Your one-stop shop for all things Latin/Hispanic/Mexican
If you thought Spanish-language TV was all about Columbian telenovelas and ass competitions, think again. Our favorite TV salesman, Vince Offer, is here to cheer you -and your spiceless food- up… in Spanish and while talking about his balls and some exciting piece of tuna.
How can you possibly go wrong with that?
Hat tip: Betti Ortega
On the same week that CNN is giving us the much-a-do-about-nothing Latino in America, CNN/Opinion Research Corp. is releasing some shocking revelations about non-Latinos and the Latinos around them. According to the poll: “Two-thirds of those surveyed say they have at least some contact with Latinos where they live, work or shop. [Poll doesn’t clarify if we’re talking about their gardeners, busboys and maids or simply the people they hang out with to wear sombreros and drink lots of tequila.]
That said, nine in 10 surveyed also believe that Census workers should ask people whether they are in the country legally when they go door to door next April. Because you know, the “Latin thing” is cool, as long as it has to do with the officially acceptable group of Latinos, not the “other” kind if you know what I mean.
I love it when the so-called mainstream media decides to care about Hispanic stuff -and nope, I’m not talking about the marketing extravaganza a.k.a. CNN’s Latino in America.
Here’s a Q&A by Forbes’ Lacey Rose with Univision Communications’ chief, Joe Uva, where we learn that not only there a lot of new “telenovellas” on the pipeline, but they are going to come from “Columbia,” which I think is simply great.
How often do we get Ivy League-quality content on Spanish-language TV?
(click on the text below to read the full interview)
You can say whatever you want about Univision, but you cannot deny the company’s marketing team is genius.
Starting today, Univision viewers will be able to visit La Tienda Univision to purchase all sorts of tacky stuff, from El Gordo y la Flaca-themed T-shirts ($25.95) and mugs ($14.95) to pet’s gear featuring the Despierta América logo ($18.95.)
It is still early to tell if Univision’s venture into merchandising will become an important source of revenue for the cash-starved media company. But one thing is for sure: it certainly deals a serious blow to the recently launched Spanish-language version of Sky Mall.
Ay, Chihuahua!
Ah… the wonders of marketing!
And just when we thought we knew everything about Latinos in Space, our favorite orbiting Mexican informs us that it is possible to do the Conga at zero gravity.
Ah…There is nothing more satisfying than making sure our people live up to the expectations of what we Latinos are are all about!
I just love the frenzy that surrounds all-things-Latino every now and then.
This time, the limelight is on someone’s our favorite Fox News commentator and Latino peddler Geraldo Rivera, who has just released a book pompously aptly titled: The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity.
The book retails for $24.95, which is, like, mucho dinerito for those of us who are yet to find the prosperity Mr. Rivera is talking about. But, heck, if he is right, I am sure I will soon be able to afford it –along with some good health insurance.
¡Sí, se puede!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or simply don’t care about U.S. Hispanics attempting to do their own version of American Idol) you should know that Univision last night premiered Viva el Sueño, a new talent competition that “seeks to unveil the next big Latin music star.”
So… look carefully at the picture below, and –trying not to cheat– answer the following poll. (If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’ll have no trouble finding the answer.)
Ready? Set… Go!
Our favorite nonagenarian TV host, Don Francisco, once again managed to shake the entertainment world, with the election of two lucky winners at this year’s Miss Colita contest. (And I bet these are a little smarter than your regular beauty queen.)
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And speaking of brown, uninsured people, Texan educators are said to be working on a new curriculum for social studies that is intended “to shape the future history and geography books” by featuring more and more “Hispanic figures.”
Under the outrageously silly sensational headline of School Books in Texas may get Browner, the San Antonio Express News informs us that a mostly Hispanic crowd of schoolers will soon be reading all about “brown people”, including Dolores Huerta, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, Sandra Cisneros, Henry B. Gonzalez and Irma Rangel, which I think it’s kind of odd since most of the other Hispanic figures I see every day on Hispanic television don’t look very brown to me.
But, hey! that’s just me.
[Ah… the evils of obssesing with people’s labels and colors…]
I thought I had seen everything (from the unimaginable to the ridiculous) surrounding the Ugly Betty marketing phenomenon… until the English came up with a special-edition Diet Coke Ugly Bottle promotion that is sweeping London and turning young Brit teens into wearers of Guadalajara-labeled ponchos.
The pink leopard-ish bottle even comes with stickers that you can put on it because, you know, there is nothing like placing a sticker on your soda to make your beverage experience more refreshing.
For a behind-the-scenes video surrounding the latest Ugly Betty brouhaha click on the video below.
Mexicans (and other Latin Americans for that matter) can be very touchy when they perceive they are being portrayed using stereotypes (hats, maracas, excessive soccer, mortal diseases… you name it). But -as my abuela used to say- we are often quick to find the faults in others, while being blind at our own faults (eso de la paja en el ojo ajeno, pues…)
In the following TV spot to promote the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, Mexican media giant Grupo Televisa gathers its blond, blue-eyed talent to sing to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight while a bunch of natives (presumably South Africans?), giraffes, lions, zebras and other wild animals make a triumph entrance at the Televisa Deportes newsroom. Because, you know, Mexicans are fair skinned and work on desks with computers… not like those savages!
Wanna win a discontinued CD of The Miami Sound Machine? one ticket to Broadway’s Washington Heights for your abuela or a coupon for free café con leche at the bodega? Watch the following video and then try to answer the quiz below.
Buena Suerte Amigous!
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How else would you celebrate a 10-year presidential term with no end in sight than with a 4-day radio and television broadcast of the president himself?
Yes, my friends. Just when you thought Venezuelan media couldn’t get any more interesting, President Hugo Chávez today announced that a special edition of Aló, Presidente, the radio and television show he started ten years ago, will kick off Thursday May 28 and will broadcast, uninterrupted until Sunday May 31st.
As Chávez told some media outlets, “the program will be just like a telenovela…there will be music, interviews…”
Which I thought was kind of funny, because other than RDB there is not a lot of music going on in telenovelas -much less interviews, so we’ll just have to wait and see!
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