East Los High: Season 3!

source: tvinsider.com

If you haven’t watched Hulu’s original series, East Los High, stop and watch the first two seasons ASAP.

If you’ve watched the first two seasons and can’t wait for season three, fear not because we’re only days away from it! Cause you and I both know you missed this theme song:

East Los High is nothing like you’ve seen before, different from your mother’s and abuelita’s novelas. but still packed full of drama, love and dancing! This show takes pride in their latin roots, with a full latin cast, music from Spanish artists such as Becky G and Sanchia, and problems going on in the world such as teen pregnancy, STD’s, betrayal, kidnapping, sexuality, domestic violence and falling into the wrong crowds all while teaching the viewers. It’s not only seeing them go through the experience, but having people telling them the risks and consequences of their decisions. The viewers have seem to enjoy the series, since season three is now here!

Each season has focused on a different main character, trying to get through life even when others make it seem impossible with peer pressure at an all time high, and circumstances that are beyond their control. What’s great about this show is that you not only see the struggles of the main character, but on the other characters as well. East Los High has taken some favorite and memorable characters and we’ve seen them grow before our very eyes.  We’ll continue to see our favorites that we’ve loved since season 1, Ceci and Jacob, grow before our eyes and teach these youngsters a thing or two about life.

With every passing season, the drama gets more and more intense. With all of the cliffhangers that were left at the finale of season two, viewers are dying for season three to come out so we can have all of our questions answered. Such as:

Will Ceci say yes?

What happened to Nick?!

How will Camilia face her monster?

Things we can also look forward to are the new addition to the bomb squad: men! Yes Ceci has now decided to bring guys along for the bomb squad ride. We’re introduced to four new handsome members: Eddie, Omar, Luis and Santi who will bring some more fire to the Bomb Squad!

source: latintimes.com

Another piece of good news is that East Los has new cast members such as Christina Milian, Catalina Moreno and JD Prado to work along side the old and new cast members.

Source: Latinpost.com

Catalina Moreno plays Carmen, the mother of bomb squad member Eddie (played by Carlito Olivero) who is trying to give her son the best life possible. This isn’t an easy feat for her because she is undocumented along with having failing health. Prado will be playing Jesus, a new guy who has to work with Camillia. Your mysterious bad boy to the T shows Camilia that there’s more to a person that meets the eye. Christina Milian’s character Lilliana,  will also be working with Camila, but as her mentor, showing her the ins and outs of the music business.

Make sure to follow them on all the social media! Official Website || Twitter || Instagram || Facebook

We’re a few days away from season three and I for one, can’t wait to see the drama unfold! Enjoy the binge watching this summer kids! Until then, I leave you with this Bomb Squad tease!

Speaking Spanglish

(credit: Paula, keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk)

If you’ve lived in NY or have been around native Spanish speakers, then you’ve heard Spanglish before. Simply put, it’s when a person uses both English and Spanish in the same sentence. Not everyone loves Spanglish. They say things like:

• They don’t even know both languages well
• They’re mixing up their languages
• Learning more than one language confuses the child
• “This is America, speak English”

Ha. That last one is my personal favorite. If we want to get technical, there is no official language in the U.S. Obviously, English is the dominant language, but with the diversity of America in this day and age, you’re bound to hear another language. You’ve all heard the many benefits of learning more than one language, such as:

• Better cognition skills
• Looking more marketable in the workplace
• Delays Alzheimer’s by 3 years

The list goes on. So why do people speak Spanglish? Ana Celia Zentella dedicated a whole book called Growing Up Bilingual on how Puerto Rican girls acquired English and how they feel about speaking Spanglish. Many of them (myself included) feel a sense of pride when speaking Spanglish. Not only are many children bilingual, but they are bi-cultural as well, which you can read my post here. Being immersed in two cultures comes with two languages. If you know someone who is bilingual as well, it gives you a sense of comfort and solidarity in it.

Speaking Spanglish is not just throwing random Spanish words here and there, you still have to follow grammatical structure of the languages. For example:

Dame ese libro over there

She left me alone and I felt like a tonta!

