As all trends go, they do come to an end and this seems to be the case with the announcement that Sports Illustrated will stop printing issues of their Sports Illustrated Latino off-shoot after three years of publication.
The glossy Spanish-language quarterly, skimpy on content but big on ads from the auto industry and from the US military, was never sold on newspaper stands but was mailed to subscribers for free.
On Thursday, online publishing industry information site Portada indicated that this reliance on auto industry ads was ultimately what led to the magazine's demise at a time when the US auto industry seems to be on the verge of collapse. Subscribers will receive the last issue in mailboxes in the next few weeks.
And, trendwise, it's not the only Latino off-shoot publication that seems destined to end according to Latino Business Review.
So what does three years of SI Latino leave us? Well, it does leave our lives a little bit richer in that we would otherwise not have known about the 'exotic' Mexican lucha libre super star Maximo! And what would our lives be without him?
Although I also have some disconcerting news for all you Maximo fans out there (and if you are easily impressionable I suggest you stop reading this right this second).
How can I say this in a gentle way. Let me see. Hm. Sorry. There is no way but to tell it like it is: Maximo is **gulp!** not gay! He is just interpreted as gay. His real name is Jose Christian Alvarado Ruiz and he is married to female lucha libre fighter India Sioux.
Here is Maximo in 2007 in a Galavision show explaining why he chose to be an exotico:
An excerpt (beginning at 00:29):
Interviewer: We are very, very pleased to have amongst us a man who brings out many people - an exotic fighter. It's been a while since there was an exotic fighter who brought out so many people to the arenas as Maximo does. Maximo: Well, it's a very beautiful thing, specially as you just said - that concept was lost - so I am happy about the public's acceptance. Interviewer: Let's explain a little bit that concept to people because many will think, or some will think, well "Maximo is gay or isn't gay" which in the end is not what matters... they're gay... well, we know that in the case of Maximo "No," but that is what he simulates up on the stage. How do you explain this concept to the people. Maximo: How to explain it! Well, part of what is an exotic, is a refined person who is well-behaved and detail-conscious, who always demonstrates his affection towards his mates and the public.
So as we bid farewell to SI Latino and to Maximo's gayness, let's just look at Maximo's biggest moments.
From Monday's Miss Colombia Beauty Pageant in Cartagena during the Q&A segment...
Host: Do you believe that a woman is the compliment of a man?
Miss Antioquia: Good night to everyone I believe that a man himself compliments a man Woman with woman Man with man And also, woman to man, in the same manner, in the opposite sense And we exist to give each other care [audience members start to giggle] To give ourselves love And... A woman is the compliment of a man In a very beautiful sense Because love is given And also provides care Eh... the world is evolving And each time we give more love to the men who... in the case of Colombia... used to be machistas once upon a time... [audience applauds]
I could not have said it better myself! At the end of the night, Miss Antioquia emerged as the 3rd runner up. She was robbed!
The presidential elections are over. Obama won. Some say that the Latino vote was key in flipping states like Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida (though the ones who say that are the ones who most benefit from painting Latinos as a powerful voting block). And even if that's the case it couldn't possibly have been thanks to this:
Oh my! Where to start. Well, the video was produced by something called Voto Latino, founded in 2004 "to promote an enfranchised America by leveraging celebrity voices, the latest technology and youth themselves to promote positive change" [Latino youth! Celebrities! Technology! Co-founder Rosario Dawson! Enfranchification! Yay!].
But wait! Pray tell: How can Voto Latino best engage the Latino youth of America? Wait! I got it! Spoofing the telenovelas that their moms watch!! [Huh?].
Yes! I kid you not but the clip above is but part five of a five clip series! [Must be a California thing, the No on Prop. 8 Latino outreach spot went the telenovela route as well].
Rex (right) has a few choice comments about the No on Prop. 8 campaign as well as last weeks Prop. 8 protests across the country. It is worth a read:
The organization No On 8 failed us. Before the TV ad war started, we were up 14-17 points in the polls. Then No On 8 spent some $37 million of your money to spam the California airwaves with really lousy ads, while the other side spent a similar amount to spam the California airwaves with ads that were, whatever else they may have been, effective. While the bad TV ads were not the only component of our loss (last-minute preaching from the pulpits was a factor), had our ads been good ads, we would have held onto our lead. And producing those mindnumbingly expensive ads (which I and many others publicly criticized as they were airing) was one piece of the war that No On 8 had 100% control over...
One of the striking things about yesterday's El Diario La Prensa editorial backing marriage rights for same-sex couples was their explicit rejection of efforts by New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. to derail any legislation granting same-sex couples the rights afforded to married couples or to sponsor bills that discriminate against same-sex couples (the Senator also happens to be an ordained minister).
