American Latino Commission

University of Nevada, Reno Professor Emma Sepulveda Pulvirenti was one of 23 people in the country recently appointed to the National Museum of the American Latino Commission, as announced by The White House.

The Commission is tasked with studying the feasibility of, and creating a plan for, a new national museum in the nation’s capital that would be dedicated to portraying the art, history and culture of the Latino population of the United States.

The Commission members were appointed by President Obama and House and Senate leadership. Sepulveda was appointed by Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“I can’t think of a more qualified individual for this commission than Dr. Sepulveda,” said Reid. “Dr. Sepulveda is an accomplished poet, writer and photographer and she has dedicated her life to work on behalf of Latinos in our state. Her professional expertise and her love for Hispanic culture and the community’s well-being, tell me she will represent Nevada well and do a wonderful job on the commission.”

In addition to the Commission appointment, Sepulveda will be one of two Hispanic women honored next month at the National Hispana Leadership Institute’s Mujer Awards Gala in Albuquerque.

As the premier executive leadership organization preparing Latinas for positions of national and international influence, the Institute pays tribute through its Mujer Awards to the achievements and contributions of exceptional Hispanic women who have served their communities. Sepulveda will receive the Regional Mujer Award.

“I am honored to represent Nevada and the University in such an important endeavor as the National Commission, and I am thankful to Senator Reid for giving me this unique opportunity,” Sepulveda said. “In regards to the Mujer Leadership Award, I am appreciative to be one of only two Latinas in the country to receive such recognition for the work that I have done on behalf of the Latino community.”

Sepulveda was born in Argentina, migrated to Chile, and then moved to the United States in 1974.

She was the first Latina to become full professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, of which she is also an alumna. She has authored or co-authored 22 books and is director of the University’s Latino Center.

Sepulveda has dedicated much of her work to educating non-Latino communities about the strengths and values of Latinos and immigrants who live in the United States. In 1995, she founded Latinos for Political Education, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering Latinos through voter registration, voter education and get-out-the-vote programs.

“Professor Sepulveda has touched diverse communities throughout the world through her human rights activism and academic scholarship,” said Heather Hardy, Nevada’s College of Liberal Arts dean. “Her appointment to the national Commission and Mujer award are well-deserved honors and reflect the value of her work on a national and global level.”

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J-LO rebrands herself as LOLA

Check out J-LO new track feat. Pitbull. A new website and twitter account was realeased (whoislola.com)

Counting on Latinos

If Census Bureau estimates are accurate, there are about 47 million Latinos in the United States, accounting for about 15 percent of the total U.S. population.

And, as comedian George Lopez explains, "those are just the ones who answer the knock at the door."

Here's something that is no joke. The 2010 census is still six months away, but already the national count is stirring a lot of controversy in the Latino community. It's also exposing a contradiction on the part of America's largest minority.

Some Latino activists are foolishly urging that Latinos boycott the census as a way of protesting White House foot-dragging on immigration reform and what they consider the Obama administration's heavy-handed enforcement measures. All the news out of the administration these days is about how it is improving enforcement -- nothing about a specific plan to achieve comprehensive reform.

But being disappointed is no excuse for being self-destructive. Boycotting the census is a horrible idea that would only further disenfranchise the Latino community by, among other things, shortchanging it in the redistricting process that will take place in state legislatures after the survey.

Other activists have also been trying to use the census as a ploy to stop or at least temporarily stall immigration raids. For the last several months, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund and others have been quietly suggesting that the Commerce Department -- the government agency responsible for administering the national survey -- ask the Homeland Security Department to halt the workplace raids so as to defuse fear in the immigrant community and increase participation.

The Commerce Department said recently that it would not follow its own precedent but would instead maintain a hands-off approach to the immigration issue. This is another wake-up call for Latino immigrant activists who naively assumed that the Obama administration was going to be a natural ally.

Here's the contradiction: By condemning the raids as something that could dampen census participation, the activists implicitly claim that getting an accurate count matters a great deal to them and to the Latino community as a whole. Obviously, some of these Latino advocates don't value the process nearly as much as they pretend to.

Or maybe they just put a higher value on getting their way at all costs. This is a bad strategy that makes those who employ it look selfish and petty. People like that are often just ignored. And that doesn't get the activists any closer to the respect they crave.

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Paulina Rubio signs new deal

Sony/ATV Latin America has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio. 
The deal covers all songs written by Rubio, including those from her mos recent album, "Gran City Pop." This is Rubio's first publishing deal. The singer's first co-writes appeared in her 1996 release "Planeta Paulina." In "Gran City Pop," she collaborated in eight of the album's tracks, writing alongside established songwriters like Estéfano.


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Ugly Betty gets a seal of approval

Dressed in her customary wacky attire and with her trademark braces in place, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera proved she had plenty of animal magnetism.

She larked around with Cassie, a 16-year-old sea lion, while shooting scenes for the fourth season of the hit show in the Bahamas.

