Latino / Hispanic Culture, Art, Music, Traditions & Emerging Trends I Sofrito For Your Soul

The Bad Seed: Latinos Making Mayhem

TRICK OR TREAT...

Here is a treat....

So it is Halloween, and everyone is getting ready to get their ghoul on and  seize the night. Personally, I am just gonna rock one of my Luchador masks....and just get in some quality time (and a few drinks) with some good friends as my youngest son (Dj Tommy Tunez) spins for the very first time with his new equipment.

Last night I was browsing my friend Angel McClinton's website (Bullfighters Cafe) which is an amazing site about Latino Culture, Art and Filmmaking by the way. I found out by reading her latest blog entry that there is a growing Latino influence in the horror movie genre. I knew of a couple of guys like Pepper Negron and Jorge Algora, but I did not know that these guys were creating a united front to really impact the genre.

This month she interviewed Edwin Pagan, a master in the art of Latino horror movies and founder of www.latinhorror.com I think that this is great, that thru this website, a few very talented filmmakers have united to show us a different flavor of films made by people like us.

It is a great interview, and what a better day than today to discover this genre of what I am sure is some really scary stuff...for all your gore fanatics out there.

Have a great night but...

Ten cuidado por ahi...que te agarra el CUCO!!!!

Check out the interview here!

As I am,

George Torres
The Urban Jibaro

Chat Skype: urbanjibaro

Contact Me

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

Be The Change You Want To See In The World....

Mi Gente...

It has been a tough few days for Latinos in the media and I have been very critical of CNN and the Latinos In America series. I have had this website for more than 13 years and I have never let the website dwell on boycotts and political statements. Instead I have pushed harder to promote positive Latinos in our communities. Let's explore why...

This website evolved based on a few needs in our community

• Latinos wanted to connect with their culture.
• Latinos want to connect with other Latinos with similar interests.
• We have talent in our community not highlighted consistently in traditional media.
• There are people out there that love our culture and want to connect with us.

These needs are still very real today, our membership is up 27% over last year, we have increased our presence in the social playgrounds you use. You have said very loud and clear that you want to continue to explore the evolution of our culture.

With that said, I love this website and every reader who has ever supported me so instead of complaining on the social web forever about how these networks "wrong" us by reinforcing stereotypes, I have decided to instead "Be the change I want to see in the world" in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and  launch a new blog called "Social Sofrito" that amongst other things will touch on subjects like how Latinos are portrayed in the media. This blog will also provide consulting opportunities for those that want to increase their visibility online. This blog will allow me to fully concentrate on the mission of this site which is and always will be bringing you the best of what nuestra gente have to offer.

I decided to do this after much dialogue with many friends on twitter and facebook but I was specifically inspired by my twitter buddy Julio Varela (@julito77) who launched blog post mashing up some incredible success stories from Latinos all over the country. It is time that we intensified our efforts to increase our own visibility in the media especially if the networks we have supported refuse to do so.

So thank you so much for sticking with me while I was figuring this all out...and for those of you interested in that conversation about Social Media.... here is my first post.... Papi Has A Brand New Blog....

As I am,

George Torres
The Urban Jibaro

Chat Skype: urbanjibaro

Contact Me

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

MTV Sticks Their Tongue Out At Latinos... Again

Let me preface this post by saying this is not what I wanted my first blog post after my vacation to be about. Pero la vida es asi...

WTF MTV?

You would think that after Katilia Vélez and Linda Nieves-Powell turned the heat up on MTV over their poorly produced "True Life, I am Nuyorican" episode and had it shelved, that MTV would have learned their lesson.

Nope...instead they stuck their tongue out at us again...literally.

So I am watching "Los Premios MTV" last night and realized that instead of the traditional Moon Man they normally use for their award show, they instead used a 18 inch extended pierced tongue (YES A FREAKING LENGUA) as the award for this show. Now I was around when MTV was born...and I knew why the Moon Man was a symbol, and I can even understand if they changed their awards to a tongue in the mainstream awards what that may mean (possible homage to Gene Simmons from KISS). I do however fail to see the connection between KISS and Latinos.

What I am struggling with right now is why was this award chosen for us?

Is it because we as Latinos are "lengua largas" and bonchincheros? (shout out to PALO in Miami)

Is it yet another attempt to sexualize and minimize our contributions as Latinos?

Was the person in charge of awards feeling freaky and had "Latino or Latina" fantasies?

Somebody tell me something....

I want to know WHY this award was chosen before I decide whether I am really offended and want to enlist those that feel the same to give MTV yet another piece of our mind.

I know some people at MTV read my blog, because you have always thanked me for any mentions of MTV3's in the past...please let me know who I can get answers from.

UPDATE: My Facebook Friend Karol Tinoco, sent me this link that says that the award is supposed to represent "nuestras lengua" Spanish is what brings us together.... read that link here. Thanks Karen...but I still think that there can be a better symbol than a pierced tongue.

Please comment below or let us know what you think at SofritoSubmissions@Gmail.com

As I am,

George Torres
The Urban Jibaro

Chat Skype: urbanjibaro

Contact Me

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

Is The MTV Lengua Award Offensive?

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