My country,your country

Many times, people around me have demonstrated anything but joy when I asked them what their country of origin was. I'd follow it up with a "Cool! What is it like?" They'd respond, "It's not that great" or "Yeah...I'm from there...but I wish I wasn't" or own up to the country and then make an excuse, tracing back their lineage about three decades and refer to their grandparents' country of origin instead of the one that they regretfully resided in.

All of this is stunning to me. The ultimate place where I drew the line was when I had people tell me that there is no use in having pride in your country because we are all human and in that way,the same. How can a country be thrown away like that? To me,it is more than a piece of soil. With it, comes a culture filled with music, food,scenery which you will never forget when and if you depart from it one day, countless and priceless memories that took place there, from which you could make a map of your very own.

I read on one of the "The Way I See It" quotes on the back of a Starbucks cup, that diversity allows us to see our errors, strengths, and embrace others and ourselves...of course, this isn't word for word but I'm hoping the message is clear.I should not have thrown it away!

Yesterday, I saw a gardener working arduously, wearing a shirt that read Mexico. Shortly after, a man driving a van had the United States flag spread across his dashboard. The day went on and an Ecuadoran flag hung with pride from her rear view mirror. Within those tangible material demonstrations of pride are more than just a name of a land.

Don't let him be "misinterpreted"

Yes, news revolving the Summit of the Americas and the reactions afterward deserves two entries.

Former President of Cuba Fidel Castro has fought back against President Barack Obama's misinterpretation of what his brother Raul Castro,currently in power, according to the Los Angeles Times. Raul owned up and said something that Fidel could and never will admit: "We could be wrong.We admit it.We are human beings." This he said along with Cuba being open to discussing everything, from political prisoners, to human rights issues, and freedom of the press.

Everyone now stands in awe of the younger brother who they thought would never detach from his predecessor's tight grasp on the island and immobile mind set. However, one cannot ever get too comfortable or too certain, because soon after, the former president released a statement on his own blog saying that "without a doubt, the president (Obama) misinterpreted Raul's remarks." Fidel went on to say that his brother's remarks were meant to "show courage and confidence in the principles of the revolution." Does this mean that he is being delusional after years of tyranny and keeping it old school? Or is Raul faking us out by that statement where he recognized that possible errors could have been made? ...like taking away land, killing, limiting liberty, oppressing homosexuals (watch Before Night Falls to witness some of that,) and so on...
Whatever the next step is, let's hope that Raul is being truthful and sincere, because after all, he and his brother are "human."

Friends forever?

There was an article in the Los Angeles Times about the recent Summit of the Americas that President Barack Obama, along with other democratically elected leaders, attended in Trinidad and Tobago. In here, writer Peter Nicholas talks about how much criticism there was toward the hand shake and chit chat among Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez and Obama. I do not think there is anything threatening at all with that.The president defended it by saying it was diplomatic courtesy, as it should be...and believe me,I didn't vote for Obama.It just is what it is...(and everyone disregarded his handshake with Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega,which is one in the same with Chavez,maybe even worse,but why should anyone care right?)

Obama stated " it's defense budget is probably 1/600th of the U.S.,...They own Citgo.It's unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr.Chavez tar we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States. Strategic interests. I am not enraged by any of those peace-loving gestures. I agree with an official who said at the summit, "Anybody who's been at international conferences with Chavez knows that if there's a camera around, he's going to find a way to get in it. I mean,you can see that from his furious and wannabe Fidel speeches, (he is his protege.) I'm not angry.

In fact I think it's hilarious that Chavez gave Obama a copy of "Open Veins of Latin America by Eduarde Galeano, discussing Chavez's favorite punching bag and go-to topic, imperialismo! It was a Spanish version, I heard...so does that mean he's going to carry a prompter around...I mean,a translator?I really don't think this is going to turn Obama into the next president with half of Latin America's antimosity toward the U.S. Those are just out of control allegations. Fox news then reported that the book shot up to the number 2 most requested on Amazon.com. Either this is dejavu, where everyone is following this trend of supporting anything Obama touches or people just sincerely want to get educated on how the U.S. has messed up in the past. I'm pretty sure it's the former but we will give the public the benefit of the doubt.

