As every Mexican knows, in any good Lucha Libre match, the one who loses their mask pretty much loses the fight.
With this premise in mind, advertising agency d’expósito & Partners has launched “Lucha vs. El Virus,” a PSA campaign aiming to engage Hispanics to protect themselves against COVID-19 and comply with public health practices during the pandemic, which has severely hit the Latino community in the U.S.
“We played with the double meaning of the Spanish word lucha,” Paco Olavarrieta, CCO at d expósito & Partners, told ADWEEK. “On one hand, lucha means to fight or to struggle and is used figuratively to express that one is working hard or continuing in the fight. On the other hand, lucha is embedded in the name lucha libre, where luchadores wear masks to hide their true identity.”
A Spanish-language PSA has been running on Univision, Telemundo and CNN en Español, while an accented English version of the video just got picked up by NBC and CNN.
The same spot is also available in an accented English version, which you can watch below:
Famed astrologer Walter Mercado passed away on the night of Nov. 2, 2019 in his natal Puerto Rico. According to multiple press reports, the flamboyant astrologer/actor/writer was in a bad shape for some time and finally perished from an apparent kidney failure.
Mercado, who had to change his name to Shanti Ananda following a bizarre legal battle, was known not only for his extravagant, sequin capes and shiny jewelry, but for sending his millions of followers a lot of amor and good fortunes in his daily horoscope readings.
Followers to this blogger will know I was particularly fond of the extravagant way he delivered his horoscope readings, like this time around Valentine’s Day when he had some good stuff to announce for us Taurus, “sons of Venus.”
Enrique Iglesias (aka Henry Churches) rocked the Telemundo Upfront party Monday night
May is my favorite month of the year, and not only because it is my birthday, and spring is blooming and all that crap. It is because in addition to the very serious journalistic work I do everyday, I get to attend some of the presentations, parties and after-parties around the so-called Hispanic TV upfronts.
My favorite part, of course, is trying to cover the not-so-serious side of the three-day-marathon of parties, parties and programming presentations, interviews and business meetings.
Here are some highlights of this year’s Hispanic TV upfronts, which have left this blogger (and her liver) particularly damaged.
CNN en Español: Eñes, Eñes Everywhere!
* Hispanic TV Upfront week officially kicked off with a small, but lively party in New York City hosted by CNN en Español, which insists on putting an eñe on its logo, even though it looks silly and makes no sense whatsoever. This time around, though, the “eñe-offender” made its way to pillows, cookies and chocolates, because why have pass the opportunity to amplify the silliness?
The ‘zucker’ ran away before I could ask him a question
Personally, the highlight of this year’s CÑÑ’s presentation was non other than Jeff Zucker, the mero merojefe of CNN (sans eñe,) who kicked off the event by addressing the audience in a moderately good Spanish.
Needless to say, this blogger did her best to run after him as soon as he stepped off the thing and tried to ask him who had coached him in the language of Cervantes. Alas, I have to report Mr. Zucker runs way faster than me!
Telemundo
Unlike previous years, Telemundo did not host its own upfront presentation, but was a small part of a much bigger event by parent company NBCU at Radio City Hall. But in an effort to make it up to the many people it didn’t invite to Radio City Hall (ahem, ahem, self,) it treated hundreds of advertising executives, media — and me, of course — to a lavish party Monday night featuring Enrique Iglesias (also known as The-Singer-That-Makes-This-Blogger-Feel-Like-a-Cougar.)
As usual, right before the event I was able to squeeze past security and reach the so-called VIP area of the Hammerstein Ballroom, where I spotted my friend José Díaz Balart chatting with former Univision star Mario Kreutzberger (aka Don Francisco) who is making a TV comeback on Telemundo — for some reason.
It is important to note there was some kind of “wall” between me and the celebrities, but nothing a crafty Mexican couldn’t get through.
Univision’s ‘Proof of Passion’
Univision’s theme for its 2017 Upfront presentation was “Proof of Passion,” a celebration of the things that Hispanics are so passionate about, namely soccer, family and dancing! Yes, there was the usual stuff about how much my people (i.e. The Hispanics) love soccer, their family and all that jazz. But there were also some fun jabs at Telemundo’s own theme, SHIFT, which Univision simply dismissed as just “a crock of shift.”
“We’ve heard how there’s some kind of shift happening,” said Steve Mandala, Univision’s executive vicepresident of ad sales. “That is a crock of shift.”