And it appeared the actress was having a flipping good time as held on to playful Kelly the dolphin, aged 34, after managing to get her to sit upright in the water.

Ferrera was pictured in the stunning 14-acre Dolphin Cay sanctuary in the Atlantis Paradise Island yesterday.

On Tuesday the actress was filming at the Atlantis Hotel alongside co-star Becki Newton.

The pair were seen racing down the challenger slides at the exclusive holiday destination.

Meanwhile it has emerged that Betty Suarez is set to lose her signature metal-laden smile in the next series of the comedy drama.

The revelation was made by co-host Ana Ortiz, who guest co-hosted on U.S. show The View yesterday.

'They are coming off [in season four],' said Ortiz. 'Even in the first episode - it's a two-hour episode, it's brilliant - she starts to make the transition. It's really exciting.'

Ortiz, who plays Betty's older sister Hilda on the show, noted that the makeover won't be popular with everybody since the topic has already caused 'controversy' on the Ugly Betty blogs.

But she reassured fans: 'We are not going to turn her into a supermodel. She is Betty and she will always be Betty, but she's going to evolve.'

Ortiz, who recently gave birth to her first child, Paloma in June, was in the Bahamas, shooting with the rest of the Ugly Betty cast. She flew back for her appearance on The View.

Season four will premiere in the U.S. later this month.

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LOS LOBOS HEAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE

"In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina" is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House that will be broadcast by PBS. Thesixty-minute program, to be taped live by WETA Washington, D.C., on October 13, will celebrate Hispanic musical heritage and airs on the final day of National Hispanic Heritage Month, October 15, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET, on PBS stations nationwide. (Check local listings.) It will also be broadcast on Telemundo, the American Spanish-language television network, on Sunday, October 18 at 6 p.m. ET, and on V-me, the national Spanish language network partnered with public television, on Friday, December 25. The program, part of the WETA "In Performance at the White House" series, will include Chicano rock band Los Lobos, Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalía, Tito "El Bambino", and the Bachata music group Aventura, with Sheila E. leading the house band. Further talent information may be announced in the coming days.

"In Performance at the White House" has been produced by WETA since 1978 and spans every administration since President Carter's. The series began with an East Room recital by the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz. Since then, "In Performance at the White House" has embraced virtually every genre of American performance: pop, country, gospel, jazz, blues, theatre and dance among them. The series was created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation's most famous home.

The evening concert will be streamed live by the White House on www.WhiteHouse.gov and available to stream on the series website on PBS after the broadcast. 


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Boy Scouts launch campaign for Hispanics

The Boy Scouts are making their debut "en espanol," with an advertising campaign launched Thursday and a soon-to-come Spanish-language Scout Handbook intended to draw Latinos to the ranks of the nearly century-old organization.

The Spanish-language campaign, called "Valores para toda la vida," translated as "Values for life," includes television, radio and online spots that speak to the nation's largest minority in their language.

The outreach is intended to keep the Scouting movement relevant and growing as the country's cultural landscape shifts, taking a toll on Scout ranks. Boy Scouts of America is still the country's largest youth organization, with 2.8 million members, but that is half its membership in its peak year, 1972.

There is more competition for the attention of boys now. The country also looks different than it did 30 years ago, and the Scouts haven't kept up with the change. Latinos make up one in five children in the United States, according to the U.S. Census, but they are only 3 percent of Scouts.

The organization hopes to double its Hispanic membership by their centennial in 2010, and the campaign is a key part of that push, said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive.

In the ads, boys and girls in uniforms explain what they like about Scouting — perspectives that Scout leaders hope will introduce the venerable organization to a new audience while resonating with Latino values and culture. The children in the ads say Scouting taught them to help others, but they also talk about the soccer games they love, and how their family can take part in activities as well.

The Scouts are making changes designed to accommodate Latinos, based on information gathered with the help of a Washington-based media and marketing company and a committee of Hispanic leaders.

One example: including family members in traditional scouting activities such as camping trips.

"We recognized in the Hispanic community the absolute importance of family — of doing things as a family," Mazzuca said. "So we've modified our program delivery to include family in many ways that our programs historically didn't."

The approach worked for Concha Roque, whose son, Nicholas, joined the Boy Scouts after meeting them after mass in Montebello, east of downtown Los Angeles. Roque was raising her sons without her husband, who had returned to Mexico, and liked the idea of an organization that gave them role models.

It also pleased her that she was invited along on Nicholas' first camping trip.

Translating the Scout handbook will help other Latinos feel welcome, Roque said.

The book, expected to come out in December, will feature a cover that touches on core Scouting themes — boys rafting in the background, an eagle in the foreground. But it will be a clear sign the Scouts are interested in attracting Latinos, said Nicholas Roque, 17, a high school senior.

"It's like a welcome mat," he said. "It says we're open to them."

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Daddy Yankee Grito Mundial

On the morning of October 8, Grito Mundial, the first single off Yankee’s latest album Daddy Yankee Mundial, will simultaneously premiere in ten different countries.

