Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star: ‘Quiet, the Winter Harbor’ (video)


East Los pocha Hope Sandoval and her group Mazzy Star’s Quiet, the Winter Harbor — their latest release — is both lovely and disturbing. As always, Sandoval shines with the most distinctive and memorable voice in rock music today, and the atmospheric production makes the melody soar. Mazzy Star is on Facebook.

PREVIOUSLY ON HOPE SANDOVAL:

Mas…Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star: ‘Quiet, the Winter Harbor’ (video)

The Barrio Nostalgia of ‘Veteranas and Rucas’ on Instagram


The internet is so much about what to look at.

For me, that’s weird. You see the bulk of the first part of my life was bound up with reading—which is all about looking at things, reading words, but has little to do with seeing, with reading pictures.

It is true that as a kid, I was all about reading while seeing, with Richie Rich, Mad Magazine, Vampirella, Batman, Eerie, and Plop! infecting the technicolor corridors of my imagination.

But after that came college and graduate school with a major in literature—so novels took over (that and critical theory), so words came to dominate the scene of my life.

Mas…The Barrio Nostalgia of ‘Veteranas and Rucas’ on Instagram

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Hot Sexy Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

salsainabowlI’m Elena Maria Celina Carrillo Martinez de los Angeles Delgadillo Trujillo…Lopez. But you can call me Lencha.

Today my son is in his room reading his Naruto muñequito books, so I can chare with you my special recipe for Valentime’s Day.

M’ijo don’t like it when I talk about sexy things because me and his daddy are divorce because his daddy like to stick his weene ebrywhere.

M’ijo usually checks my espelling but oh gwell. Since I have a little gwhile, I give you the recipe for Aphrodisiac Salsa.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Hot Sexy Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

#TBT 2012: Meet our newest sponsor – RentALatino!

Rent a Latino!In our ongoing search for advertisers to match our diverse audience, it looks like we have found a winner – a company with deep pockets and its heart in the right place.

POCHO is glad to welcome RentALatino to the echelons of our Premium Sponsors.

To learn how you might qualify for RentALatino‘s latest discounts and see the full message from our sponsor, read on!

Mas…#TBT 2012: Meet our newest sponsor – RentALatino!

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Hot and Sexy Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

salsainabowlI’m Elena Maria Celina Carrillo Martinez de los Angeles Delgadillo Trujillo…Lopez. But you can call me Lencha.

Today my son is in his room reading his Naruto muñequito books, so I can chare with you my special recipe for Valentime’s Day.

M’ijo don’t like it when I talk about sexy things because me and his daddy are divorce because his daddy like to stick his weene ebrywhere.

M’ijo usually checks my espelling but oh gwell. Since I have a little gwhile, I give you the recipe for Aphrodisiac Salsa.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Hot and Sexy Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

Dancing with Selena, memories of childhood, and pepperoni pizza

Three hours into Selena night at the Regent in downtown Los Angeles, Bidi Bidi Bom Bom starts playing.

I feel this deep, animal sense of belonging.

This is my song and I need to be on stage. I claw my way up to the stage and slip in a puddle of what is maybe human sweat.

The hands of my fellow Selena enthusiasts pull me up.

We do what we came here to do: we dance.

Mas…Dancing with Selena, memories of childhood, and pepperoni pizza

How gringas, gringos, gabachas y gabachos can pass as poch@s

olmosmemeIf there’s one thing I’m pretty experienced at, it’s navigating between Gringolandia and Mi Raza.

“Osea,” being pocho.

As the racial landscape of our country darkens, for the better, and Latinos become the majority, proving your pocho-ness will become a valuable skill for all gringos, whether Trump likes it or not.

Follow these three simple steps next time you need to pass as pocho.

Studies have shown the more pocho you are, the easier it is to get into law school, get that promotion or land that Hollywood role of a lifetime.

Mas…How gringas, gringos, gabachas y gabachos can pass as poch@s

Born in the USA: The secret downside of espeaking Spanglish

primos“Wow, it’s so cool you can speak Spanish,” people tell me after they hear me on the phone with my mom.

I say thanks and try to shrug it off, but I worry that letting them think that gives a mistaken impression.

I mean, yes. I can speak Spanish.

My parents taught me Spanish when I was growing up in California because it was the only language they had to give.

Like a lot of children of immigrants, I grew up in a Mexican immigrant bubble – my tias and tios spoke only Spanish. My baby primos spoke Spanish with me when we watched Plaza Sesamo and ate conchitas.

Mas…Born in the USA: The secret downside of espeaking Spanglish

Pocha Yari Rodriguez wants to live (and die?) on Mars (video)

marspochaCalifornia-born Yari Rodriguez wants to be a crew member on that one-way trip to Mars – but she’s scared.

For Smith College engineering grad Rodriguez, the most terrifying thing about a one-way trip to Mars isn’t a rocket malfunction, lack of oxygen, or the probability of death on Mars, she told Fox News Latino. It’s the cameras.

“It’s the scariest part about the whole mission,” Rodriguez, 27, said. “I’m really shy and nervous…I’ve been coming to terms with being on TV.”

Mas…Pocha Yari Rodriguez wants to live (and die?) on Mars (video)

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: My Hot Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

salsainabowlI’m Elena Maria Celina Carrillo Martinez de los Angeles Delgadillo Trujillo…Lopez. But you can call me Lencha. Today my son is in his room reading his Naruto muñequito books, so I can chare with you my special recipe for Valentime’s Day.

M’ijo don’t like it when I talk about sexy things because me and his daddy are divorce because his daddy like to stick his weene ebrywhere.

M’ijo usually checks my espelling but oh gwell. Since I have a little gwhile, I give you the recipe for Aphrodisiac Salsa.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: My Hot Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day Salsa

Pocha Podcast: WTF is up with these catcalls? (NSFW audio)

POCHO’s Subcommandanta del Ñews Sara Inés Calderón in Los Angeles and New Jack City Burro Jefe Elise Roedenbeck got together in audioland to see if they could figure out WTF is up with guys and their weird catcalls and come-ons. Is it different in New York vs. L.A.? Are Spanish catcalls different from English? What’s a guera to do?

Ooops! This audio file seems to be missing! The authorities have been notified.

Hooray! We found a cached copy on Archive.org. Download the POCHA PODCAST here (5.1MB MP3)

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Delicious aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day salsa

I’m Elena Maria Celina Carrillo Martinez de los Angeles Delgadillo Trujillo…Lopez. But you can call me Lencha.

Today my son is in his room reading his Naruto muñequito books, so I can chare with you my special recipe for Valentime’s Day.

M’ijo don’t like it when I talk about sexy things because me and his daddy are divorce because his daddy like to stick his weenie ebrywhere.

M’ijo usually checks my espelling but oh gwell. Since I have a little gwhile, I give you the recipe for Aphrodisiac Salsa.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Delicious aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day salsa

Pochas y pochos, beware! Aqua Net hairspray may cause mutations

(PNS reporting from NEW NEW YORK CITY) Attention, pochas y pochos! Interstellar starship captain and Mutants’ Rights advocate Turanga Leela is warning of serious side-effects from a popularly-priced hair care product you may be using at this very moment.

Leela thinks her late mother Munda’s use of Aqua Net hairspray is the reason she’s a loveless mutant with only one eye, and says the ingredient cyclopentasiloxane is the culprit.

“I mean the name STARTS with cyclop, how did people miss that?” she asked a press conference in New New York City Sunday (photo, above.)

Aqua Net hairspray is a must-carry purse item for every well-prepared pocha, according to a recent survey, and is used as a “bug spray, deodorant and a…substitute for glue.”

Mas…Pochas y pochos, beware! Aqua Net hairspray may cause mutations

Pocho Ocho ironic nicknames that aren’t as insulting as they seem

El Flaco (left) and El Gordo

8. Gordo/a – This word (it means “overweight”) seems like an insult, but  it’s just another way to say, “Hey you!”  You don’t have to be fat to get this nickname.

7. Flaco/a –  And you don’t actually have to be skinny to get this nickname. Of course, you could be relatively skinny compared to everyone else in the room, but it’s just a way to speed things along.

6. Viejo/a –  This word (“old”) could be used to refer to one’s significant other, parent, or friend. Whether or not one is actually old depends on those involved in the conversation. 

Mas…Pocho Ocho ironic nicknames that aren’t as insulting as they seem

Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day salsa

I’m Elena Maria Celina Carrillo Martinez de los Angeles Delgadillo Trujillo…Lopez. But you can call me Lencha. Today my son is in his room reading his Naruto muñequito books, so I can chare with you my special recipe for Valentime’s Day.

M’ijo don’t like it when I talk about sexy things because me and his daddy are divorce because his daddy like to stick his weene ebrywhere.

M’ijo usually checks my espelling but oh gwell. Since I have a little gwhile, I give you the recipe for Aphrodisiac Salsa.

Mas…Tia Lencha’s Cocina: Aphrodisiac Valentine’s Day salsa

Meet our newest sponsor – RentALatino!

Rent a Latino!In our ongoing search for advertisers to match our diverse audience, it looks like we have found a winner – a company with deep pockets and its heart in the right place.

POCHO is glad to welcome RentALatino to the echelons of our Premium Sponsors.

To learn how you might qualify for RentALatino‘s latest discounts and see the full message from our sponsor, read on!

Mas…Meet our newest sponsor – RentALatino!

The Pocho Ocho Spanglish words every pocho must know


8. Pants,  as in sweatpants, and it’s pronounced in Spanish, otherwise it wouldn’t count as Spanglish. Say “pontz.” These are what Richard Simmons should wear.

7. Chores, the seasonal opposite of pants, chores (pronounced: CHor-Essss), are even good to wear during the winters in most of the Southwest. Richard Simmons wears these.

6. Cornfleis,  you know, like America’s favorite good-for-you-finish-it-up cereal. Remember breakfast is the most importante meal of the day. And sometimes you get toys.

Mas…The Pocho Ocho Spanglish words every pocho must know

Pocho Ocho items every pocha should carry in her purse

Purse by Notagucci™

8. Aqua Net: Yeah, for hair, stupid. But I also use this for multiple things like bug spray, deodorant, and even as a substitute for glue.

7. Mazapan: Marzipan is a yummy almond-flavored treat and mazapan is a similar treat made with peanuts. Instead of eating like a horse on your date, pop one of these in your mouth to hold you, you don’t want to look like my homegirl La Piggy.

6. Morning After Pill: I know you have probably taken this within the last two months but it’s quite all right, I am a ho, too. Always be prepared, Junior does not need a little brother.

Mas…Pocho Ocho items every pocha should carry in her purse

Funny, you don’t look Mexican!

doesntlook“You don’t look Mexican” is something I hear a lot. I hear it from whites, African-Americans, Asians, Mexican nationals, Latinos from Latin America, just about everyone. Of course, in polite company, I usually respond, “Oh, yeah, I get that a lot.”

In my head, however, I usually think, “What, exactly does is a Mexican ‘supposed’ to look like?” This is, in turn, followed by some expletives.

I find it uncanny that, in 2011 with a country and a world that is increasingly multiracial, that educated people still assume that certain people are “supposed” to look one way or another. Boggles my mind.

Mas…Funny, you don’t look Mexican!