I am reminded that Mother’s Day (the real one) was celebrated on Thursday the 10^th. This holiday was a particularly hard one to celebrate in our household. My mother was the kind of woman that would not want you to make a fuss over her but at the same time would be the first to criticize any lack of effort. She was content with the same gift every year. All she wanted was a nice meal with the family and an envelope filled with money. My mother always hated gift certificates. First, she would disregard them because they were not cash, but secondly and most importantly she would become angered because she considered gift certificates to be inconsiderate suggestions as to where she should be spending her money.

Mother’s Day was the day where we all put our political ideologies aside and celebrated the woman who had given so much of herself. Even my dad would abstain from drinking on Saturday, so that he could be as fresh as a daisy and tolerate my sister and me. We all knew that we had to go to church and endure 50 minutes of being told we were going to hell, 6 minutes of salvation, and 4 minutes of community events. We were also reminded that if we gave a little bit more to the collection plate, the church would be able to provide air conditioning rather than rely on those heavy fans that looked like they came off a set from a silent movie.

After church, we all shuffled from one frying pan and into another frying pan: my father’s Crown Victoria, with the kind of windows that would roll down with little or no guarantee they would roll back up. My mother considered Hometown Buffet to be a nice meal, even though the rest of us would protest and hope she would reconsider. She had always enjoyed buffets because they offered so many choices, none of us could possibly complain about a meal the buffet didn’t have. If we wanted burgers, Hometown Buffet had them. If we wanted pizza, Hometown Buffet had them. I’m sure if had an appetite for baby seal served in a white elephant’s trunk, Hometown Buffet would have found a way to serve it.

 The problem with Hometown Buffet was not the menu selection but rather the timing. It seemed that my mother was not alone in her love for buffets. Mothers would guilt their unwilling families to stand in line for upwards of two hours in order to enter. The four of us would stand there waiting for what seemed to be eons because it always seemed that the Buffet only had tables for sets of three or five. I could feel myself aging in line. All the while, my mother talked about the kind of salad she was going to get.

When we eventually sat down, we were warned that we had to eat: there would be consequences if we came back with a tray filled with cheesecake. The first unwritten rule was that you had to have at least two servings before you were allowed to get a dessert. The second one was that you had to have something green on your plate that was not Jell-o. The mariachi would play in the background and my mother would stuff my pockets and her purse with sugar cookies and chicken drumsticks wrapped in about a million napkins – claiming that it was for the alley cats that kept my dad company while he read the morning paper.

 Those are the days I wish I could still have. We do not go to Hometown Buffet as much anymore since my parents passed on. Whenever we do go, it is usually on a whim. The weird thing is, the unspoken rules are still observed. My sister and I still make two rounds before attacking the dessert stand. We sit around telling the same stories, whether it is about my mom’s non-tipping policy or my dad making us claim we were five years younger than we actually were so that we could save 50 cents a head; they’re all memories that make mother’s day worth remembering.

[Photo by  Rusty Clark]

Expect the unexpected in an ambush of the senses not recommended for the weak stomach, this absurd comedy is a visual and verbal onslaught of obscenities from the creator of ‘Borat’ and ‘Bruno’.

A brave opening dedication may cause a few nervous laughs from the outset, but that’s nothing to prepare you for the lunacy that follows. The nonsensical storyline shows the rise of tyrant and supreme leader General Aladeen of the fictional middle eastern republic of Wadiyan. Rich beyond belief from natural sources, he has a serious misconduct of style and no idea how to treat others with respect. Surrounded by beautiful female guards, he is a revolutionary without a clue, except barking ridiculous demands to his disposable operatives. Through some conspiracy, Aladeen heads to America where he is not well received. After a fake assassination from his own people who replace him with a dim-witted goat herding body double, the real Aladeen has to survive in the real world on the streets of New York. Befriending a tomboy feminist vegan anti political organic grocery store owner, the scene is set for some eccentric activity.

Pushing the envelope of decency, this one of a kind film goes out of its way to offend everyone with a pulse and even someone who hasn’t in a funeral scene not soon forgotten. Audiences will be divided with actor Sacha Baron Cohen as either a comic genius or simply an audacious lark marching to the beat of his own drum. However, like him or not, the abrasive enthusiasm he brings to his character is infectious even if the humour is hit and miss. No doubting his talent, chameleon Baron Cohen was delightful in the recent ‘Hugo’ proving to be actually likeable in a relatively normal role.