LOL.
Univision’s presentation closed with Shakira performing two songs. TWO SONGS, after which she just simply wished us all well and walked away.
Oh and did I mention how RUDE and awful it was for Univision to forgo its lavish luncheon that had become a legend in town? Come on, Randy Falco, that luncheon was literally the only thing that made this blogger get her Latina butt moving and stand the horrors of Times Square.
Are you telling me Univision finances are so bad that you couldn’t afford the spiced pollo of last year? SAD!
‘People en Español’s’ Beautiful Latinos
‘People en Español’s’ Armando Correa insisted so much, that I had to attend his thing
No Hispanic TV upfront would be complete without the funnest party of them all: The People en Español’s 50 Más Bellos bash, an annual ritual for me — and 50 other beautiful Latinos.
This year, the party took place at ESPACE NY, and – unlike previous years – it was much smaller, and the room looked kind of empty at times. On the bright side, it was easier to harass famous, beautiful Latin people and refill my champagne glass way faster than in years before.
Other than me, other beautiful people who showed up included.
María Elena Salinas, looking sharp as ever and drinking tons of water (which is what I should have done)
Thalía, who received an special award for being the Latina that has been featuring more times in the special Bellos issue….
Thalía has appeared more times in the “coveted” Bellos list. Me, on the other hand…
David Chocarro, who was seen posing near some skincare products, but could have used a comb instead…
… and Lili Estefan, Raúl de Molina, Geraldine Bazán, Gabriel Soto and many, many more famous Latinos whose name I couldn’t really catch after all those liters of … Seltzer water.
Anyhow, everything ended up smoothly and this blogger was able to go back home in one piece, blessed by a beautiful Manhattan night.
Unlimited Chapo is brought to you by Univision and AT&T
In yet another sign that Hispanic television is determined to “superserve its audience with relevant programming,” Univision Communications has partnered with AT&T to bring us — are you ready? — El Chapo Ilimitado! (Unlimited Chapo,) a weekly Facebook Live series that “serves as a forum for fans to discuss new episodes of El Chapo, a new crime television series co-produced by Netflix and Univision.
El Chapo Ilimitado (which I’m sure is a wink to AT&T’s unlimited data plans, duh) is hosted by Univision personalities Lourdes Stephen and Carlos Calderón, who show an extraordinary disposition to look cheerful — and fun! — while discussing one of Mexico’s most sanguinary drug dealers every single week.
Per a company press release, this thing is streamed via Facebook Live on Univision’s Facebook page Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. immediately following the premiere of new episodes.
Say what you will, but Hispanic TV will never cease to depress amuse this blogger.
Marco de la O is ‘El Chapo’ in Univision upcoming series
It is not a secret that Univision ratings are tanking, and its telenovelas are no longer as popular as they once were. So the gigantic, media company is trying something a bit more risqué: A dramatic series about — what else? — El Chapo, Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, currently serving time (and learning English) in a Brooklyn prison.
The role of El Chapo will be played by Marco de la O, an actor this blogger had never heard of before and one that looks a bit more like a mustachioed version of Jim Carrey, if you asked me.
But I digress. The upcoming series is only the latest example of Hispanic television’s obsession with Latin American drug lords, which might be a pest to society, but provide TV outlets with sweet, coveted ratings.
El Chapo will premiere in the U.S. on Univision on April 23 and this blogger will be watching — of course.
Hillary Clinton made Hispanic History (i.e. Hispandering) on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016 by showing up at Univision’s long-running El Gordo y la Flaca; declaring Mexican food is her favorite and even getting up to dance salsa with the crew.
Alas, she did not take her clothes off to join The Fat One in his famous jacuzzi. Now THAT would have been entertaining…
Now I’m dead.
DEVELOPING: This blog post will be updated as soon as this recovers from shock (which will likely occur until after Happy Hour)
Speaking of Hillary Clinton and her tacos con todo, the pantsuit-loving democratic presidential candidate (PLDPC) is planning to throw a Mexican/Hispanic-themed party to watch the last presidential debate Wednesday night.
According to the Clinton campaign, the fiesta will take place Oct. 19 in Nevada, home of Tacos El Gordo, and will feature Vicente “Chente” Fernández as a guest of honor.
In case you have forgotten or — WORSE! — don’t follow this blog, “Chente” just came back from near retirement to ask YOU to vote for Hillary in mariachi fashion.
