The San Patricio Batallón: The Irish heroes of Aztlan (music videos)


This corrido by Orange County Celtic-rock homies The Fenians tells the tragic story of the San Patricios, the St. Patrick’s Battalion.

The unit of 200 mostly Catholic Irish immigrants deserted the United States Army and fought with the Mexican Army against the U.S.A. in the Mexican–American War.

Scots-British post-punk The Wakes Band offer their version of the story next. The video’s not much to look at but the lyrics are killer, so read along below:

Mas…The San Patricio Batallón: The Irish heroes of Aztlan (music videos)

What’s for breakfast? Breakfast tacos or breakfast burritos?

tacos-villa-corona-breakfast-burrito.0.0Here in Los Angeles, we like breakfast burritos. We like the breakfast burritos so much that breakfast burritos can be enjoyed in Jewish delis, Chinese restaurants, Greek diners, burger stands, sushi joints, lunch trucks, Mexican restaurants, old-school coffee shops and fancy places near the beach.

LA.Eater, for example, just published a list of three dozen breakfast burrito destinations, which includes Mid-City 24/7 Lucy’s Drive-In (Gustavo Arellano’s go-to place for chile relleno burritos), Anthony Bourdain pick Tacos Villa Corona in Atwater Village (photo, above) and ∼$12 burritos at the The Farm in Beverly Hills which are filled with aged cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon.

But breakfast burritos are an anomaly in some parts of Texas, where breakfast tacos are the norm.

Mas…What’s for breakfast? Breakfast tacos or breakfast burritos?

Ask A Mexican: Why do Mexicans hate yellow cheese so much? (video)

mexicheeseWhen POCHO’s Associate Naranjero, the esteemed Gustavo ¡Ask A Mexican! Arellano, watched the video of BuzzFeed feeding Taco Bell to actual Mexicans (photo), he knew he needed to set the record straight regarding the yellow cheese that tops lots of Mexican-American food. Because queso, k no? Yellow cheese, says Gus, has an honorable history — and pocho cred. Also, BuzzFeed, FYI: Burritos, white rice and flour tortillas ARE “Mexican food,” doh!

Gus wrote the book, you know. Literally. It’s called TACO USA (How Mexican Food Conquered America).  

And now, prepare your device and your mind will follow.

Why do Mexicans hate yellow cheese so much? (the video)

Mas…Ask A Mexican: Why do Mexicans hate yellow cheese so much? (video)

Danny Trejo’s commercial for these tortilla things is full of WTF (video)

trejotortillaOld El Paso Stand ‘N’ Stuff Tortillas — shaped like oblong bowls — are tortillas for people who can’t manage the folding and/or rolling demanded by traditional tortilla applications. While we ❤️ Danny Trejo and can’t fault him for wanting to make an honest buck, we have to ask, “Who eats this crap?” PRO TIP: Machete don’t cook.

Mas…Danny Trejo’s commercial for these tortilla things is full of WTF (video)

Listen: Why does Mexican music have polkas, waltzes and accordions?

bigflacoHappy birthday, Texas accordion star Flaco Jimenez! (DOB: March 11, 1939.)

Why is Mexican music filled with polkas and waltzes and accordions? It’s about immigration, according to Felix Contreras of NPR’s Alt.Latino and Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records on Morning Edition:

 

PREVIOUSLY ON FLACO JIMENEZ:

Mas…Listen: Why does Mexican music have polkas, waltzes and accordions?

Watch: BuzzFeed serves Taco Bell to L.A. Mexicans + @RoValderrama

mexicansattacobellWhen BuzzFeed served some Taco Bell specialties to L.A. Mexicans, reactions were — let us say — mixed. We know it’s L.A. because they mention King Taco in East Los. Try it, you’ll like it. We also recommend Guisado on Cesar Chavez. And Eastside Luv right by Mariachi Plaza offers a great selection of refreshing beverages for an 80°March day like today.

Mas…Watch: BuzzFeed serves Taco Bell to L.A. Mexicans + @RoValderrama

‘Undocumented’ family behind La Morada in the South Bronx (video)

kitchenmom-n-dad

Towards the end of the 20th Century, Natalia Mendez and Antonio Saavedra left their home, family and country behind to cross without papers into the U.S. Now they run a popular Oaxacan restaurant in the South Bronx, La Morada.

This is exactly the hard-working law-abiding, job-creating kind of family President Obama’s executive actions were designed to protect, but recent court decisions make their future uncertain. What can a poor pocho do?

La Morada has 4.5 stars on Yelp. See you there for dinner? We’ll be the ones scarfin’ down the mole!

Mas…‘Undocumented’ family behind La Morada in the South Bronx (video)

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)

Miami Melanie seeks taco-eating bearded Joseph she met @ Bodega

craigslist-logoCL south florida >miami / dade >personals >missed connections
W4M

Joseph with a Beard- met on dancefloor of Bodega - w4m (south beach)

Joseph---

We met this past Saturday night on the dance floor of Bodega. You had just gone in for tacos with your friend who was visiting (HE WAS SO TIRED).

Though you and I just started being silly and theatrical with our dancing-- and we really connected.

Mas...Miami Melanie seeks taco-eating bearded Joseph she met @ Bodega

In Pittsburgh, PA writers from Venezuela, El Salvador are free (audio)


Leftist loonies like Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela don’t much like criticism or mockery (i.e., reality) so they throttle creative freedom.

Israel Centeno, who fled the Venezuelan Bolivarian socialist paradise, is among the exiled writers who have found a safe place to live and write in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Latino USA’s Erika Beras brings us the writers’ stories:

Mas…In Pittsburgh, PA writers from Venezuela, El Salvador are free (audio)

Diamondbacks’ Pocho Ocho top dessert concepts before the Churro Dog

churrodogYes, they actually went there. Look for a new dessert this season at Chase Field in Phoenix as the National League Arizona Diamondbacks present the “Churro Dog.” Thankfully, no dogs were harmed in the making of this gut-busting, grand-standing heart-stopping dessert.

WTF is a Churro Dog, exactly? ESPN has the story:

The Churro Dog is a warm cinnamon churro sitting inside a Long John chocolate-glazed donut, which is then topped with frozen yogurt, caramel and chocolate sauces. Its estimated calorie count is 1,117.

But the Churro Dog concept wasn’t a random bark in the dark of night, no sir. Many ideas were thrown around the marketing infield, barking up the wrong tree, before the Churro Dog got the front office excited enough to get to third base. And you know what? Here they are — the Diamondback’s Pocho Ocho Top Rejected Dessert Concepts before the Churro Dog:

8. Willie Relleno

7. Negrito Refrito

6. Pink Cotton Candy Taco

Mas…Diamondbacks’ Pocho Ocho top dessert concepts before the Churro Dog

Dear Mom: Don’t worry, everything is great here in New York (video)


In The Letter, based on a 1947 short story La Carta by Dominican-Boricua-Mexican Marxist author José Luis González, a migrant writes home to Mom.

“Everything is super here in New York,” he tells her.

Seventy-two years later and an ocean apart, the story is as true now for the African protagonist of this video as it was for the original Puerto Rican migrant.

Did you read this short story in school? Here is the complete text:

San Juan, Puerto Rico 8 de marso de 1947

Qerida bieja:

Mas…Dear Mom: Don’t worry, everything is great here in New York (video)