From the editorial which I quoted in full yesterday:
Rev. Diaz and others are supposedly not for denying rights to gays and lesbians but believe that marriage should be between a man and woman. Yet, it’s this very discriminatory position that serves to exclude lesbian and gay couples from accessing rights, benefits and treatment that heterosexuals take for granted.
This use of religious beliefs to block basic civil rights undermines the separation of church and state in this nation.
In today's edition, El Diario La Prensa runs an interview with the not so good Reverend in which he once again spouts off his mouth on his favorite topic: The gays ("Reverend Diaz: Gay marriage goes to referendum" by Jose Acosta).
In it, Diaz announces that he will introduce a State Senate bill today pushing for a statewide referendum on same-sex marriage:
I do not think it is appropriate that a group of lawmakers are the ones to decide whether or not gay marriage is approved in New York. I, as a legislator, do not want to impose my will, and this is why I am asking that there be a referendum on the issue as was done in California, and that the 20 million inhabitants of the State of New York be the ones who decide in a democratic election
OMG, thank you for protecting the electorate from efforts to grant a much-discriminated minority equal rights, Senator! Makes you wonder if the Reverend would feel the same about it if he felt there was enough support for a legislative ban on same-sex marriages!
But how about that pesky separation of church and state? hm...
I am a pastor and cannot, with my vote, bring homosexual marriage to the State of New York. My dissent would come to an end if my colleagues support the bill I am submitting
Well, so much for that! At least he never ceases to disappoint... in a bad way, of course.
As for the chances of a referendum moving forward in New York State, here is how Paul Schindler puts it in last week's Gay City News:
Despite the press play that proposal got across the state and on some blog sites that usually show greater political acumen, the referendum idea is, in fact, a non-starter. New York voters do not currently have the right to initiate such ballot questions, and though Senate Republicans have at times flirted with passing a law to enable them to, they have not seriously advanced the concept, nor are the Assembly Democrats about to surrender their prerogatives in this way.
The only other way to put the question to the voters would be for the Legislature, in two successive sessions, to approve a constitutional amendment referendum. That approach, too, has no support among Democrats, in either the Assembly or the Senate.
I might be wrong but this might be a first. Today New York's El Diario La Prensa - the Spanish-language newspaper with the second largest circulation numbers in the United States - published a strong editorial backing same-sex marriage rights for same-sex couples. This in the wake of weekend nationwide demonstrations against Proposition 8 in California and recent anti-gay statements by the reliably homophobic Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. (also a NYS Senator).
Latinos have fought too hard and long for equal rights. This is why we must rally around a sector of our community that remains even more discriminated against--gays and lesbians.
Across the country this weekend, people protested against measures banning same-sex marriage. One of these bans came as a harder blow in California, where thousands of couples had married since that state’s Supreme Court had legalized same-sex marriage in the spring.
After that legal decision, Governor David Paterson announced that New York state agencies would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
But there are loud voices, among them State Senator Ruben Diaz, who threaten to thwart any legislation that would allow same-sex marriage in New York.
Rev. Diaz and others are supposedly not for denying rights to gays and lesbians but believe that marriage should be between a man and woman. Yet, it’s this very discriminatory position that serves to exclude lesbian and gay couples from accessing rights, benefits and treatment that heterosexuals take for granted.
This use of religious beliefs to block basic civil rights undermines the separation of church and state in this nation. The basis of that separation lies in the experience of early American colonists who had fled religious persecution elsewhere to pursue tolerance and freedom in the “new” world.
Latinos, as well as other groups, should have an honest conversation about homophobia. Discrimination, whether within or outside of our communities, on the basis of color, immigration status, gender or sexuality is just not acceptable.
Across the nation, a gay rights agenda must be representative of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Latinos and the deeper inequities they confront. The gap between the struggle for LGBT rights and the struggles for economic and racial justice needs to be closed.
Back in October of 2005 I highlighted their strong editorial against efforts by the Vatican to purge gay priests from their rolls but this is the first time I remember the paper standing unequivocally for same-sex marriage rights.
I say: Thank you! La Opinion, which is based in Los Angeles and has the largest circulation numbers among Spanish-language news dailies in the US, did it first. It is very welcome nevertheless.
Update: Here is the Reverend's unhinged response to the EDLP editorial -
NOTE: My entire photo album of today's events in NYC here, a run down of events in other cities at Towleroad and media coverage at Chris Crain's blog.It was supposed to be a rainy day but the rain didn't arrive until a few moments ago. Instead, for what was one of hundreds of demonstrations throughout the United States against California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage, the sun shined brightly on the thousands of people that descended upon City Hall in Manhattan. I haven't seen crowd estimates but overheard a few people say that they thought it was a larger crowd the one on Wednesday (which drew 7,500 to 15,000 - depending on who you ask).
