In brainstorming new ideas to deliver Cultura to the masses...I came up with a crazy idea...I thought it would be very interesting to see what would happen if I reached out to my Facebook network of Latino movers and shakers and ask them collectively compose a poem about Latino pride in my status update.
Within minutes...people of all walks of life each composed a sentence (or more) to build the piece I am about to present.
This is the physical representation of "Sofrito", many ingredients with a lot of flavor...combined to make something good...even better.
I really like how this came all came together and would like to thank all the people that shared their words with each other to make this happen...you truly showed s sense of "comunidad" with this one.
Pa'lante...siempre pa'lante...I hear the elders calling
for a change in the way we raise our youth...
With every ebb and flow of the ocean they plead for us
to take a stand for peace and justice.
May we look into "el corazon de la cultura Latina"...
and listen to every beat say, "pa'lante, pa'lante sin cesar!"
Walking in faith to a future unknown...
Yo soy mi madre when I call my sons to stand tall,
I am mi padre when I feel injustice rise before me,
I am Boriqua when I sleep...
I dream of a future where our sons & daughter can always stand tall & proud
En la sangre lo llevo.. orgulloso por ser "Latino" En el futuro lo veo, la buen vida y el destino.
Llega el cambio que nos espera, mi hijo En este mundo que vivemos, este mundo tan frio...
Española, Taina, Africana comiendo arroz con habichuelas,
pernil, chuleta, y un poco de mavi....
yo si tengo sabor de mi raza que nacio boriqueña!
My pride is generated from the spirits of my ancestors
and the will of the Orishas who guide me..
The Love for my people is like the earth hugging my soul
as the sun embraces my body with its warmth...
Latino is one of the richest ethnicities. Also one of the most complex.
As a teen, I practiced a lie, acting non-Latino, without hesitation,
but my roots were strong and made me come to my senses...
Destroy your television sets because Hollywood has a long history that forgets..
Let's reinvent ourselves, let that be the wealth of our community chest.
A legacy of achievement in bypassing social taboo No matter what you look like my cousin looks like you.
Evolving with each heartbeat and refusing to blend in with the facet of ignorance
We rise above with substabce as one people together.
With corazon and sazon we wave our souls as one flag forever.
We are Latinos from Central America, Mexico, the Carribean and South America.
Let us excel & educate ourselves. We as Latinos will continue to grow.
y hasta el ultimo suspiro...
SOMOS LATINOS!
PUNTO!!!
(yes...a la Piri)
This poem was written by a community of parents, teachers, students, artists, entreprenueurs, professionals, social workers, paramedics, recruiters, activists, curators, counselors and friends.
Remember that song..."que pensaran de nosotros en Japon"by Calle 13?
I always wondered if Japanese people that are in touch with the Latino culture found that particular song funny or offensive. I will go on record saying that it was genius...but then again I have a weird sense of humor. Anyways... I am not sure how much radio play Calle 13 gets in Japan...but it is very obvious that Japan's obsession with the Latino Culture has not been affected.
Recently, my favorite Jibaro music group, Tato Torres & Yerbabuena went on Japanese TV to sing "Musica Jibara" for the masses and they sung quite a few of my favorite songs. I chose this particular video to share with you because it really reflects what I am feeling today. I think that we all need to step out of of our comfort zone and learn a little bit about our neighbors regardless of their culture...
The song is called "El blanco y el de color" and it's racial harmony message is strong...take a listen and share it with a friend.
Big shout to to my panas, Tato Torres & Flaco Navaja...thank you all for making us all very proud.
Sofrito For Your Soul is blessed with a talented artist who inspired by our vision, was able to encompass all that we have become over the years into a beautiful painting. The Sofrito For Your Soul piece is alive..it screams culture through symbols that we all know and may have some deep cultural connections to. The Sofrito For Your Soul painting recipe includes:
Taino indian symbols (how many can you find?) Aztec head figure with feather head dress Mexican eagle with snake A sandia/watermelon (couldn't leave that out) A pina (pineapple) Some platanos (fruit from the tropics) Vejigante masks of Puerto Rico cross guitar and maracas (music) soccer ball (sports) flowers sun and the moon, night and day winding vines to carry you through the painting symbolic of earth, life, growth melting pot on top mexican kitchen stove setting w/tile inlays a cebolla/onion ...a major ingredient of true sofrito last but not least sofrito for your soul banner.
I belong to a couple of communities for "bloggers" where I occasionally throw out a few ideas and bounce them off of some of my peers. I recently thought of starting a section in which I simply answer questions that people may have about anything and everything Latino. The response was overwhelmingly positive...so I am gonna give it a shot.
Sofrito For Your Soul is proud to be a media sponsor for the
2008 "Bomba y Plena" Spring Extravaganza.
Puerto Rican Bomba & Plena Spring Extravaganza
In celebration of Spring awakening come and enjoy the sounds of Puerto Rican folklore, music and dance. “Bomba” rhythms & sounds of African heritage and “Plena” is the type of music that reflect community happenings known as the singing newspaper.
Date: Monday, May 26
Time: 6PM
Admission: $25 In Advance ; $30 Day of Show
Place: Symphony Space 2537 Broadway at 95th St. Upper West Side
More Info: (212) 864-5400
or visit www.SymphonySpace.org
The concert features New York City's legendary group Los Pleneros de La 21, current Boricua Roots sensation Tato Torres & YERBABUENA, the Segunda Quimbamba folkloric ensemble from Jersey City, and the theater/dance troupe Danza Fiesta.
This event is sponsored in part by Mega 97.9 and 93.1 Amor
First of all I want to thank all of you who took the time to send me birthday wishes this past week...it is appreciated. As many of you already know, we celebrated my birthday at Capicu Poetry with some of my friends and an amazing show. I do not want to steal the excitement of the traditional Capicu Recap...but the line up included Cindy Sugarush...the hardest working Latina in comedy...que me tenia me'ao de la risa...
I am not saying anything else about that night except for it was an great time with great friends...stay tuned for the recap.
I am actually posting because many of you have asked me where I have been...and that question confused me...then my friend Ana said..."Chico you have not answered any of my bulletins or messages..." and then it hit me...My friends were talking about my virtual absence on MySpace. Now I have been absent from my "Sofrito" MySpace Page for about 2 months now after sufferring from what's been labeled as MySpace Fatigue and simutaneously discovering the exciting networking tools that Facebook has to offer.
So I started a facebook page that highlights my personal profile and started the Capicu Poetry & Cultural Showcase page alongside my partner in crime Papo Swiggity. The first few weeks I started spending a considerable amount of time...testing features, adapting my privacy controls, searching to see how many of my business contacts are actually on Facebook...and then it happenned...I get an email from BlackberryCool.com (one of my favorite sites)...Facebook just released a Mobile interface that will allow me to be on Facebook all day long. Now if you know me and you know how much of a geek I am on the low...you would have already guessed that I have officially named Facebook my favorite social media site at this time. I especially like the fact that this time around, I am connected with people that are more in line with me personally and professionally thanks to Facebook method of connecting people via networks...and the best part....minimal spam (ps...i just ignore the pesky applications).
Will I abandon MySpace altogether?...probably not, MySpace has helped me grow my marketing campaigns and network with some dynamic people and although I think MySpace is slowly imploding, I will ride it out. If you are a hradcore facebook fan like I am...catch me on Facebook and request to be part of my network of upcoming, progessive Latinos on the web.