Left...LITERALLY!:President Obama and Chavez. "Let's give 'em something to talk about!"

Can you espell dat out for mi please?

So...
My Latino community shops at countless swap meets filled with discount items(some that are worth the cheap and some not so much) dollar stores, and other offshoots of "big box" supermarkets. Many times, we fall victim to China's factories. No, I don't mean us as the labor,(for once,) but a linguistic crime of sorts: typos. Those annoying little spelling errors can often be overlooked by the common insider(that is, those shopping,) and scoffed at by the outsider. Do these manufacturers or those working at the assembly line do it purposely? Of course not...though my tiny amount of skepticism thinks that those very workers do it as a joke, as my "uneducated people" will not know better. Not just misspelling,but randomly mislabeled oddities!!
Whatever the case...it's funny to catch it. So for your consideration:





This Winnie the Pooh with a D on it...could it be that they gave us the "gangsta" version named instead Winnie Da Pooh? Oh,and let's not disregard the donkey pinata with the happy face for a nose.What?










This may look like your normal bear grabbed by the famous "Claw" machine that reaches in and hands you a cute stuffed animal but, no.This "Happy Birthday" bear is actually a "Happy Bhthday" bear whose former home was a 99 cents store and whose bed was one of those machines.His new home is my room,but I'm thinking of sending him off to a tutor.





There were about twenty minutes spent on trying to figure out if these "Hand Guffs" were the chosen name, just as Pop Rocks is for the crackling candy. Conclusion:No. They probably thought a G would suffice for the half shaped circle we call a C.














Oh, how I love Super Mar...Mabkers.If this is the German or Dutch way to say it,I apologize.If not...then too bad for us. If a toddler grows up to say it wrong, now we know why. Sharpies,please.










Everything may look normal on this piece of a patriotic symbol which has been displayed on my car...but the Asian country never fails us.Have a closer look...




No.In Spanish,we do NOT spell America with a B, but the same way as the Anglos do!














This one's just for fun. Tripped upon it at the 99 Cents store.I'm not one to knock foreign film,but there were a couple of these creepy Canadian Spanish language flicks that were supposedly for children...yeah,to give them nightmares! They're supposed to serve for a morality check...They seemed like 80's Veggie Tales on shrooms and a lot of creepy face painted characters.


So next time you see something we own have misspelling or just a weird vibe,laugh it off and don't blame those that shopped for it,but get on a plane if you have any complaints! Lord knows our parents who purchase this stuff might not get it,but the new Gen does and we embrace the errors! Kinda comes with the territory and adds for entertainment.

*Photos: "...je suis l'art..."

New is the new new,you know?

It's one of the most overplayed phrases in the United States: a noun followed by "is the new" ended with another noun. "Red is the new blue..." is similar to what was displayed on the hit Disney film Wall-E: people completely being consumed by what a big screen or magazine tells them they're gonna be...because it's the updated version of the former. "Coldplay is the new U2. Coldplay, being one of my favorite bands, is it's own music, it's own creativity (minus the Viva La Vida controversy,) and in a totally different era. Sure, U2 is still rocking out as they should(no one wants to hear me rant about that.) They both have balances between political, but U2 more so. Coldplay has heartbreak, bleakness, rejuvenating and inspiring qualities, as their elder fellow Brits do. But to say that they are the "new" is not even worth arguing. Why can't each just be their individual selves? If one were just like the other in a new year, which is exactly what that phrase tries to prove, then there wouldn't be any sense in either of them and for many of my fellow fans, there's plenty of reason. As they say in Spanish, el como, or "the last straw" came when they throw around the notion of Carla Bruni,the French first lady, or our very own Michelle Obama being the new Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Someone who was known the world around for her style and grace smack dab in the middle of one of the U.S.' purgatory for conservative glamor, should not ever be said to be reincarnated in 2009. Every woman has her time and style...to say that Mrs.Obama is up there...disregard my political views because she wouldn't have anything to do with them anyway, but it's just not going to fly. Just because she puts on a high fashion piece and goes "against the tide..." so do countless others and we ridicule them instead of praise.


What's next? Ms.Jolie is the new Mother Theresa. There. I think I've said the most rediculous thing ever.

