NewsTaco

Life with kids, even with a partner that helps in their upbringing, can be difficult. But facing the same reality as a single, teenage mother who never thought that it would happen to her can be a situation that is truly complicated and stressful.  The young mother will be prematurely thrust into life as an adult without being prepared physically, emotionally, and intellectually.

The pregnancy usually takes them by surprise and they don’t know what to do, who to turn to, and above all, why this is happening to them and that they’ve compromised their youth and future plans. It can be very painful and scary at times, she collapses, no way out. Without the help of anyone else, using her own means to get by or, with the conditional support or rejection from her parents, she finds herself one day after another confronting life alone with a human being that will soon accompany her and fill her with responsibilities, never stopping from overwhelming her full of emotions that this event will bring.

The reasons why this is happening more frequently every day are different, but include principally naïveté — many teenage girls think that it won’t/can’t happen to them. While others have unrealistic fantasies thinking that if it did happen to them, their partners would take responsibility for the baby.  This is a result of complete ignorance of the consequences of having sex too early.

What awaits these children? It’s easy to criticize, condemn, or devalue an expectant mother and the reasons why they became pregnant. Something that I’m sure of though, is that behind each one is a scared young girl, worried and stressed about how she’ll handle the situation and about what the future holds for and her child.

Preparing teenagers for the future and for the outside world gets more complicated with each passing day. The solution to unwanted pregnancies is prevention, but when that is impossible and pregnancy is unavoidable, the young mother must be prepared for the new role she will undertake and the responsibilities it entails.

We can’t cut off the adolescents that this happens to, much less stigmatize them. We should instead give them the opportunity to learn from this difficult lesson. We should teach them how to repair their lives and how to prevent their offspring from falling into the same cycle and making the same mistake. Instead of condemning them, we should contribute to them becoming young adults and help them keep this from happening again.

It’s been shown that many of the kids born into these types of conditions are obligated to develop their own abilities and confront the adverse circumstances in the right way, becoming successful adults, who recognize and appreciate the strength of their own mothers, as long as she has overcome and tackled the responsibility in a dignified manner.

[Photo By jessiejacobson]

I am not a wise old crone. I am only 27 and though I have been successful in many realms, I am disgruntled about plenty of things. I am a struggling writer. I am not a picture of late 20s perfection, by any means. But bumbling through life, I have learned helpful things that I would like to pass on. Inspired by a section in Mindy Kaling’s hilarious “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” I have compiled some tips for teenage girls, some of which I learned by doing, others by judgmentally observing.

1.) Don’t hang out with girls that are set on giving each other eating disorders. I know it can be tempting to hang out with the cool chicks, but the cool chicks are almost always dreadful. Have you seen “Mean Girls?” Please watch that as soon as you get home. Take copious notes. When you’re older, you will likely run into these cool girls while you’re visiting your old neighborhood. They will have a minimum of three children and look like life whacked them repeatedly with the stick of misfortune. You will try to be the better person and not delight in this fact — but you will fail.

2.) In general, don’t worry about being popular. If high school is your apex, I honestly don’t see the point of living. Trust me, the popular kids will be sitting at a sports bar 10 years later reminiscing about how they scored some point for some stupid game that no one even remembers anymore. They will be wearing sweat pants with the elastic at the ankles.

3.) Please stop dating losers. One day you might be a 27-year-old woman looking back on her high school dating history with mild disgust. You might wince when you think of your pony-tailed boyfriend with the horrible grammar, unforgivable penchant for Metallica, and inexplicable love of dolphins.

4.) In continuation, please don’t date older men. It might be tempting to date someone who has a mildly used Toyota Camry and can take you out to the “Red Lobster,” but this can only lead to disappointment.  Ask yourself this: what is so fundamentally wrong with these dirt bags that they have to lurk around the high school to get some? (You will learn that if you’re a reasonably okay-looking adult,  you should be able to throw a rock and hit someone who will want you.)

5.) Don’t base any of your post-high school plans on your boyfriend. Let’s be real. You will definitely break up and you will regret settling on the local community college.

6.) Don’t smoke. I know how enticing it is to look “street tough” with a cigarette dangling from your lip, but if you’re a bit vain like me, just think of all those premature wrinkles! There is certainly nothing wrong with aging naturally, but why look like beef jerky when you don’t have to? Speaking of wrinkles, I know teenagers don’t think about getting old. (I know, I know, old people are gross.)

7.) But seriously, start using a daily sunscreen. I’ve been using sunscreen since I was very young, and so far, I only have laugh lines. Those girls who tan will be really sorry. It’s all fun and games until you’re a carrot colored 30-year-old with melanoma.

