. Rafael “Ted” Cruz) but he’s like a fan of this blogger’s FAVORITE Mexican band ever. Yes, Los Tigres del Norte have endorsed Beto and Beto and Los Tigres are, like, BFFs now.
For the uninitiated, you can read this New Yorker profile of Los Tigres del Norte or simply click below. This is not the best video out there, but if you’re fortunate enough to understand Spanish, these lyrics are, like, WOW*…
Here’s my humble attempt to translate this song…
They already yelled at me a thousand times That I must return to my land Because there’s no room for me here Well, I want to remind the gringo
I did not cross the border The border crossed me America was born free It was men who divided it
They painted the line For me to jump and now they call me an invader It is a well-marked error They stole eight states from us, who is here the invader?
I am a foreigner in my land And I do not come to give them war I am a hard worker
And if history doesn’t lie Here he sat in the glory, the mighty nation Among brave warriors Indians from two continents, mixed with Spanish
And if we go to the centuries We are more American We are more American That the son of Anglo-Saxon
And if the story does not lie Here he sat in the glory, the mighty nation I entered brave warriors Indians from two continents, mixed with Spanish
And if it comes to centuries We are more American We are more American That the sons of Anglo-Saxons
The Center for Immigration Studies, a so-called think tank I’ve never heard of, has published a very long report that basically concludes immigrants are illiterate and that Hispanics, in particular, “lag far behind other migrant populations in the U.S. when it comes to developing proficiency in English.”
The study, of course, was widely cited in several conservative publications, notably the Drudge Report (duh) and even gathered enough steam to call for an end of political correctness and launch a national Speak English Initiative.
“The importance of English literacy cannot be overstated,” wrote Jason Richwine, the author of the study and yet another person unknown to this blogger. “Without language proficiency, immigrant families will find it difficult to succeed in the mainstream of American society, and high rates of English illiteracy may be a sign of poor immigrant assimilation.”
In other words, as Mrs. Palin has warned us repeatedly: If you, people, want to be here… let’s speak American!
The big news this week coming from the always brilliant Republicans is The Chapo Act, a proposal by — who else? — Cuban American dimwit Ted Cruz to have Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to pay for a border wall.
But why? Well, because you don’t know this but El Chapo has many, many monies; more specifically, $14 billion in what look like beautifully crafted bills featuring his bald mugshot.
Here’s the original tweet sent out earlier this week by Cruz himself, just so you can see how hard it would be to make this sh*t up!
Speaking of pussy assholes, a duo of advertising ladies are launching the Trump Hole Covers, some sort of weird device to cover your pet’s a-hole with a talking Donald Trump — because the world has definitely gone mad.
Behind this contraption (no pun intended) are Martha Ibarrondo and Evelyn Monroe Neill, two advertising ladies who have had it with with Donald Trump — pretty much like everyone else.
Per their very “intriguing” PR pitch:
“We’re amazed, disgusted, amused and inspired by the 2016 presidential election. We ask you to join in and share, share, share. Help us make #trumpholecover and #trumpcatasstrophy a phenom because really, if anyone ever deserved this place in history, it’s Donald Trump.”
I do not have a pet, but even if I did I’m not sure I would want to cover it’s a-hole with anything (much less with a talking Donald Trump). But apparently there’s something good in all this: According to Ibarrondo and Monroe Neill, your Trump hole cover purchase will support non-profit organizations that serve women and immigrants.
Not convinced yet? How about just doing it for the sarape -and sombrero-clad- pussy?
360fly Inc. has decided to launch a “provocative” ad campaign to pitch a camera that promises to give you a broader perspective of life.
To that end the company crafted what it’s supposed to be a satire of Donald Trump and his anti-Mexican discourse, speaking about his HUGE — yuge! — wall only to be interrupted by a bunch of Mexicans (mariachis, gardeners, maids and churro vendors) sneaking through the wall –aided by Clinton and Sanders.
Per a company press release:
The campaign strategically leverages the national and global interest in the 2016 presidential campaign, with a hysterical satire of Donald Trump’s “Border Wall” campaign initiative, complete with a Trump impersonator, Hillary and Bernie look-a-likes, Mexican Mariachi bands, housemaids, gardeners and even churro cart vendors. That’s right…churro cart vendors.
Yeah, churro cart vendors.
The company claims the spot is “so controversial” it has been refused by a bunch of networks, mostly because stations said they wanted to “remain politically neutral” and “didn’t want to offend certain ethnic groups.”
As a member of one of the “ethnic groups” portrayed in this thing (watch below), I don’t find the commercial particularly offensive. However, I do find it a bit dull and that, my friends, offends me more deeply.
Move over, cocaine-filled tamales. The new wave for smuggling drugs from Mexico into the U.S. consists of stuffing up burritos with methamphetamine.
Customs and Border Protection officers this week said they arrested four Mexican nationals and two Arizona women, during separate weekend smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.
A narcotics-detecting canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs and a search determined the woman was carrying more than a pound of methamphetamine in two packages that had been wrapped in tortilla shells to make them look like burritos.
As a proud chilanga who does not eat (and will never eat) a burrito, I can only cheer Customs officials for the feat, and remind my faithful followers of one important fact: Nothing good has ever come out of a burrito.