No is no in any language

I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting room yesterday, trying to rid myself of health paranoia when for a couple of minutes I was sucked into a reality check that I otherwise would have gone on talking about without proof.


A mother was sitting with her three restless children. The eldest boy was about 5 and her daughters were about 3 and 1. When the mother asked her son about what he did in school, he let out a hasty "Everything!" "Everything?" she said, "Like what?" "Nothing," he responded. Isn't that cute when children that age have absolutely no interest in communicating much with their parents? Not much changes! When she finally got it out of him, he started talking about the "fun" part of school: games. When the mother got fed up, she said, "You had to have learned your shapes! Square,circle,triangle," and so on. He was repeating each as she said them aloud, which contunued with numbers. Then, what I have been scolding my own culture about for a while now was proven.


The mother said ,"Did they teach you Spanish?" I could already feel the negative rebelious tension in the air when the child did not respond. "You're gonna learn all of the animals...Oveja,vaca,pollo,gallina..." "No! No! No!" the boy yelled. "I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!" She went on with the numbers again in her native tounge and still, the boy, acting as if someone was telling him Sesame Street was cancelled...or,in this generation, like someone had stolen his Wii, said, "Lalalalala I'm not listening! I don't want to learn Spanishhh!!"


The shame that comes along with Latino youths knowing Spanish and practicing it is so dated it kind of disgusts me, (think Zoot Suit Riot era, where kids were beaten for saying Hola.) This scenario above has been played out again and again,substituting the age of the child with a 20 something woman, or a "too cool for you" junior high kid with big chain and saggy pants. Many kids just don't care about he Spanish language. It's not their fault. How did their parents let it happen? Even when their parents don't speak one lick of English, they still manage to mute those double rr's and double ll's as inheritence to their children, who, at the end of it all, are left at a disadvantage in todays world of immigration swamped California,where they're hiring "bilingual." Forget that...just knowing it to be a tad bit more well rounded (God forbid,right?)


Parents need to wake up. Your senseless shame of being a mojado or having an accent when you walk up to a register (which is what I've heard many immigrant adults use) should be turned into pride. How else will your children feel pride in themselves? If you want to keep hearing "No" instead of si, then by all means, keep this going.

What's in my name?

Since I'm dry on material until tonight when I head out to A Mic and Dim Lights, I thought I'd give you some insight on my blog title and pen name.


"Juventud,Divino Tesoro" is a direct line taken from Ruben Dario's poem Cancion de Otono en Primavera, in which he reflects on lovers passed, describing each as a season. The following is the stanza in which he uses the line:

Juventud, divino tesoro,
¡ya te vas para no volver!
Cuando quiero llorar, no lloro...
y a veces lloro sin querer.


Translation:
Youth,divine treasure/You are leaving to never return!/When I want to cry, I do not.../and sometimes, I cry for no reason.

When my father made me read this a couple of years back, I immediately knew it's importance and relevance to me. I first felt close ties to it because of the poet's iconic status in Nicaragua, my father's homeland. Second, I just "got" it. We are only young once, appreciate all you have in the present,you know, all the cliche's...As for the second half of the stanza...superfluous youthful hormonal reactions? We have all had them. I just felt this line was an appropriate general title so that nothing will seem too out of place.It's not deep...everything written on here will be coming from a 20 year old...so there.

-Dario:Essential in any Nicaraguan household.

Frida's Twin. When I turned in my blog's url, my adviser asked "Does that mean what I think it does?" Yes, it does. I don't know how many people, have told me,especially after the biopic on her life came out, that I look like Frida Kahlo...thank to the occasional uniting of the brows,most likely,(T.M.I.,i know.)
(The truth is that I'm lying.More people have said I look like the actress who portrays the Mexican artist...you know who! I just never want to admit/insist on that in case a party besides the one who told me I look like her should come along and say in a loud, obnoxious voice, "YOU LOOK NOTHING LIKE HER!" Ouch,says my self-consciousness!) Anyway, along with resembling her, I admire her courageous art, what she wore, and how she,as the film depicted, had that unstoppable passion. Her political,Communist agenda I pay no mind to.


I hope you've gotten something out of this explanation.






- Thanks for having me look at something...and for the look itself!