I bet you didn’t know this, but today (Wednesday Jan. 16) is Hispanic Day in Pasco, WA (pop. 200,000). And what this means, say political leaders, is simple: today is the day in which a group of local politicians will lobby the state Capitol to consider laws with Latinos in mind.

“It’s not just suits lobbying politicians, the group is bringing a bus load of families from Pasco to talk face to face with representatives,” said a journalist of Pasco’s local CBS affiliate.

Oh dear! I don’t like the sound of “a bus load of families” and might advice them against this. What if the INS is waiting? or the Minuteman?

As you must know by now, Eliot Spitzer has given up on his plan to grant a driver’s license to anyone who can show a passport.

In an interview today with the New York Times, the governor says the plan -that was expected to apply to about 150,000 undocumented workers- faced so much controversy and opposition that it would have been impossible to move forward.

I think that sucks, because as my friend said recently, the idea was simply brilliant! “Imagine that! every time we get caught and deported, we would be able to drive ourselves back to Mexico!”

Photo: Reuters

Extra! Extra! After a long, harrowing process, the town of Chapala (in Jalisco) will not become the twin city of Edmonton, Canada. The news, which broke today, came as a blow to Canadian citizen Peter Kertesz, who since retiring to Chapala a year ago had been campaigning to get his new home town twinned with Alberta’s capital.

Councilor Ron Hayter of Edmonton yesterday concluded Chapala (pop. 19,000) “is a much smaller community than we are,” thus “the focus of the twinning relationship hasn’t been well established.”

Poor Mr. Kertesz. I wonder what will occupy his time now.

Have a wonderful, fun-filled weekend (even if you’re not in Chapala).

Photo: Jupiter Images

Thanks to my friend Luis Clemens at La Política, I learned today that Boston-native Daniel J. Imperato is running for President in 2008.

But Mr. Imperato is not only running as an independent; he is also calling on “the Spanish American people” to join together to support him. I think Mr. Imperato should truly pitch himself as the candidate of the multicultural crowd. His credentials in this field, according to his Web site, speak for themselves.

In addition to being a presidential hopeful, Mr. Imperato:

Is a Papal Knight and a Knight of Malta

Is a knight of the Orden Bonaria and serves as the organization’s United Nations representative

Was recently ordained as a chaplain for the Latin/African American Chaplains Association and,

Is the Leading Independent Presidential Candidate on “many online sites,” including, The Next Prez, which by the way was canceled in January.

Frankly, I didn’t know Mr. Imperato before today, but he might want to take a cue from a bodega-owner in my neighborhood, José Liberato, whose shop’s slogan is simply brilliant: “Su nombre, José Liberato… Su destino, Vender Barato.”

Think about it, a combination with the presidential hopeful can result in a beautiful slogan for both, the bodega and the campaign:

“Su nombre, José Liberato… Su destino, Vender Barato… Su Candidato, Daniel Imperato!”

I love politicians.

Now it turns out that in order for your campaign to “resonate” with your U.S. Hispanic constituency, you gotta go the “extra mile” and change your name until it sounds Latino enough.

According to the Kansas City Star, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is facing a real challenge trying to convince always-suspicious Latinos that he is, in fact, Mexican. The gist of the matter, says the newspaper, is simple: With a rise in mixed marriages, more Latino politicians could be facing the prospect of having to prove that they are Hispanic.

No wonder, the country has seen a sudden rise of name changes of late.

Some examples:

Loretta Sanchez-Brixey is now simply Loretta Sanchez

Rep. Rebecca Klein is now Rebecca Armendariz Klein

Texas Rep. Tracy Fischer now goes by the catchy name of Tracy Martínez Fischer

Richard Raymond, a Texas lawmaker, recently changed his name to Richard Peña Raymond

Etc. etc. etc… You get the picture.

So hereby -and even if I never made a point to have a gringo name- I reaffirm my own identity and from now on wish to be referred to as Laura Martínez Ruiz de Velasco de San Pedro de los Pinos y de Mixcoac (pésele a quién le pese and whether you can pronounce it or not).

So now you have been warned: if you have an ancestor with a Spanish-sounding name, or something remotely similar, this is the time to dust it off. You never know when you’re going to need it.