8.) Don’t set your expectations about sex too high. Your body is set on doing the horizontal monster mash. Believe me,  I understand. Just know that this will likely be very disappointing. It will be like when you’re going to eat lobster for the first time but they overcook it and it’s all rubbery and bland and you leave the restaurant with your head hung low like that sad character from “Peanuts.”

9.) Also make sure your partner is equipped with prophylactics. Don’t fall for the old, “You can’t get pregnant the first time” or the old, “I don’t like the way condoms feel.” Only morons fall for this trickery. You should also discuss your stance on abortion before you have sex. If you were to get pregnant, would your partner be supportive of your decision to terminate the pregnancy? What if you would want to keep it? This conversation will surely be very unsexy, but so are babies. Also, please watch the movie “Kids.” Take copious notes.

10.) Develop a sense of humor. Believe me, there is more to life than being pretty. There is nothing better than making people laugh until they hurt themselves. A sense of humor will also help you get through life. Instead of looking up to talentless, emaciated celebrities (I’m looking at you, Megan Fox), admire smart and hilarious women like Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey. (They were weird in high school and look at them now!)

11.) Please do yourself a favor and wear really stupid outfits that you can laugh about when you’re older. I love that I thought it was cool to wear kerchiefs around my neck like Don Knotts.

12.) Lastly, cultivate your brain as much as you can. Read everything you can get a hold of. Be who you are. Be creative. Know that these are not the best years of your life.

[Photo By SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget]

When I was 21, I started to notice that some gray hair was beginning to sprout. That was my first introduction to aging, but I didn’t think anything of it. I was young and cute and had the world by the you-know-whats! Now I am 27, and that gray hair is coming in something fierce. I’m far from old, but the suggestion of aging is beginning to manifest itself on my face. I’ve noticed I’ve developed laugh lines, for example. Oh, how I regret all the jokes and laughter!  I should have emulated the demeanor of little Vicky from “Small Wonder.” I bet she still looks 12.

When you are young, you simply can’t wrap your mind around not being young. Those old fogies are like Martians! In your mind, you will forever be a compact and pretty young woman. Society tells us that we are useless hunks of crap once we turn 40, so it’s hard to have a healthy attitude about aging.

Fortunately, when I look at pictures of myself when I was younger, I mostly feel relief. Thank goodness I no longer wear dresses that look as if they were stolen from an obese elderly woman in the circus. Man, it’s as if I went out of my way to make my body look like a sack of ham hocks. When I was younger, I also had no money, so I bought clothes that didn’t fit just because they were on sale. Sure these jeans make me look like I’m wearing a diaper, but they’re only $15! My face is also no longer round and Cabbage Patch-like, so people don’t pinch my cheeks unsolicited anymore. I also no longer date losers with bad grammar and mediocre guitar skills, which has really improved my self-esteem.

I grow more comfortable with myself as I grow older. I know what clothes look good on me and I don’t obsess over what people may think of me because I realize how little people actually do think of me. It’s liberating, really.  I have also partly come to terms with the Buddhist idea of the body as a sort of bondage. Our bodies are temporary …and often pretty gross and unattractive. It’s important to embrace this — maybe one day those diaper jeans will actually come in handy.

Aging is a complicated experience for most women. Even those with a positive self image struggle. I wear sunscreen and eye cream ever day as preventative measures, even though I don’t obsess over getting old. I dye my gray hair because I’m not quite ready to be a silver-haired lady. In sum, I have mostly come to terms with the inevitable but there are, of course, vestiges of resistance.

I wonder, though, about those women who base their entire identities on their looks. What happens when they begin to wither? What the hell will Kim Kardashian do when she gets old? Perhaps she’ll sell some nice products on QVC. Perhaps she’ll have a reality TV show that documents the deterioration of her butt.  I’m so glad I’ve spent my life cultivating my brain, so when I do get old, I won’t freak out and inject poison into my face and look like all those celebrities who, as my brother has pointed out, resemble frightened cats.

[Photo By geishaboy500]

Austin, Texas — First off, you may be asking yourself, “What is a hipster?” The answer is the type of difficult one that accompanies trying to distill cultural movements. But, the short version is that hipsters are the contemporary derivative of beatniks, according to some sources, and consists of particular philosophies, fashion and food choices, professional and geographic areas and, inevitably, the butt of so many hipster jokes (ever heard the one about how much hipsters hate hipsters?).

I’ve often wondered whether I fall into this category, after all I love thrift stores and trucker hats and ridiculous sun glasses, but I’ve decided that I’m too old, care too much, work too hard and am much more of a yuppie anyway.

