It’s only fair, really. POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz gets props during Hispanic Heritage Month, or, as he likes to call it, Latino Heritage Month. Ana Garcia of KNBC Los Angeles reports.
Cultura
It’s Not News to Us
Pocho Ocho other things Christopher Columbus got wrong
Aside from not sailing to “India,” Christopher Columbus got many other things wrong. Since Dia de La Raza/Columbus Day is Monday, we can’t forget the Pocho Ocho top boners he pulled:
8. He forgot the extra pair of chonies his abuela packed for him.
7. He named all of his ships after cholas, but forgot La Sad Girl.
6. He didn’t stop to ask for directions.
Forget Big Bird! Meet Señor Loro, the Latino parrot candidate (video)
From Los Titeres (the puppets): Don’t waste your vote on the phony mainstream yellow bird candidate until you consider wasting your vote on the Puppet Party’s Latino red parrot candidate — Señor Loro for Presidente! (Borderline NSFW language and a disturbing bird bigote.)
Video by Felix Pire. LosTiteresTV is on Facebook and on the Internets.
–Freelancer Junior Wences PhD writes by hand.
Don’t wait for immigration reform: PORT-A-BORDER is here! (video)
“Comprehensive immigration reform” is like the weather — everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it. That’s why real Americans are going wild over PORT-A-BORDER, the personal hi-tech illegal immigration solution that keeps those darn Mexicans out of your personal space. (Possibly NSFW language.)
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: George Romney
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstance conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
When Michigan Gov. George Romney‘s GOP presidential nomination campaign came to the New York World’s Fair in 1964 (photo, left, with son Mitt) an intense young wannabe TV reporter named Gerry Riviera was on the scene.
The nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn was confused after his college experience at the University of Arizona. He had been strangely at home in the desert Southwest, but was still a gefilte fish out of water. What to do with his life?
“I was born to American parents in Mexico,” Romney told reporters as he toured the crumbling, deeply-indebted Spanish Pavilion. “In some ways, it would be helpful to be Latino.” Son Mitt nodded his head in agreement.
Santeria? It’s what’s for dinner! ‘Otto and the Electric Eel’ (video)
In Otto and the Electric Eel, a modern adaptation of an Afro-Cuban Santeria myth, Miami bass legend Otto Von Schirach (playing the role of Chango, god of thunder) battles to keep an inter-dimensional creature (serpent god Damballah) from ruining his dinner date.
Adrian Tafoya: My life as an alien (In space, la raza assimilates you)
There are certain situations in Hollywood where as an actor you have to have no shame.
This was one of those times as I stood inside a large curtained-off fitting room wearing only a flesh-colored dance belt, the equivalent of man panties. Well, it is true that actors are a strangely alien tribe which are most unique only in Hollywood. I mean, where else would a Latino wear such a ridiculous contraption?
OK, back to my man panties… Key costumer Kim Thompson enters with a box of silver and black shaded and molded latex pieces twisted into sinewy shapes and a box of safety pins. She hands me a stretchy nylon body suit and says, “Put this on,” not asking, knowing full well that I would welcome a cover-up of my nakedness.
Mas…Adrian Tafoya: My life as an alien (In space, la raza assimilates you)
Menudorade: The electrolytes you need and the tripa you love (video)
For the fluids and electrolytes a hard-working vato needs plus the secret power of tripa and posole — it’s Menudorade! In grocery and convenience stores now.
Elvis Presley, undocumented worker: ‘Fun in Acapulco’ (photos,video)
The year is 1963 and Elvis is on a roll. As his star rises on the American music scene, Hollywood lifts its head and takes notice: he gets signed for a fun Mexican adventure romp entitled Fun in Acapulco.
While gorgeous exterior shots are completed on location in Mexico, Elvis shoots his scenes in “Mexico,” a Hollywood backlot commissioned by Hal Wallis Productions and through the magic of less-than-spectacular editing and rear-projection shots seems to dance and sing his sad way (he’s mourning the accidental death of his brother he may have caused) through this somewhat harmless farce.
Of course (as I’ve written many times before), you’ve got to be a fool to turn to Hollywood for accurate portrayals of “foreign spaces”–still, Fun in Acapulco is not half bad.
The kid in the clip below gives new meaning to the word irony, as Elvis, “American,” conspires to work as an “illegal alien” in Mexico.
