COMIC SAENZ
WATCH: Cinco de Mayo at Home with POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz
POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz tells our friend Abelardo de La Pena, Jr. (LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes) what it’s like to be named a finalist for the uber-prestigious Pulitzer Prize, discusses his childhood growing up on the border, and his mission to put Latinos on TV and the big screen.
Mas…WATCH: Cinco de Mayo at Home with POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz
Happy May Day 2020 from the Workers of the World (video, lyrics)
Enjoy the Internacional, the world-wide (Get it? It’s international!) anthem of those commie cabrones in Russia and Cuba and Venezuela and China and North Korea (and lurking in secretive anti-lockdown cells here in the Homeland but the lamestream media won’t tell you that).
Today, May 1, is May Day AKA International Workers’ Day, when the comrades sing this stirring appeal, with its hummable melody and a vague vision of making the future great again that’s hard to disagree with, except maybe the LUCHA FINAL aspect.
Mas…Happy May Day 2020 from the Workers of the World (video, lyrics)
WATCH: Lock Down Quarantine Reservation Blues
POCHO contributor Ricardo Cate directs and stars in this just-released music video Lockdown Reservation Quarantine Blues. You think you’ve got it bad? Ricardo and the fam have to Pow Wow from Home! Music by Adrian Wall.
How does Lalo Alcaraz do what he does?
Lalo’s latest editorial cartoon, “CORONATION”, not only delivers a powerful visual indictment of our deluded self-crowned moron monarch, but comes with a bonus track: a 2-minute time lapse video.
¡Feliz César Chávez Day!
Cesar Chavez Day is a U.S. federal commemorative holiday, proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a version of the “evergreen” feature we run every Cesar Chavez Day. This version lacks the listing of what’s open and what’s closed because everything is closed. Stay safe at home, pochos!
The holiday celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights and labor movement activist Cesar Chavez on March 31 every year. [Wikipedia.]
Who was Chavez?
Vanessa Del Fierro: ‘Con Este Tequila, I Will Forget You Tonight’ (video y lyrics)
Our favorite mariachi, Vanessa Del Fierro, has a big Texas voice and incredible emotional depth. As the leader of Mariachi Las Coronelas, she’s brought her San Antonio crew crossover popularity with an eclectic mix of traditional tunes and surprise pop favorites.
She’s been teasing this video on her Facebook for a while and now we have it!
She sent us this email last night:
Mas…Vanessa Del Fierro: ‘Con Este Tequila, I Will Forget You Tonight’ (video y lyrics)
Pocho Ocho Top Ways We’re Fighting the Corona Virus
TO: ALL POCHO ESTAFF MEMBERS
FROM: JOSÉ CANUSÍ, JEFE-DE-HR
DATE: MARCH 11, 2020
RE: CORONA VIRUS PRECAUTIONS
Your lives are somewhat important to us. That's why we've instituted eight new prophylactic measures to reduce estaff exposure to some possibly dangerous germs and shit.
Here are the Pocho Ocho Top Ways We're Fighting the Corona Virus:
8. The 11AM editorial meeting, usually held at BarrioBucks, has been moved to the Wuhan Wok restaurant next door because they value our business, whereas BB won't let us forget that chanclazo in December.
7. Please see me for your choice of luchador masks and/or dog cones to help you not touch your face.
6. Hand sanitizing stations have been installed around the office that dispense Vicks® VapoRub™.
This is the karaoke video that’s gone viral: MY CORONA
Sing along with MY CORONA — the karaoke video that’s gone viral!
Chicana on the Edge Reviews ‘American Dirt’ by Jeanine Cummins (video)
Regina Rodríguez-Martin, aka blogger Chicana on the Edge, read and reviewed Jeanine Cummins American Dirt as a public service.
Her review starts like this:
Three weeks ago I got an email announcing a new book club for women over 50, and the first novel they were going to read was Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt. The novel focuses on a Mexican woman’s journey from her home in Acapulco to the U.S, crossing without papers in extremely dangerous ways.
