Puerto Rican scientists ready to activate Large Piña Collider

(PNS reporting from PUERTO RICO) With construction and testing officially completed on the Large Piña Collider (LAPICO), scientists here are ready to begin their high-tech search for the elusive sub-atomic particle that powers the popular cocktail.

LAPICO is a tunnel 25km (15.5 miles) in circumference in the western half of the island, southeast of San Sebastian (satellite photo, above.) Its ring of ice-cooled vacuum pipes are capable of accelerating a stream of maraschino cherries up to 99% of the speed of light (SOL.)

Once the cherries are launched and precision measuring devices determine they are virtually SOL they are fired into a solid pineapple wedge suspended in a large tank of white rum in a state of Marreri-Cofresí equilibrium. The scattered fragments of the collision are measured by a network of repurposed breathalyzer devices and then plotted by computer.

Scientists hope that the Large Piña Collider will be able to find evidence of the elusive Jugos Boson, the so-called Cream Particle which gives all coconut products their silky mouth-feel.

Mas…Puerto Rican scientists ready to activate Large Piña Collider

Write, draw or shoot for POCHO and win the respect of your peers

Face it, pochos, money can’t buy you love. But respect –R-E-S-P-E-C-T — well, that can go a long way towards letting your love light shine.

And that’s why we want to remind you once again of a very special opportunity to earn the respect of your peers, street cred in your neighborhood and, possibly, the approbation of total strangers from all across the InterT00bZ, if not actual cash.

All you need to do is to send POCHO your dreams and nightmares for distribution on the World Wide Web — for the greater good of humanity. Send original photos, videos, cartoons, illustrations, short stories and ñews that will amuse, titillate and elevate America.  Is that so much to ask?

Mas…Write, draw or shoot for POCHO and win the respect of your peers

Ñewsweek: Senior radioactive terrorist, Cuatro de Julio, Frida Kahlo

When quick-thinking U.S. Border Patrol agents detected nuclear radiation coming from the car and determined the passenger was named Raul Castro — just like the brother of murderous dictator Fidel Castro from that prison island of Cuba — they only had one choice:

Detain and interrogate.

The elderly suspect was eventually “free to go” but not before the Federales made sure that radioactive pacemaker in his chest wasn’t really a roadside bomb.  And America was safe for another day, free from radioactive terrorists like Raul Castro, 96, the Hate State of Arizona’s first Latino governor.

Castro’s brazen escape understandably topped POCHO’s ñewsweek, but wait, there’s more!

We also covered the birthday of eyebrow enthusiast Frida Kahlo and the suppressed history of our National Anthem, composed by star-spangled beaners.

Links? We have ’em!:

Mas…Ñewsweek: Senior radioactive terrorist, Cuatro de Julio, Frida Kahlo

When Spanish in school was illegal: ‘When I Dream Dreams’ (video)


Once upon a time in America, Latino kids were not allowed to speak Spanish in school. This documentary recalls those days.

In 1918, Texas, along with many other states, enacted statutes that made the speaking of any language other than English on public school grounds illegal. These laws remained active until the U.S. Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act in 1968.

Through personal interviews with distinguished leaders and educators — all native Spanish/English-speakers — When I Dream Dreams explores the complex psychological and social effects of these laws by relating the experiences of these people as students and, later, as teachers, professors, and legislators.

When I Dream Dreams was made by four students enrolled in an alternative media course at Trinity University in 2001. It has won prizes and festival appearances around the United States, including Best Student Film at the San Francisco Latino Film Festival 2002, Best of the Fest at Cine Accion 2002, and official selection at San Antonio’s Cine Festival 2002. The piece takes its name from the poem by Carmen Tafolla.

From Archive.org

It’s the bomb! Five-Second Films: ‘Vocabulario Explosivo’ (video)


Yup. You figured it out. A five-second-long explosive video meant to help your Spanish vocabulary. Click to play. What do you have to lose?  OK.  Five seconds of your life.  Eight seconds if you include the opening and closing credits.  And yet, having a good vocabulary is worth the time. Am I right, people? *applause*

Ñewsweek: SCOTUS, SB1070, AZ, Obamacare and Mexican Mitt

GOP nominee wannabe Mexican Mitt Romney led off the chorus of this week’s reactioneers after the SCOTUS decisions on SB1070 and Obamacare. “We need to implement Labambacare for all Hispanics pronto!” he wrote in a special guest editorial.