Mas…Elvis Presley, undocumented worker: ‘Fun in Acapulco’ (photos,video)
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Shep Devereaux
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstance conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
Hollywood, Dec. 23, 1958. Singing cowboy Gene Autry‘s Challenge Records signed hard-drinking rockabilly singer/piano-player Shep Devereaux to produce four sides. Devereaux, originally from New Orleans, booked the Flores Trio (Danny Flores on saxophone and keyboards, Gene Alden on drums, and lead guitarist Buddy Bruce) to back him up. They recorded three rockabilly numbers and an up-tempo mostly-instrumental track composed by Flores, a song jokingly called “Chingate.” The song’s lyrics consisted of just that one cussword, repeated three times and featured a blistering sax solo by Flores.
When Autry, in the control room, heard “Chingate” he knew it was a hit, but realized the name had to change, so he asked for suggestions for three-syllable phrases from the band.
“Horchata!” “Tu madre!” “Rafalca!” The musicians were full of ideas.
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Shep Devereaux
Mayan Apocalypse Doomsday 2012: Volcanoes and tsunamis (video)
In an age when books have trailers, some trailers float higher in the flotsam and jetsam of mass-market, dead-tree publishing, especially when they graphically portray the destructive American volcanos and Atlantic tsunamis that will rock your world on Dec. 21. [See POCHO’s Mexclusive Mayan Apocalypse Doomsday 2012 Countdown Clock in the right column of this page.]
Need Dia de los Muertos-inspired loteria-looking woodcut prints? ¡Orale!
POCHO amiga Donna Atwood is a graphic artist in Phoenix with a love of the Southwest. She writes she was
born in San Antonio, TX to predominantly German parents. Maternal grandfather unknown. So, I believe we have “esqueleto en el armario” in my family. I am definitely inspired by Mexican art, especially after studying Mexican art history in college. And this is Phoenix, with a healthy Hispanic population. So, I am immersed in it.
Her most recent project is a set of woodcuts (technically they are “linocuts”) inspired by Mexican loteria cards.
Peep the loteria images below (plus two extras), and if you like, visit her store on Etsy where they are available as signed, numbered, limited-edition prints.
Mas…Need Dia de los Muertos-inspired loteria-looking woodcut prints? ¡Orale!
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Yossi Berkowitz
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstance conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
In 1978, a young Chicano actor from Montebello, CA went to tailor Yossi Berkowitz to try on a new suit custom-made for his starring role in a Los Angeles play. Right away, he noticed that the coat sleeves were too long.
“No problem,” said Berkowitz, a long-time shop owner on Whittier Boulevard in nearby Boyle Heights. “Just bend them at the elbow and hold them out in front of you. See, now it’s fine.”
“But the collar is up around my ears!” the actor complained.
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Yossi Berkowitz
When the world turns crazy, luchadors turn pro ‘Muy Macho’ (video)
Muy Macho tells the tale of a put-upon, alcoholic gardener who finds out he comes from a long line of luchador-masked superheroes. When he ingests his pinche foul-mouthed abuela’s homemade remedio, he becomes a nine-foot tall wall of rippling Mexican crime-fighting muscle. (Totally NSFW language.)
By special arrangement with writer and director Kevin Beauchamp.
Sector Sabana Abajo ‘We Are Latinos’ (video) English/Spanish lyrics
Sector Abana Abajo presents We Are Latinos featuring singer Jackie Santos. This song is dedicated to all the world’s Latinos, especially to those who struggle every day in the U.S.
Here are the lyrics in Spanish and English courtesy Los Padrotes Music:
Mas…Sector Sabana Abajo ‘We Are Latinos’ (video) English/Spanish lyrics
Illegal Border Crossing Park – a night in Hell for under $20! (video)
Tired of Machu Pichu? Eco-tourism in Borneo too old school? Disneyworld — been there done that? Visit exciting Illegal Border Crossing Park where you can spend a terrified night being hunted by “La Migra.” Under $20 per person!
H/T Huffington Post.
Pocho Ocho must-have Mayan Apocalypse survival kit items
With Mayan Apocalypse Doomsday 2012 under three months away, time is running out to assemble the emergency survival supplies you’ll need in your underground shelter. [Check our countdown clock in the right column.]
Remember:
Unforeseen dangers and unknown entities will be lurking in your No-Tech Future Hell on Earth (think Mad Max meets the chupacabra), what you have with you will determine whether you live or die.
Aside from rice, beans, water, sanitary supplies and beer (which will also be the means of exchange, i.e., money), these are the pocho ocho top items you need:
-------------- ✂ CLIP & SAVE ✂ --------------
8. Aqua Net
7. VapoRub
6. Switchblade (for him)
5. Chanclas (for her)
Mas…Pocho Ocho must-have Mayan Apocalypse survival kit items
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Trevor Pecklehamm III
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Before the scandal surrounding his arrest for shoplifting and hoarding Hello Kitty backpacks ended his career, ace character creator and animator Trevor Pecklehamm III was Hollywood’s go-to guy if you needed help in perfecting your cartoon concept for the networks.
