Camila Cabello - Latina Rising

If you do not yet know Camila Cabello, you will.   Over the last year since leaving Fifth Harmony, the Cuban-Mexican American singer has risen from relative obscurity to land today at the top of the charts with her hit song "Havana."

Official Cover for the Single "Havana"

Camila Cabello's Background

Her musical career started in 2012 when she left Miami Palmetto High School and headed straight to the audition stage of The X Factor.  Her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" did not convince the judges, but her talent showed and was selected by Simon Cowell to join another four women in the female singing group as Fifth Harmony.  After four years with the singing group, Camila left on December 2016 to launch her solo career, still under Simon Cowell's Syco Music and SONY Music (Epic Records).  As the daughter of a Mexican mother and Cuban father, Camila's new single, "Havana," seems to reference that heritage when she sings the line "Half my heart is in Havana."

The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)

Official music video for Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) by K'naan featuring Residente, Riz MC & Snow Tha Product 

Donate $10 to Lin-Manuel’s Immigrants: We Get The Job Done Coalition at: http://bit.ly/2tOfD3A and win a chance to attend the Los Angeles opening of Hamilton 

Buy/Stream The Hamilton Mixtape Here: https://Atlantic.lnk.to/HamiltonMixtape 

Directed By Tomás Whitmore 

Produced by Kimberly Stuckwisch, Melora Donoghue 

Executive Produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Rodriguez, Kimberly Stuckwisch, Ian Blair

Salma Hayek and Mexican Slang

Salma Hayek's press tour for "How to be a Latin Lover" brought her and Euguenio Derbez before a number of press outlets this week. Below she translates Maxican slav for Vanity Fair.

You Don't Have Enough Mariachi in Your Life

This is just a fact: You need more Mariachi in your life. Stop doubting this.  Check out the Mariachi Entertainment System on Youtube if you need some Mariachi today.

Kombo Latino in Hamilton, NJ

Every weekend in festival parks across the United States a salsa band plays.  Made up mostly of excellent musicians who  hustle for gigs with little pay, these bands are everywhere looking to entertain and to put a little bit of rhythm into the air. Here is Kombo Latino playing a perfect rendition "Sin salsa no hay paraiso" by El Gran Combo.

If you are in the New Jersey area look out for their next gig and follow them on facebook.

Calle 13 Performs in Cuba, Sings Querido FBI

Calle 13 one of the few conscientious artists of today takes the stage in Cuba with his pro-independence, anti-imperialist anthem written in 2005 after the assassination of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, leader of the Puerto Rican Macheteros.

Great Flashmob with Beyonce's Single Ladies

Sometimes I wish I were a surfer

Puerto Rican Actor Esai Morales in BSG: Caprica

Esai Morales may not be a household name to many in the United States, but he should be a familiar face. The Puerto Rican actor has appeared in a multitude of productions including 1987's La Bamba to episodes of Jericho and 24. Much of his work, not unlike that of many other Puerto Ricans, has gone unnoticed by Hollywood who seemed at times to only call on him when they needed a brown face. Truth be told, the man has talent.


Now Mr. Morales will star in the new Battlestar Galactica spin off Caprica as Joseph Adama. On July 25th the cast of Caprica were on hand at Comic-Con, Zap2it has the live-blog of the panel.

The Caprica series is set to air on the Syfy channel Beginning in January 22, 2010. However for those that may have missed it, the show's pilot is available on DVD and I highly recommend it.

Good luck Esai, may the gods of Kobol be with you.

Immigration Enforcement Hunts Canadians [COMEDY]

This is a comedic take on what it might be like if the U.S. government conducted immigration raids against Canadians living in the United States in the same way that it hunts Mexicans immigrants. I found it to be a very funny and smart critique of the I.C.E. department of our fearless leaders at Homeland Insecurity. Check it out, there are more smarts on this that in the entire Bush Administration.

Outlandish: Redefining World Music

Outlandish now has just over a decade of recordings to their name, but it is now that their sound and lyrics are beginning to resonate. If you don't know them, here is a little background. Outlandish is a hip-hop/r&b band made up of one Honduran (Lenny Martinez), one Pakistani (Waqas Ali Qadri), and one Moroccan (Isam Bachiri), who since 1997 and from Denmark have been blurring the musical lines, and linguistic lines, of what hip hop is internationally.

Here are some of their music, to help expand your horizons a bit.

Update:I just checked Amazon.com and they have heir latest album on sale as an MP3 download without DRM (every album should be DRM-free). Here is the link:Closer Than Veins - Deluxe Edition

Callin U by Outlandish...

Walou '04 by Outlandish...

I Only Ask of God by Outlandish...

Update:I just checked Amazon.com and they have heir latest album on sale as an MP3 download without DRM (every album should be DRM-free). Here is the link:Closer Than Veins - Deluxe Edition

Pablo Francisco Standup Comedy

Chilean-American Pablo Francisco performing in 2006

Bert & Ernie do M.O.P.'s "Ante Up"

Here are Bert and Ernie, Sesame Street's Hispanic roommates throwing it down for the 'Hood'. And I bet they would also laugh at Daddy Yankee. Sesame Street votes for Obama!

