Category: Latin America

Ecuador Really Wants Your Attention During the Super Bowl

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Ecuador

I don’t mean to be a party pooper but when your tiny little country is buried in debt, the last thing you want to do is pay $4 million for a 30-second commercial to air during a sports event that will likely be seeing by millions of people who will be too drunk — and too stuffed on guacamole– to care about going to Galapagos any time soon.

Still, according to media reports, the government of Ecuador has plunked down a whopping $ 3.8 million to air a a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday night. The commercial will be to the tune of All You Need Is Love, by the Beatles, as it’s part of a larger All You Need Is Ecuador campaign aimed at American tourists.

Here’s a sneak peak of the promo leading up to the commercial that you probably won’t pay attention to this Sunday.

Miss Universe was Hugely Popular on TV, and I Know Why

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A few seconds before Paulina Vega is crowned Miss Universe by the outgoing Gabriel Isler as seeing on stage (LEFT) and on TV.
A few seconds before Paulina Vega is crowned Miss Universe by the outgoing Miss Universe Gabriel Isler as seeing live on stage (Left, boring) and on TV (right, hot) with the proper backlight.

Miss Universe, that annual parade of young, pretty -and pretty shallow- women, which for some reason continues to be very popular, took place last night in Florida, making some ratings history for NBC and it’s Spanish-language network Telemundo, which aired the pageant in English and Spanish, respectively.

While NBC reported the 63rd Annual Miss Universe averaged 7.6 million viewers over three hours, Telemundo said 4.7 million people tuned in to watch the broadcast in Spanish.

Both figures are indeed impressive, but easy to understand when you consider how much sexier the whole thing is on television than watching it live from a local university in Florida –which by the way might be the closest any of these señoritas will ever get to a higher education institution.

H/t: @aqwack

Sometimes I Think Marketers are Just Screwing with My Head

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Wait. What?!
Wait. What?!

So, there I was, minding my own business; walking the streets of Manhattan; thinking about a God whose naughtiness might have escaped me when, suddenly, out of the blue, boom! I bump into a 3-meter-high advertisement for Pito Rico, a seemingly real product hailing from Puerto Rico, promising a night-long fiesta.

At first I thought someone was just screwing with my head, putting things out there for the pure enjoyment of this blog’s readers.

But no. Not only this “Pito Rico” exists; this thing has its own Website and is coming to a liquor store near us!

Photo: Laura Martínez, Harlem, NY 2015

McDonald’s ‘Boliviarian’ Menu Replaces Fries with Yuquitas

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Yuquitas Venezuela

You know things are tough in Venezuela when hundreds of local McDonald’s restaurants decide to drop French fries from their menu.

Per the local press, more than 100 McDonald’s establishments in Venezuela have pretty much taken off French fries from their combos, claiming a nationwide shortage of potatoes.

But Venezuelans shouldn’t despair. After all, fries are being replaced by a “Bolivarian menu,” which features yuquitas, a good-enough replacement based on  the ubiquitous, certainly more affordable yuca, — and hopefully less deadly than the chemically-altered McDonald’s papitas. 

As my grandmother used to say: No sólo de papas fritas vive el hombre. So, stop complaining, have some yuquitas.

¡Adiós, Colberto! Why this Blogger will Forever Miss You

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'Reporto Gigante'
‘Reporto Gigante’

Hispanic television has never been very good at poking fun at… well, Hispanic television, which is a shame since there’s just so much to poke fun at.

Fortunately, we had Stephen Colbert — and his hilarious Hispanic primo Esteban Colberto — to set the record straight when it came to Latino things, like that time he interviewed “the Latino Walter Cronkite” (i.e. Jorge Ramos) beginning all his questions with an upside down question mark and stating Latinos are too lazy to even deport ourselves.

There was also

Some more Latino jewels from Colbert here, here and here. Oh, and then there’s the Mexican Threat Special.

¡Adiós, Colberto!

colberthispanic

U.S.-Cuba: The Thaw in Today’s Newspapers [photo gallery]

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NY_NYP

Click on each paper (below) to see full gallery…

New York Post
Ultimas Noticias, Venezuela
Liberation, France
The New York Times, U.S.
El País, Uruguay
The Washington Post
El Diario, Nueva York
El Universal, Mexico
La Repubblica, Italia
El Clarín, Argentina
DeMorgen, Germany
Zero Hora, Brazil
Jersey Journal, USA
Daily News, New York

I will be adding more as time -and energy- allow.

Americans: Here’s your [Last] Chance to See the Real Cuba

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La Habana
La Habana

I am not going to bother you with details, but unless you’ve been living under a rock (or have no access to the Internet), I’m sure you know that hipster/communist/pothead/deranged/delusional President Barack Obama on Wednesday decided to be like BFF with the Castro brothers (and no, I’m not talking about those other Castro brothers.)

In any case, I’m sure you’re already planning your 2015 Cuba bacchanalia vacation thinking it’s going to be non-stop music, cigars, rum, chicas and fiesta. But let’s take a look at what this country looks like right now before you guys go ruin it all (HINT: It’s gorgeous!)

Oh, and by the way, I’m posting the following photos — taken by yours truly — with confidence I will not be deported and/or lose my Green Card in the process. (Should that be the case, please start raising some funds for my release.)

All photos by Laura Martínez (2012).

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My Office Welcomes Visitors with Mexican Christmas Flowers

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Yes. That's a pool table back there...
Nochebuenas at the CBS Interactive offices in NYC. (Yeah, that’s a pool table in the background)

I know you were dying to know that Poinsettias (aka Euphorbia pulcherrima) are none other than the archfamous Mexican — and Central American — Christmas flowers better known as Nochebuenas or flores de pascua, which are not to be confused with these other delicious Nochebuenas.

The best part about Poinsettias?

Their English name derives from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the United States in 1825.

Now you know.

Let’s drink to Joel Roberts Poinsett.

¡Salud!

The 'other' Nochebuena
The ‘other’ Nochebuena

Looks Like Mexican-Spanish Cuisine is a ‘Thing’ in the U.S.

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New York City
Frederick, Maryland

Call me crazy, but last time I checked, Spanish cuisine had absolutely nothing to do with the cuisine of my forefathers (i.e. the Mexicans).

I mean, we cannot even agree on what the hell a tortilla is all about, so WTH?

Anyhow, I guess I shouldn’t be that shocked, after all this time living on this side of the border, the country that has given us the Fritos Enchilada Melt and the $10 non-taco tacos, among many other horrors.

So let’s welcome yet one more nonsensical ethnic meal and, ¡coño! ¡que viva la comida Hispano-Mexicana!