SIGNS OF THE DAY!
Best sign of the day! "Girl, you did not just steal our rights DID YOU? Seriously" (Update: Vinney has the T-shirthere , his flickr page is here).
Runner up: "Prop 8 Kills Kittens" (those on the East Coast who have seen the recent Time Warner commercials will get the joke).
Runner up: "Bisexuals won't settle for 1/2 equal"
Runner up: "If homosexuality is a disease, let's call in QUEER to work. 'Hello,can't work today, STILL QUEER"
SEEN!!!
Heather Matarazzo: There were the usual array of speakers including openly gay Councilmembers Christine Quinn and Rosie Mendez and the openly gay Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell but the one that truly moved my cynical heart was Heather Matarazzo (above). Part of it was that I felt star-struck (I have been in love with Heather ever since I saw her performance in Todd Solondz' "Welcome to the Dollhouse").
But no. I think what struck me of Wednesday's and today's demos were how unlike other demos they were (in terms of drawing record numbers of chi-chi gays - who usually never get caught at a political demo thingie - as well as the throngs of younger people who seem to have engaged in ways that I have never seen).
It's the Facebook generation (or what Rex calls Stonewall 2.0) and for some reason Heather seemed to fully embody the moment. So when she looked at the thousands of people in front of her and choked-up with tears as she said "I love you all" I couldn't help but tear up a bit as well. Yes, old cynical me.
Wilson Cruz: A while back I checked in with the Obama campaign and urged them to recruit Wilson Cruz for their media-friendly events in California if their goal was to attract a younger Latino gay following. When pundits were questioning whether Obama could draw the Latino vote, Wilson was out there challenging that notion and I was glad to have tried to connect him to the campaign. Glad to see him in the crowd although I didn't have a chance to say hi.
Emanuel Xavier was there as well though and got to address the crowd as well (pic courtesy of Leo Toro). Yay! (Wait! I detect a wardrobe change!).
John Norris: Oh, and yeah, MTV's John Norris was just behind me (above in shades).
Matt Foreman: The fabu-tastic Matt Foreman was in his old stomping grounds as well (he now lives in California). That's me on the left, him on the right. Don't mind my spazzy smile: Francisco De Leon, Matt's husband, was making lewd motions at me to get me to smile.
PJ, Steven and the hubby: I hung out all day long with Steven (in the white shirt), PJ (in the cheap leather jacket), and Raul (the hubby, in stripes). Good times.
And then there was flower girl and the ACT UP guy!
Yes, peoplez, it was all about love.
ACT UP guy was holding on to a banner that read: You might remember a similar banner led the march down Broadway on Wednesday except that one read "God Loves Gay Marriage."
The creator of both banners is none other than rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker. Perhaps between Wednesday and today he read this piece in POZ magazine by Peter Staley?
Update:Towleroad, as always, has the most comprehensive rundown.
Oh what a beautiful sight! Thousands of people in a semi-impromptu demonstration the likes I haven't seen since that huge rally in Manhattan after the death of Matthew Shepard. All demanding equal rights for same-sex couples following the passage of California's Proposition 8 and chastising the Mormon church for pouring so much money into the effort to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.
Back then, after the Matthew Shepard rally, I was quoted in the Village Voice marveling at how e-mail networking had made the humongous vigil a reality. Appropriate, then, that tonight's vigil was brought to you pretty much courtesy of Facebook. To be sincere, I expected perhaps 1,000 people or less. As if! One estimate I heard tonight placed the crowd at 16,000 (smaller than the Matthew Sheppard vigil but just an amazing number for something that was almost ethereal in execution. Rex Wockner has a post on what might be called Activism 4.0 (personally - despite the turn out - I am uncertain how the energy can be truly channeled effectively in the future). Kudos to organizer Corey Johnson.
BTW - If you missed tonight there is another protest Saturday (more details here)
Snapshots from tonight:
Winner! Best sign of the night!
Runner up!
Le Joe Jervis est hoaging le camera (jeez! is Joe.My.God everywhere?)
The closing shot: The end of the night rally at Columbus Circle just outside Central Park.
I will pull a Manhattan Offender quickie and peruse the day in "Status Updates" from my friends in the the last few hours (did YOU make the list?):
AM:just voted and he will cut you if you are not voting today too. :)
ES: says GO OBAMA !! If He don't win - I will slap yo mama
KF:just got a text from her cousin Philly: A black man is running and it ain't from the cops. Go Obama!
