"The One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song"

I thought this was hilarious. Guanabee described it as "all those things annoying white dudes say to you in a bar when they find out you're Latin," in music video form. I describe it as "how my super-güero, WASPy boyfriend speaks Spanish."

Marketing to Latinos

Our class discussion yesterday about Latinos, Inc. by Arlene Dávila (who happens to be another one of my professors) tied in perfectly with an article in the New York Times Magazine this past weekend, called "How Do You Say 'Got Milk' en Español?", by Cynthia Gorney. It focused on Grupo Gallegos, a Spanish-language advertising firm, and the difficulties they face, like their efforts to create a Spanish-language milk advertisement that wouldn't seem lame in comparison to the English ones. "The real challenge, for Grupo Gallegos, was how to sell more milk to as many kinds of Hispanics as possible without alienating any of them or boring all of them," Gorney wrote. (You can see the results here and here.) She also wrote about how Grupo Gallegos is trying to get away from the typical family-oriented ads featuring smiling grandmothers, nicknamed "Abuelita advertising." As principal John Gallegos put it, "Latinos are more family-centered than the population in general. But is that the beginning and end of us? No. And if that's the only thing you put into a commercial to make it Latino, the commercial is boring."

Sexual Exploitation of Day Laborers

Today, La Opinion printed a rather eye-opening investigation into the sexual exploitation of Latino day laborers in Los Angeles. Usually prostitution and sexual exploitation is thought of as a uniquely female problem, and I never really thought of the possibility of these men being solicited or even raped. It's just yet another reminder of the hardships that Latino immigrants go through every day, without the advantage of reporting it to the police. Whenever an ignorant person makes the argument that illegal immigrants are "taking away jobs from Americans," I wonder if they'd really want to trade places?

Maria from "Sesame Street"

We were asked an interesting question in class the other day - when was the first time you were exposed to a Latino/a in the media? I had to think about it for a few minutes, but I think the first Spanish-speaking person I ever saw on television had to be Maria from "Sesame Street" (played by Sonia Manzano, who also wrote for the show). Although from what I remember, I didn't really have an understanding of the concepts of race or ethnicity at that age. I'm pretty sure I thought Maria was a lady just like my mom, who happened to know Spanish. Here's a cute clip from back in the day - I was 2 years old at the time. It's so strange hearing Maria's voice now because it is so familiar to me - I was a huge fan of "Sesame Street" as a child and dragged my Bert and Ernie dolls around everywhere.
Anyway, I don't remember really understanding what a Latino was until I was in middle school. I went to a pretty diverse Montessori school as a child, so I saw my friends as just like me, except maybe they had darker skin and knew how to speak another language. Coming from an Italian-American family helped to blur the ethnic lines even more, as my relatives had similar names, accents and complexions to the Latinos I knew, like my dad's friends from Costa Rica. I wonder if the concept of ethnicity would have been clearer to me if shows like "Dora the Explorer" and "Handy Manny" had been around back then, because they specifically emphasize Latino culture and Spanish language. Although, I must say, I think Maria from "Sesame Street" definitely paved the way for them.

Lectorum Closes

I was saddened to hear today that the Lectorum bookstore on 14th Street will be closing. It's only a couple of blocks away from my apartment, and I always bought my books for Spanish classes there. I was surprised to learn that it is actually owned by Scholastic, which apparently isn't willing to pay any more rent despite their billions in revenue. I live on West 16th Street, and the neighborhood used to be a "hub of Latino life," but there are few traces of that left, unfortunately. It seems like La Taza de Oro is the last holdout.

America Ferrera on the Cover of "Glamour"

The blogosphere has been all abuzz this week over Glamour magazine's new cover, featuring an extremely Photoshopped America Ferrera, and the corresponding cover story. We all know women's magazines shamelessly Photoshop all their covers, but Glamour did a terrible job with this one. They apparently left America's midsection alone while thinning her arms and neck for that sexy bobblehead look.
In addition to that, the corresponding interview has a title like a back-handed compliment: "Surprise! She's a Bombshell (and You Can Be One Too)." Why is it a surprise that she's a "bombshell"? Because she's heavier than most actresses, or because she's Latina? I feel like when author Laurie Sandell says, "So 11 Emmy nominations for Ugly Betty, two new films in the works. You’re huge!" she means it in more ways than one.
I did find it interesting that America is very aware that her "curvy" figure has been appropriated by the public at large and that she has to be careful about her weight for fear of backlash. "Sometimes I worry more about losing weight than gaining weight, because this is how people know and accept me. I do feel like if I wanted to get in better shape, there might be a backlash of, Why isn't she comfortable with herself anymore?" she says. She has become the unwitting poster-girl of the stereotypical "curvy Latina," and isn't that too much pressure for one young woman to handle?
Both Guanabee and Jezebel have their own sarcastic takes on Glamour's pretty pitiful attempt at celebrating the kind of curvy Latina woman they usually ignore or even disdain. Thanks for trying, Glamour, but I think I'll stick with Latina - at least they're consistent.