Over a decade ago, I wrote an op-ed piece for what was called Pacific News Service but is now New American Media bemoaning how pathetic the Latin Grammys were due to their lack of Mexican music. “The definers of Latin culture,” I wrote then, “have decided that the most popular Latin music genre in the United States isn’t worthy of promotion because it might lead people to believe that Latinos are poor and culturally backward, not slick and ‘with it.'”
McDonald’s employees-only website — McResources — has great tips for broke-ass employees trying to make it through the holidays with only their income from shitty minimum-wage jobs:
Mas…McDonald’s to broke workers: Sell Xmas presents on Craigslist (video)
The band is Thee Commons from East Los and they debut officially on BrotherScienceTV’s Rewind on YouTube today. Since you asked, it’s Lion on guitar, Monkey on drums and Wolf on bass.
What the heck is going on in Brazil? Two crop circles in one day?
Two crop circles have appeared near the town of Ipuaçu in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Local UFO researchers are convinced they are not man-made and have put up a $20,000 reward for anyone who can prove they faked them.
“If this is the future that awaits me, I don’t want it,” said the girl in this commercial that ran before last year’s Mexican presidential elections. “Enough of working for your political parties instead of working for us. Enough of cosmetic changes.” Almost everyone said they agreed.
How’s that working out for you, Mexico?
Mas…Niños Incómodos/Uncomfortable Kids: ‘Mexico must change’ (videos)
Director Ken Burns got all the living Presidents — and some celebrity friends — to recite Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the speech first delivered at a Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania 150 years ago today.
But when Civil War-reinacting Confederate soldier wannabes run into reality, rebellion doesn’t seem like so much fun any more:
Mas…The Gettysburg Address by the Presidents of the United States (videos)
(PNS reporting from MEXICO, DF) Dead Mexican feminist artist and icon Frida Kahlo has finally come to her senses and visited a cosmetologist here to clean up her act.
Check out the old Frida and compare with the new shiny, happy Frida:
PREVIOUSLY ON FRIDA KAHLO:
Illustrations via ColorLines.com
The leprechauns are small, of course, and they live in trees in the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa. Some kids captured them with their phone cams, and we’ve got the Azteca Noticias news video.
When Hell is full, the dead will walk the earth — ¡Los Walking Dead! — on Univsion!
Need a job? Live near Ephrata, Washington? Burger King has openings for people like you!
Huh? Whopper the fries is going on here? MSN Money reports:
Burger King has apologized after a photo of a billboard at one of its locations went viral.
The photo shows a Burger King billboard in Ephrata, Wash., that reads: “Now hiring. Must be Mexican.” Burger King said the billboard was edited by an angry employee who worked at the location last summer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Mas…WTF Whopper: Mexicans have it your guey – at Burger King (photo,video)
This is what we learned on the Internet yesterday: In Brazil (they call it Brasil), tractor trailer drivers make their trucks dance, dance so hard that they break the wing. Peep this compilation of some of the wildest examples — As Quebra de Asa Mais Bruta — to see what we mean.
(PNS reporting from AUSTIN) Gov. Rick Perry is disappointed his new hipster glasses haven’t helped him in the polls.
“Why don’t people like me? I’m more than just the guy who came after Bush, I’m cool, see?” he told reporters at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday as he pointed to his stylin’ horn rim frames from Warby Parker.
According to insiders, Perry thought the hipster glasses would not only make him more likeable but would also make people think he’s smarter, too.
“I watch Dr. Who,” said Perry. “I’m been hanging at Waterloo Records trying to make friends with guys with beards. I’m growing some fierce sideburns.”
Mas…Rick Perry is sad new hipster glasses don’t help him make friends
Hey Vato’s Chuy, Smiley and the poet John Keats return to discuss the meaning of football, the love of Raider Nation and this pinche life in Bless Us Al Davis.
Our MiJA, Elise Roedenbeck, knows it’s tough out there getting a job, especially for new grads. And when prospective employers want you to work for free so they can “try you out,” it can seem like modern-day slavery. Elise is here to help and also available for consultation (at her day rate) on the Twitter, where they call her @Buttronica.
POCHO amigo Chris Garcia, the man behind our wildly popular Mexican Mitt Romney for President music video, was a guest on radio’s This American Life, an episode on Things You’re Not Supposed to Talk About. One of them is the route you’re driving…
Garcia and his dad were driving home, listening to oldies, sharing a bag of chips. A totally familiar scene for them. They’d driven this route probably hundreds of time, but something odd was happening in the car, so Chris started recording their conversation on his phone. He tells producer Nancy Updike what happened.
Chris starts his story at 44:55 into the show.
Mas…This American Life: Chris Garcia and his dad take a drive (audio)
Fox has just announced the pickup of a new animated TV show called Bordertown, debuting in 2014. It was created by the showrunner of Family Guy, Mark Hentemann.
I was offered a gig writing and consulting on the show, and I happily accepted.
This will be the first animated prime time network TV show with a significant number of Latino characters.
Over half the cast will Mexican or Mexican-Americans or Chicanos. It will be historic.
Mas…Mexclusive: Hollywood has called my bluff with ‘Bordertown’ at Fox!
(PNS reporting from NEW YORK CITY) Some fashion trends from the 1990s have been back in vogue for a while — everything from flannel to baby doll dresses and chokers — but one fashion trend has insiders abuzz this Fall: Chanclas with socks, newly re-branded as Chocks.
Rebuffed by mainstream fashion in the 1990s, the once-criticized trend is finding its home in a world where Miley Cyrus’ trashy fashion thrives.
“Chocks are a spin on a traditional Chicano way of dressing,” said Marisol Mejia, a chola-turned-designer here who is making waves in the fashion world. “What you have to realize is that it’s all in how you wear it, not just what.”