Some Arizonans like the SB1070 decision — we have their reactions — but Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez ripped the decision to shreds on the floor of the House of Representatives — and we have  the video.

Lots of ñews this past week on POCHO;  here are our top stories:

Mas…Ñewsweek: SCOTUS, SB1070, AZ, Obamacare and Mexican Mitt

Complete ‘Hey Vato!’ NSFW existential angst of Chuy y Smiley (videos)


When we heard one of our favorite Hey Vato! episodes (The Tattoo) would be screening at the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival we knew it was time for a special Sabado Ponchonte Saturday Night Video Festival featuring EVERY episode of our favorite web series, in order, so here they are. Hey Vatos! Orale!

Mas…Complete ‘Hey Vato!’ NSFW existential angst of Chuy y Smiley (videos)

Apology: These POCHO comments are ham not spam

POCHO encourages live unmoderated reader comments without registration (democratic but dangerous) so we employ a robot named Akismet to help us weed out spam.

The bot’s not perfect, though. Sometimes legitimate comments get mistakenly trapped by Akismet, which uses artificial intelligence to decide if a comment is Spam (bad) or Ham (good).

Here, with our apologies, are a few comments that were mistakenly flagged as Spam:

Submitted on 2012/06/28 at 10:26 pm
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Submitted on 2012/06/28 at 9:44 pm
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Mas…Apology: These POCHO comments are ham not spam

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

Truth exposed at last! What goes on behind the white door? (video)


If you’re black, you don’t know. If you’re brown, you remain in the dark. Red or yellow? Ditto — the Secret World of White People is hidden from your view. Reporter Ed Murphy goes under cover as a white guy to find out what’s behind the white door. The moral of the story? Be kind to your web-footed friends.

Ñewsweek: Joe vs girl, Mitt vs you, Adidas steps in it, CT OKs MM

Happy End of Slavery Day. Enjoy your new shackles!

Arizona’s notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio tried to save his flailing career with an arrest of a six-year-old cartel leader, GOP nominee wannabe Mitt Romney totally tripped over his tootsies again, the Nutmeg State joined the future for lonche with the approval of Medical Menudo (MM),  Adidas stepped in it big time with their slavery-themed sneakers and Facebook gave everyone a new finger.

These POCHO stories broke the news this week. We’ve got the links and more:

Mas…Ñewsweek: Joe vs girl, Mitt vs you, Adidas steps in it, CT OKs MM

Video Double Feature: Sometimes a bicycle is more than a bicycle

The Okra Planter
The Old Bicycle

A bicycle is just basic transportation, really. Wheels, metal tubes, chains, gears, rubber, grease, paint if you’re lucky, a basket and maybe a bell. Yet sometimes it’s a vehicle that binds fathers and daughters together.

Brasil sends us the multi-award-winning O Plantador de Quiabos (the okra planter) in Portuguese with English subtitles and from San Francisco’s Mission District comes a documentary that introduces us to the family behind La Bicicleta Vieja (the old bicycle), Spanish with English subtitles.

Enjoy these two shorts – our Sabado Pochonte Double Feature!

Mas…Video Double Feature: Sometimes a bicycle is more than a bicycle

Konichi-wa, homie, from Japan’s cholos, lowriders y Chicano rappers

Invasion, “Asia graffiti & lifestyle magazine,” writes:

Two parts of Chicano hip-hop culture in particular have become popular in Japan:
the music, and the cars. When the Japanese do Chicano rap, they still rap in Japanese
instead of English, Spanish, or some mixture of the two. But the beat, the clothes
and the look are quite matched.

Peep this short video of Japanese lowrider hydraulics:

Mas…Konichi-wa, homie, from Japan’s cholos, lowriders y Chicano rappers