Pocho Ocho weirdest things found in Columbus’ Santa Maria shipwreck

colombussantamariaThe wreck of slave-trader and hopelessly-lost “explorer” Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria flagship has been found off the coast of Haiti, according to reports.

The ship’s five-century-old cannon was looted but archaeologists are excited by eight unusual items they were able to retrieve from the ship, the Pocho Ocho weirdest items found on the Santa Maria:

8. Antique syphilis specially imported into the Western Hemisphere by his crew

7. The most extensive collection of 15th-century porn ever found outside the Vatican Library

6. A Ferdinand and Isabella “after sex selfie” oil painting

Mas…Pocho Ocho weirdest things found in Columbus’ Santa Maria shipwreck

George Jones swings ‘Boogie Woogie Mexican Boy’ (video)


The late country music superstar George Jones wrote and sang quite a few standout songs. Boogie Woogie Mexican Boy (AKA Mexican Boogie) may not be among them. On the other hand, how many tunes do you know about a Mexican boy the girls like because he has “great big feet?” And how exactly did he cross the border into San Antone?

He was just a lad, not too old
Always lived in Mexico
And every day in the hot sunshine
He would dance and sing just to pass the time.

Dancin’, prancin’ up the street
Not even takin’ time to eat
This little boy with the great big feet
Doing the boogie with the Mexican beat.

Mas…George Jones swings ‘Boogie Woogie Mexican Boy’ (video)

Why Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Miami) picked his ear wax, ate it on TV (video)

garcia-pick(PNS reporting from WASHINGTON, D.C.) A close look at a recent C-SPAN video reveals that Florida Democratic Congressman Joe Garcia, Jr. picked his ear wax and ate it on live TV, a Cuban folkloric ritual rarely seen outside Miami’s Cuban-American community.

La Ceremonia de la Cera del Oído can be traced to a curandero who lived in Guantanamera, Cuba around 1750 or so,” University of Miami Professor of Anthropology Freso “Biff” del Blanco told PNS.

“By eating the ear wax in public, the eater hopes to symbolically ingest and consume all that he is hearing through his ears, to better understand the cacophony of voices in his head.”

Mas…Why Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Miami) picked his ear wax, ate it on TV (video)

Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

bigritchievalensHappy birthday, dead Ritchie Valens, born this day in 1941.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock.

Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to his biggest hit record from a phonetic cheat sheet.

And then he died.

For your Ritchie-listening pleasure, we are pleased to feature two versions of La Bamba, the original 1958 “keep the tape running” recording sessions, and then the actual hit record.

Everybody scream now:

RITCHIE!!!!

Mas…Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

Ritchie Valens birthday tribute: Cutty Flam does ‘Donna’ (video)


Ritchie Valens, 1950s Pacoima pocho teenage idol, would have been 73 years old today, except for that day the music died. Cutty Flam, the alt.rock.band from your black-and-white-retro future, made this video tribute, performing Ritchie’s hit Donna.

It’s one of a series of Valens tribute videos, as EddieG explains:

Mas…Ritchie Valens birthday tribute: Cutty Flam does ‘Donna’ (video)

Did Puerto Rican lawyers cause rise in bed-fall fatalities?

people-who-died-by-falling-out-of-their-bed_number-of-lawyers-in-puerto-rico(PNS reporting from CAMBRIDGE, MASS) Did you know that the more lawyers there are in Puerto Rico, the more people die from falling out of their beds?

That’s the startling statistical relationship discovered by the prestigious Harvard Law-school-based Spurious Correlations Institute, one of many recently revealed on their website.

Mas…Did Puerto Rican lawyers cause rise in bed-fall fatalities?

Authentic tacos in Seoul, South Korea – and Nutella nachos (video)


Sweet and Tasty TV’s Professor Oh checks out the Mexican food at Vatos Urban Tacos in Seoul, South Korea. It’s puro L.A. fusion style – Korean kalbi beef tacos a la Kogi, pork carnitas and Baja-style fish tacos. Fresh guacamole and cool Coronas, too. Not to mention Nutella nachos.