Hipsters , according to some, are their own stereotype but often are characterized by: appearing “unkempt” with their hair and clothing (actually it’s stylized), wearing thick-rimmed glasses, tight pants, a nonchalant attitude about most things, wearing thrift clothes, being avant-garde-ey, being artsy, eschewing mainstream fashion/art/culture and more. There are often tattoos involved, piercings as well, headbands, feathers, all kinds of stuff. Hipsters are defined differently by different people in different places (try here and here), it’s a pretty broad movement that includes vegans and carnivores, former punk rockers and hip hoppers, and much more.

So NewsTaco was recently in Austin and ran into several Latino hipsters and tried to attempt (in a tongue-in-cheek manner, of course) to distinguish them from the rest. Here’s our short list.

Tattoos

That Guadalupe tattoo is actually because I know who Guadalupe was. And I can actually understand what my foreign language (Spanish) tattoos say.

Trucker Hats

That’s actually just a hat my uncle gave me from his construction company.

Hair

The oh-I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-it-took-me-40-minutes-to-do-my-hair-like-this look isn’t styled with $50 gel, it’s just Tres Flores.

Piercings

When I pierced anything other than my ears, it was risqué enough to make my mom cry.

Clothes

These aren’t from a thrift store, I just went through the closets of my Depression-era hoarder grandparents, older siblings and my cousins.

Food

I’m not into “ethnic food” and “food trucks” because it’s cool, that’s just what I was raised to eat.

So this is obviously a short and incomplete list, perhaps what we overlooked was the fact that, just like others, Latino hipsters can still be really annoying to have to listen to, especially when elaborating how non-mainstream they are.

[Photo By NewsTaco]

June is a magical month when you work at an elementary school. It is a time for new beginnings — as in summer vacations. When you work at an elementary school, you tend to revert back to that childhood mentality you thought suppressed so many years ago. So June also becomes a time for endings such as the ones that come from culminations.

At the most recent graduation, the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” blasted through the PA system and through my head. I witnessed a new class of fifth graders take one step into the unknown – middle school. They do not even know what is waiting for them on the other side of that fence.  Some of them will adapt.  Some of them will never have a chance.  This is the physical definition or sink or swim.  There comes a time when we all go from being small fish in a small pond to becoming small fish in a small ocean.

If you put a gun against my head and gave me a choice between serving time in prison or reliving my days in middle school, I would probably ask what the weather is like in San Quentin.  Middle school is a hard storm to weather. It’s that layer of dogmatic hell that can be found somewhere between purgatory and limbo.  Middle school is that special time in a person’s life where teachers start to refer to you by my surname or whatever they feel your surname is since they don’t take too kindly to being corrected.  Personally, I spent the first semester of health class known as “Vargas.”

I did not have much fun in middle school. The same girls I had been sitting next to three months prior were not the same girls anymore. They wore makeup. Their bodies were changing, and they were looking more and more like the girls from the neighboring high school. However, I still looked the same although I did not sound the same.  The boys I once played on the playground with came back as hulking bags of sweat and acne.  I was still nursing the collapse of the last of my baby teeth and these guys were bench pressing emotional turmoil.  It was somewhat intimidating.  A lot of my friends’ voices were evolving into low growls and croaks. I was not that fortunate. My voice rose high to the point where I became a selective mute.

But unlike many of my classmates, I endured.  I found the strength to survive the hazing and pettiness.  The Earth might have opened up; swallowing some of my humanity in the process, but it made me a better person in the end.  I am confident that these students and anyone else going into that particular meat grinder will find that perseverance is worth fighting for, even if you have to sink a little before you can swim.

But for the fifth graders earlier this month, I stood on that stage shaking hands with ones I hope to see again.  I know that all of them will not return as captains of industry, but I can only hope they can say they chased the hell out of their dreams.  As I looked into the crowd, I saw an ocean of expectations in the faces of parents and well-wishers.  After all, these culminations are not meant to be confused with graduations – but that too will be lost in translation.  These are children.  They are the heirs of our present and the builders of promises we failed to build upon.

Follow Oscar Barajas on Twitter @Oscarcoatl

[Photo By SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget]

A new study found that Latino youth, meaning ages 14-34, like consuming content in bilingual, bicultural ways. “The Maximo Report” was sponsored by the network Tr3s, Motivo Insights, LLC and the New Generation Latino Consortium and had some interesting findings. I think what sticks out the most to me is the fact that young Latinos, my generation,  don’t want to have to choose an either/or identity — Latino or “American” — but rather, they want to have both.

