freedom

America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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America will pause Monday to remember the life and message of Ricky Martin Luther King Jr., whose “Tengo a Dream y Dance!” speech changed the nation forever.

Post offices and other public facilities will be closed, banks and stock exchanges will take the day off, and salsa picante and sweet potato pie – his favorite snack combo – will be on sale all across America.

Today would have been RMLK’s 41st birthday.

Despite his tragic death in 2007 (he was shot and killed by the president of his fan club), King’s promotion of “love, equality, justice, innocence, malice, refuge, oppression, freedom” has continued to resonate among confused Latinos and Anglos alike.

Mas…America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day

L.A. homies Ozomatli are all about ‘Libertad’ in new jam (videos, lyrics)

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I finally saw Ozomatli perform in my San Diego barrio Friday, after years of declaring that I wouldn’t miss their next show. (Shoutout to Barrio Network for the tickets.)

I was already expecting a great show from this band I have been following for years, and was extra stoked since we would be treated with their new single Libertad.

The venue was crowded, everyone in attendance was eager to see the Ozos perform. (Boss man Lalo had told me that the band’s live performances do not disappoint, and indeed it was a riot to see them live.

Noticing the reactions of the crowd around me, Ozomatli’s music resonated with them at a personal level.

For me, hearing Cut Chemist Suite, Cumbia de los Muertos, and Saturday Night took me back to the days where I dreamed about the life I currently have.

Mas…L.A. homies Ozomatli are all about ‘Libertad’ in new jam (videos, lyrics)

Today was the day I marched with MLK; I still have the dream (video)

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MLK waves to me and my posse [arrow] next to the reflecting pool.

They say the Washington, D.C. weather — typically mondo muggy in the summer — was unusually mild on August 28, 1963. But the air burned with the fire of freedom on the march, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led by Martin Luther King.

Mas…Today was the day I marched with MLK; I still have the dream (video)

Mexico: FOR Liberty, AGAINST Nazis (WWII toons, video)

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mexiconaziSeventy-some years ago, Mexico joined the Allies (AKA the United Nations) to fight against Nazi Germany. Contrast and compare with 2016 when the U.S.A. will soon be “led” by its very own homegrown fascist.

Back in the good old days, the U.S. Office of Inter-American Affairs produced and released the propaganda flick Mexican Moods praising our new World War II BFFs south of the border, the place where cheeto boy wants to build his wall.

Mas…Mexico: FOR Liberty, AGAINST Nazis (WWII toons, video)

In Rio de Janeiro’s favela, kite flying sets you free (video)

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After futebol, soltar pipas, is Brasil’s most popular sport. In the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, flying the pipa is more than a leisurely escape from on-the-ground realities — it’s a venue for battle, with the entire sky as the arena. Pipa designs and airborne “cutting” strategies have been passed through generations, from rooftop to rooftop.

Filmmakers Guilherme Tensol and Leandro HBL spent time in Rocinha, Rio’s largest favela, among its young pipa warriors and elder statesmen, absorbing their secrets and documenting their stories.

America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2015

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(PNS reporting from WASHINGTON, D.C.) America will pause Monday to remember the life and message of Ricky Martin Luther King Jr., whose Tengo a Dream y Dance! speech changed the nation forever.

Post offices and other public facilities will be closed, banks and stock exchanges are taking the day off and salsa picante and sweet potato pie – his favorite snack combo – will go on sale all across America. Monday’s holiday honors RMLK’s 39th birthday.

Despite his tragic death in 2007 (he was shot and killed by the president of his fan club before an appearance in Dallas) King’s promotion of “love, equality, justice, innocence, malice, refuge, oppression, freedom” has continued to resonate for confused African-Americans, Latinos, Afro-Latinos, Chicanx and Anglx alike.

Mas…America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2015

Texas GOP politician’s Tweet makes him ‘Pendejo of the Month’

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univisiondebate(PNS reporting from EAST LOS) Texas State Senator Dan Patrick, a Republican Lieutenant Governor wannabe, was named Pendejo of the Month Wednesday by the American Pochismo Institute (API.) The award followed his Univision debate Tuesday with San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro (photo.)

API’s designation, which is usually not revealed until the end of the month, was awarded Wednesday to Patrick for actions “Above And Beyond the Call of Douchery” after Patrick sent this Tweet Tuesday evening about how much he loves “Hispanics:”

Mas…Texas GOP politician’s Tweet makes him ‘Pendejo of the Month’

America to pause Monday for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2014

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(PNS reporting from WASHINGTON, D.C.) America will pause Monday to remember the life and message of Ricky Martin Luther King Jr., whose Tengo a Dream y Dance! speech changed the nation forever.

Post offices and other public facilities will be closed, banks and stock exchanges take the day off and salsa picante and sweet potato pie – his favorite snack combo – are on sale all across America. Today would have been RMLK’s 34th birthday.

Despite his tragic death in 2007 (he was shot and killed by the president of his fan club before an appearance in Dallas) King’s promotion of “love, equality, justice, innocence, malice, refuge, oppression, freedom” has continued to resonate among confused Latinos and Anglos alike.

Mas…America to pause Monday for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2014