Full of set pieces that are more demented than the last including exploring the madness of childbirth in public and a riotous helicopter ride above the Manhattan skyscrapers. Watch for some uncredited cameo appearances from courageous Hollywood stars Megan Fox and Edward Norton, while veteran Oscar winner Ben Kingsley is at his deadpan best. Anatomy references and crude behaviour is at a premium, no race, religion, age or stereotype is safe from ridicule, you have been warned.

The Young  Folks: We are a website in which we review music, movies, books, concerts. For young people by young people.

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Education ranks behind only the economy and jobs as the most important consideration among likely Latino voters in five battleground states, according to a survey released today by the American Federation for Children (AFC) and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO).

The poll results revealed that improving K-12 education—and not issues related to immigration—is the second-most important issue in the minds of Latino respondents, and education ranks in a near-statistical tie as the second most important issue among all likely voters.

Voters in five states—Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Nevada—were surveyed by the Democratic-leaning polling firm Beck Research on a host of education and other issues that will prove critical to deciding the 2012 presidential election. A majority (58 percent) of Latinos surveyed expressed a desire to hear more from both presidential campaigns on how the candidates will improve education, and large proportions of respondents also voiced strong support for a host of private school choice initiatives, including vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs, education savings accounts, and special needs scholarship programs.

“The support for making education a fundamental part of the campaign discourse over the next six months is remarkably strong across demographic, geographic, and ideological lines,” said Kevin P. Chavous, a senior advisor to the American Federation for Children. “The message to the candidates is clear: expanding educational options for parents, and education reform generally, should be a priority in 2012.  It not only makes good political sense, but it’s the right thing to do, too.”

A total of 85 percent of voters and 91 percent of Latinos think vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs should be available in some form, while majorities of likely voters and Latinos also support specific school choice proposals as well. Support is especially high for special needs scholarship programs, which are favored by 74 percent of voters and an astounding 80 percent of Latino voters.

Latino respondents particularly supported arguments in favor of school choice because of the immediate help it provides to children from low-income families, and their positive effect on graduation rates, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction.

“No voting bloc is more important to this election than Latinos, and it’s clear that education is among the most important issues,” said Julio Fuentes, president and CEO of HCREO. “Latino families want their children to have a chance to prosper, and that opportunity best exists through access to a quality education.”

In a campaign season dominated by talk of the economy, more than half (53 percent) of Latino voters also cited education as central to improving our country’s economic situation.

The Beck Research survey interviewed a total of 1,050 likely November voters, including an oversample of 300 Latinos. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 3.6 percent.

SOURCE American Federation for Children and Hispanic CREO

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1bTPT)

As spring draws to a close, teens across the country are shopping for prom dresses, planning graduation parties, searching for summer jobs and looking forward to a few months of freedom. Unfortunately, another memorable season is fast approaching: dangerous driving season. According to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the days between Memorial Day and Labor Day have been dubbed the “100 Deadliest Days” for teens to be on the road. Many of these fatal accidents can be avoided by educating our teenagers, educating ourselves, our families and our communities about the dangers of texting and driving.

Although texting while driving is a growing national concern, it is of greater concern among our Latino teen population. According to a poll released today, while Hispanic teens are aware of the dangers of texting and driving, a troubling 54 percent admit to engaging in the risky behavior.  Additionally, 52 percent of our teenagers who were interviewed in this survey, report seeing their parents text while driving (I will admit here to doing it at times when alone in the car at red lights—a big no-no so I am working on that!), raising concerns over parents’ influence on their child’s driving habits. Whether peer pressure or following a bad example plays a role, the pressure is on—this data clearly shows that the temptation to respond quickly to a text and constantly glance at our phone while driving is greater than ever before.

So what can we do?  Innovative companies like AT&T are taking the lead.  They have developed theAT&T DriveMode, an app that auto-responds to any incoming texts with a message that says they’ll reply when it is safe. It silences incoming text noises and sends calls to voicemail, minimizing the temptation to respond. The company’s goal is to send a simple message to anyone who considers texting while driving: it can wait.

One study by the Texas Transportation Institute concluded that when people read or send texts while driving, their reaction time doubles. Sending a text takes an average of five seconds—but doing that while traveling 55 miles per hour is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field with a blindfold on. It sounds unbelievable that anyone would unnecessarily close their eyes for a full five seconds while driving on the highway—and texting while driving is no different.

