Brace Yourselves: The Gentrification of Veladoras Is Here

Prayer candles, better known among my people (i.e. The Hispanics) as veladoras, are making a splash among the avocado-loving millennial, non-Latin, non-religious crowd pushing their prices so high that you will wanna start praying for a raise.

According to this Vox.com article, a prayer candle featuring the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Jonathan Van Ness (because they all kind of are in the same  business) can cost up to $12, compared to a regular prayer candle, which you’ll find pretty much anywhere in the USA for $2 –or for very few pesitos in any Latin American street market.

University professors and religious studies experts claim this is yet another sign of the decline of religious affiliation of Americans and some even go as far as to call these colorful candles “blasphemous” and a “direct threat to the Catholic faith.”

I don’t know much about that, but consider yourselves warned: The gentrification of veladoras is here to stay.

Via: Vox.com

Tequila Cazadores Wants me to Put a ‘Summer of Tacos Calendar’ on my Desk –for Some Reason

Marketing professionals are one creative bunch.

Not content with bringing to market some awesome, creative and stupid products (i.e. the avocado toast sneakers or the Throw Throw Burrito Game) they have now conceived another innovative thing…

I give you… the Summer of Tacos daily desk calendar, a thing that promises to have me dreaming of tacos every day of the week.

The idea, writes some marketing person apparently with a straight face, is “to celebrate the unofficial start of summer and its most notorious pairing, tacos and tequila.”

These calendars –which are being pitched as a must-have desk accessory– feature word puzzles, cocktail recipes and “taco facts to impress colleagues with at the water cooler.”

Listen, people, I dream of tacos every day and no, I don’t need your must-have desk accesory. *inserts eye roll emoji*

Alexa Will Soon Speak Spanish –and it’s about Time!

According to numerous reports, Amazon is asking customers to participate in a program that will help the company build “a Spanish-language Alexa experience” for U.S. users. The program, which is currently invite-only, “will allow Amazon to incorporate into the U.S. Spanish-language experience a better understanding of things like word choice and local humor.”

This couldn’t come soon enough because last time we checked, Alexa was doing *this*…

Via: CNET.com

Delfín Quishpe Is the New Mayor of Guamote, Ecuador, because Latin America

“Who knows the truth? Who did it, and why did they do it?” Quishpe asks in this hilarious song, and then goes on:

The whole planet was convulsed

My God, Help me

When I went to look for you, I believed what I was seeing.

The towers in flames, full of black smoke, and you in that place,

My God

JUST WATCH:

You Guys! Joe Biden Also Wants to be Our Tío

Tío Joe seen here with this blogger’s favorite retro-acculturated Latina.

Joe Biden doesn’t want you to know this –yet– but he’s about to drop a Spanish-language ad to try to convince my people (i.e. The Hispanics) that he’s an awesome choice for a 2020 democratic president.

Details of the ad were leaked thanks to the very chismoso nature of said people (The Hispanics) who decided to ignore an NDA signed with the Biden campaign and posted behind-the-scenes photos on social media anyway.

Per Politico.com:

The Saturday film shoot was a hushed affair — paid local actors signed nondisclosure agreements promising not to discuss the job. But some posted images on social media of the Fort Lauderdale commercial anyway, prompting a flurry of emails warning of legal exposure and requesting that those involved delete any images of the shoot and not talk to the media about it.

But that’s not even the best part about this whole thing. According to the same report, a member of the cast (presumably a Spanish-dominant Latina) was finding it hard to pronounce Biden’s name, so the crew came up with a workaround by having her call the former Vice President simply as “Tío Joe,” because –at least according to Americans– Latinos are always in need of additional tío material to spice up our bautizos, bodas, quinceañeras, piñata parties, BBQs and the like.

Sorry, Tío Bernie, it looks like there will be a new tío in town!

Via: Político.com

Americans Insist on Wrapping Themselves in Tortilla Blankets

Move over tortilla towel, here comes the tortilla blanket, the most recent addition to what I like to call Nonsense American Products (NAPS.)

The latest tortilla-themed thing is a microfiber blanket that can be yours for as little as $39.99!) The marketing pitch?

“Do you love Mexican food so much you want to reincarnate yourself as a giant burrito? […] With this giant tortilla blanket you can become a taco, quesadilla, tostada, enchilada, burrito, taquito or use your imagination.”

