The Aztecs and Mayans released the magic of chocolate (originally, xocolatl) to the world, only to lose the industry to Europe. Now, growing and processing chocolate in Mexico is virtually an An Act of Resistance. Video by The Perennial Plate. To find out about food tours like this, check out Intrepid Travel.
COMIC SAENZ
Darth Vader’s Chinese New Year: May the horse be with you (video)
“Are you the chinos I was looking for?” asks Darth Vader. “May the horse be with you!”
You won’t see THIS ad during the Super Bowl! (video)
Native Americans have many names, but they are not your mascots.
PREVIOUSLY ON MASCOTS AND INDIANS:
Mexican biologists wonder: Where have all the axolotls gone?
You know those uber-cute salamander-like axolotls who are native to the lake system in and around Mexico City? They’re gone.
Growing up to a foot long (30 cm) and known as the “water monster” or the “Mexican walking fish”, its only natural habitat is the Xochimilco network of lakes and canals, which are suffering from pollution and urban sprawl.
Biologist Armando Tovar Garza, of Mexico’s National Autonomous University, described an attempt last year by researchers to try to net axolotls in the shallow, muddy waters of Xochimilco as “four months of sampling zero axolotls”.
Mas…Mexican biologists wonder: Where have all the axolotls gone?
Is this Chihuahua-Beagle (Cheagle) the world’s cutest mutt? (photos)
We like cute mutts and we cannot lie. We think this “Cheagle,” part Chihuahua, part Beagle, is the cutest.
There are more contenders in the Huffington Post mixed-breed photo gallery thang, but peep a few more Chihuahua-sorta cuties before you go, like this “Chi-weenie” — part Dachshund, part Chihuahua:
Mas…Is this Chihuahua-Beagle (Cheagle) the world’s cutest mutt? (photos)
George Lopez cartoon comedy ‘Órale #Chingón La Vida’ (NSFW video)
Is George Lopez just as funny when he’s a cartoon? POCHO blogs, you decide! [NSFW adult language.]
PREVIOUSLY ON GEORGE LOPEZ:
Mas…George Lopez cartoon comedy ‘Órale #Chingón La Vida’ (NSFW video)
Pete Seeger, audience sing ‘Guantanamera’ in Spanish (video)
The late Pete Seeger always got everyone in the audience to sing along for Guantanamera — in Spanish. (Editor’s Note: That’s why they call it folk music. It’s music you sing, not just music you hear.)
Seeger [‘s] intention [was] that [Guantanamera] be used by the peace movement at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. He urged that people sing the song as a symbol of unity between the American and Cuban peoples, and called for it to be sung in Spanish to “hasten the day [that] the USA… is some sort of bilingual country.”
RIP.
Lalo Alcaraz, Al Madrigal and Maria Conchita Alonso (audio)

POCHO’s Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz and Migrant Editor Al Madrigal were on the LatinoUSA airwaves to give a partial “thumbs up” to Maria Conchita Alonso‘s foray in politics with an ad backing a Tea Party candidate for Cali governator. It’s funny, they say, and looking at her entry on IMDB, she probably needed the work. Also, Alonso’s decision to feature her Chihuahua named Tequila (photo, above), wasn’t a stereotypical thing to do at all.
20 signs you may be Mexican American [@omgitseddieg video]
Oh Em Gee, It’s Eddie G came up with 20 indicators of Mexican-Americanism. Sound familiar? Someone you know? You can follow Eddie on the Twitter.
Your skin, your hair — what ARE you, anyhow? (video)
A spoken word meditation on skin, hair, race, ethnicity, categories and stereotypes from Amani Hayes-Messinger. Since you were asking, she’s from Boston.
PREVIOUSLY ON STEREOTYPES:
Obama’s List: Pocho Ocho things more dangerous than alchohol
Former stoner Barack Obama doesn’t think marijuana “is more dangerous than alcohol,” according to The New Yorker:
“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol,” the president said.
But if mota is not more dangerous than alcohol, what is? Here are the top eight contenders:
Mas…Obama’s List: Pocho Ocho things more dangerous than alchohol
Homies have a dream: ‘Raza for President’ (video)
Is it time for a Homie in the Casa Blanca?
¡Mira! Meet ‘Mi Madre’ (Vine video)
Rudy Mancuso wants you to meet his mom. No moms were tortured in the making of this video. [With these Vine videos, there’s an audio/speaker/volume icon that pops up when you hover over the top-left corner on the video.]
PREVIOUSLY ON RUDY MANCUSO:
Hey, Sasheer Zamata: Could you please act more ‘urban?’ (video)
New Saturday Night Live cast member Sasheer Zamata just wasn’t black enough at the audition. [Contains N-word, girl!]
PREVIOUSLY ON CASTING:
Mas…Hey, Sasheer Zamata: Could you please act more ‘urban?’ (video)
Welcome to the Indian Store – Dream Catchers are on sale today (video)
The Indian Store has everything the White Man needs — dream catchers, spirit animals, books on coyotes and WiFi signal boosters. [F-bombs.] Video by the 1491s.
Previously on the 1491s:
Mas…Welcome to the Indian Store – Dream Catchers are on sale today (video)
Rio de Janeiro: Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening, me
A lightning bolt broke a finger off the right hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro last week.
Mas…Rio de Janeiro: Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening, me
POCHO History 101: Public Enemy, Arizona, MLK Day (video)
Twenty-one years ago Public Enemy‘s epic By the Time I Get to Arizona spotlighted the Hate State of Arizona’s failure to implement the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Maria Conchita Alonso likes a Tea Party guy with cojones (video)
Tea Partier Tim Donnelly wants to be the next governator of Califas, and that means he needs Latino votes. And who could be better to help with Mexican-Americans in Cali than Cuban-American actress Maria Conchita Alonso? Never mind about his hardline position on immigration.