PREVIOUSLY ON MEXICAN FOOD:

Mas…Authentic tacos in Seoul, South Korea – and Nutella nachos (video)

Around Our Town: Where to go, what to do on Mother’s Day

momchurchsignBRUNCH: Nothing makes for a mellow mom like the All You Can Drink Micheladas Mother’s Day Brunch at stylish Bar Racho at the Ritchie Valens Hilton on East Olmos Boulevard.

Executive Jefe Gustaco Naranjero once again promises his extensive buffet featuring a soft and hard taco station, the always-popular Holy Habanero salsa challenge and the spectacular Flan Fountain.

New this year is the Fusion Fiesta featuring creations like the Banh Mi Burrito, the Tamales de Lox and the Philly Cheesesteak Chimichangas. Don’t miss the free giveaway of the new mini Tapatio espray bottles for when you absolutely, positively need to spice stuff up.

Mas…Around Our Town: Where to go, what to do on Mother’s Day

Mi Casa Es Tu Casa: Los Romanticos De Zacatecas (video)


Here’s how NPR Music producer Jasmine Garsd tells the story:

For the first installment in the Mi Casa Es Tu Casa series with Fusion, a Mexican band invites Alt.Latino into its house for lively conversation and great music.

Ever since I moved to Mexico City, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of music at my fingertips. I’m not just talking about amazing concerts: So many artists from all over Latin America live here in Mexico, and I love being here to check in on their creative process.

Mas…Mi Casa Es Tu Casa: Los Romanticos De Zacatecas (video)

Odd Couple Brazil: He’s 5’3″, she’s 6’6″ – because love (video)


Francinaldo da Silva, 23, is 1.6 meters tall (5’3″) and Elisany da Cruz Silva, 18, is 2 meters tall (6’6″) but the height discrepancy is no impediment to true love, at least according to this Chinese video about the newly-engaged Brazilian couple with English and Chinese captions narrated by a posh (Australian?) announcer.

Our assessment: She looks much taller than 2 meters. What do you think?

Enough with the sassy sexy Latina stereotype! (video)


It’s not that Latinas don’t love hearing how their individual characteristics pale in comparison to stereotypes thrown around on talk radio…well, actually, they don’t love it. At all.

NOLA student Sophia Garcia says the stereotypes that bother her most are the ones she hears when she share her “opinions” — that she’s being overly “spicy” and “ghetto.” Who would be bothered by that? Probably anyone.

What you think?

PREVIOUSLY ON STEREOTYPES:

Mas…Enough with the sassy sexy Latina stereotype! (video)

Legend La India Maria returns as ‘La Hija de Moctezuma’ (trailer)

ESPANOL: La India María debe encontrar a toda costa en lo recóndito de una montaña, El Mágico Espejo Negro de Tezcatlipoca, pues el espíritu de su bisabuelo Moctezuma Xocoyotzin así lo ha ordenado para evitar la destrucción de México.

Alonso, un atractivo arqueólogo español, Bianchi, un tramposo busca-tesoros y Brígida Troncoso — una ambiciosa gobernadora, se enteran de la existencia del dichoso Espejo, del misterioso Tesoro de Moctezuma y de la tal María, por lo que todos emprenden una frenética persecución detrás de ella para apoderarse del cristal mágico y del oro.

  ENGLISH: La India María (born María Nicolasa Cruz) must find, at all costs, hidden away in a big mountain, The Magic Black Mirror of Tezcatlipoca. She’s on a mission ordered by the spirit of her great grandfather Moctezuma Xocoyotzin,and she must succeed to stop the destruction of all Mexico.

Alonso, an attractive Spanish architect, Bianchi, a crazy treasure hunter and Brígida Troncoso, an ambitious governor, all find out about the existence of the Mirror, the mysterious Treasure of Moctezuma and María, which is why everyone pursues her to try to take away the magical crystal and gold.

POCHO Asks America: How did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?


POCHO sent reporters to bars and parties, barbecues and parades all across the United Estates to find out how Americans were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Here’s what they said: