Paola's SXSW Photos: Rey Pila, Adanowsky, Gepe, Zuzuka, Polock, etc.

Above is a pic taken of Intimate Stranger at Plutopia's Chilean Showcase. For more of Paola Capó-García's great pics from SXSW just click on the above image :)

Three Cities and Mexican Indepentance

Gorgeous pics by Ann Summa, a piece by JONATHAN KANDELL and here is the tale of Mexico's Freedom Trail. Click on the photo. It's the Times. Again.

Narcocorrido, good writing, and a story you need to know

Lawrence Downes tells at atmospheric tale and nails the story as he gets to the heart of Mexican Los Angeles via the narcocorrido, the “rap of modern Mexico,” as it moves through this sprawling, multilayered city. J. Emilio Flores took the pic for the NY Times. Click HERE for the story.

Final Frontier My Friends

I got a wonderful email from Ruth Livier (Star/Creator/Co-Writer of Ylse) telling me about a great and grand story that I've never heard on the news anywhere. Which is a shame since these are the kinds of stories we need to be telling. This August there will be Two Latino astronauts going on the space mission, Jose Hernandez - a Mexican National from Michoacan, who studied at UC Santa Barbara and Daniel Olivas - From El Paso, TX. from the US born of Mexican parents. Jose's astronaut bio is here, and Daniel's wiki page is here. Now these, mis amigos are role models. And as Ruth wrote to me, "This is the talent our community develops:))". Amen Ruth.

Mexican Chicago, Population: 800,000

The NY Times Jeff Bailey has the story here. Gorgeous Pic by Sally Ryan for the Times. There's a photo slide show as well.

from the NY TIMES: A Mexican Tradition Runs of Faith & Pagentry

LARRY ROHTER writes about it HERE.

Weird but true.

Did anyone know they let 11-year old kids bullfight? How does this sport go - You taunt a bull with a red cape and then stab it to death?
Maybe it's awesome! maybe it's awful! We have no idea. Here's a story from the BBC though. You tell us. Here's the story on ITN. Cool British accent.

Murder in Tijuana

A sad story about Tijuana's drug killings and the effect they have on local children is in the NY Times this weekend. Tough Stuff. Read here, the article is by Marc Lacey.

My Heros Have Always Been...

Brooklyn Based/Mexico City born artist Dulce Pinzon's work in The Real Story of the Superheros is best explained in her artist's statement, an excerpt from which is below:

The Mexican immigrant worker in New York is a perfect example of the hero who has gone unnoticed. It is common for a Mexican worker in New York to work extraordinary hours in extreme conditions for very low wages which are saved at great cost and sacrifice and sent to families and communities in Mexico who rely on them to survive.

The Mexican economy has quietly become dependent on the money sent from workers in the US. Conversely, the US economy has quietly become dependent on the labor of Mexican immigrants. Along with the depth of their sacrifice, it is the quietness of this dependence which makes Mexican immigrant workers a subject of interest.

The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.