Having Run out of Ideas, Univision Steals Ice Bucket Challenge Idea to Support its Own Cause: TeletonUSA

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Screenshot by Laura Martínez
Screenshot by Laura Martínez

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must have noticed that everybody and their abuela have -for some reason- taken an unusual interest in fighting ALS by challenging one another to take the Ice Bucket Challenge, dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads.

Ok, so fine. Everybody wants their 30 seconds of fame while pretending to care about a noble cause. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but the Ice Bucket craziness has gotten so out of control, that Univision has jumped on it; not to donate to ALS, but to its own cause: the Televisa/Univision sanctioned TeletonUSA, an annual 24-plus-hour TV and radio broadcast to raise money for children’s rehabilitation centers.

Per an Aug. 21, 2014 tweet by Univision Sports anchor Félix Fernández, a donation of US$200 was deposited to the account of the Alcancía Digital (aka as the official account of TeletonUSA) upon taking the now famed Ice Bucket Challenge live, on camera and narrated by none other than Univision’s own Perro Bermúdez. [Watch the video here]

Here’s the original tweet by Univision Sports commentator Felix Fernández touting the deposit upon taking the Challenge, making it very clear that the funds were not deposited to ALS but to TeletonUSA.

I guess at this point everyone is entitled to dump cold water on their head and support whatever the hell they feel like supporting. I, for one, will take a freezing shower right now, just to clear my head from so much Internet silliness.

Taco Bell’s $10 Taco Does Not Come in a Tortilla -Of course

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o-THE-ONE-PERCENTER-570

Taco Bell this week opened its first store of U.S. Taco Co., a spin-off that “seeks to satisfy Americans’ growing hunger for higher-quality food” than, say, everything else available out here.

And of course because this is America, people, U.S. Taco Co’s menu includes ‘The 1 Percenter,’ a $10 taco that contains lobster, garlic butter, roasted poblano crema and cilantro… because, as everybody knows, that’s what really rich people eat.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: This beauty does NOT come wrapped in a tortilla, no, señor! it comes on top of flatbread. You know? for the rich.

Excuse-me?!

via: Huffington Post

The Mexican ‘Jersey Shore’ Looks Stupider than the Regular ‘Jersey Shore’

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'Acapulco Shore' is scheduled to debut in September 2014.
‘Acapulco Shore’ is scheduled to debut in September 2014.

I thought it was going to be a while until I had to post something about silly Mexican spin-offs, but it looks like TV producers and creatives never stop, well, creating.

On the heels of Gossip Girl Acapulco, comes Acapulco Shore, a Mexican version of -yes, you guessed it- Jersey Shore.

Per an MTV Latin America press release:

“Produced exclusively in Mexico, the series will be filmed in and around the city of Acapulco, capturing the staple moments of the franchise including over-the-top arguments, undefined love triangles and outrageous antics in the sun-kissed city.”

Alas, it looks like the reality series -which I’m sure will star a bunch of blond, blue-eyed Mexicans with sculptural bodies- will feature no vigilante autodefensas, corrupt politicians, guerrilla fighters, or dangerous drug lords that seem to have taken over the state of Guerrero, home of the aforementioned sun-kissed city.

I guess producers are kind enough to spare us the bad news, so that we have time to focus on “undefined love triangles and outrageous antics.” Hell, yeah!

Acapulco Shore is scheduled to debut in September 2014.

Oscar Mayer Courts Latinos With -What Else?- an Abuela

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LolaEmbarazada

From Oscar Mayer, the company that brought us the disgusting sausage flasher, now comes Lola: The Abuela Who Tells it Like it is, a Facebook fan page featuring a bilingual, annoying abuela that has managed to amass almost 18,000 likes.

When she is not peddling recipes based on Oscar Mayer products, Lola spends her time sharing advice on family gatherings, laundry, married life and other mundane things while speaking her mind and saying things as they are “wether we like them or not.” She even takes the time to give us Spanish lessons -in English- and at least as far as I could see, she has better grammar than the Procter & Gamble abuela.