Jessica Alba and Christina Aguilera in Bondage for Your Vote

Jessica Alba, a.k.a. my future wife, and Christina Aguilera, a.k.a my future wife, posed for celebrated photographers Mark Liddell and David LaChapelle for the Declare Yourself voter registration campaign. The pictures, inspired by bondage-like apparel, are part of an online gallery and an ad campaign to encourage the youth vote in these upcoming elections. Cause nothing says "vote" like a little bondage. (By the way... I do not see a problem with both of them being my future wives)

Fat Joe calls Daddy Yankee a Sell-out, Daddy Yankee Responds

When Daddy Yankee endorsed John McCain for the Presidency, we laughed and made fun of both, but Fat Joe took the matter a bit more personal calling Daddy Yankee a sell-out.

From an interview with MTV-NEWS we get the following:

"I opened the newspaper and got sick to my stomach," Joe continued. "I felt like I wanted to vomit when I seen that. The reason why I called him a sellout is because I feel he did that for a [publicity] look, rather than the issues that are affecting his people that look up to him. How could you want John McCain in office when George Bush and the Republicans already have half a million people losing their homes in foreclosure? We're fighting an unjust war. It's the Latinos and black kids up in the frontlines, fighting that war. ... We over here trying to take the troops out of Iraq and bring peace. This guy immediately wants war. If not with Iraq or Afghanistan, he'll start a new one with Iran. I feel real disgusted that Daddy Yankee would do that. Either he did that for a look, or he's just not educated on politics."

Daddy Yankee, at first did not respond, his publicist claiming he was unreachable outside the country (don't you just hate when that happens).

However, Daddy Yankee has now just responded:

"McCain is the kind of man whose promises you can actually believe in. I'll support him till the end. I don't care who I piss off. This is about my ideals, not about making friends."

Daddy Yankee, who has resented that Calle 13 is considered the more intellectual artist in his genre, to his credit has tried to be more political lately but for someone who brags of growing up in the ghetto, his knowledge of politics and everyday issues seems to dwindle with every million he makes.

Racism in the Elevator

Mercenaries 2 Spreads Bush Propaganda

Released on August 31, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is easily dismissed as just the latest incarnation in a long list of shoot'em-up games released in the last decade, but this game is different. While previous such games usually focus on such traditional "enemies" as the Nazies, Communists, and non-descript muslims, Mercenaries 2 takes aim at a democratically elected government of Venezuela.

The game's synopsis from Wikipedia describes the plot:

The story follows the player's hunt for Ramon Solano, a large political figure who contracts the player's mercenary for a job then subsequently refuses to pay and tries to kill him/her. Following a militaristic coup, Solano becomes the dictator of Venezuela. He uses his position to seize control of the country's oil supply, resulting in an international incident and distress among OPEC. Alongside Solano's Rebel Forces, a large portion of the Venezuelan army fiercely supports the dictator's cause.

Simply by changing the name of Ramon Solano to Hugo Chavez, you have basically described the Bush Administration's perception of Venezuela.

This could also be dismissed as just the work of a game developer taking cues from recent headlines. However, that would be easier to do if the game developer was not also a defense contractor for the Pentagon. Pandemic Studios, the developer of Mercenaries 2 has responded to the alegation by releasing this statement: "Pandemic Studios is in the business of entertainment. It has not been contacted by a U.S. government agency concerning the development of Mercenaries 2. All persons, storylines and events are purely fictional and bear no relation to real events. As with any number of games, movies and books, the decision to choose interesting events and locations is purely designed to tell a compelling story, as well as provide a fun and rich experience for the gamer."

Which would be highly believable if this were not the same studio that produced, Full Spectrum Warrior, a training simulation for the U.S. Army released commercially in 2004.

Overall, there's no real conspiracy here. As shoot'em-ups go the fan base doesn't care who they get to shoot as long as it looks cool. So the propaganda is nullified by the nature of its primary target audience.

But I wonder how it would be received in the US if other countries began making games promoting the destruction of the American Government and the assassination of its president. Somehow I don't think it would be so easily dismissed.

Here's the game's trailer:

Jessica Alba at NCLR Alma Awards 2008

Actress Jessica Alba (my future wife and mother to my future children) presents fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez with the award for Special Achievement in Fashion during the taping of the 2008 "NCLR Alma" awards at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, August 17, 2008. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) gives out the ALMA awards to honor outstanding Latino artistic achievement in television, film and music. The show airs September 12 on ABC.(Xinhua/Reuters Photos)

U.S. in Nicaragua [cartoon]

Cartoon by Barry Deutsch

Robert Rodriguez to Produce 'Red Sonja' [Movie Posters]

Robert Rodriguez, the Mexican-American award-winning director, is set to produce the new 'Red Sonja' movie. For those not familiar with the Conan comic book universe may not recognize Red Sonja but you'll get the chance to in 2009 when Rose McGowan stars as Red Sonja. Robert Rodriguez is also working on a new Conan movie. He may be looking to recreate the entire Conan universe on film. Here is the other promotional film poster.



If you are unfamiliar with Robert Rodriguez's works here is a short list from IMDB:
Sin City 3 (2009) (in production)
Machete (2008) (V) (in production)
Sin City 2 (2010) (pre-production)
Shorts (2009) (post-production)
Planet Terror (2007)
Grindhouse (2007) (segment "Planet Terror") (fake trailer segment "Machete")
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005)
Sin City (2005)
Ten Minute Film School: Big Movies Made Cheap (2004) (V)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
Spy Kids (2001)
The Faculty (1998)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Four Rooms (1995) (segment "The Misbehavers")
Desperado (1995)
Mariachi, El (1992)
Bedhead (1991)