Si te quieres divertir Con encanto y con primor Solo tienes que vivir Un verano en nueva york –El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico Every year for 15 years now, New York has hosted the Latin Alternative Music Conference, a four-day affair that celebrates and promotes emerging Latin music that diverges from traditional genres like […]
Read moreKara Walker and the Culture of Decay
Made it over to the last day of viewing for Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety,” the now-famous (or infamous) installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The night before I overheard a heated discussion about it at the Blitz the Ambassador show at the Brooklyn Museum, and of course, it had been a buzz […]
Read moreLatino Media Gap: A Conversation With Frances Negrón Muntaner
The mass media of news and entertainment is ideally a reflecting pool where society can revel in its own image, but Latinos in the US have to look long and hard to see themselves, and when they do, it’s a distorted picture. The lack of consistent and accurate portrayals of Latinos and their lives on […]
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Taco Bell’s Mixed Message
From the Just Because We Seem To Be Obsessed With Deconstructing Ads Doesn’t Mean They Don’t Carry Potent Messages About Self and Other Department: This latest Taco Bell ad for their new unhealthy product, the “quesarito” was so intriguing I had to view it several times. (The spot is called “Imagine.” Poor John Lennon.) It […]
Read moreWhen Is a Civil War a Civil War?
Things have taken a turn for the worse in Iraq. The conflict is being portrayed as a re-emergence of radical islamic insurgency. But the distorted “nation building” process the US initiated with its 2003 invasion and occupation has resulted in the inevitable: a civil war and possible three-way partition of the country. Back in 2006 […]
Read moreEric Cantor, Immigration Reform, and the Paralysis of US Politics
The defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a clear signal that American national politics is in a self-destructive spiral of extremist fear-mongering that has brought about a dangerous creeping paralysis. While his primary defeat is characterized by several pundits as a victory of “grassroots” Tea Party organizing, it is a distorted spectacle where […]
Read more15 Songs for Puerto Rican Pride
What do I love most about Puerto Rico? I guess it’s the cocos. They’re like my head. Hard. Then again, there are the plátanos. They stain my skin. In a good way. Anyway, I’ve gotten some bugging from certain social media interests to compile my own list of songs that make me “Happy” about being […]
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Charles Rangel and El Nuevo New York Politics
“Hablemos dos puertorriqueños aquí apoyando a Charlie Rangel,” said Luis Gutiérrez, standing with fellow US Representative José Serrano as they entered a press conference to announce their support for the ageless Rangel, who is facing a serious challenge to his Congressional seat in an upcoming June 24 Democratic Primary. The symbolism was palpable: two Puerto […]
Read moreAn Imaginary Conversation Between Oscar López Rivera & Edward Snowden
Today, Oscar López Rivera, a Puerto Rican nationalist who has been in prison for 33 years after being convicted of seditious conspiracy, released a moving statement about his homeland’s continuing colonial status, the ways he finds to celebrate his life, and the continual struggle for independence. Last night, Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee who […]
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Honorary Whites and the Collective Black
If there’s one thing Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s banal discourse on race reveals is a fundamental dynamic in our “post-racial” society. Much of mainstream America virulently denies it is racist, while simultaneously having racist attitudes and beliefs. Of course the mainstream media will deny this, and call for Sterling’s head, if nothing else […]
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ED MORALES 