THE END IS NEAR, MY FRIENDS

Via: Amazon.com

Why Look like a Reguar Dude when you Can Look Like El Chapo Guzmán?

Image via: The Guardian

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán might be doomed to live in a prison cell forever, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing lots of him everywhere. Or at least in the world of fashion.

Yes, my friends, el Chapo’s 29-year-old, Instagram-savvy wife Emma Coronel has officially launched El Chapo Guzman: JGL LLC, a brand new firm charged with designing clothes, shoes and accessories under the name –what else–  El Chapo Guzmán: JGL.

“This project is an idea Joaquin and I have had for a long time,” Coronel told the New York Daily News. “Before he was in the USA we talked a lot about this topic. Really, it’s both of our ideas.”

Well, isn’t that narco-romantic?

Via: CNET en Español

‘Texicanas’ to Chronicle the Lives of Lavish Latinas in San Antonio –for Some Reason

Not content with torturing us with its Mexican Dynasties nonsense, Bravo TV has announced a new Mexican-inspired project: Texicanas, a sort of  Latino Desperate Real Housewives that will chronicle the drama of… lavish Latinas in San Antonio, Texas.

According to Bravo TV:

Texicanas follows Penny Ayarzagoitia and her sophisticated gal pals through la vida loca — and rica — in the Alamo City as they juggle family and fun. Most of the women grew up in Mexico before making San Antonio home.

Judging from the preview (below) these ladies speak Spanglish; drink lots of fancy cocktails, go to shooting ranges for fun and attend parties featuring papel picado, because Mexico!

Texicanas is set to premiere on May 7 and this blogger cannot wait to not watch it.

The Avocado Toast Sneakers are Here, Because Hipsters are Determined to Ruin Everything

Not content with having ruined meals –and jacked up the price of avocados to ridiculous levels– American hipsters are at it again; this time with a plan to ruin footware as well.

Yes, my friends, according to multiple reports, the “Saucony Originals Shadow 6000 Avocado Toast sneakers” are here for a price I can only guess will be as high as an “avocado toast.”

I’m kind of busy right now, but I’ll be filing this under the #PinchesHipsters and #StupidPropositions categories… and then proceed to jump out the window.

Via: Footwear News

Mexicans Stealing the Wall is Everyone’s Favorite Story of 2019

Hey, Mexicans are securing their walls with stolen razor wire –paid by Americans

I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried. Turns out Mexicans at the U.S. border are literally stealing the razor wire put there by Trump officials to beef up security and selling it to local residents for as little as $2 (“40 pesitos, marchanta!“)

According to The Guardian, residents of barrios abutting the border told XETW 12 television in Tijuana that entrepreneurial individuals have offered to sell them the stolen concertina wire and install it for just 40 pesos per home – barely $2.

The bad news is that people are already been arrested for stealing concertina wire along the border, BUT on the upside, this is already the favorite story of some high-profile media people, including –of course– yours truly. HA HA HA HA (or as we say in Mexicou: JA JA JA JA JA.)

Via: The Guardian

Americans Discover Sarapes; Call them ‘Serapes’ –and Everything Is Awful

People are hashtagging #serapes #serapholic and #serapify and I’m dying!

I’ve been on the #ItsSarapeNotSarape thing for quite some time now, but thanks to a sharp Twitter follower today I learned there’s even a Serapify and Serapholic hashtags on Instagram. I clicked on it and went down a horrific, serape-filled rabbit hole.

Welp!

Hat tip: Laura Gomez Rodriguez

Bodegas are a National Treasure; Just Don’t Ask the Owner for the Bathroom Key

It is no secret that bodegas are a wonder of sorts. No matter the time of day you will surely find all your basics. Late night-condoms? a Guadalupe Virgin candle? Emergency tampons? Terrible coffee? …. The bodeguero has your back.

Oh, but try not asking him to use the bathroom, unless you want to unleash a series of… hilarious musical events.

WATCH Saturday Nights’ Live (March 2, 2019 episode)

This Game Lets you Pick a Foam Burrito and Throw it at Someone –for some Reason

Throw Throw Burrito has raised almost $1 million on Kickstarter. But… why?

The creators of Exploding Kittens and other silly board games are prepping Throw Throw Burrito, a card game that will have players pick up a foam burrito and… throw it at another player.

I have no idea why anybody would want to do that, but the only good news is that two plush burritos are included in this thing.

Let the genius behind the game explain their creation themselves, shall we?

Via: CNET en Español