Ese computadora es too expensive 

If you were to literally translate it into fully English, it would still make sense. Many bilinguals prefer certain words in Spanish than in English. Personally, I prefer the word malleta over suitcase/luggage, and gabetero over cabinets. So when my monolingual friends hear malleta, sometimes they have to use context clues or straight up ask me what that word was! Bilinguals are very much aware of what language they are speaking, so they are not confused. At times, certain words slip or we forget the word in English and we make a quick substitution, but nonetheless, we have control over each language and we’re smart enough to use both at the same time!

So what are your thoughts on Spanglish? Do you love it or hate it? Do you speak it often or none at all?

Comment below!

Con mucho amor,

Remembering Selena Quintanilla-Perez

(Photo: Pam Francis, Time & Life Pictures, via Getty Images)

Today will make 20 years that the world lost a beloved and talented songbird, Selena Quintanilla Perez. Selena was a native of Corpus Cristi, Texas and was of Mexican heritage. Teaming up with her family members, they performed in countless venues at an early age with the help of their father as their manager. They went on to become Selena y Los Dinos. Non family member Chris Perez soon joined the band, as well as the family, by marrying Selena in 1992. She was shot by her fan club manager and confidant, Yolanda Saldivar, while being confronted over embezzlement. Selena suffered a cardiac arrest and died soon after.

Although I was too young to know about her when she was alive, her memory still lived on in my family as well as the media. She because such a role model for me with her lovely personality, sense of style and dedication to her passion. I read her book written by Chris, To Selena, With Love, and cried with each page. She loved her music and her fans so so much that even now, many fans and family of Selena still are saddened by this tragedy.

But instead of mourning her death, this post is dedicated to celebrating her life and her mark made on the world!

Her fashion sense!

(Source: http://yestotexas.com/selena-did-it-first/)

 

No matter what you say, this Tejano queen did it all first! The looks and styles that are still around were first inspired by our Selena!

Her dance moves

http://mrwgifs.com/selena-quintanilla-salsa-dace-gif/

 

Selena had the moves and then some! She was the total package as an entertainer and her shows were always worth the money!

And her twirls were my dance goals

source: crushable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/selena-spinning-gif.gif

 

She loved food as much as we all did and wasn’t afraid to show it!

She had hit after hit, success after success

which included

• Best Mexican American Album
• Nine time Best Female Vocalist at the Tejano music awards
• Amor Prohibido became the top selling Latin album of all time
• Then her post humorous album, Dreaming of You topped Amor Prohibido 
• Selena Live! Won Best Mexican-American Album (36th Grammy Awards)
• Best Mexican American Album was Amor Prohibido (37th Grammy Awards)

(iamjosecastro.tumblr.com)

 

Here’s to you mi bella, we’re still dreaming of you

And we would do ANYTHING FOR SALINAS!

Shoutouts to Buzzfeed on their article on the late great Selena 

Hispanic Heritage Month!

gallery4share.com

From September 15 to October 15, the United States celerbates Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the cultures and history of our Hispanic ancestors. This annual celebration was integrated less than 30 years ago, but not many know about this celebration, so here’s some history about this month.

Congress passed a resolution in 1968 to observe a week long event to observe Hispanic hertiage. Then in 1988, President Regan decided to extend the  celebration to 30 days (9/15 to 10/15), becoming a public law this year. The 1st day is Septemebr 15 because it is the anniversaries of independence for Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Mexico celebrates on September 16 and Chile on September 18.

Everyone takes the time to recognize some of the great Hispanics that we’ve come to know and love and here are some of mine!

Las Hermanas Mirabel

http://www.luxvacationsandrealty.com

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a proud Dominican because of these lovely ladies, who stood up against the wrath of Rafael Trujillo as he ruled in Dominican Republic to their dying day. They have organized protests and help house arms with the rest of the community in a time where women did not have a voice yet. Watch or read “In The Time of Butterflies” to get a full understanding

Big Papi (David Ortiz)

hardballtalk.nbcsports.com

I’m a true Yankee fan, but you got to give respect to this legendary beast of a baseball player who is pretty much the definition of Dominican and proud of it. Baseball is quite the important sport for Dominicans and many look up to Big Papi as an inspiration of talent and humility

Mariano Rivera

eltiempolatino.com

Saves leader, legendary, core four member. There aren’t enough words to describe how amazing Mariano is. If you’re a Yankee fan or not, you give that  man the props because everyone feared going up to bat against him because of his amazing cutter. His son is now following in his footsteps as a pitcher at Iona College in hopes to be a Yankee just like his old man. Mariano will be doing work at his local parish now that he is retired.