Mas…A fashion trend from the 1990s — chanclas with socks — is back
NPR’s LatinoUSA (with Maria Hinojosa) writes:
Goth culture. Is it in? Is it out? Do they even care? Hear the stories of three Latinos who found a sense of community in Goth subculture while we try to answer the question of the ages: Why are Latinos obsessed with Morrissey? It’s not just the Pompadour.
Here’s a video of Moz live at Staples Center in Los Angeles in March with the classic Smiths’ song The Boy With The Thorn in His Side. The audience knows all the words and sings along!
Mas…Why Goth Latinos love Morrissey and other stories (audio, video)
Once upon a time in November 2010, a police detective named Jim Lindquist (from Bellevue, Washington) needed some help from the both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities. He had an idiosyncratic way of expressing himself in Spanish. “A” for effort?
Here’s the full poster — click to enlarge:
Mas…Once upon a time with the Bellevue, WA Police Department (photo)
This is HOW NOT MAKE A TACO … NO NO NO NO
Chef Katsuji Tanabe of Mexikosher got all indignant on his Facebook page, and he wasn’t the only one. Why so mad? It’s that darn Argentinian Chef Maru Botana and her how-to-make-a-taco video.
Argentine Chef Maru Botana Crucified On Twitter For Mocking Mexican Food was the headline in the “Latin Times,” an English-language website despite its name. Maria G. Valdez reporting [*Latin translation by Google below.]:
Mas…Don’t cry for me Argentina: How NOT to make a taco! (video)
It was on this day in 1971 that right-wing conspirators assassinated the democratically-elected president of the small Latin American country of San Marcos and replaced him with a military dictator. Howard Cosell reports.
PREVIOUSLY ON POCHO HISTORY 101:
Mas…Pocho History 101: El Presidente de San Marcos is killed (video)
Not now, Mom — I’m saving the world!
(Photo by whatdoesthefawkessay.)
(PNS reporting from SAN ANTONIO) Hillary Clinton formally announced her candidacy for President Sunday night, and PNS has learned San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro will be her running mate.
“Latinos are the ‘in’ thing — and Hillary knows that — she’s never been one to ignore what’s in vogue,” a source close to the campaign told PNS.
“Plus, all those Latino votes!”
Mas…Breaking: Hillary Clinton taps Julián Castro for VP spot
A Mexican actor standing by an outdoor fountain in a San Angeles park is sick and tired of getting the same stereotyped “Mexican” roles over and over again. [Skip past the intro to 1:40 for the Mexican’s rant. To read the teeny closed captions, switch to full-screen playback.]
PREVIOUSLY IN GRAND THEFT AUTO 5:
Today we observe Veterans Day, AKA Armistice Day, which marks the end of World War I.
Dulce et Decorum est is a poem written by poet Wilfred Owen in 1917, during the War, and published posthumously in 1920. Owen’s poem is known for its horrific description of chemical warfare and condemnation of war.
The Masters of War are not supposed to use poison gas any more but drone strikes aren’t much fun either.
POCHO dedicates this poem to all our veterans in gratitude for their service and sacrifice and with the hope no child will see war again.
Mas…For the Vets: Anti-war poem from WWI: ‘Dulce et decorum est’
(PNS reporting from GUANAJUATO, MX) Francisco Garcia Lopez was named Most Mexican Man in the World in the final episode of Who Is More Mexican ? (¿Quién es más mexicano?) recorded here last night, PNS has learned.
Audience members exiting the taping at Teatro Televisio said that winner Lopez (publicity photo, above) had impressed the judges with his singular dedication.
Lopez, a 37-year-old bachelor attorney, “underwent extreme body modification, all the way down to his prickly pear,” one excited fan gushed.
Mas…Francisco Garcia Lopez wins ‘Most Mexican Man in the World’
(PNS reporting from NEW YORK CITY) The new Jennifer Lopez Barbie Doll has a suspicious lack of derriere, hurting Mattel’s effort to pander to cater to the young Latina market.
The outcry, mostly online, prompted Mattel to a hold real live press conference here Thursday to try and do some damage control.
“The steep increase in the cost of plastic is beyond the control of Mattel, or our manufacturers,” spokeswoman Elena Guajardo told reporters in a Trump Towers conference room, while an assistant Tweeted her remarks to the Internets.
“Due to global shortages of plastic and plastic precursors, Mattel was forced to reduce the amount used to manufacture the new JLo Barbie.”
The JLo Barbie was expected to help Mattel in the Latina market.
Previously, Mattel tried shaming young Latinas by presenting them with unrealistic blonde Barbies that promoted internalized oppression, but that approach was a sales flop.
Mas…New JLo Barbie Doll has no ass — Mattel blames high cost of plastic
No, it’s not the Son of Jan Brewja. It’s the perfectly lovely (traditional Mexican) tune Son de la bruja (sound of/song of the witch) arranged by Jose Luis Hurtado, in magical 6/8 time. The Quinteto Latino is Diane Grubbe, Kyle Bruckmann, Leslie Tagorda, Shawn Jones, Armando Castellano. Shot at the Latin American Classical Musical Festival at the Old First Church, October 19, San Francisco.
We found this blog called Stuff Educated Chicanos Like | Information on those kids from Aztlan and it’s like it was conceived and written about us here at Pocho, but no.
The blog started in 2008 and hasn’t been updated since 2011, but it still makes us LOL.
(We stole just eight headlines from the original 23 entries for this Pocho Ocho list, so you’ll have to read this post and find the link at the end for the extensive original story.)
¡Mira! Pocho Ocho things educated Chicanos like, with links to POCHO examples:
8. Salma Hayek
