Category: Latin celebrities

OMG! Even Jorge Ramos Thinks His Skin Color Could Get Him into Trouble in Arizona

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If you are still unconvinced about how bad things are in Arizona, consider this. Even our very own Jorge Ramos, Univision’s cute-as-a-button, blond and blue-eyed news anchor, fears he could be stopped in Arizona because of the color of his skin.

In his Aug. 2 syndicated column, Ramos expressed a little relief about Judge Susan Bolton issuing an injunction to suspend some of the most controversial parts of the SB1070 Law:

“[…] Otherwise, I would not have felt quite as comfortable walking in downtown Phoenix the other day without my passport or driver’s license. Some police officers’ suspicions might have been aroused by my brown skin and slight accent…”

Not sure about the accent thing -yet- but if you think you look a bit browner than this guy, be afraid, be very afraid!

Leno, Vergara Loooove Dulce de Leche…. Gordon Ramsay Thinks it Tastes Like S**t

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In case you missed it, Colombian (nor Columbian) bombshell Sofía Vergara went to Jay Leno this week, apparently to talk about Modern Family, but ultimately to pitch Alpina’s Dulce de Leche, which by the way Chef Gordon Ramsay thought tasted like “shit.”

In a public statement, Carlos Ramírez, a spokesman for the U.S. subsidiary of Alpina said: “We were pleased that Sofia Vergara chose Alpina’s Dulce de Leche and we are very happy that Jay Leno liked it.”

Perhaps, what Mr. Ramírez really, really wanted to say was: “We couldn’t care less that Chef Ramsay didn’t like it. What do British people know about food, anyway?”

Paulina Rubio & Mom Get Milk Moustache. Someone [And This Blogger] Ruins the Surprise

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La Chica Dorada (aka Paulina Rubio) and her fabulous mom, Susana Dosamantes, are scheduled to appear on the next Got Milk campaign, out August 3rd.

However, a Paulina Rubio fan site spoiled the surprise for everybody and -of course- this blogger wanted to second the spoil. Here they are. Enjoy them. Or not. Whatever.

Wait… isn’t she supposed to be preggers?

Veggie Latina Pitches Alternative to National Hot Dog Month, Wears Chili Pepper Bikini

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You might be busy celebrating National Hot Dog Month (July) but Latina stunner Vida Guerra opted for making a veggie statement.

The model this week was spotted handing veggie hot-dogs in Washington, D.C. wearing -what else?- a chili-pepper string bikini.

This blogger, of course, has decided to support the cause, but my followers will have to wait a bit… [I am working on my guajillo bikini, which should take a while to put together. If that doesn’t work, I will dig up my pasilla one-piece and be done with the whole thing.]

The ‘Waka Waka Gate’ Heats Up. Vargas Says Shakira Plagiarized a Song He Took from Someone Else

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[ UPDATED: Wilfrido Vargas this week came forward to deny reports of a potential lawsuit against Shakira.]

The Waka Waka Gate -which I am proud to have partly initiated– is about to become more interesting.

Turns out Dominican composer Wilfrido Vargas is, like, pissed. Now, he claims Shakira plagiarized his song, El negro no puede.

Truth be told, neither Wilfrido nor Shakira can claim ownership of the now infamous Waka Waka. As you have been reading in this blog -and everywhere else for that matter- the song precedes both Vargas and Shakira. It is, in fact a popular African song based on an African military melody, Zangalewa, popular throughout the continent.

So, if anyone is about to get rich (or richer) with the Waka Waka, let’s dig a bit deeper and see who owes what to whom. And if anything comes out of this whole mess, this blogger wants her share. LOL.

Ricky Martin Opens Univision Upfront Doing What He Does Best… Tweeting

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OK, I’m supposed to write a longer, more serious post about yesterday’s party marathon, but I am going to take my time, as my head is not in a good shape -yet.

In the meantime, I thought you wanted to know Ricky Martin opened Univision’s upfront in Lincoln Center by -what else?- tweeting “Viva el Español,” which was Univision’s theme for this year presentation.

‘People en Español’ to Unveil 50 Most Beautiful Latinos [Hint: I’m Not One of Them]

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One more year has gone by and this blogger’s dreams have been shattered… again. Not content with not picking me among its 15 Most Influential Latinos, People en Español this year forgot to send me my application for this year’s Los 50 Más Bellos special edition.

The list is expected to be unveiled Monday night (April 26) during El Show de Cristina, giving Univision viewers “an exclusive peek at this year’s coveted issue, revealing the list of celebrities, as well as the cover, before the magazine hits the stands on April 30th.”

So there you have it. I’m now almost certain I didn’t make to the the list, but that’s OK, as long as they keep me on board as the un-official chronicler of the Bellos party.

Otherwise, I’m just going to have to keep hoping. As my abuela used to say: “La esperanza muere al último”.

Good Lord! Procter & Gamble Preps ‘Pedro & María,’ a Hispanic Version of ‘Romeo & Juliet’

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And just when you thought Hispanic television couldn’t get any more entertaining [read it with irony, please] former NBC exec Ben Silverman is ready to give us a new telenovela (both in English and Spanish) to be called Pedro & María, and billed as “modern-day version of Romeo & Juliet.”

The show will be brought to you by Procter & Gamble (which the press continues to call “Proctor & Gamble“) and “will give its audience the ability to vote on the direction the characters and story lines take.”

So, without further ado, here’s my vote: Have Pedro and María take a swig of poison during the first episode and spare us the whole thing. Will you?

As for “Hispanic” adaptations of Romeo & Juliet, this blogger will stick to her favorite one, the one and only, brought to you by Mario Moreno Reyes himself.

Don Francisco Wants You to Eat “Italian” Food

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Ah…. marketing minds never stop working!

In the latest effort to tap into Hispanics’ fat wallets -and even fatter selves– restaurant chain Olive Garden is sending Univision’s Don Francisco to Tuscany, because it’s there -and not on the Food Network- where the company trains its chefs. According to Advertising Age:

The legendary TV host will visit Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute in Tuscany in a segment airing this Saturday night on Sábado Gigante. He accompanies Margarita Ibarra, the young chef who won Olive Garden’s “Cocinando un Sueño” (“Cooking a Dream”) contest.

But wait! Olive Garden’s Hispanic effort doesn’t stop there. The company is proud to tell us that all its 600 restaurants have menus in Spanish, which is, like, great, because Hispanics might not know Lasagna is Lasaña and Pasta Primavera is, well, Pasta Primavera.

That’s it. I’m getting hungry, so I’m off to my nearest Olive Garden to get a taste of Don Francisco-endorsed food and pretend I never heard about Dr. Manny.

José José Becomes Latest Hispanic Famous Person to Launch Fragrance

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Mexican legendary singer José-José has joined the throngs of Latino celebrities pitching a fragrance of their own. But unlike other Latino-themed aromas, the proceeds from José-José’s eau de parfum (should there be any) are expected to help the fight against HIV.

Other Latin luminaries flaunting their own aroma and whose sales might -or might not- go to a charitable cause- include Paulina Rubio, who launched Oro in 2009; Rafa Márquez, with RM, la Esencia del Triunfo; Antonio Banderas, with “masculine’ scents Spirit, Diavolo and Mediterraneo (Ay, ay, ay!) Niurka Marcos’ con feromonas thing, Alejandro Sanz, David Bisbal and, of course, Jennifer Lopez’ Glow.

Green with envy, this blogger has started working on her own smelly concoction: “My Smell is Your Smell,” available soon in your nearest bodega.

Shakira, World Bank Launch $300M Initiative. Socks for Former Chief Not in the Agenda

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Attention Shakira lovers -and World Bank haters: The Colombian singer is expected to announce today (Monday, Feb. 22) a $300 million joint initiative with the World Bank aimed “at expanding development programs for young children in Latin America.”

According to the World Bank:

“The Early Childhood Initiative: An Investment for Life seeks to mobilize policy makers, public opinion and resources towards the adoption of Early Childhood programs in the region, which have proven to be critical in helping kids achieve their full potential in life.”

Shakira will join World Bank’s president, Robert B. Zoellick, at an event in Washington D.C on Monday, February 22 at 1pm EST.
No word yet if any of these resources will be pumped into Shakira’s own Pies Descalzos Foundation, but perhaps Zoellick will want to set some money aside to help colleague and former World Bank prez Paul “He Wolf” get a new pair of socks.

Perhaps?

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Fiscally conservative Paul Wolfowitz entering the Selimiye Mosque in Turkey (2007)

Hispanic Members of the CSPCNMAL Inch Closer to Potential Museum Possibility

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latino-museum__1255470839_3443.jpgAre you clueless about Latino culture?

Worry no more. The Nobel-prize-winning Obama administration this week got a step closer to the creation of a National Latino Museum in Washington.

A dedicated commission, aptly named “The Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino,” (from now on referred to as the CSPCNMAL) has retained two companies -Balsera Communications and República — to outline a work schedule aimed at completing the report and submitting it to Congress before the end of the year.

Spearheaded by Spanish tortilla empresaria Eva Longoria (aka La prieta fea) and Emilio “Lord of Miami” Estefan, the commission is working in determining how this national museum would best serve in portraying the history and culture of Latinos in the U.S.

It is yet to be seen how the CSPCNMAL will manage to raise the estimated $300 million needed for the thing. But I’m confident this will happen: aren’t Latinos the trillion-dollar opportunity?

[The group should feel free to contact this blogger, who is willing -an able- to lend a hand. Nothing would make me happier than becoming a member of CSPCNMAL.)

Do You Think This is Too White? Try Watching Some Spanish-Language Television

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Once again, Vanity Fair magazine is under fire for portraying what critics describe as a very narrow -and white- face of America. At stake is the magazine’s Hollywood 2010 issue, which hits newsstands Feb. 9 and features a group of carefully coiffed, pretty young girls… all of them white.

But before you burn your VF past issues, cancel your subscription or join the growing ranks of Vanity Fair detractors, let me fill you in on a little secret: Not even the supposedly more diverse Hispanic media wants to portray anything other than Swedish-looking Latin Americans.

Have you ever watched a Univision or a Telemundo telenovela? Do you know what the networks’ main news anchors look like? When was the last time you saw a black-skinned Latino on television? (no, not the ones being caught in Cops).

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Univision’s ‘El Show de Cristina’ (left) and Grupo Televisa’s ‘Querida Enemiga’

Meanwhile on the Web…

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And speaking about the media and covering what really matters, more than 180,000 people have logged onto celebrity-news Web site http://www.tmz.com to cast their vote on one important issue: whether Salma Hayek’s boobs are real or not.

The verdict is not great for my paisana, with only 53 percent saying ‘yes, they are the real thing’. To see for yourself and make an informed decision, you can even access before and after pictures on the subject.

As for me, I decided not to cast my vote … yet. I’ll wait for after the birth of her first child to avoid any confusion. In the meantime, I’ll keep scouring over the media looking for stuff to be on top of the news.