Intellectually Entertaining. Socially Relevant.
Story Behind the Anthem The story of the Costa Rican national anthem is an interesting one. In 1852, the diplomatic representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom were to arrive, and the president of Costa Rica at the time, Juan Rafael Mora Porras, wanted to receive them with the national anthem. However, Costa… [Continue Reading]
Latinos Doing Their Thing… Spoken word poetry, like Salsa music, is a New York City creation. From the sancocho pot that is NYC came the trailblazers; artists like Gil Scott-Heron and Felipe Luciano opened the imaginations of kids sitting at home with a pencil and a piece of paper. One of those kids that heeded… [Continue Reading]
Spanish is our language, but not all Spanish is created equal. Depending on what Spanish-speaking country you’re in, some words have different meanings. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself saying something very different from what you intended to say. Here are a few possible scenarios that you should try to avoid: Let’s say you’re… [Continue Reading]
Mi Vida Latina Fifteen years old and I was still a stick. “I thought Latinas were supposed to be curvy,” I’d reproach myself while looking in the mirror. Every day I’d scrutinize my body, but saw no change. My chest was as small as ever – two miniature pears. Not the round melons they were… [Continue Reading]
Story Behind the Anthem The National Anthem of the Republic of Colombia, or as it is sometimes called “O gloria inmarcesible” (Oh Unfading Glory!), was written by Rafael Núñez, a former president of Colombia who served four terms. He wrote the lyrics as a poem to honor the independence of Cartagena. An actor from Bogotá,… [Continue Reading]
“Mas sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo” my mother told me, shining a light on her wisdom in an attempt to guide my youthful, rebellious reasoning. I thought of this a few days ago after laughing for stating that if I ever catch any of my children doing half of the things I did….… [Continue Reading]
What are the requirements of a Cinco de Mayo party? Salsa, tequila, your American friends? Find out with this instructional video from Mun2:
I always thought a Chicano was a person born in the United States of Mexican decent. Being born in Texas, therefore, I assumed I was considered a Chicana; although when I was younger and watching Blood In Blood Out, I associated a Chicano with someone being a gangster. I did not want anything to do… [Continue Reading]
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo commemorates the day when 4,000 Mexican troops (or were they Guatemalan?) successfully defeated an invading force of 6,000 French troops (or was it 8,000?) in the Battle of… umm…. I knew this! In truth, few people know the history of Cinco de Mayo – not even Mexican Americans,… [Continue Reading]
Imagine one day walking into your favorite coffee shop like Starbucks and hearing people clinking their spoon against their cups all day long. You would be scratching your head wondering what was going on. It’s an experience that can only happen at the coffeehouse el Café de La Parroquia in the Puerto of Veracruz, Mexico. More than… [Continue Reading]