“AT&T is committed to educating the public—particularly teens—on the risks of texting behind the wheel,” said Mariel Llenza, Director of Hispanic advertising for AT&T.  “Our ongoing efforts also include work with non-profit, safety-focused organizations like the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) to educate teens about the choices they’re making when they text and drive. We are also working with terrific Latino organizations like LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)and the Hispanic Institute among others, to ensure the word gets out far and wide about dangers to our kids when they text and drive.”

AT&T also created The Last Text, a powerful, 10-minute documentary that features real stories about lives that have been dramatically altered by texting and driving.

All of you supermoms out there can help spread the word as well by visiting www.att.com/itcanwait, watching the documentary and signing the “It Can Wait” pledge—and letting all your amigas, comadres, loved ones, colleagues and community know that texting while driving is taking an unacceptable risk. Texting doesn’t just affect you—it can change the lives of the passengers in your car, your family, and strangers on the road. It puts everyone’s safety at risk.

It is simply tragic that a month that holds so many happy occasions and important steps for teens and their families is also so scarred by the loss of teen lives.  Let’s make sure that our teenagers are smart, savvy and well-protected.  For all of our familias!

It’s an exciting time to be young—the world is changing faster than ever before and it is heartening to see companies like AT&T play a big yet responsible part in the innovations that are connecting us and revolutionizing our way of life.  So as technology progresses and mobile solutions become an even bigger part of our life, let’s step back and remind ourselves that unless used responsibly, technology can have very real consequences. While being connected is important mijito, while you are driving, it can wait.

Maria Cardona serves as Contributing Editor for Mamiverse, guiding readers through the political process and analyzing issues important to the influential Latina mami vote.

[Photo by WhisperToMe]

Latinos tend to be seen as more conservative than others, but a new survey shows that they are no more or less likely than the general population to describe their own views as “conservative” or “very conservative.” In fact, Latinos are more likely to describe their views as liberal.While 30 percent of Latino adults described their views as “liberal,” only 21 percent of U.S. adults did.

Moreover, 75 percent of Latinos said they would rather have bigger government providing more services compared to 19 percent who said they want smaller government. For the general population, these numbers are 41 percent and 48 percent. What about on some other key issues?

• Abortion: Latinos hold a more conservative view of abortion than the general population (51 percent versus 41 percent), but if you include only native born Latinos, then the rates are the same.
• Homosexuality: When asked whether it should be accepted or discouraged by society, 59% percentof Hispanics said it should be accepted (similar to the general population at 58 percent).
• Interracial/interethnic marriage: 84 percent of Latinos are comfortable with their children marrying someone who is not Latino (though only 63 percent are comfortable with marrying someone of a different religion).

In most of the categories, there are differences between the views of foreign born Hispanics and those of native born Latinos. There are also some key differences that correspond to age.

Read more at Pew Research Center.

Adriana Villavicencio has contributed to several publications including the Daily News and Space.com, and is a managing editor for the Journal of Equity in Education.  To learn more about Adriana’s education consulting company, please visit www.theradicalideas.com.

This article first appeared in Being Latino.

[Image by Being Latino]

“Every now and again we get emails from people asking us to post their recipes- which I love. I love recipe sharing and comparing how people make certain dishes, or how they add a nice twist to classics. This recipe comes from the V&V Supremo folks featuring their tasty cheeses. Of all the recipes, this one caught my attention the most (I’ll be posting more in the next few days). Who doesn’t love goeey, cheesy flautas for dinner? This recipe is easy, low key and flavorful and pleases vegetarians too (you can add some store bought shredded chicken if you want). Enjoy and stay tuned for more V&V Supremo recipes!”

Yields: 6 servings

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 4 cups V&V SUPREMO® CHIHUAHUA® cheese, shredded
• 2 cups V&V SUPREMO® SIERRA® cheese, ground
• 1/2 cup V&V SUPREMO® QUESO FRESCO, crumbled
• 1 cup V&V SUPREMO® CREMA SUPREMO® sour cream
• 2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 1/2 tsp. pequin powdered chile or cayenne to taste
• 1 dozen corn tortillas
• ** oil for frying

Directions

General Douglas MacArthur said in his farewell speech in 1951 that old soldiers never die; they just fade away. It is the same with writers and artists, they never die, and they do not even fade away. They stay with us and leave the legacy of their thoughts on the printed page.