Daddy Yankee Mundial, is set for a spring 2010 release and like all things Yankee, this latest project is an ambitious one. Not only is he looking to surpass the success and excitement of Talento de Barrio, but will also be introducing new elements to the world of urban music.

The new record will feature El Cartel Records new logo: a triangle, the three points of which represent past, present, and future and all connect to form one body, one figure. Grito Mundial literally translates to “worldwide scream,” a message he wants to send to everyone to look past the social and musical divide, and come together as one. Tired of the clichés and repetitive messages riddled throughout the urban scene, Daddy wants to encourage his audiences to embrace one another and bond through the love of music.

“This album is a call to union through song and dance. Even in our toughest times, joy can bring us together,” Yankee says.

On October 9, Yankee will embark on a second round of shows through Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela to finalize the Talento de Barrio tour.

Talento de Barrio has been nominated for a Best Urban Album award at this year’s Latin Grammys, and the track Llamado de Emergencia has been nominated for Best Urban Song.

Check out the new Daddy Yankee Single below.



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Barack Obama and George Lopez Star in TBS

For the past few weeks, TBS has been putting the hard sell on its upcoming foray into Late Night TV, called Lopez Tonight, and starring George Lopez, famous comedian whose main focus is his Mexican-American heritage. (Not to be confused with Carlos Mencia, who is an unfunny, joke stealing pr*ck.) Even though the show is more than a month away, TBS has been airing nonstop promotions during its hour-long Seinfeld/Office/The Mummy 2 marathons.
But what makes these promotions Powerpoint Tire Screeching Sound Effects is that they star our very own American President, Barack Obama. That’s right: President Obama has now publicly endorsed George Lopez. Witness after the jump …

To be fair, Obama taped these spots before he actually won the election last year — you’ll note the barely visible “from the ‘08 campaign” in the bottom left-hand corner. But to the viewing public, this could not be worse publicity. Shouldn’t he be, you know… fixing that whole health care thing… or ending the war… instead of ENDORSING LOPEZ TONIGHT??? The above video might be the strongest piece of evidence Obama haters have to get people on their side.

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College costs block Latinos

WASHINGTON — Financial pressures, not a lack of aspiration, are pushing young Latinos to abandon higher education, according to a national survey released Wednesday.

Almost 90 percent of Latinos surveyed by the Pew Hispanic Center said attending college is important to get ahead, a belief held by only 74 percent of the general population.

But three out of four Latinos surveyed in the 16-to-25-year-old age group said financial obstacles are getting in the way of their education.

"Far and away, it's the reason" for Latinos to stop attending college, said Mark Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center and author of the survey. "Latinos need to support their families."

Lopez is attending a national conference in Washington on Educating Latino Children, where the results of the survey were first unveiled.

The national survey of Latinos was conducted between Aug. 9 and Sept. 16 and garnered 2,012 responses — 1,240 of them from individuals ages 6 to 26, and 772 older than 26.

"This is really important information for everyone to have, not only in colleges but also in the general public," Hartnell College spokeswoman Terri Pyer said. "It paints a very different picture of the obstacles we face in trying to improve the college-going rate of folks in our community from the one that is generally espoused."

The survey found Latinos valued education more than the general population, and valued getting a college education more than getting a full-time job.

"It isn't very surprising to those of us working with Latinos for some time," said Andrew Fuligni, co-director of the Family Research Consortium at the University of California-Los Angeles. "It shows quite a bit in our studies: Latinos are just as, if not more, motivated than their European peers."

The results echo findings by Carola Suarez-Orozco, professor of applied psychology and co-director of immigration studies at New York University. Suarez-Orozco found that about 50 percent of Latinos who go to college attend a community college, but only about 10 percent graduate.

"A few Latinos don't feel they belong," Suarez-Orozco said at the conference. "They still don't have the social networks. If you are a third-generation college student, you know how to play the game."

But while a higher percentage of Latinos feel a college education is necessary, only 48 percent of Latinos between 18 and 25 said they are planning to get a four-year degree. Among the general population, 60 percent said they plan to get a bachelor's degree.

That's what Lopez calls the "aspiration gap." It's reflected in the fact that only 24 percent of young Latinos are enrolled in college, compared with 34 percent of the general population, according to the Census Bureau.

The study confirms what Philip Tabera, professor of Chicano and Latino studies at San Jose State University, has observed in the past few months: Higher education is slipping from students' hands.

"It's getting worse, especially for Latinas," Tabera said. "There are more women than men who begin college, but they drop out. The problem for a large number is in our own CSU system — for increasing fees, putting caps on classes. They can't get financial aid. You're seeing a lot of students working full time and part time and going to school at the same time. Then the cost of books is huge, the cost of housing. It's so difficult for kids to go to school nowadays."

The implications of the survey's results pose a challenge not just for Monterey County, where 50 percent of the population is of Latino origin, but for California and the country, where Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the population.

"We're facing a societal dilemma," said Suarez-Orozco. "These students are highly motivated, and yet there's the achievement gap."

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