OP:says vote or you are not getting any from me
RVH: is sad erection day is armost ovel
RHT:looks forward to election celebratory sex [editor's note: a theme emerges?]
RAS:is just back from voting. ROSA PARKS SAT\ SO MARTIN COULD WALK/SO BARACK COULD RUN/SO OUR CHILDREN COULD FLY.
KM:done baracked the vote! ... fuck ann kobayashi! YES TO RAIL NOW! lol. [editor's note: whotf is ann kobayashy? only hawai'ians know, I guess]
RM:cried because of the beautiful people who voted at PS 289
LB:holding onto her new (for the 4th time) wife, talking to voters one last time at a polling place, and hoping Californians vote for equality today! [editor's note: those californians!]
FA:thinks that only in the South would someone pull up with a BBQ grill and start cookin burgers to sell to voters in line. Haha.
BT:wants to remind all registered Republicans, your election day is Wednesday. Democrats on Nov. 4, GOP on Nov. 5. Shorter lines that way
KP:is standing out in the rain protecting folks right to vote. it's just that serious.
MD:is pondering... Which came first, the Chicken Nugget or the Egg Mcmuffin? [editor's note: oh, wait! that wasn't an election "status Update"]
RG:is at voting poll at Rosemont elementary. The students keep shouthing GOBAMA! at the grown folks in line. One wiseguy shouted McCain. It's very much like The Wii [editor's note: finally! a mccain reference!]
DM:enjoy this historical day. Went to jail forty years ago with Dr. King in South for right to vote. This makes it worth while....Wow..simply Wow [editor's note: he really did! after all, it's David Mixner!]
CG:loves that the entire country of Kenya will have a national holiday tomorrow if Barack wins. I think I'm converting to Kenyan
Ask a Mexican's Gustavo Arellano:wants everyone to vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially against Prop. 8 in Cali... [editor's note: darn! forgot to make that one anonymous]
BW:invites Bill Clinton and Morgan Freeman to step aside for America's first black President
Reminder: CALIFORNIANS!! If it turns out to be an early night, go to the polls at all costs anyway and VOTE 'NO ON PROP. 8'
One of the funniest YouTube videos of the campaign season (and very appropriate two days before the presidential election). Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Boybama's "Battleground to Your Heart".
I particularly cracked up about the broken voice of the mom's son on the ice hockey ring.
What on earth is going on here!? Rex Wockner explains the scariness that was yesterday's "The Call" here (organizers were hoping to draw the largest ever anti-gay religious crowd in California history to support of Prop.8 which would ban same-sex marriage rights in the state).
An excerpt from his post: "If I hadn't once upon a time been a Catholic seminarian and hadn't emerged from those days with near certainty that all this God/Jesus stuff is pure myth and mass delusion, it could have been dangerous to be there. It would have been dangerous for any gay person struggling with internalized homophobia or religious guilt, I think."
How scary was it? Well, watch the ad below (yikes!):
In the meantime, to counter the scary bives coming from Qualcomm Stadium, a few San Diegoans (San Diegoettes? San Diegans?) organized a counter-protest in groovy Hillcrest in opposition of Prop. 8. Check out "It's Pray Day" at Mike Tidmus' blog.
UPDATE: After attending "The Call" and stopping home to report on it, Rex biked over to Hillcrest where I am certain he regained some sense of sanity. Full report here.
An excerpt: "Amazingly, the gay protest was organized entirely via e-mail and, to the best of my knowledge, it was the biggest gay street action in the 14 years I've lived here, apart from the gay pride parade, which draws about 150,000 people."
Mike Tidmus also has an update on the Hillcrest candle-light rally here.
Both photos courtesy of Rex Wockner. Click on them to make them larger. More scary photos of the first event here.
In my previous post I took a slight dig at the "No on Prop. 8" campaign ads targeting the Latino community in California. I wasn't going to comment further but then comes an article posted online yesterday at The Advocate on the inside game at the campaign ("In the belly of No on 8"):
The media revamp has included a new Spanish-language push, with ads running on Spanish-language media outlets featuring Ugly Betty stars America Ferrerra, Tony Pena, and Ana Ortiz. Getting the ads done was a challenge, considering the three actors were in New York and the campaign had less than a few days to write, produce, and distribute the ads.
“That spot seems to be touching people,” said one of [Patrick] Guerriero’s colleagues, a senior executive at a major media company who took a leave of absence to work full-time on the campaign. “Young Latinos were looking for a way to talk about this with their parents. They didn’t feel comfortable having that conversation in Spanish. This is definitely filling a need.”
