‘What Is Hip?’ Tower of Power and Carlos Santana (video, lyrics)


We borrowed the title of this Tower of Power mega-hit for POCHO Jefe Lalo Alcaraz’ toon about San Francisco hipsters so it’s only fair we show our true love for the Bay Area in general and TOP in particular.

Check out TOP’s performance of What Is Hip? live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006 (with guest star Carlos Santana.)

By the way, these are some hip lyrics:

So you want to jump out your trick bag
And ease on into a hip bag
But you ain’t just exactly sure what’s hip
So you start to let your hair grow
Spend big bucks to cop you a wardrobe
But somehow you know there’s much more to the trip

Mas…‘What Is Hip?’ Tower of Power and Carlos Santana (video, lyrics)

New perfumes offer scents of dead Reds Che and Chavez (video)

cheperfumeche-nike(PNS reporting from HAVANA) Hey, kids! Now you can smell like dead Commies Che Guevara and/or Hugo Chavez with these two new scents from Cuba’s Labiofarm labs. (That’s “labio” not “labia,” you freaks.)

The just-announced perfume products could be a big source of hard currency for Venezuela‘s flagging economy, which Chavez poisoned and current Commandante Maduro is now kicking in the cojones.

The Hugo Chavez deal, insiders told PNS, was inspired by the Cuban regime’s multi-million-dollar revenue stream from the Che image licensing deal Comarade Fidel made with Nike (photo.)

Mas…New perfumes offer scents of dead Reds Che and Chavez (video)

Felipe Esparza: The Seven Spanish Cuss Words (LatinoUSA audio)


“There are some words, not many, just a few — that we decided, we won’t use them all the time,” said the late comedian George Carlin in his famous routine about the “seven dirty words.” If you aren’t familiar with it –– the skit tries to pinpoint a definitive list of words you can never say on radio and television [See NSFW video below.]

Mas…Felipe Esparza: The Seven Spanish Cuss Words (LatinoUSA audio)

In Beverly Hills, a cardboard gardener ‘represents’ (photos, video)

bigramiroWe first met West Hollywood artist Ramiro Gomez when he began placing his hand-painted cardboard figures of immigrant laborers in prominent public spaces in Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

Even as his audience has expanded via out-of-town art exhibits and a documentary film, he still plants cutout cardboard workers in places where their real-life counterparts have been before. Gomez’ aim? To make workers who are normally INVISIBLE become visible to passersby who look away or look but never see.

This gardener with a hose popped up Wednesday just before sunset in Beverly Hills near that famous hotel. Like all Gomez’ creations, he has a name. Meet Sergio.

Mas…In Beverly Hills, a cardboard gardener ‘represents’ (photos, video)

Talk (And Sing) Like A (Mexican) Pirate Day: ‘Santy Anno’ (music 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’ (music video)

Cutty Flam’s new Spanglish ‘Sugga’ has space rocks, explosions! (video)


SoCal pochos Cutty Flam say their music is the sound track to a 1950’s B-Movie starring Ritchie Valens opposite Betty Page directed by Quentin Tarantino. Señor Cutty sings and plays guitar, Ms. Bang Bangs kicks butt on vocals and drums and Chewy Lewy is the man on bass. In Sugga, a black and white home movie from the future, Cutty Flam saves themselves (or their body doubles) from a sky burst of meteorites with a white box of something that’s not wrapped in aluminum foil and doesn’t attract falling prop rocks. Also there is a greedy music promoter, a life support transfusion, a dead band member RIP, auditions, more aluminum foil and surf style guitar. We know — it’s everything you ever wanted in a music video. Plus Spanglish!

PREVIOUSLY ON CUTTY FLAM:

Mas…Cutty Flam’s new Spanglish ‘Sugga’ has space rocks, explosions! (video)

What’s in a trend? Google tracks ‘Latino’ and ‘Hispanic’ over time

ngramHispanic or Latino? This question comes up all the time, and not just during Hispanic Heritage Month, which we insist on calling Latino Heritage Month.

Is there a trend? We asked the Google NGram Viewer to search their big index of published books to see how many times the word “Latino” and the word “Hispanic” were used over time.

Mas…What’s in a trend? Google tracks ‘Latino’ and ‘Hispanic’ over time

The 11 Rules of a Happy Marriage: A Guide for Wives from 1953 (toons)

rulesintroHey, all you wives — stop eating your bon-bons and watching your “stories” on television for just a minute, yo! Here are 11 rules from 1953 you need to follow for a happy marriage.

AboveTopSecret explains:

“Be the wife he always dreamed of,” is the advice that delivers that “guide” that was written to please men, by an Spanish woman named Pilar Primo de Rivera, sister of the founder of the political party of the extreme right, the “Spanish Falange.”

More translations here….

Mas…The 11 Rules of a Happy Marriage: A Guide for Wives from 1953 (toons)

Undocumented immigrants: The invisible victims of 9/11

memorialflagsThe undocumented immigrants impacted by the bombing of the World Trade Center were practically invisible to the government and agencies that were supposed to help them, two academics reported Tuesday.

The victims and their families were never properly counted because of their social and political isolation from wider society:

  • Immigrants without papers distrusted law enforcement and were wary of drawing attention to themselves.
  • Even if they did come forward, they lacked the paperwork necessary to prove claims and receive assistance.
  • Public opinion linking immigration and terrorism after 9/11 exacerbated the risks of coming out of the MIGRA closet.

Study authors Alexandra Délano and Benjamin Nienass explain:

Mas…Undocumented immigrants: The invisible victims of 9/11

1900 sing ‘Cielito Lindo’ in Jalisco = Guinness World Record (video)


Over 1900 people in Jalisco, the official-looking English-sounding allegedly Guinness World Records guy says in the video, set a new world record this week for the most people singing a “round.” The round in question was Cielito Lindo, and the town was Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Some news channel from Indonesia reports, you decide.

PREVIOUSLY ON JALISCO:

Mas…1900 sing ‘Cielito Lindo’ in Jalisco = Guinness World Record (video)

Parking lot foot race: Hipster in thrift store shirt vs OG cholo (video)


The competition is set for the parking lot behind the bleachers in hot and windy El Monte, East Los, Califas. Can tattooed veterano Rizer put down his mocoso and beat hipster Ben, even if Ben is wearing his magic $3 thrift shore shirt? It’s a thrill-packed race up to the chain link fence and back again and there’s a hyna standing by with prizes. Skip Ventura of Varsity Punks reports.

Anjelah Johnson: No, sorry, I don’t speak Puerto Rican (4 videos)


Pocha Anjelah Johnson from San Jose (408 shout-out!) may not speak Spanish, but she doesn’t speak Puerto Rican either. [This video was one of our most popular and then got yanked from YouTube. We just found this alternate version online, apparently video’d right off someone’s TV.]

Over at LatinoRebels.com, Bella Vida Letty says Anjelah’s new video has her performing in “brown face.”

Here’s the video she objects to. What do you think?

Mas…Anjelah Johnson: No, sorry, I don’t speak Puerto Rican (4 videos)