Your one-stop shop for all things Latin/Hispanic/Mexican
Wondering what to get your familia in these times of economic uncertainty? How about a front-row ticket to see some real fighting between Mexican wrestling legends and a bunch of Americans dressed as Border Patrol agents?
No, people, this is no joke. San Francisco-based Pro Wrestling Revolution is making it all happen, and tickets are only, like, $10 apiece (almost the cost of a Chipotle gourmet burrito.)
Now, that is what I call a good deal… (and wrestling I can actually relate to.)
Long gone are the immensely funny days of Vicente Fox asking Fidel Castro to eat and then leave (“Comes y te vas”) during the 2004 Summit of Monterrey. Those leaders’ respective successors are now like BFF, and were spotted giggling and hugging each other pretty much all the time at this week’s Latin America and Caribbean Development Summit in Brazil.
Looks like time has come for “Comes y te quedas”.
(Blogger’s note: Where are the journalists’ shoes when you need them?)
George W. Bush proved to be unusually alert -and agile- when dodging a shoe attack this week during a press conference in Iraq. Thus, Spanish blogger Polonio 210, is now proposing a new game, the Wii Zapatilla, challenging players to finally get W with a buen zapatazo.
(UPDATE: Spain’s Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, kindly asks you to spare him the jokes.)
Life is not a tómbola. It’s just one big fat irony. Félix Batista, an American security consultant who has helped negotiate the release of dozens of kidnapping victims in Latin America, this week was kidnapped in Mexico.
According to the New York Times: The consultant, Felix Batista, 55, was giving security seminars for business owners in Coahuila State when he was abducted by a group of armed men.
As of Monday night, officials in Mexico and the U.S. were still trying to figure out the whereabouts of Batista. This blogger, meanwhile, was going, duh, that’s really messed up!
Enough with virgins. Let us move onto a more intellectual subject: books and the people who write them.
Take Niurka Marcos, the untalented, promiscuous Cuban “actress”-turned TV host, who this week released her first book: Soy (as in “I am” not as in “soy milk”), an autobiography of sorts showing us she might not be as illiterate as we originally thought.
Soy has a first print run of 10,000 copies, way fewer than the 80,000 sold by Playboy Mexico’s December issue. Still, the voluptuous thespian-turned-scribe is poised to oversell Talk Dirty: Spanish, by yours truly… It’s gotta be the cleavage.
December 12 is one of Mexico’s most important holidays: It is the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe. And what better way to honor our Santa Patrona than gracing the cover of Playboy with Virgin Mary herself?
Well, sort of. This is María Florencia Onori, posing as Virgin Mary for this month’s Playboy Mexican edition, which in a matter of days has sold 80,000 copies, proving -once again- that print is not quite dead yet.
(Oh, and in case you were wondering: she is not the one who reportedly saved Oliver Atom’s life.)
In marketing and advertising, the term “transcreation” is defined as “the process of using an original text as a brief for writing new copy that meets the conditions of the target audience.”
So I guess that’s why Captain Tsubasa, the Japanese manga, anime and video game series, has not only been re-named Oliver Atom in the Mexican version of the series (Los Supercampeones), but when in danger, he manages to be saved by the Virgin of Guadalupe. ¡Milagro!
Now I wonder if the dad’s moustache is also part of the Mexicanization of the series… anyone?
You might not know this, but people from Cataluña have a peculiar fixation with defecating people. Thus, the popularity of the caganer, those little statues that have become a true Christmas tradition, along with Tío de Nadal, whose droppings eventually turn into wonderful presents for children (do not ask!)
After a few days in Barcelona, I have encountered dozens of these funky statues, but today I finally came across one that explained what President-elect Barack Obama really meant when he kept saying ¡sí, se puede!
(For the record: I just paid 14 euros for this.)
Here is a real good reason to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border: to stop the freaking camels from sneaking in.
Yes, my friends. A couple of days ago, two camels were spotted in the border town of Ciudad Juárez, looking all suspicious and all, presumably trying to get across unnoticed. According to AP:
Wait a second… a pine tree in Ciudad Juárez? Now, that´s gotta be a mirage!
Inspired by the popularity of the Latin Grammy Reading challenge, I decided to serve my readers with yet one more mind-boggling defiance: Without reading the following press release twice –and based only on the following first paragraph– please answer the question: What is The Hive Model all about?
Christopher Campos and Marco Castro announced the launch of an international search to maximize their pioneering and proven Brand Optimization business model in the US Hispanic advertising industry. The duo purposefully created the model to incite greater collaboration between Client and Agency—fulfilling the increasingly requisite role of going beyond long-established Hispanic ad agency services that primarily focus on brand promotion by incorporating functions related to brand marketing.
Ok, Ok… once you finish reading the whole thing, the answer becomes crystal clear:
Campos asserts judicious diligence in finding the right environment to expand their offering. He confirmed the uniqueness and comprehensiveness of their proposition provide the essential foundation to enable several opportunities.
[I’m just glad they will not specialize in writing press-releases]
It’s all George W. Bush’s fault.
According to trusted news reports (which came out while we were stuffing ourselves with turkey and other non-vegetarian delicacies) Felipe E. Sixto (right), a former Bush aide, has been charged with theft from a government-funded center that promotes democracy in Cuba.
The single count of theft of $5,000 or more from a federally aided program was filed in U.S. District Court here last Thursday against Felipe E. Sixto, who resigned on March 28 from his job as special assistant to President George W. Bush for intergovernmental affairs.
So there you have it. The next time you point the finger at you-know-who for the lack of democracy in the island, you will be well advised to think twice.
Don’t believe everything you hear about Mexicans. Sure, we come here to steal your money, your job and your chics, but also –at least in the border towns– we are here to help. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mexicans generate up to $8 billion in sales annually in Texas and California. :
“[…] as the American economy tanks, retailers and civic leaders in Southwestern cities such as Laredo are courting Mexicans more heavily than ever, hoping that they will save the holiday shopping season.”
And what exactly are they buying? Jeans, hats and cowboy boots, of course!
“If you’re going to buy a little birthday present, you will do it here in Mexico. But if you are going to buy a wardrobe, you are going to Texas,” said Silvia Garza, a vice president of a McAllen Chamber of Commerce branch in Mexico’s Monterrey.
Photo: via Flickr
I don’t know about you, but I plan to celebrate Thanksgiving by honoring those who paved the way for our paisanos en el campo. (Oh, and by saying “paved” I didn’t mean to say “pavo.”)
Happy Sansgivin!
Image: Dry Bones
A Bay Area’s news station, Kron, this week announced the launch of Hacienda Heights, a weekly telenovela that will premiere Dec. 3. The new show, say its creators, features an all Hispanic cast in an English-language soap opera. Per a news release:
The story is about the trials and tribulations of the families in the fast growing city of Hacienda Heights. The conflicts that arise between the political, wealthy and the working middle class families are universal and extremely current in today’s world. The stories are rich and are portrayed fantastically by its talented cast.
I’m not sure if the weekly series will be able to compete with Univision’s highly successful telenovelas. But at least they seem to be casting actresses with the right amount of breasts talent, including Bibiana Navas (top) and Tara Ciabattoni.
Don’t you just love it when useless politicians turn cute and dress up in “ethnic” garb that not even “ethnic people” really wear? Here’s Mr. Bush and other world leaders at this week’s APEC Summit in Lima.
Well, at least he didn’t look as ridiculous as the previous time he wore a Poncho (or did he?)
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