PREVIOUSLY ON STRANGE BEDFELLOWS:
Mas…Maria Conchita Alonso likes a Tea Party guy with cojones (video)
Are they really ‘Beta Males’ — slackers without a cause? (NSFW video)
Two brothers and one amigo wonder what it’s all about, being responsible adults with degrees and stuff. From Hijo De Mi Madre Productions. [One F bomb.]
America to pause Monday for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2014
(PNS reporting from WASHINGTON, D.C.) America will pause Monday to remember the life and message of Ricky Martin Luther King Jr., whose Tengo a Dream y Dance! speech changed the nation forever.
Post offices and other public facilities will be closed, banks and stock exchanges take the day off and salsa picante and sweet potato pie – his favorite snack combo – are on sale all across America. Today would have been RMLK’s 34th birthday.
Despite his tragic death in 2007 (he was shot and killed by the president of his fan club before an appearance in Dallas) King’s promotion of “love, equality, justice, innocence, malice, refuge, oppression, freedom” has continued to resonate among confused Latinos and Anglos alike.
Mas…America to pause Monday for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2014
Trevor Noah: It’s not easy being mixed (NSFW video)
“Coloured” stand up comic Trevor Noah explains his mixed-race life in apatheid-era South Africa to fans in London. [NSFW adult language.]
PREVIOUSLY ON TREVOR NOAH:
MADDEF rates 2013 a ‘Mestizo Year’ for Chihuahuas in media, online
(PNS reporting from BEVERLY HILLS) 2013 was a “Mestizo Year” for Chihuahuas in the media, according to the Mexican American Dog Defense and Education Fund’s (MADDEF) annual It’s A Dog’s Life report released here Monday.
The study carefully tallies and grades Chihuahua representations in pop culture (TV, radio, Internets, books, newspapers, magazines, videos, pop music, video games, etc.), scientifically sniffing the butt of America’s complicated relationship with the popular canine.
2013’s record was mixed, the group lamented, and the prospect of increased levels of anti-Chihuahua defamation in 2014 “remains troubling, especially in cyberspace, where mocking the perritos has become a viral ‘meme.'”
Since the death of superstar Gidget the Taco Bell Chihuahua in 2006, the image of all Chihuahuas has been on the decline, the study noted, presenting this widely-circulated and ignorantly-misspeeled illustration of an alleged “zombie” Chihuahua as just one piece of evidence (photo, right.)
Mas…MADDEF rates 2013 a ‘Mestizo Year’ for Chihuahuas in media, online
Jesus Trejo’s combed-over hair is blowin’ in the wind (video)
Long Beach homeboy Jesus Trejo started losing his hair early, so now he has a combover.
One (Delicious) Minute in Mexico [video]
The Perennial Plate ate some good food in Mexico and refried it into a beautiful and tempting one-minute video, One Minute in Mexico. The music is Por El Suelo by Olmeca.
Know your cultural history? What’s wrong with these pictures?
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up! On vocals, Mountain Chief of the Blackfoot.
Mas…Know your cultural history? What’s wrong with these pictures?
Artist marks rap history at Los Angeles’ intersections (NSFW video)
Los Angeles locations like Pico and La Brea, 108th and Crenshaw, The House of Blues and Dockweiler Beach were all featured in rap lyrics. Now New York’s Jay Shells wants to make sure these landmarks get the respect they deserve. [Some NSFW lyrics.]
PREVIOUSLY ON PICO BOULEVARD:
Mas…Artist marks rap history at Los Angeles’ intersections (NSFW video)
Nasty Pantys: Undies that say ‘No’ so you don’t have to (NSFW video)
A ground-breaking informercial for a revolutionary anti-rape device — chonies that JUST SAY NO so you don’t have to! [Adult gags. NSFW.]
Clip & Save: Handy forms for every occasion (toon)
Pocho Ocho reasons Sen. Ted Cruz is still a Canadian citizen
Despite promises, 2013 Pendejo of the Year Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has not relinquished his Canadian citizenship.
Here are the Pocho Ocho reasons why:
Mas…Pocho Ocho reasons Sen. Ted Cruz is still a Canadian citizen
[Sponsored] NSA cyber spy gear on sale now — big post-Xmas savings!
It’s after Christmas and everything must go — and our prices are INSAAAAANE!
There’s nothing wrong with any of these state-of-the-art electronic spying devices we picked up at the NSA year-end auction. They’re new, they’re still in the original packaging and they are the very best in the world, except for one thing:
They are last year’s models.
That’s just not the way your National Security Agency rolls.
So check out these two items just released for sale (click to enlarge) and if you want to see more, click on the big link below.
Mas…[Sponsored] NSA cyber spy gear on sale now — big post-Xmas savings!
Shocking live video: ICE busts motorist for ‘Driving While Canadian’
They’re on guard all across Los Angeles — the dedicated officers of L.A. Illegal Canadian Enforcement (LA-ICE) — keeping us safe from the border-crashing Canuckians hordes of the Great White North. In this episode, the LA-ICE team investigates a motorist suspected of Driving While Canadian.
Forget that ‘Duck’ guy, Steve Yamamoto is a Free Speech Hero (video)
You can exercise your First Amendment rights as a homophobic racist fool on A&E or as an anti-corporate viral video dude on the Internets. You be the judge.
A Chicago employee of the Safeway/Dominick’s supermarket chain (which is closing 72 stores eliminating 6000 jobs) was suspended after he posted this YouTube video — Thanks, Safeway — portraying the store closings as a vicious attack by space aliens.
Steve Yamamoto was suspended Saturday, when he showed up for his last day at work.
Mas…Forget that ‘Duck’ guy, Steve Yamamoto is a Free Speech Hero (video)