Then I read about the book’s big controversy. Latinos were angry about the red carpet treatment given to this book written by a white woman because Mexican Americans telling similar stories don’t get nearly as much attention from publishers. The most scathing review was written by Myriam Gurba (and I urge you to read it). I would usually pass on a book like this.
Mas…Chicana on the Edge Reviews ‘American Dirt’ by Jeanine Cummins (video)
Hey Vato! presents ‘A Cholo Valentine’ (NSFW video)
As Vatos Smiley and Chuy search for the true meaning of Valentine’s Day — and the place of amor in this troubled world — Smiley’s sister Angie sets them straight on how VDay REALLY works. [NSFW F-bomb.]
Espanish 101: ¿Where did we get the word PENDEJO?
You heard it, you said it, you know it.
PENDEJO. USE IT IN A SENTENCE. ERES UN PENDEJO.
There’s the Orange Pendejo, first of all, and that pendejo down the block who parks his ranfla like a baboso. Let’s not forget that pendeja on the train with the cheap perfume and those pendejos at the construction site who cat-call every time a mujer walks on by.
But what does PENDEJO mean, exactly? If you’ve ever looked it up, the dictionary says it means “pubic hair,” but how did that turn into “asshat” or “jerkface” or “_______?”
Let’s follow along with University of Texas Río Grande Valley Profe David Bowles:
54 Years Ago in East Los: ‘Happy New Year Baby’ from The Sisters
Fifty-four years go – 1965 – big hair and girl groups were what all the cool kids dug in East Los Angeles.
Sisters Rosella, Ersi, and Mary Arvizu believed they could be the next Supremes — even before there were Supremes. They called themselves The Sisters.
Mark Guerrero, son of Chicano music legend Lalo Guerrero, tells the story:
Mas…54 Years Ago in East Los: ‘Happy New Year Baby’ from The Sisters
Punk pocha pioneer Alice Bag presents: ‘No Xmas gifts for Nazis’ (NSFW video)
Punk pocha pioneer Alice Bag has a NSFW message for the haters: You will Nazi any gifts under your tree this year.
Mas…Punk pocha pioneer Alice Bag presents: ‘No Xmas gifts for Nazis’ (NSFW video)
WATCH: Doris Day totally digs you, dude – almost as much as “Tacos, Enchiladas, and Beans”
It’s an unreleased single from 1947, they say, with a melody by Mel Torme and lyrics by Robert Wells. Doris Day sings for all of us — your kisses are sweet, querido, but they’re not Tacos, Enchiladas, and Beans.
Mira los lyrics:
Mas…WATCH: Doris Day totally digs you, dude – almost as much as “Tacos, Enchiladas, and Beans”
NPR Audio: Talking about Spanglish at this college – chingon or nah?
Some people speak English, others speak Spanish. But we speak Spanglish. How about you?
Yes, they say “Latinx” in this news feature. Don’t @ me.
Mas…NPR Audio: Talking about Spanglish at this college – chingon or nah?
‘Sabor A Mí’: David Lawrence sings his mom’s hit his way (video)
Eydie Gormé (and Los Panchos) made Sabor A Mí a huge international hit in 1964.
Mas…‘Sabor A Mí’: David Lawrence sings his mom’s hit his way (video)
How to make homemade burritos that do not suck (video)
He says his name is Internet Shaquille and calls this a cooking show. Despite all that, he has some good advice on the proper approach to burrito preparation, beginning with the correct tortilla.
George Carlin’s advice to ‘edgy’ comedians: Punch up, not down (video)
Ground-breaking standup comedian George Carlin is all in favor of free speech, but thinks the best comedy comes from punching up, not punching down, and that means not mocking gays, immigrants, women, and other vulnerable minorities.
Mas…George Carlin’s advice to ‘edgy’ comedians: Punch up, not down (video)
WATCH: Temple B’Nai Pocho Wishes You A Happy Rosh HaShanah 5780
The Jewish High Holiday of Rosh HaShanah, which marks 5780 years since the Creation of the World, starts Sunday at sundown.