I think it's great that the stars donated their time and were willing to be part of the campaign. Kudos to them. But here's what rubs me the wrong way.
1. They used the wrong "Ugly Betty" cast: "Ugly Betty" is an English-language version of an incredibly popular Spanish-language television soap opera. I am no pollster but I have a feeling that the Latino viewers who watch the English version are not the ones that need to be convinced to vote against Prop. 8. They already sit to watch the gayest show on network television to begin with and the fact that they understand English means they probably are more acculturated than recent US citizens which are probably the ones that need to be made at ease about opposing Prop. 8. The "No on 8" campaign might have done better by reaching out to the cast of Mexican version of "Ugly Betty" if they were looking for a bigger impact.
2. All Latinos are not the same: For some of us who watch the show from time to time, one of the most jarring thing is that the cast of the US show is the fact that we recognize that the actors all come from different ethnic backgrounds even if they are supposed to be from the same Queens family. America Ferrera, who plays Betty, was born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents; Ana Ortiz, who plays her sister Hilda is of Puerto Rican-Irish descent; and Tony Plana, who plays their father Ignacio, was born in Cuba - and it shows in the way the carry themselves. This is fine for a television show where you can look over these type of discrepancies but I'm not that certain that using the actors to carry the message to Latinos in California speaks to California Latinos specifically. As with the presdiential campaign, it looks as if the folks who decided to use the cast of the American version of "Ugly Betty" fell for the generalization that any Latino can sway another Latino and that's just not the case (it's that mythical political Latino block that has been so elusive this year). Ferrera, who made her career in California, looks and feels authentically Californian which actually really counts when it comes to the Latino community in California.
3. Accents: In the Spanish version, below, Tony Plana is the only one of the three actors who speaks Spanish without an Americanized accent. Not that America or Ana do bad at all (actually, they do great) but you still notice it. But, again, I have a feeling that the movable Spanish speaking masses might be more movable if it came from spokespeople who did not have an Americanized accent when they spoke Spanish.
4. La familia: OK, I acknowledge this is a personal pet peeve but how come every time someone says 'We gotta reach Latinos' the immediate reaction is 'familia'? "For Latinos family is important" says the video. Hm, yes? Same as with other cultures? To be fair, this Latino familia trope is not limited to Anglos seeking Latino authenticity. Latino organizations do it too. But, personally it drives me up a wall. It brings up trite hacienda images of abuelita rocking in her rocking chair as her grandson makes a call on an AT&T phone or of Jimmy Smits in the trite (and cancelled) "Cane". But that's just me. Perhaps swayable Latino Californians truly really think about family above all but methinks a lot of them don't necessarily have the wealthy extended hacienda-type families of "Cane". I'm just sayin'.
Which brings us back to quote from The Advocate. Statements that the campaign only sought to create a Spanish language campaign late in the game (as they "revamped" the message) and assurances that it "seems" to be touching people betray the fact that they should have known for a long time that minority communities should have been included in the game plan long before now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perhaps I'm being one of those angry politically correct Latinos who only think about la raza! (Hm, not really?). And perhaps I read waaaay too much stuff into little things. But come Tuesday (and I truly hope that Prop. 8 is defeated and for some reason I think it will) it speaks to the divide between state and national LGBT organizing strategies and LGBT communities of color.
With the presidential election just days away, the other nerve-wracking waiting game for the gays is seeing if attempts to ban same-sex marriages rights in California (Proposition 8), Florida (Proposition 2) and Arizona (Proposition 102) pass muster on Tuesday - with a very real chance of defeating all three (please click on each link and find out more and, if possible, donate).
Although the campaigns to defeat the discriminatory initiatives in AZ and FL must feel relegated to the sidelines as they look at the mammoth battle taking place in CA, it must be said that a California loss will be devastating to efforts to build a future where same-sex couples are not discriminated in the United States based on who they love. If passed, California would also become the first state to strip away marriage rights already granted to its state residents (couples who have gotten married would not lose their marriage status but unmarried partners and future partners would not be able to have access to them).
The extreme right-wing certainly understands that it's the battle to end all battles when it comes to the issue and have been acting accordingly treating it as if it were Armageddon itself or the final End of Days battle (a poll released yesterday shows a 49% to 44% lead for "No on 8" which is good but that lead might evaporate come election day).
The Latino vote: Despite the slight lead, it's a slight lead that might easily evaporate.
Unfortunately this has led to some generalizations on both sides of the equation that the minority vote might end up deciding the future of same-sex marriages in California with the common assumption that most blacks and Latinos will vote do deny rights to the gays.