We can recreate their prose, their style, their ideas for as long as we live, reaching out to newer and younger generations. They are called classics. And all those who stay behind become the inheritors of their production. Each time we open a book by Carlos Fuentes, for example, we recreate his ideas, we commune with a writer who is no longer alive in the flesh, but whose thought will endure as long as humanity endures.

He taught at Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Pennsylvania, Columbia and Cambridge.

What else? At the age of thirty he published his first novel La región más transparente, which became a classic, where the Spanish, the indigenous and the mestizo mix, depicting life in the City of Mexico and the culture of the country in general.

His 1984 novel, Gringo viejo, was filmed as Old Gringo, with Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda. The book hit the US best-seller list.

Premio Rómulo Gallegos, Cervantes Prize, Príncipe de Asturias Award, Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica and since 2001 a member of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua. All except the Nobel Prize, but we all know that award is like the lottery, if not more whimsical.

He is one of the best-known Spanish-language writers in the world today, and rightly so. That is why I said at the onset that writers of his stature do not die or fade away: they stay with us, giving us what we sometimes call culture, which he tried to capture in his fiction and essays. In his case he was able to mesmerize the American English-speaking readership, a difficult market whose attention to hold.

He was a sharp critic of Mexico and the US, who never minced words, and was very outspoken. He was once denied entry into the US, but many other writers have had that honor bestowed upon them also.

He carried a life-long love affair with language and words. Being one of Mexico’s greatest living authors, we have a good excuse now to take up one of his novels:

La muerte de Artemio Cruz, by Carlos Fuentes

La voluntad y la fortuna (Destiny and Desire)

La frontera de cristal (The Crystal Frontier)

Cristóbal Nonato (Christopher Unborn)

La muerte de Artemio Cruz (The Death of Artemio Cruz)

Gringo viejo (Old Gringo)

“Los sajones nunca dicen lugares comunes. –Por eso me gustan los latinos.” (Anglos never use trite expressions. That is why I like Latinos. Carlos Fuentes, Cantar de ciegos, 1964.

Read his novels and let him talk to you. And listen hard.

You may follow D.C. Basset on Twitter

This article first appeared in Voxxi.

[Photo by MDCarchives]

Education Trumps Immigration among Top-Tier Issues for Latino Voters, New Poll Finds (PR Newswire/The Wall Street Journal): Education ranks behind only the economy and jobs as the most important consideration among likely Latino voters in five battleground states, according to a survey released today by the American Federation for Children (AFC) and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO).

Mexican Author Carlos Fuentes Dies at 83 (Fox News Latino):  Renowned Mexican author and diplomat Carlos Fuentes died at the age of 83 in a Mexico City hospital, according to local news reports. The news of the novelist’s passing on Tuesday was confirmed by President Felipe Calderón via Twitter.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on Romney: ‘Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign’ (ABC News):  In an interview with Newsweek’s Andrew Romano, Martinez criticized Romney’s approach to wooing Hispanic voters during the campaign, in part because of statements during the primary contests in which he said illegal immigrants would ”self deport” if incentives were removed to remain in the country illegally.

Why Black And Hispanic People Pay 3% More For Their Homes (Business Insider): Researchers led by Patrick Bayer at Duke University studied two million housing transactions in four metropolitan areas. They found that Black and Hispanic homebuyers paid a considerable premium: about $6,000 on a $200,000 house.

Latino Voter Apathy In A Border Town (Fronteras):  In the 2010 midterm elections, the downtown precinct, basically, Nogales itself, reported a 29 percent voter turnout. That’s compared to the national turnout rate, 38 percent. Both bad, but Nogales, significantly worse.

Republicans on Immigration: The Pot Calling the Kettle Black (Huffington Post): The newest “talking point” we’re hearing from Hispanic Republicans about immigration is that Barack Obama hasn’t fulfilled his promise to push for immigration reform during his first year in office, when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. For good measure, they point out that the Obama administration has deported more undocumented immigrants each year than that of Republican predecessor George W. Bush.

G.O.P. Rhetoric Feeds Latinos’ Affinity for Obama (The New York Times):  Barack Obama’s story resonates with Latinos because the struggle to overcome obstacles, whether poverty, oppression or bigotry, along with an abiding belief in the transformative power of education, is central to our story. And, for the first time, a person of color sits in the Oval Office.

