Category: Univision

Cristina Saralegui Thanks Don Johnson for the Opportunity to Work at Telemundo: LOL

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OK this is one of those situations in which you had to be there to enjoy the moment… Fortunately for you, readers, I was there, when Cristina Saralegui took to the state at the Telemundo upfront this week in Manhattan to bitch about Univision for quite some time and then profusely thank Don Johnson for giving her the opportunity to host a new show on Telemundo.

“The tiny terror is back,” Cristina told a crowd of 1,200 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City Tuesday night. “Thank you, Don Johnson, for the opportunity.”

I want to believe Mrs. Saralegui meant to say Don Browne, as in the president of Telemundo… but who knows?

I’ll never be able to fully understand these Miami people.

Obama Courts ‘Influential Hispanics,’ Fails to Invite this Blogger to White House Gathering

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President Barack Obama is smart enough to know that it takes more than eating a burrito and posing next to some Mariachi-clad dude to court U.S. Hispanics. That is why, POTUS this week lured a bunch of “influencial” Hispanics to the White House, including retro-acculturated food-entrepreneur Eva Longoria and radio personality -and former “undocumented Mexican” Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo.

As always, I appreciate the effort, but Mr. Obama should add this blogger to his list next time if he really wants to effect change.

I might not have Longoria’s artistic qualities has, but I have rubbed elbows with the British monarchy.

Here is the official photo of the event. See how many ‘influential Hispanics’ you can recognize.

Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

Univision Realizes Not all Hispanics Eat Tamales, Speak Only Spanish, Watch Telenovelas

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You can love or hate Univision; but one thing is certain: The message the network wants to send out to the world has changed radically from the years of Perenchio and his lieutenants, when talking about an English-speaking Latino was almost cause for termination of employment.

The Census might not bring about a revolution but someone at the 800-pound-gorilla has realized it is no longer Spanish only. Novelas only. Tamales only. When you have a population of 50.4 million people, you cannot assume everybody eats tamales or watches Univision’s nightly telenovelas. [I for one have very little tolerance for both.]

Now, Univision will have to work hard to change some of its programming to better reflect this so-called New America.

I’m just sayin’….

Univision CEO Joe Uva Leaves Post to ‘Be Able to Seek Other Opportunities,’ Namely Unemployment

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Univision CEO Joe Uva has left the company to “be able to seek other opportunities,” Univision announced today.

But what’s really weird is that they don’t want to tell me where the hell it is that he is going, and rumor has it that he might have gotten the boot. His last day is April 2.

I don’t know you guys but I feel a bit sorry for the guy. After all those years of tireless work and efforts, he didn’t even have time to master his Spanish… But he shouldn’t worry too much. Judging from his stellar appearance as a piragüero in one scene of the hit Brodway show In the Heights, I’m sure he’ll be able to find a gig in the barrio.

His specialty? Piraguas de Uva!

Buena suerte, Mr. Uva. I’ll look you up among my neighborhood’s piragüeros.

U.S. Hispanics Brace for the Ominous Advent of Laura… [And it’s not Me]

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U.S. Hispanics, rejoice: Starting today (Feb. 7) Laura Bozzo’s Laura talk show will launch on the TeleFutura network.

Bozzo has been torturing entertaining Latin American families for years, first in her native Peru (where not even a three-year house arrest took her show off the airwaves) and then on Mexico’s TV Azteca, with Laura de Todos. But this time, la señorita Laura is coming to the U.S. courtesy of Grupo Televisa, Univision’s partner and programming supplier.

The new show, which in Mexico is called Laura de México promises U.S. Hispanics a showcase of “real-world” family situations and, hopefully, some more avenging fights and coming out dramas exposing -and embarrassing- Latin America’s minimally-educated, lower classes like the one shown below.

Aren’t you glad television is embracing diversity?

Want to Target Hispanic Tax Payers? Just Show Them a Good Set of ‘Nalgas’

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In a world of constant bombarding of advertising messages, how do you get the attention of the Hispanic tax payer? Well, just show them some nalgas, say Pronto Insurance, which is releasing two :30 TV and radio spots in English and Spanish titled “Nalgas” (rear-ends) “to capture market share during tax season.”

The Spanish-language spots, crafted by Machete, are airing on Univision, Telemundo, and Televisa.

Nothing much to add here, just read the press release here and enjoy yourself. As for me, I’m on my way to call a Pronto representative to get me a good rear-end hopefully by April 15.