Let me say this: I don't have much money but I have donated to the "No on 8" campaign to support their efforts (as well as "No on 2" in FL and "No on 102" in AZ); I also know that they have attempted to make inroads among Latino communities; but I was less than thrilled by their discourse in media during these last few days on the issue of Latino voters and not too impressed by their ads targeting Latino media.
Sure, they got the stars of "Ugly Betty" to do an ad in English and and ad in Spanish. Not sure how it plays out to California Latinos and particularly those undecided or supporting Prop. 8 but to me it certainly plays up the stereotype that familia trumps everything in our lives (it may or it may not but not in that La Cosa Nostra creepy way that ends up implying all Latinos are conservative because we love La Familia - which plays right into the right wing's hands). And, secondly, I also have a feeling that Latinos who watch "Ugly Betty" on ABC are not necessarily the Latino population that needs their mind changed on Prop. 8. I mean, they probably get Justin already .
Having Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa be a lead spokesperson and supporter is much better but I have yet to see efforts to engage truly popular Spanish-language television stars or singers that might reach out to a wider Latino community. This, despite the fact that Paulina Rubio and Gloria Trevi - who are hugely popular among the Mexican and Mexican-American communities in California - came out strongly against Prop. 8 this week. They should be in ads today!
[BTW: No poll is perfect but a poll released yesterday and forwarded to me by my friend Evan Wolfson actually shows Latinos in California OPPOSING the ban51% to 46%].
Now, I've been peppering this post with a few images that seem to have no relation to the topic at hand. Heck, if you go for that metrosexual, pouty-lip, hairless chest bimbo look, you might even still be reading this post because of him. Me? Eek! Not my type at all.
Now, watch this video of the '90's Mexican boy-band (er, man-band?) Kiero and pay attention to the guy with a wife-beater shirt and no leather jacket or - alternatively - no shirt and lotsa sweat plus all his queerrific dance moves:
Why it's Eduardo Verestegui! And ever since he was introduced as the Latino face of the "Yes on 8" campaign I have heard nothing but shock and disgust from most of my Spanish-speaking Latino friends throughout the country.
Part of the shock for some friends is that they assumed Verastegui was gay (a lot of them grew up watching him perform with Kiero and playing leads in popular Mexican soap operas). I mean, just by the photos and video above there's no doubt in my mind he knew exactly who his fanbase was and that it was tres-gay. So forgive some from feeling ultra-betrayed.
But those are the gays. He also has a huge female fan base (for some reason they love the bimbo pouty-lipped look too) and he certainly used it to play up his Hollywood debut in the failed attempt at cross-over success otherwise known as "Chasing Papi".
Enter his 2006 anti-abortion message movie "Bella" and his embrace of the whole US right wing enchilada (immigration issues be damned!) and lo-and-behold - he becomes a poster child for the worst right-wing policies being channeled by the McCain camp as of late (Hey! What do ya know! He endorsed McCain this week as well!).
As a matter of fact, bimbo-boy's fabulous right-wing adventure was what elicited reactions from Mexican mega-star Paulina Rubio (who called him "ignorant") and Gloria Trevi (who taped her own message urging voters to vote against the California and Florida propositions).
Let truth win on Tuesday! Vote "No on 8" if you live in California.
A despicable "Yes on 8" campaign flyer featuring Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to push a same-sex marriage ban in California got into the wrong hands today. Namely, long time San Francisco HIV awareness and LGBT rights advocate Michael Petrelis who describes it here. He also cross-posted it at Daily Kos which got massive reax.
The mailer was also received by the offices of the Bay Area Reporter who posted this story on their website today.
"Needless to say," Michael added on his blog, "the Obama campaign should denounce the use of Obama's image... while he should also personally speak out this weekend encouraging a strong NO NO NO vote."
Rex just sent out a press release sent out tonight by the "No on Prop 8" campaing which quotes the Obama campaign as saying the following:
"Senators Obama and Biden have made clear their commitment to fighting for equal rights for all Americans whether it's by granting LGBT Americans all the civil rights and benefits available to heterosexual couples, or repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Senator Obama has already announced that the Obama-Biden ticket opposes Proposition 8 and similar discriminatory constitutional amendments that could roll back the civil rights he and Senator Biden strongly believe should be afforded to all Americans."
To see how you can support the "No on 8" campaign, click on this banner:
Meet cuties Kevin Broderick and Andrea St. John (right). They got married in May after two years of courtship.
Andrea says "I think it took a little while for him to build up the courage to ask me to do something alone. We had a lot of seventh-grade-style dates" (cuteness rules!).