Now, go get yourself a Made-in-China mariachi hat and liters of tequila, and don’t forget to follow @miblogestublog on Twitter for a Mexican-themed Twitter party Wednesday night.
Move over, Mexican Barbie! Here come Nuestra Belleza Latina-inspired dolls, Univision’s latest marketing effort to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its very own Latin beauty pageant.
The six dolls — Dulce, Yaritza, Sol, Niki, Odalys and Paola —have all been inspired by the “diverse and compelling stories of Latinas,” which as you know are all very diverse, despite having the exact same measurements.
This beauties are available in either evening gown or swim suit via Amazon, LatinaGirlPower.com and “several Hispanic grocery store chains,” which I assume are those same stores where you can buy Hispanic cheese, Hispanic lettuce, Hispanic chips, etc.
A five-minute mini doc will run on Univision next week
In an effort to court Hispanics and — hopefully — make non-Hispanics think hard about what goes in their grande salads and Chipotle salsas, Bernie Sanders will be running a five-minute documentary in Spanish (below.)
According to the New York Times (which by the way failed to properly translate part of the plot) the mini documentary will run nationally on the Univision network and several Univision-affiliated stations, just days before the March 15 Democratic primary in Florida.
Watch. Think about it. Watch again, and remember it next time you savor a juicy tomato.
Almost one year after announcing his departure from Univision, the septuagenarian TV host Mario Kreutzberger, aka Don Francisco, is making a comeback to Hispanic media. Oh, and it’s quite the comeback.
Telemundo on Tuesday announced it signed a multi-year agreement with Don Francisco, which includes “the creation of a joint production company to develop and produce original content and formats for Hispanics in the United States and audiences around the world, across multiple platforms.” But, perhaps more importantly, Telemundo says, Kreutzberger will bring his expertise to Telemundo Network News as a special senior news correspondent.
Come to think of it, this is actually quite perfect, given the circus that the current political campaign has become.
I can only hope El Chacal de la Trompeta will come back too and put the presidential candidates in place when they would just Not. Shut. The. Hell. Up.
You know the world has gone to hell when you have people like Vicente Fox criticizing Donald Trump for being an “ignorant, rich, pompous man,” who shouldn’t be president because that would be just crazy.
As my abuela used to say: El burro hablando de orejas (The pot calling the kettle black) and where is the EXIT door? I want out now!
In an ongoing effort to pursue millennials (aka good-for-nothings-who-are-obsessed-with-Snapchat) Univision today announced the launch of Tenemos que hablar, a Spanish-language web series that follows “the rocky, and often hilarious, long-distance relationship between 20-year-old Emilia and her boyfriend Bobi, who just moved from Mexico to Miami.”
Filmed in Mexico and Miami, the 12-episode series features “YouTube stars” Daniel Tovar and Ricardo Polanco, whom I’m sure are very well known in their respective households and among millennials and billennials (as Univision calls bilingual millennials.) The series will be available only on Univision.com and on Univision’s YouTube channel, because as everybody knows, millennials are a lazy, pathetic bunch that cannot afford cable and won’t watch TV anyway.
Besides, given the excess amount of expletives, I’m sure it will be a headache trying to air this thing to on broadcast television.
Saturday, September 19, 2015 marked the last show ever for Sábado Gigante, the world’s longest running television variety series in history.
As part of the emotional farewell Saturday night, Barack Obama (aka POTUS) and wife Michelle (aka FLOTUS) came on board to wish Don Francisco all the best, saying he will be missed.
Not to be outdone, this blogger (also known as a Mexican of the United States or MOTUS, would like to join FLOTUS and POTUS in wishing Mario all the best.
Thanks to New York City and it’s relentless Mayor, Bill de Blasio, we will soon be able to roam the Don Francisco Boulevard, a street that will be located nowhere else but in my neighborhood: 168th street and Broadway.
On this this April 2015 segment, Univision News introduced Hispanics to María Diega Méndez, a lovely old lady who lives in Guanajuato, Mexico and happens to be very poor and very sick. The reason for all the media attention? She is the aunt of Columba [not Columbia, nor Colombia] Garnica, better known as Columba [not Columbia, nor Colombia] Bush.
The Univision segment basically makes one strong point: That should Columba (not Columbia, nor Columbia) become the U.S. First Lady, she should at least help pay for this poor’s woman’s medication.
I mean… after all, what are The Bushes going to do with the proceeds of their $75 Guaca Bowl?