Shift on marriage energizes immigration activists (Associated Press): President Barack Obama’s shift to support gay marriage is energizing young Hispanic voters who have been working side-by-side with gay activists in their push for immigration reform. The alliance has been growing nationwide and helping dispel what many say is an outdated notion that Hispanics are less tolerant of gays than the general public.

4 arrested as marchers protest immigration policies (Chicago Tribune):  At least four people were arrested during a rally west of the Loop today to protest the country’s policies on illegal immigration.

Grandma or the economy? (The Washington Post):  Hispanic people of faith ask ourselves, if Romney was willing to eviscerate Perry and Gingrich for trying to find a solution to immigration that is not starvation, what will he do to us if elected? After the election we will see if Rubio was right. Will Hispanic evangelicals choose economics or their grandmothers?

How Jerry Brown’s Budget Hurts Black and Latino Kids (Politics 365):  On Monday, California Governor Jerry Brown issued his May revised budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Facing a nearly $15.7 billion deficit, the Governor called for massive budget cuts.

‘Stop And Frisk’ Works, But It’s Problematic (NPR):  The New York City Police Department credits its controversial “Stop, Question, Frisk” program with significantly reducing violent crimes. Many civil liberties groups, though, warn that the police stops disproportionately target black and Hispanic men, and believe the searches are unconstitutional.

Blacks, Hispanics Have Higher Colon Polyp Risk Than Previously Thought (U.S. News & World Report): Black and Hispanic Americans are far more likely than whites to develop precancerous colorectal polyps, a new study finds.

The Mexican Senate passed the national climate law that recently passed the Mexican House.  The bill now awaits the signature of President Felipe Calderón who is expected to sign the bill into law.  This law sends a strong signal that Mexico will continue to implement actions to reduce global warming pollution now and into the future.  It sets in place the foundation for even greater action by Mexico under future Administrations**.

The bill passed both the Mexican House and Senate with large majorities, showing the multi-party support for climate action in Mexico.  The Senate passed the bill 78-0 and the House passed it by a vote of 280-10 with one abstention.

The bill would include provisions to:

• Establish in domestic law the country’s target to reduce its emissions 30 percent below business-as-usual emissions by 2020 and 50 percent below 2000 levels by 2050.  This is a target that Mexico announced back in 2008 and was laterreaffirmed at the Copenhagen Climate Summit.
• Direct the Ministry of Finance and the Energy Ministry to develop incentives to promote renewable energy, which would be an important step towards scaling-up the deployment of renewable electricity in Mexico.  While Mexico has shown some progress on clean energy over the past couple of years, the amount of clean energy investment in Mexico declined by 97 percent last year according to a new report.  So hopefully this would reverse this trend.

• Define a goal to increase the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources by establishing an aspirational target to produce 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2024.  Mexico has abundant sources of renewable energy with some of the best wind in the world located in Oaxaca andlots of sun for solar electricity but renewable electricity is still a small share of its electricity mix.  In 2010 wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and wave power accounted for 2.7 percent of its electricity production, according to the Energy Information Administration.

• Create a high-level climate change commission to oversee national climate policy over sustained Administrations.  President Calderon established an inter-ministry panel, but the law would ensure that high-level multi-ministry engagement occurs even after his term is over.

• Require mandatory emissions reporting for the largest source of global warming pollution in the country.  This is an important tool as the saying goes: “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”.

• Support the development of a domestic emission trading system, but the bill wouldn’t mandate the establishment of such a program.  Earlier in the Administration of President Calderón there were some hints that they might adopt a cap-and-trade program for the largest sources of global warming pollution in the country (e.g., the power sector and cement).

This is another clear sign that countries are acting at home following from their international commitments made at Copenhagen and Cancun.  After President Felipe Calderón signs the bill into law, it will be critical for the Mexican government to follow through by implementing new policies and incentives to meet the aggressive objectives outlined in the law. This law sends a clear signal that these reforms will be implemented now and into the future.

Jake Schmidt is the international climate policy director at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He’s been involved in climate policy development at various levels–state, US national, Europe, developing countries, and international negotiations.

[Photo by janie.hernandez55]

This post first appeared in the textmex galleryblog.

William Anthony Nericcio, aka “Memo,” is the Director of San Diego State University’s ever-evolving MALAS program(The Master of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences)–a dynamic, interdisciplinary, cultural studies graduate program located near the U.S./Mexico border. Nericcio also serves on the faculties of theChicana/o Studies Department, theCenter for Latin American Studiesand the Department of English and Comparative Literature at SDSU.