A week after the wedding, Kevin passed away at the age of 36. You see, when they met, Kevin was in recovery from a 2004 bout with a rare cancer called Ewing's sarcoma, which usually afflicts people during their younger years.
He thought he had defeated it but, unfortunately, a doctor's visit revealed that the cancer was back in a big way.
"There's a spot in my thigh, and my ribs, and in my pelvis," Kevin disclosed to Andrea, "The scans lit up like a Christmas tree."
When I read about Kevin and Andrea my thoughts, of course, turned to my friend Steven Mackin who also faced Ewing's Sarcoma and fought it back until it came back a couple of years later and took his life.
As a matter of fact today, October 28th, marks the two-year anniversary since his passing. And yet his spirit is still vibrant and present in so many ways.
Just this weekend I was writing about Roisin Murphy's first ever full-fledged concert in New York City as a solo artist as part of the CMJ music festival.
Well, David Banner also performed as part of the festival which brought up memories of Steven's thoughts about Banner's song "Play":
It sounds like it would be a really pretty song. I mean, David Banner totally sounds like the name of a wholesome pop star from the UK. I was sooooo wrong. He's a rapper!!!! And this rapper or whatever is a pretty dirty mofo. The lyrics to 'Play' are off the hook...
OMG! I miss Steven's humor.
And then there's the fact that he used to be a high school band team geek which accounts for his love of film scores including the theme to "Field of Dreams." I still have the mp3 file which Steven sent me long before he found out that the cancer was back and, from time to time - when I am listening to I-Tunes in shuffle mode - it will start playing unexpectedly and all sorts of emotions fill me up. Mostly gladness that Steven is still in my thoughts.
From time to time I remain in touch with his mother and Steven's friendship has also led to other friendships as well (including Kawika).
But the fact still remains that he is gone and I truly miss him.
If you haven't read about Steven in my past blog posts, please head over to his Live Journal blog "Things I've Found in My Butt." It is worth a read from start to finish. If you take the time, you will appreciate why so many people loved him.
You might also want to visit www.stompoutcancer.com while you are at it. Music producer Jake Wheat set up a site to raise funding for the research and treatment of Ewing's Sarcoma in the name of Steven and has put together a couple of indie music compilations which he sells to raise funds for related charities.
I'll leave you with this video which was put together a few days after Steven died. I don't know who put it together but for some reason an image I sent to Steven when he was in the hospital and expecting to get better opens up the series of shots. In some ways I find the video perfect and the song has come to represent his spirit so well. Rest in peace, Kevin & Steven and others who have succumbed to Ewing's Sarcoma.
OMG! So perhaps I should have been sh*t'in' in my pants last night but I still could not believe that I was at Róisín Murphy's first ever solo show in NYC (which understandably was sold out).
Róisín stuck mostly to songs from her last album ("Overpowered") which was OK. Unfortunately she also neglected a great deal of her past catalogue as the lead singer for the band Moloko which produced one of the greatest unsung albums in pop music history ("Statues").
Leaving all of that behind, I did rejoice! The show was amazing even if the place was too crowded. Murphy seemed thrilled at how many people showed up and the gays were certainly giving her lotsa love.
And she certainly lived up to the haut-couture expectations by changing into a new outfit for almost every song (photos below).
For the sake of objectiveness, I must say that the following Moloko video (and song) is among my all-time favorites:
So even if the sound quality hardly matches, I was thrilled that Murphy sang "Forever More" last night in a retooled version (yup! That's me singing along as well):
Luckily I was also able to capture "Primitive" also from the "Overpowered" CD:
as well as the title song:
Make sure you click on the high-quality link below each YouTube video.
Upcoming US Tour: By the way, Arjan says that Ms. Murphy plans to come back in March of 2009 and tour some other major US cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Austin for the South by Southwest music fest.
A public prosecutor from the eastern province of Hato Rey in the Dominican Republic, has begun a public campaign to have young people remove all rings and pendants from their ears, belly buttons and noses and all bracelets from their wrists.
“Young persons who use earrings and rings in their ears, navels, noses and other parts of the body, don't know that it links them to vices such as drugs, tobacco-use and the practice of homosexuality," explained Manuel Emilio Santana Montero (right) to El Nuevo Diario in an article published yesterday.
The prosecutor says that his office has already collected more than 2,000 rings, pendants and bracelets from young people who have submitted them "voluntarily" during his visits to educational centers and schools. He claims that the practice of wearing them among the younger population is due to influence from North American culture where "young people are always associated with the use and sale of drugs."
Local Evangelical pastors are said to have welcomed the campaign enthusiastically.