Jose Fernandez

http://www.cbssports.com

He’s a Cuban cutie who can hang with the rest of the seasoned pitchers! Recieving the NL Rookie of the year award last year, this young kid is on his way to become a name for baseball. Now recovering from Tommy John sugery, he will be doing warm up pitches until he is cleared for Spring Training. Let’s make one thing clear, I will marry this man, it is my sole mission!

Aventura

http://www.glogster.com

I’ve mentioned before that Aventura was basically all I knew, singing all of their songs on the radio and going to see their concerts, they are pretty much the ones that opened the door for the Dominicans from the Bronx to step into the music industry such as Prince Royce, Marcy Place and many others!

Selena Quintanilla-Perez

entertainment.caller.com

ANYTHING FOR SALINAAASS! Again, anyone who knows me knows that I wanted to be just like Selena in every way possible. Although I was only 2 when she passed away, she remained alive in my heart through her music constantly played. Her loving and humble heart continues to inspire others and I cried all the way through reading her husband’s book “To Selena, With Love”

Junot Diaz

http://www.salon.com, Nina Subin

An amazing writer of this generation, Junot brings the two worlds together in writings of this time, having no problem being raunchy or explicit because the world has no filter. Writer of “This is How You Lose Her” and “The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao”

Lin-Manuel Miranda

http://www.nytimes.com

Without a doubt, Lin-Manuel has managed to win the hearts of all Latinos and musical fans with his production of “In The Heights” (not to be biased but it’s soooo amazing). He’s a humble man who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with his improv comedy group Freestyle Love Supreme and has proven with hard work and dedication, that anything is possible. No pare sigue sigue!

Adrienne Bailon

Latina.com

This girl was my spirit animal before I knew what that was! She has honestly been such an inspiration to so many little girls since she was a member of 3LW and the Cheetah Girls, was a member of Disney Channel and is now the host of The Real, she has humbly taken the role of role model seriously, and has graced the cover of Latina Magazine, a dream she had since the Magazine was published in the 90s!  Congrats on all of your success girl!

 

There are way too many to write about them all but rest assured that these people have been inspired by our ancestors who were writers, actors/actresses, singers, dancers and revolutionaries. Look back to see where your people came from and what they’ve done got you to where you are now. Do the same for your kids and the next generation.

Robert Louis Rodriguez: Dame Tu Mano (First album in review)

“Your talent is God’s gift to you, what you do with it is your gift back to God.”

Everyone has a God given talent, whether it’s athletics, cooking, writing, dancing or singing, there’s something that someone can do amazingly. When it’s God given and you’re using your talents to glorify God, it becomes so much more powerful, because the intention and the person you’re singing to is that powerful. Robert’s first album, “Dame Tu Mano”, does just that. It is a great gift back to God using the talents God gave him. From when I knew him as a young teen in a band to now having a solo album, Robert Louis Rodriguez has vowed to praise God at all times and to give him the glory he so rightfully deserves.

When asked about what his album means to him he said ‘Este album para mi es un sueño hecho realidad, por fin puedo expresar lo que Dios es para mi, de la mejor forma que se hacerlo, atreves de todos los dones que me ha dado, pero sobre todo, con todo mi corazón.” or in English; “This album for me is a dream come true. I’m finally able to express what God means to me the best way I know how, through the gifts he’s given me, but most importantly, with all my heart.” When it’s about God, the artist’s fame does not matter, but that God himself is made famous in the world.

This album, complete with English and Spanish songs, paints the picture of all of the feelings that a person has during their relationship with God; joy, thanksgiving, gratefulness, repentance and the desire to be as close to God as possible by wanting to do better. It highlights how grateful we can be of God’s love and mercy, the greatest sacrifice of Jesus on the cross , and the faithfulness of our Mother Mary to complete God’s will. The lyrics are simple, but relatable to everyone no matter what stage of life. The musicality of each song is unique to the feelings and situation at hand with the assurance that God’s love is merciful, eternal, and greater than we will ever understand. “Dame Tu Mano” gives the listeners a chance to reflect on their personal relationship with God.