Happy New Year y Shanah Tovah tambien.
Mas…WATCH: Temple B’Nai Pocho Wishes You A Happy Rosh HaShanah 5780
The Honey Drippers get the funk out: ‘Impeach the President’
The Honey Drippers, high school students from Jamaica, Queens, Long Island (strangely, this was Donald Trump’s home town), recorded Impeach the President in 1973.
Mas…The Honey Drippers get the funk out: ‘Impeach the President’
Talk (And Sing) Like A (Mexican) Pirate Day: ‘Santy Anno’ (video)
It’s International Talk Sing Like A Pirate Day and we’re please to present not only a “sea shanty” about being a pirate, but one about the Mexican-American war of the 1850s. It’s even in Wikipedia! This video of Santy Anno has music by Forebitter and Lord Cavendish manga-influenced artwork assembled by uploader LordDrakoArakis, probably not his real name.
Here’s the some of what Wikipedia says about this traditional song:
Mas…Talk (And Sing) Like A (Mexican) Pirate Day: ‘Santy Anno’ (video)
Can Method Acting Turn A Minivan into ‘The Ranfla’? (video)
When the pinche Impala isn’t available to drive to the car show, actors Daniel Villarreal and Danny De La Paz, aka Big Puppet and Lil Puppet of American Me, use their elite Method Acting skills to turn a minivan into The Ranfla.
Mas…Can Method Acting Turn A Minivan into ‘The Ranfla’? (video)
The notorious Hip Hop Hoodíos are “Knishin’ in the Mission” (video)
Knishin in the Mission is the first new single in 10 years from Latino-Jewish collective Hip Hop Hoodíos.
Mas…The notorious Hip Hop Hoodíos are “Knishin’ in the Mission” (video)
Happy Taco Thursday from DJ Lechero: ‘Cuatro Tacos’ (music video)
DJ Lechero’s Cuatro Tacos serves up all the fun of Ambjaay’s UNO without the cusswords and misogyny.
Mas…Happy Taco Thursday from DJ Lechero: ‘Cuatro Tacos’ (music video)
Can true love win in the end? Mom and Dad aren’t so sure! ‘Susana’, new video from The Mariachi Ghost, shows and tells (with lyrics)
In the new music video from Winnipeg’s The Mariachi Ghost, Susana, mom and dad seek to separate young lovers. But cutting heart strings is a dangerous approach.
Mira las palabras:
Oakland’s Bang Data is all about the ‘Amor Califas California ❤️’ (video)
East Bay’s Bang Data is sure loves California, and if your city didn’t get a shout out in this video, go back and listen again.
PREVIOUSLY ON BANG DATA:
Mas…Oakland’s Bang Data is all about the ‘Amor Califas California ❤️’ (video)
Always Look for the Union Label: Music vids for Labor Day Weekend 2019
It’s Labor Day Weekend!
¡Orale!
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Sing along with the music that celebrates the ordinary working people who keep this country — and the world — in business: 9 to 5 from Dolly Parton, Look for the Union Label, Workin’ in a Coal Mine, This Land Is Your Land, and Solidarity Forever.
Mas…Always Look for the Union Label: Music vids for Labor Day Weekend 2019
‘El Paso’ was a hit record, so why not ‘El Pizza’? (video)
“Out in the West Texas town of El Paso,” Marty Robbins sang in his hit 1960 record El Paso, “I fell in love with a Mexican girl.”
The popular Tex-Mex corrido inspired Houston-born musician H.B. Barnum to tell his own story of lost love.
Mas…‘El Paso’ was a hit record, so why not ‘El Pizza’? (video)
Taco Tuesday Nightmare: No avocados in the guacamole (NPR audio)
Food writer Javier Cabral — AKA THE GLUTSTER — goes behind the scenes at your local taqueria to find out what’s in the guacamole.
Mas…Taco Tuesday Nightmare: No avocados in the guacamole (NPR audio)