Given that they have more than $1 trillion to spend, I feel like media companies will comply, check out some interesting findings from the report:

• The bi-cultural experience that young Latinos encounter helps shape how they view their role in U.S. society. They have a different “value set” than their Caucasian counterparts that gives them unique attitudes and opinions on education, their career, finances, and much more.
• Word-of-mouth is a vital tool that young Latinos use to discover new brands and products. Factor in their intense social media consumption, it’s no wonder the majority of them have learned of a new brand or product via social media.
• Young Latinos are blending the Latino and “mainstream” American aspects of their identity routinely and frequently. Not only are they doing this themselves, but they expect their media and marketing to reflect this as well. In fact, more than 7 of 10 young Latinos think that seeing an English language commercial on Spanish language TV is a good thing.
• Young Latinos are language neutral regarding TV content, but do want to see themselves and their dual culture lifestyle in the U.S. represented.
• Many young Latinos feel they are better equipped to deal with today’s recession compared to Caucasians. This is mostly due to culturally based realities that give young Latinos a slightly different perspective on finances.
• For young Latinos, peer-to-peer recommendations are highly valued and sought after.  Whether it be in-person or virtual, they are leveraging their vast social networks to spread the word (positive or negative) about brands. In fact, they are more likely to forward opinions and info about a brand compared to their Caucasian counterparts.
• Cultural representation in ads is very important to today’s young Latinos. They want to see themselves reflected in marketing that targets them, but it’s not an “all Latino or nothing” solution. In fact, there are more important elements to marketing for NGLs than having an “all Latino” cast.

Read more of the report here and let us know what you think.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

Latinitas Magazine started off in 2002 as a way to help empower young Latinas with media and technology. By allowing young women to participate in school programs, teen internships, Saturday and summer camps, special events, and the an online e-zine especially by and for young Latinas, the non-profit hopes to help young Latinas succeed.

And, as a writer myself, I find it incredible that Latinitas Magazine allows young women to create an e-magazine featuring their own writing, photography, poetry and other content. This is a great if you ask this Latina.

The organization is currently fundraising, set to hold an event on June 9, Fotos de mi Alma, photography auction at the Emma Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin. Latinitas Magazine has been quite active since 2002, here’s a list they shared with News Taco:

• 30,000 readers per month accessing www.latinitasmagazine.org
• Served 20,000 elementary, middle and high school Latinas with after school enrichment programs.
• Provided over 19,000 hours of free digital media production and literacy lessons.
• Published over 1500 empowering articles for and by Hispanic girls and teens.
• Developed Spring & Summer camps.
• Incorporated mentors, interns and community partners to enrich the program and provide positive role models for the girls.
• Expanded the program to ten cities; new office opened in El Paso.
• Developed a Teen Reporter-in-Training program for high school students.

Please check out Latinitas Magazine and help if you can. And if you do not live in Texas you can still help out here. Our weekly segment, “Bien Hecho,” highlights the good deeds and achievements of Latinos across the U.S. If you feel that someone you know is deserving of recognition, let us know at tips@newstaco.com.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Video By LatinitasMagazine; Photo By Latinitas Magazine]

Aurora Guerrero is a movie writer and director who has a lot to say — but she needs your help.

The Latina filmmaker, daughter of Mexican immigrants and San Francisco Bay area native is currently working to create her first feature-length film, “Mosquita y Mari,” but is fundraising on the website Kickstarter to fill in some of the funding gaps on her project. The film is a story of two Latinas coming of age in Los Angeles in working class and immigrant neighborhoods and families.

Guerrero graduated with a Master’s in Fine Arts in 1999, worked on a few short films that were successful in film festivals like Sundance, assisted directed on both “Real Women Have Curves” and “La Misión” and now is excited to be working on her first 90-minute film. Thus far she’s raised much of her financing from a grant of Latino Public Broadcast, but the Kickstarter page is designed to fill in the extra $80,000 in the next month.

But, Guerrero the self-anointed “mandona” notes, any little bit helps. “We got to turn to the community to make this happen,” she said.

The plan is to hopefully raise the funds, begin production in Los Angeles this summer, and then eventually take the movie on the road to have community screenings. Guerrero says, “The film is a story about friendship, family, community, I think a lot of people will be able to see themselves in this film.”

Yolanda and Mari, the two protagonists, are growing up in Huntington Park in Los Angeles who deal with the obstacles of teenage life in immigrant households differently. For more information or to donate visit the Kickstarter page.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD

[Photo Courtesy Mosquita Y Mari]