Too many times, we try to find love where it doesn’t exist. And many times, we tend to forget the one who loved us first, and will continue to love us. One who will love us past our imperfections and appreciates our efforts to do better, and that is none other than God himself. And when God lives in someone, his qualities show in that person: patience, loving, forgiveness, and the desire for the best in us. And those who are seeking a relationship with God surround yourself with those striving towards the same relationship, and you should strive to become a vessel for the Lord so others can know about him, learn to love him and find their own special way to serve him. It is not us that do these things, but us allowing God to work through us. Congrats to Robert on his album and hope to hear many more songs in the near future!

Here’s one of the songs called “Te Amo Jesus”

Find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertlouisrmusic 

Find his album on Google play, iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby

Official website: http://robertlouisr.com/

Romeo Concert 7/12/14

So if you didn’t know, I’ve been a huge fan of Aventura since the beginning. I knew every song, watched every video, met them personally and my first concert was an Aventura concert (K.O.B). So you can imagine my heartache when they broke up. Romeo and Henry went to do solo albums, and of course we all knew Romeo was going to make it big. So big that he sold out Yankee stadium (50,000 seats) twice in a weekend.

You always hear about MSG being sold out or all of these other stadiums, but it’s rare that Yankee stadium gets sold out by an artist, even more so a Latino artist. Romeo being a born and raised Bronx boy, decided to make history at home.

From Friday, I heard that DR was in the house, with people such as Luis Vargas, Anthony Santos and Fefita la Grande came to have fun and sing with Romeo. But I went on Saturday, and it was a day to remember.

If you’ve ever been to a Romeo or Aventura concert, you know that Romeo loves to interact with his fans, especially the ladies. If you’re the lucky girl that gets to get up on stage with him, you are the envy of the stadium. Well even the guys had a change to go up with Romeo, having a contest to see which guy can do Don Omar’s parts of the infamous “Ella y Yo”. Five men later, we finally got to finish it.

And then comes “Odio.” This song features Drake, so we all expected Drake to appear. Or naah. Who comes singing but none other than Prince Royce!! It’s quite a shocker since Royce has the same musicality as Romeo, you would think they’d be enemies. But these two shared the stage and had so much fun with each other and the crowd, as if they’ve been buddies for years. Even Romeo said “I told you guys you wouldn’t believe who I brought!” But wait. There’s more!

After a set off of Romeo’s own songs, “Yo Tambien”, featuring Marc Anthony. And yes, Marc Anthony showed up. The roar of cheers and singing was unbelievable. And even after the song was over, Marc Anthony had recieved such an ovation that almost moved him to tears and he knelt down and kissed the stage. And Romeo said: “Since they love you so much, it’s only fair you sing one of your songs for them…” And you heard soon after “vivir mi vida” play and the crowd went wild singing, myself included. Then Romeo continued with his set. But wait. There was one more thing.

So it’s almost about over, and Romeo makes a small speech of how he came from humble beginnings with his family, being a small kid going to Yankee stadium for baseball games and begins to thank everyone that had played a part in his success from day one. And he wanted to do one final medley of his greatest hits with 3 very important people….3 of his brothers…..AVENTURAAAAA.

You can imagine my scream, now times that by 50,000 and you get the idea. This was a big deal and something really special for his fans from day one. You heard the classics come out such as “Todavia me amas”, “No lo perdona Dios” “Hermanita” and more. It ended with them singing the classic of classics, “Obsession” and you thought it was over. Rule #1 in a Romeo concert; it’s never over the first time. He ended officially with “Propuesta Indecente” and a small fireworks show.

It’s always a proud moment when we get to see one of our own rise up to success. Being a Dominican from the Bronx, it has opened doors for people such as X-treme, Prince Royce and future artists to make a mark in the world. Thank you Romeo, for one of the most unforgettable nights I’ll have.