“I want this initiative to be practiced by other prosecutors in other provinces and towns of the country, since it is contributing to the elimination of prototypes imposed by other foreign cultures, specially the United States" said pastor Anselmo Silvestre.
The paper says that Santana Montero is often seen putting the 'operation' into action and says that he has instructed his employees to do the same during interventions involving the National Police.
"This Tuesday," the reporter writes, "this writer observed how the prosecutor, Manuel Emilio Santana Montero, asked a young person to hand over a pair of earrings in the middle of the police precinct, acceding after listening to a mini-lecture from the judicial officer."
The initiative is said to be welcome by the community which is also said to be worried by the decline in moral values among young people.
The prosecutor's office also has a second campaign to also take away fire arms from those carring them without a liscence.
A little research brought up another article from La Republica dated May 9, 2007 ("Students protest prohibition of make-up, miniskirts, earrings") in which - what do you know! - Mr. Santana Montero, with the collaboration of the directors of the César Nicolás Penson Politechnic all-girls school, sought to enforce a ban on make-up, mini-skirts and earrings by turning away any student seen arriving in school wearing them.
The policy, Santana Montero said then, “seeks to make education more decent and to put youth on the path to righteousness, the rescue of moral and spiritual values."
Sounds eerily like his current efforts.
On that occasion, though, it seems that the prosecutor and his police officers were actually run off the school grounds by a number of angry students who shouted "These are modern times! We don't want dictators! It's time for the miniskirt and if we are blocked from entering, we will throw stones at you!"
For two hours during the morning, students burned tires, erected barriers, threw stones and mangoes at the authorities until some of the girls that had been blocked from entering the school were allowed back in and the police officers agreed to leave. The school principal suspended twelve of the protesters in the aftermath.
As with the current anti-earring operation, the 2005 anti-miniskirt efforts were said to be backed by the church, neighborhood associations, parents associations, political parties and community groups worried about the loss of moral values in the province.
Must be the same despots who have kept Santana Montero in charge as a prosecutor two years after he was run off a girls high-school with his tails between his legs.
"The Art of The Steal. "
-
The following is from the website of Representative Laura DeLauro who
represents the3rd District of Connecticut. "Pay to Play: Trump’s Record of
Corrup...
Aquí estamos y no nos vamos…
-
En primer término, expreso mi mayor solidaridad con todas las personas que
—en este momento y en el pasado— han perdido sus empleos por los cambios en
GFR ...
Great Sex Games For LBGT Acceptance
-
The following are some great sex games for everyone to enjoy, regardless of
their sexual preference. They can be used in a number of different ways and
t...
Schön Küche Renovieren Aus Alt Mach Neu
-
cool gros einbaukuche weiss hochglanz einbauk c3 bcche from küche
renovieren aus alt mach neu Dieses ist erstaunlich, wie man Farbe aus einer
alten Tür e...
White Feminism Did Not Save Us
-
It is the morning after and my feed is full of angry posts about who is
responsible for this. I have a suggestion:
Back off from third party voters or eli...
Club Fonograma's Best Music Videos of 2015
-
*“Amor Fantasma”*
((The Plastics
Revolution))
10. Sefárdico
"One day, when you sober up, we can be the Coen Brothers or whoever you
want..." sighed by w...
Diversidad Capital: discriminación por edad
-
Esta semana en Diversidad Capital por Capital 21 hablamos sobre
discriminación por edad con: Ana Francis Mor. Humberto Álvarez. Victoria
Beltrán del Consej...
MIT Fellowship and Relocation
-
Very excited and grateful to begin a new chapter in my life. The
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has awarded me one of ten Knight
Science Journalism ...
The Years Of Writing Dangerously
-
Thirteen years ago, as I was starting to experiment with this blogging
thing, I wrote the following: [T]he speed with which an idea in your head
reaches th...
Joining the Trans Advocacy Network
-
Post by Christopher Argyros, Pride Agenda Transgender Rights Organizer I’m
excited to announce that the Pride Agenda has joined the nationwide Trans
Advoca...
Chess, anyone?
-
Art by MUROB
From Wikipedia...
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It
specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early r...
Blabbeando does not claim credit for any images featured unless otherwise noted. Usually we try to give credit when we can. All visual content is copyright to its respectful owners.
If you own rights to any of the images, or are depicted thereof, and do not wish to appear here, please contact us for prompt removal.
The views expressed on this site are my own. They do not reflect the views of my employer, or any professional, or legal organization of which I am affiliated.
As all trends go, they do come to an end and this seems to be the case with the announcement that Sports Illustrated will stop printing issues of their Sports Illustrated Latino off-shoot after three years of publication.
Posts
