Take back Latino Heritage Month and #EndHispandering!

hispanderingOn September 14 a Latina friend of mine who’s also a college professor said to me, “Brace yourself for Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m already getting phone calls about recommendations for mariachi bands.”

I laughed a bit, but her comment stayed with me. See, she’s half Colombian and I’m Puerto Rican, and the idea of becoming the “go to” people about such things struck me as, well, just another example of how stereotypes about Latinos often work.

The fact that people are asking her about mariachi bands reveals how U.S. society usually lumps us together under the umbrella label “Latino/a” or “Hispanic” despite our cultural differences and diversity.

At the same time, her warning (“brace yourself”) fittingly captured how many Latinxs/Hispanics feel about Hispanic Heritage Month (which I prefer to call Latino Heritage Month because I find it more inclusive, less Spanish-oriented).

Mas…Take back Latino Heritage Month and #EndHispandering!

Happy Rosh HaShana from the Jews of Tijuana! Happy 5777! (video)

tijuanaMexico, like the United Estates, is a “nation of immigrants.”

In the 1900s, Tijuana welcomed Jewish refugees fleeing wars, hate and poverty in Europe, Asia and the Mideast.

Tijuana Jews, the story of the extended Artenstein family, has become a POCHO Rosh HaShana (New Year) tradition ever since we noticed rosh-ha-shana rhymed with Tijuana in 2012.

Mas…Happy Rosh HaShana from the Jews of Tijuana! Happy 5777! (video)

The face of Peru’s Lord of Sipán, 2000-year-old warrior-priest (video)

[one_half]sipanskull[/one_half][one_half_last]sipanrecreate[/one_half_last]The Lord of Sipan may have died 2000 years ago, but 3D reconstructions revealed last week have shown he looked just like his descendants — the indigenous peoples of the Andes today.

Fom The Daily Mail:

The skull of one of the most famous archaeological finds of the twentieth century has been reconstructed using 3D imaging.

Mas…The face of Peru’s Lord of Sipán, 2000-year-old warrior-priest (video)

Pocho Ocho most damaging Tweets Trump went back and deleted

quesotrumpchinatweetReports are circulating that Donald Trump and/or his staff have been combing over his Twitter timeline and deleting embarrassing Tweets — remarks he and his campaign no longer want to defend. One Tweet he wishes wasn’t his claimed that China invented climate change to steal American jobs, a Tweet ridiculed Monday night by Hillary Clinton (photo.)

POCHO’s staff has been going over the Twitter archives and grabbed screenshots of some @RealDonaldTrump Tweets that are probably next on the deletion hit list.

Here are the Pocho Ocho Most Damaging:

8. dountoothers

Mas…Pocho Ocho most damaging Tweets Trump went back and deleted

De Nalgas: We are culeros, here to wake you up (NSFW audio, lyrics)


Mexico City punk rockers De Nalgas’ (On Your Butt) new single, Pare de Sufrir Pare de Mamar (Stop Suffering, Stop Fucking Up) from the album Vulgar Dulce Hogar, has some deep feels about celebrity vs ability in the music world. POCHO scored the Mexclusive NSFW lyrics in Spanish and English to spread the word. [Adult language in the Spanish audio, too.]

Mira los lyrics:

No soy un genio, no soy inventor de nada
solamente hago lo que se me da la gana
No me importa si lo que hago te parece una mamada
sigo con mi onda y no me meto con tu banda
No soy perfecto, tampoco le hago al cuento
mientras más hablas más importancia tú me das
tu onda mamalona me emputa y me encabrona
mientras más hablas más poco a poco te hundes más

Mas…De Nalgas: We are culeros, here to wake you up (NSFW audio, lyrics)

Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Pianist 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!” “Pendejo!” The musicians were full of ideas.

Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Pianist Shep Devereaux

Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: The Honorable Jed Bartlet

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 a liberal Supreme Court justice retired in 1998, Pres. Jed Bartlet and his staff thought this was the perfect opportunity to increase approval ratings with a politically “safe” nominee, Judge Peyton Harrison.

The retiring justice, a liberal, was not impressed by Bartlet’s choice and urged him to consider another candidate. Bartlet asked his aide Toby Ziegler to review their decision. Ziegler, after walking and talking with other habitues of the West Wing, was uncomfortable with the prospect of losing the easy confirmation, but complied.

Zeigler learned that Harrison once argued against a guarantee of privacy, and told Bartlet a backup candidate should be vetted as a possible replacement nominee.

Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: The Honorable Jed Bartlet

Back from the dead y live on YouTube, FDR explains the debates (video)


Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd Presidente of the United Estates and Democratic Party icon, is back from the dead and live on YouTube with a video that explains in one minute what to expect in tonight’s Clinton vs Trump debate. Like both former Presidents Bush, former President Clinton, and former President Carter, former President Roosevelt will not be voting for Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is The Great Baboso

bigbabosoFor those of you not familiar with the Spanish word “baboso,” it generally refers to someone that is irresponsible or not intelligent. And its close cousin “babosadas,” refers to when a person talks nonsense or rubbish. In the current political atmosphere, the words are apt. Indeed, the words go a long way to explain why the world seems to be upside down at the moment.

EXIT . . . STAGE LEFT

Mas…Donald Trump is The Great Baboso

Ramen vegan tacos with wasabi mayo? Reply hazy try again (video)


Just a few easy ingredients and a strong stomach are all you need to make and enjoy these fantastic fusion vegan fandangos! Or not.

Start with a block of dried ramen noodles dipped in vegan egg-like goop, stew them in ramen juice, cut them into circles, fold them like tacos, then fill these little impersonators with fake chicken, bean sprouts, corn, cebollitas, wasabi (falso) mayonnaise. There you have it. Whatever.

Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Berkowitz the tailor

yossiberkowitz 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 F. 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 in nearby Boyle Heights. “Just bend them at the elbow and hold them out in front of you. See, now it’s fine.”

Mas…Unsung Heroes of Hispanic Heritage Month: Berkowitz the tailor