National Latino Media Coalition Thinks ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX Not Diverse. Thank God for Hispanic TV

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This week the National Latino Media Coalition (NLMC) scolded the nation’s top broadcast networks for not embracing diversity (i.e. mostly for failing to employ more Latinos in front of and behind the camera.) In a press conference on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Alex Nogales, president & CEO of the NLMC said that:

“This was a terrible year for Latinos at the networks. African Americans and Asian Pacific Americans posted impressive gains in most categories, but when it came to Latinos, the networks failed us. Don’t misunderstand, we don’t want what African Americans and Asian Pacific Americans received, the pie is much larger than that, we only want what we deserve as the largest minority consumer population in the nation.”

Well said, Mr. Nogales! But I wouldn’t hold my breath too long if I were you… Last time I checked, even the main Hispanic networks insisted on drawing their top talent from some sort of Swedish incubator.

Univision Celebrates ‘Día de los Muertos’ by Killing ‘El Show de Cristina’

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After more than 20 years on the air, Univision’s long-running talk show El Show de Cristina is coming to an end. The final episode will air tonight @10 PM (ET) .

The famous Cuban-American host said she was let go for being ‘vieja.’ Yet, she also anticipated “new and exciting” projects, including a TV show coming in the spring.

No word yet on when Sábado Gigante will get the ax, though if you asked me, I think Don Francisco has stamina for another 50 years.

Eva Luna’s Secret is Out: Pizzas, Phones and Cars

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SPOILER ALERT: Attention, telenovela fans, if you prefer to be pleasantly surprised Monday night, please don’t read this post.

Turns out the “secret” behind Univision’s much-hyped upcoming Eva Luna is finally out: According to The Hollywood Reporter, the telenovela, which will premiere Nov. 1, will give viewers plenty of product placements by marketers including General Motors, Domino’s Pizza and T-Mobile.

That way, Hispanic TV viewers will be able to savor the wonders of advertising even before -and after- watching the actual commercials.

Isn’t that just freaking dandy?

Piolín Gives Obama Wide Range of Topics to Discuss

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You can say anything you want about Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo, but the guy sure knows how to interview a president. The influential radio personality (and former undocumented Mexican) kicked off  a one-on-one interview with Barack Obama this Monday by offering the president four possible topics of conversation:

EPS: I’m gonna give you the option, you know, which topic would you like me to begin with.

POTUS: We can talk about anything you want, Piolín.

EPS: I’m gonna give you options. Multiple choice. Are you ready?

POTUS: I am.

EPS: A.) Immigration reform B.) Immigration reform, C.) Immigration reform or D.)  All of the above.

POTUS: I think I’ll take D.) All of the above

Click here to hear the rest of the interview until the end. I’m happy enough with the way it began.

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!

This Blog Will be on Hiatus Until After 06/27/2010

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It’s only 4 days before the much awaited massacre match between Mexico and Argentina, and judging by some of my Facebook friends’ profiles, nobody is getting much work these days, or paying attention to non-soccer news.

So, in full solidarity with them -and with everybody else- this blogger is going offline for a while…at least until after we score 7-1 against the albicelestes.

Yeah, right.

In a Sign of His Increasing Popularity, the Naked Cowboy Visits ‘El Show de Cristina’

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[UPDATED: For reasons I do not know yet -but which I intend to investigate- Univision has removed that video from its site, so lucky those of you who managed to watch. Enjoy a photo of the Naked Cowboy sharing the stage with Ivy Queen and Cristina herself]

Too busy celebrating the long weekend that you missed El Show de Cristina last night? Do not despair. This blogger was there to document it all, including the surprising appearance by the one and only Naked Cowboy himself. ¡Ajúa!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Naked Cowboy goes to Cristina“, posted with vodpod

Univision Offers Apology for Stereotyping Africans. Now I’m Just Waiting for Televisa’s

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You might have been resting in your laurels this Memorial weekend, but it was pretty busy at Univision headquarters, where top executives had to issue a public apology for a skit stereotyping Africans as -what else?- half-naked, dark-skinned people with big hair and small spears dancing around.

The skit, which aired on Univision’s popular morning show Despierta America, included hosts wearing Afro wigs and dancing to what civil rights activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson described as a “faux jungle music beat.”

The apology, which was published Saturday in Los Angeles Times, stated that: “[The skit] is completely unacceptable and against our policies, standards and practices. We sincerely apologize to our viewers and all who were offended.”

So far so good, so I’m just going to sit tight and wait for Televisa to issue its own apology for the ad below, currently running on Mexican television.