Being Bi-cultural in America

This has been inspired by a post on Latina Magazine:  http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/dominican-habits-americans-weird

& this video by Frank Legend: 

I will be forever grateful that my parents instilled in me the values and culture of their home country (Dominican Republic), and anyone who knows me, knows that I proudly express it; in my language and in my customs with other people. Now of course, speaking your parent’s native language makes you bilingual, but does just speaking Spanish make me Latina/Hispanic? Of course not, there are some people (like my brother) who know spanish and have been exposed to it, but doesn’t consider himself Latino/hispanic. There’s more to this than meets the eye and I’ll do my best to explain why.

I’m sure many of us had to learn a second language in High School (in my case, a third). Usually either Spanish, Italian, French, etc. So since I learned French, am I considered French? Nope. My roommates in college knew Spanish (enough to get by) but that’s just knowing the language. Being Bilingual is knowing two languages, whereas being Bi-cultural is having and practicing customs and traditions from two countries. How can you have two traditions at the same time? And do you know if you’re bi-cultural?

It’s tough to maintain both American and Spanish traditions in your household (especially if your parents know only Spanish customs). A child’s first skill is being a translator, because your parents don’t know enough English when it came to important phone calls and they didn’t have a Spanish speaking person in their company. Watching Family sitcoms on tv were nothing like my life. My parents have never heard of an allowance, or the fact that I should get paid for chores. My mother never made meatloaf (from what I could tell, was always a thumbs down). Sleepovers were unheard of (except at my cousins and sleepover retreats), you heard the phrase “Tienes una cama aquí” (You have your own bed here). And if you had a significant other and you wanted to sleep over their house? HA! You’d be lucky if you could even finish the sentence before your parents smacked you for the thought of it. And keeping Spanish customs in America can have people questioning, “why do you do that?”

Now keep in mind that this is a general idea, not everyone does this and of course there are exceptions to the rule. I’ll be going on a bi-cultural Spanish rant since it’s what I know most

 

Let’s take holidays. Americans celebrate Christmas on December 25, most Latinos, the day before. Why? Well if you’ve ever been to a hispanic party, it can go for three days straight. But for many, there’s dinner and then the Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass) and then they come home and open gifts. Americans have the waking up in the morning to all the gifts Santa left them while I was still awake. (As a kid, I thought he just knew that the Hispanics got their gifts early, didn’t question it). And Latinos celebrate Dia de los Tres Reyes (3 Kings Day); where tradition would have it that if you left food for the King’s donkeys, you would get a gift.

Mother’s day & Father’s day? More like days. Your parents most likely asked for gifts on both days (which was a struggle for kids) You had the American day and your parents country’s date (that for most, was the same month).

Parties. Sweet 16 or Quinceañera? Did you have a court or chamberlans? Usually, sweet 16s don’t have courts, but that could be just integration. For Quinces, every guy friend of a girl knew he was in that court, spending weeks perfecting her dance routine for the big day. For my family, my turning quince was more important than 16. Although I didn’t have a full Quinceañera, my 15th birthday was a big deal. Kid got baptized? Party. First communion? Party. Baby Showers? The best party ever, especially when it’s a Dominican Baby Shower, not even to be biased

How do you say hello to someone? Most (Americans) would just say “Hi”. Hispanics make this a celebration; hugs, kisses, the whole nine yards. And to say goodbye, same deal. My freshman roommate & our friends were  All american and in the year that we’ve been together, we hugged maybe twice. And when I’m with my Hispanic friends, it takes forever and a day to say hello and goodbye

 

Spanglish. This will forever be a problem with me. In my house, it was all Spanish. At school, all English. So between those times where I was with friends, both were mixed in. To be honest, I really don’t like English (grammatically) and the feelings that I want to convey are so much better said in Spanish. For example, me saying “I looked like a fool waiting” doesn’t show as much anger as “I looked like a tonta or pendeja waiting for him”. (add the accent, they will know).

Living in America is a quintessential melting pot of cultures. You’ll see places such as Chinatownn, Little Italy, Little Havana that bring their home cultures to America. There are some people who chose to break away from family customs and that’s okay. Everyone should at least know enough about their family history because there is so much to learn besides what the US History books tell you. There are always two sides to the story. This is only a few examples I could give from personal experience, if you have any more or can share in this even from other countries, please comment below.