I don’t know you, but I can only imagine the meeting behind Lola’s creation:

Creative # 1: Let’s create an abuela to share recipes and stuff online, ’cause Latinos are online and love their abuelas and food and stuff…  

Creative # 2: Yeah, but you know, Latinos are going to go up in arms because of the tired, abuela cliché, etc. You know how they are (I’m looking at you, @miblogestublog)

Creative # 1: Oh, I get it! Let’s make her fun and irreverent. That’ll do it.

Done. Budget approved.

Honestly, between these two, I kind of prefer the flasher (At least he did not try to be funny, nor show his face, only his cold cuts.)

Hat tip: Julio Varela

California Wants Kids to go Out to ‘Juagar’ -or Something

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Juaga

It is always a good thing when U.S. organizations take the time to embrace other cultures -and languages. But, here’s a piece of advice: If you are a children’s museum seeking to encourage children to play and explore in English -and Spanish- you will be well advised to use proper Spanish translations and -ding!- do it right.

Now, you probably don’t have tons of money to hire someone awesome like, ahem, myself, but heck! at least you can use Google Translate. See below. It works!

Screen Shot 2014-07-30 at 2.02.35 PM

So in a nutshell: Don’t be freaking lazy; do your job properly or stop “juagando” with my people.

UNLESS, of course, you meant to say “JuanGa” in which case I’m in and I wan to play!

Hat tip: Begoña Lozano, purveyor of awesome postings.

CW to Premiere Venezuelan Drama About a Religious Girl Who Gets ‘Accidentally Inseminated’

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JuanaLaVirgen

The crave for Latin American dramas is about to reach new heights, as CW on October will debut an English-language adaptation of Juana la Virgen, a Venezuelan novela about a “very religious girl” who ends up being artificially inseminated… accidentally, of course.

The adaptation, which was first reported by Deadline.com, has some powerful backers, including Ben Silverman, the guy behind Ugly Betty and Jennie Snyder Urman, creator of Emily Owens, MD.

I’m not sure how the story will play down in English, but at least in Spanish -and judging from the following episode- Juana’s “virginity” doesn’t seem to hold much water.

Thursday is National Tequila Day, and Some Flak Wants me to Drink Jenni Rivera Tequila

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JenniRiveraTequila
As if living in the U.S. weren’t hard enough, one has to keep track of all these national food and drink holidays, which are a lot, believe me. There’s National Vodka and Taco Day; National Tortilla Chip Day and even National Paella Day.

And while I have missed a few of these very important celebrations, I intend to celebrate in full the upcoming National Tequila Day, which will take place July 24.

But I will not be celebrating with just any tequila. Per the advice of a flak PR executive, the best way to celebrate is by opening a bottle of Jenni Rivera La Gran Señora Tequila (whose existence had also eluded me) and mix a “super terrific drink…” How about a spicy cucumber margarita?

I don’t know about you, but since I’m very receptive to PR pitches and PR people, I’ll be starting my test right away. Why wait until the 24th?

¡Salud!

FTC Launches ‘Fotonovela’ to Warn Hispanics Against Government Impostors

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fotonovela-impostores-de-gobierno-veaIn an effort to raise awareness of scams targeting the Latino community, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched Impostores del Gobierno, its first fotonovela -or illustrated novel.

Impostores del Gobierno follows
the story of Sonia, a young woman who responds to a call from a man claiming to be government -and convinces her to send money. Sonia is seeing falling prey of the scam while going about the regular activities of a Latino woman, namely buying Latino food at a Latino food merchant.

Screen Shot 2014-07-18 at 12.50.46 PM

The FTC says the story is based on actual complaints received by the FTC and offers practical advice on what to say when a call, text message or email from a fake government received.

Via: FTC.gov en español