America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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

Lalo Alcaraz on WGBH/PRI: ‘U.S. is becoming Mexico’ (audio)

POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz stopped by WGBH in Boston today to record an interview (audio and video) for Public Radio International’s The World with Carol Hills.

It sounds like he made some new friends in Boston:

Alcaraz is a strong believer in laughing during hard times. And that’s where satire comes in. Coping with humor is something he learned from his Mexican parents. “It’s kind of the Mexican national pastime. I was just telling my Uber driver that the US has become Mexico. That’s why we all have 10 jobs.”

Here’s the audio:

Mas…Lalo Alcaraz on WGBH/PRI: ‘U.S. is becoming Mexico’ (audio)

Trump’s ‘Supply-Side Jesus’ will make America great again (video)


Donald Trump’s economic policies, unveiled yesterday in Detroit, would erase whatever meager protections we have left against out-of-control corporations, let polluters ruin our air, spoil our water, and boil our endangered planet, kill Obamacare, give rich people a tax break and ruin whatever progress we have made since George W. Bush and his Wall Street cronies caused the Great Recession.

How and why can the GOP justify this deluded douchebag’s proposals? It’s the Gospel of Supply-Side Jesus, as explained by now-Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Los Supercivicos: Satirical super hero citizens of Mexico City (audio)

Supercivicos-600x380Los Supercivicos, Mexico’s City’s self-appointed superhero vigilantes, wield the wicked sword of satire as they fight for truth, justice and the Mexican Way.

Zakiya Gibbons reports for NPR’s LatinoUSA:

Alex Marin y Kall and Arturo Hernández are redefining crime-fighting in Mexico City with their comedy group, Los Supercívicos. Armed with comedy and a camera, the duo hits the streets to shame wrongdoers into good behavior They draw crowds by dressing up as anything from cowboys to nuns, and they improvise “happenings” to call attention to the offender. People even turn to Los Supercívicos for rescue when the authorities won’t help. While it seems all fun and games, Marin y Kall and Hernández are pursuing the serious goal of promoting civic awareness—in Mexico City and beyond.

Mas…Los Supercivicos: Satirical super hero citizens of Mexico City (audio)

Roots of Chicano Satire: Lalo Guerrero and Culture Clash (videos)


Before there was Bordertown, there was The Culture Clash show. Only about TWENTY-SOMETHING YEARS AGO, so SUCK IT humorless haters!

(It was my first showbiz writing gig!) Big props and eternal thanks to the Culture Clash guys!

And before all of us, there was LALO GUERRERO doing Chicano satire, hell, INVENTING it! Check out Guerrero’s singing There’s No Chicanos on TV!

Mas…Roots of Chicano Satire: Lalo Guerrero and Culture Clash (videos)

My report and photos from the set of Adam Sandler’s ‘Ridiculous Six’

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I had to post this after reading that the actors who walked off Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six set get tagged as heroes and those who stayed, like me, get belittled.

My photograph (above) shows two of the men who walked off and the lady who stayed. They’re discussing the film’s infamous script, just after they talked to one of the assistant directors about the script.

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PREVIOUSLY: Why I didn’t walk off Adam Sandler’s Ridiculous Six set
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Just before he leaves, the man on the right attempts to gather as many of the 100-plus extras into a holding tent like the one pictured (below).

Mas…My report and photos from the set of Adam Sandler’s ‘Ridiculous Six’

America pauses for Ricky Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2015

(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

Pocho Ocho worst Twitter #JeSuisCharlie hashtag fails

hashtagheatmapSome Twitter users are just unclear on the concept, especially when it comes to the appropriate use of the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag, the most popular ever (“heat map,” above). The viral slogan — coined after the massacre at Paris satire magazine Charlie Hebdo — affirms support of free expression.

French-deficient? “Je suis Charlie” means “I am Charlie.”

The Pochodores combed the Internets for these Pocho Ocho top Twitter #JeSuisCharlie hashtag fails:

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Mas…Pocho Ocho worst Twitter #JeSuisCharlie hashtag fails