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Trevor Pecklehamm III
Gangster Computer God Worldwide Secret Containment Policy (video)
Don’t say we didn’t tell you – especially the part about the brain bank cities on the dark side of the Moon! (NSFW language.)
Señor Flavio surfs the softer side with ‘Dulce Babalu’ (video)
POCHO’s crew of slackers, surfers, skaters and all-around SoCal party peeps missed this video when it came out in March, but when we started going through the tunes on the excellent new FREE Nacional Records Sampler, this track perked up our ears and made us look for a video. From Argentina with love, meet Señor Flavio, pochas y pochos, with Dulce Babalu.
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Ray Moss
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
The effort to organize African-American, Filipino-American and Mexican-American farmworkers in California’s Central Valley was an uphill battle in 1964. Fledgling union leader Cesar Chavez thought organizing a boycott of a particular crop might make a good focus for his efforts and he settled on rutabagas, which were just coming into season.
Live at Temple B’nai Pocho: Yom Kippur musical confession (video)
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sundown tonight, and Judios all over the world confess their sins and ask forgiveness from each other and God.
In this short video, Reform Temple B’nai Pocho‘s Cantor Mindy Raf sings the traditional Yom Kippur confession hymn.
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Mel Krupke
They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Commercial pilot Mel Krupke’s wings iced up on Feb. 3, 1959, near Clear Lake, Iowa, sending his light plane, carrying Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, crashing into the frozen earth. The fatal crash was immortalized in song as The Day the Music Died.
With one crash, Flight Officer Krupke (1925-1959) catapulted Pacoima pocho Valens into eternal celebrity and helped launch the careers of Hispanic heart throbs Lou Diamond Phillips and Esai Morales.
Spanish art-restoring abuelita expert makes her mark at La Basilica
(PNS reporting from MEXICO CITY) Famed Spanish art-restoring abuelita Cecilia Gimenez has decided to visit La Basilica here, which houses the famed image of La Virgen de Guadalupe.
The fading portrait miraculously appeared on Aztec Indian Juan Diego’s robe 500 years ago.
The image needed some touching up, said Gimenez, who waited until the Basilica closed and somehow pried open the sealed display case and did a quick restoration.
“It looks so much better now,” said Gimenez from the Mexico City jail, adding, “I just don’t know why Jesus would appear to some Indio dressed like a woman.”
Upon seeing the restoration, the Mexican government quickly awarded Gimenez the Aztec Order of the Eagle medal.
Full image here:
Mas…Spanish art-restoring abuelita expert makes her mark at La Basilica
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Sophie Wasserman
They were just ordinary people, living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Sophie Wasserman, Ph.D., (1923-2001) was a DuPont chemical engineer and the chief scientist behind the petroleum polymer extrusion technologies that formed the basis for smooth sheets of soft and flexible plastic “fabrics.”
One of her innovative new materials was branded as Corinthian Leather, the Chrysler Cordoba luxury feature that led to fame and fortune for Ricardo Mantalban, the Most Corinthian Man in the World.
Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Sophie Wasserman
Rick Bayless is National Council of La Raza’s ‘Mexican of the Year’
(PNS reporting from GRINGOLANDIA) After being awarded the prestigious Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican government in June, culinary guru and TV star Rick Bayless has been selected by the National Council of La Raza as their 2012 Mexican of Year.
“Generalissimo” Bayless (as he has been dubbed by NPR’s Scott Simon), famed for swooping into indigenous communities, stealing their recipes and making millions from them, is pumped:
It is an honor to represent La Razza and I intend to make them muy, muy, MUY proud of me.
“I am absolutely floored by this, guys! Really! I mean, when I got the Aztec thing, I was like: ‘Whoa!’ But this? Man…this will really up my street cred! Viva La Razza!” Bayless said.
Mas…Rick Bayless is National Council of La Raza’s ‘Mexican of the Year’
Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Jonathan Norwen
[They were just ordinary people, living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH]
Jonathan Norwen was just your typical intern at Univision, working towards his communication degree from Florida International University, when he was assigned the all-important task of keeping Don Francisco sober enough to get through a taping of Sabado Gigante. Norwen immediately formed a bond with Francisco and continues to hide the Don’s stash of Chivas Regal to this
day.
