We don’t do may plugs here at Hispanic Fanatic world headquarters. But this weekend is the third annual Grand Marian Procession, Mass, and Fiesta honoring Our Lady of the Angels (Nuestra Señora de Los Àngeles). The parade takes place on September 14 in the heart of Los Angeles.
The sponsoring organization is doing pro-bono work to raise awareness for Latinos and to help Hispanics take pride in their roots.
Well, that all sounds pretty good. So if you’d like to attend, check out this.
I’ve written before about the poor representation of Latinos at the Oscars, and in the world of cinema in general.
So I was pleased to find out that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the people who hand out the little gold men) have recently decided to get on the Latino bandwagon and throw open the doors to more Hispanics.
The Academy just released its list of new members, and of the 276 additional people who will get to vote on Best Picture, there are 22 Latinos.
Among the new members are Jennifer Lopez, Rosario Dawson, Michael Pena, and, yes, Danny Trejo.
That’s right, Machete himself is now a member of the Academy.
How cool is that?
According to one survey, the Superman logo is the second most recognized symbol in the world, right after the Christian cross.
I have my doubts about the accuracy of that survey, particularly because other symbols (e.g., “$”) are pretty popular. But I think we can all agree that Superman is, at the very least, exceedingly well known.
So I’m happy to offer you the chance to win passes to a screening of Man of Steel, the latest big-screen version of the Superman story, in one of the following cities:
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
El Paso
Los Angeles
Miami
New York
Phoenix
San Diego
San Francisco
All you have to do is comment on one of my posts (including this one) about anything you please. Just make sure to tell me what city you plan to see the movie in, so I can allocate the passes.
If you win, I’ll email you the tickets. By the way, I won’t make your contact info public, so don’t worry about that.
I’ll announce the contest winners in the next week or so.
In the meantime, just try to keep that Superman theme song from playing in your head.
If you’ve ever driven around my current hometown of Los Angeles, you know that Latinas pushing strollers of white, blue-eyed children is a common sight. These women are usually nannies, and they get paid to raise the kids of movie stars, TV executives, and Beverly Hills trust fund millionaires.
Well, ok, not everyone who hires a nanny is a pampered one-percenter. In fact, my wife and I, who are laughably far from being rich, are looking for part-time help with our infant son. So we’ve been interviewing potential caregivers.
By the way, if you would have told me a decade ago that I would be enthusiastic about baby spit-up and diaper changes, I would have gulped my beer, waved off the tattoo artist working on my shoulder, and told you to crank up the System of a Down and stop talking nonsense. But that was another life.
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As threatened, new fatherhood has sapped my time and energy to the point that I am barely able to rant and rave effectively. I have no doubt that this will change as my son gains maturity and I gain perspective, but for now my updates will be succinct (which is a nice way of saying that they’ll be really short).
First, as I’m sure you know, President Obama is at long last finished with attempting to compromise with conservatives who would gladly push him into a wood chipper if they could get away with it. The president is moving forward on immigration reform, joined by a few Republicans who insist that they never ever referred to a pathway to citizenship as “amnesty.” Of course, we could have had all this progress years ago, but as I’ve written before, some people always need to scream and fight and threaten to overthrow the government before we just go ahead and adopt the progressive idea. I have no idea why this is the route to reform, but it just is.
Second, I noticed that my infant son is part of yet another growing trend. Apparently, the state he was born in (California) now has more Latinos than white people for the first time since statehood. This was a surprise to some.
This news came out just about the time my son was born. Is it coincidence, or was he the tipping point?
What do you think?
Changes are coming to the way we do business here at Hispanic Fanatic world headquarters. Before I get into all that, however, let’s squeeze in another movie contest.
All you have to do is comment on one of my posts (including this one) and you’ll be entered for the chance to win passes to the upcoming Ben Affleck movie Argo, which will be screened in the following cities:
Dallas, TX
El Paso, TX
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
McAllen, TX
Miami, FL
Phoenix, AZ
San Antonio, TX
San Jose, CA
Based on true events, Argo is about a life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. And best of all, the lead character has a Latino name (Mendez)!
If you win, I’ll email you the passes. By the way, I won’t make your contact info public, so don’t worry about that.
I’ll announce the contest winners in the next week or so. In the meantime, let’s get those comments flying.
We all know the grim statistics. Hispanics are less likely to graduate high school than other ethnic groups, and Latinas, in particular, still have higher rates of teen pregnancy and fewer college degrees than other young girls do.
So what can be done about this appalling situation? Well, perhaps something as simple as giving Hispanic girls a camera is a start.
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So here’s a shot of a few exceptionally talented and rather good-looking Latinos.
The occasion is the release of the new Oliver Stone movie Savages, which features the quartet of Benecio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, and Sandra Echeverria, seen above. There’s some guy named Travolta in it too.
To celebrate the fact that so many Hispanics are appearing together in one film, I’m offering you fine readers the chance to win free tickets to see the movie in one of the following cities:
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
El Paso
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
Sacramento
San Diego
The film is about a pair of California dudes who create some kick-ass marijuana, but then get in over their heads when the drug cartels want in on the action. Apparently, the film escalates into “a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high-stakes, savage battle of wills.” And I’m betting that there is at least one joke about having the munchies.
All you have to do is comment on one of my posts (including this one) and you’ll be entered for the chance to win free passes to the film. Once again, your comment can be about anything. The only thing you have to include in your comment is the city in which you intend to see the movie, so I can plan accordingly.
If you win, I’ll email the passes to you. By the way, I’m the sole person who will see your email addresses (unless you specifically want to share it in the body of your comment), so don’t worry about that.
I’ll announce the contest winners in the next week or so.
So get to commenting, and good luck.
So the Baby Boomers, as they are wont to do, are ready to take the money and run. Apparently, many older entrepreneurs will soon sell off their business and retire.
Well, we shouldn’t worry. After all, entrepreneurialism is a cornerstone of the fabled American Dream, and small businesses drive the economy. So I’m sure some young, smart, hardworking go-getters will keep the new ideas coming…unless of course, we’ve decimated education, promoted ignorance, and ravaged the social safety net to the point that we are unleashing a generation ill-equipped to tap into their own creativity.
OK, now I’m worried.
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I’m throwing another quick weekend update at you. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of Cain’s Arcade. In sum, a nine-year-old boy here in Los Angeles (specifically, in the Latino-heavy neighborhood of East LA) had a dream.
I won’t spoil it by revealing all the details. But check out the short film here to see what one kid with a lot of energy and creativity can pull off.
