Guest Post: Espinoza Paz, un hombre sencillamente “talentoso”
It turns out that Teresa had some video of her face-to-face chat with him that she hadn’t uploaded and she agreed to share her thoughts on meeting Espinoza along with the video right here on Latinaish as a guest post!
So bienvenida y gracias Teresa!
Espinoza Paz, un hombre sencillamente “talentoso”
by Teresa Garza of Checa La Movie
Espinoza Paz y Teresa Garza
Espinoza Paz, “El Cantante del Pueblo”, es de las artistas más sencillos que conozco. Roba el corazón con su sonrisa sincera y se expresa con naturalidad utilizando palabras francas y directas. “Me pasa de todo en la vida”, – dijo el popular cantante, ” pero son más las cosas lindas gracias a Dios”.
Durante el día de prensa de “Girl in Progress” tuvimos la oportunidad de conversar con él y ¡que plática tan amena!. Espinoza Paz nació el 29 de octubre de 1981 en La Angostura, Sinaloa. Emigró a los Estados Unidos y su llegada a este país fue decisiva en su camino al éxito.
Una serie de eventos inesperados, pero casi mágicos, fueron uniendo los puntos para trazar una ruta que cambio para bien la vida de Isidro Chávez, ahora conocido como Espinoza Paz.
Primero se convirtió en uno de los compositores más importantes de la música mexicana y posteriormente decidió interpretar sus propias canciones, logrando en poco tiempo convertirse en uno de los consentidos del público. Trabajando arduamente por consolidarse en su carrera se encontró por casualidad con la directora de cine Patricia Riggen, cuando ella estaba en el proceso de elegir al elenco de la película “Girl in Progress”.
“Hubo una fiesta de amigos …Patty y yo tenemos amigos en común y ahí la conocí”, dijo Paz, “mis amigos me dijeron le caíste muy bien y quiere que salgas en una película”.
Paz confiesa que inicialmente pensó que era una broma de sus amigos sobre todo que en ese momento de su carrera no era tan popular como en la actualidad. La cuestión es que aclarado el asunto Patricia Riggen y Espinoza Paz se reunieron para hablar sobre la posibilidad de tener una breve intervención en la cinta cantando. La química fue tal que Paz terminó no solamente por cantar en “Girl in Progress” sino por filmar escenas adicionales que la directora agregó para darle una mayor proyección. “Obviamente ella acomodo las cosas”, dijo Paz quien asegura que Patricia tuvo la visión de presagiar un futuro victorioso. “Creo en Dios.. Dios es el destino”.
En cuánto a dedicarse a la actuación, definitivamente no descarta la posibilidad. Pero siempre que estos proyectos no lo obliguen a abandonar su verdadera pasión que es la música y la composición.
De hecho existe la posibilidad de que la vida de Espinoza Paz pudiera llevarse a la pantalla grande. Ya se han reunido en varias ocasiones la directora Riggen y Espinoza Paz, así que no debiera sorprendernos que de repente lo veamos protagonizando una película, que de acuerdo a sus declaraciones podría estar basada en su propia vida.
Comparto con ustedes un video que tome el día de la entrevista, no lo había subido a Youtube porque les confieso que lo grabe en el Ipad y era la primera vez que lo utilizaba. Pero las imágenes en este caso, no son tan importantes como escuchar el mensaje de Paz que nos confesó cual es su fuente de inspiración, nos contó cuál es su película favorita y hasta nos dio un adelanto de su disco de Mariachi que esta por salir. Tienen que escucharlo cantar.
Did you enjoy this post? Check out the latest movies including behind-the-scenes and interviews with celebrities on Teresa Garza’s blog, Checa La Movie.
El Catracho
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. English translation is in italics!
La semana pasada compartí una foto del “Taxi Latino” … Este semana, tengo algo para mis Hondureños.
(The other week I shared a photo of the “Taxi Latino”… This week, I have something for my Hondurans.)
Hemos visto esta van en Maryland unos 20 minutos fuera de Washington, D.C.
(We saw this van in Maryland, about 20 minutes outside Washington, D.C.)
U.S. vs. Brazil: Holding hands with Rômulo & Chatting with Donovan
As most of you know, my 10 year old attended a McDonald’s Soccer Clinic and was selected to be an escort for the U.S. and Brazilian teams at their game last night.
The day was a little crazy and I was overwhelmed by details – I didn’t want anything to go wrong. I checked and double checked that we had everything we needed – tickets, the uniform, money for the Metro, etc. Even when I was sure we had everything, I worried that we would arrive late, (we ended up arriving super early as a result), or that my son would spill something on his shirt, (he didn’t.)
Finally we were able to turn him over to the organizers from McDonald’s for a couple hours. The McDonald’s people were really awesome with the kids and I relaxed knowing that whatever happened now was out of my hands.
I think most of the kids were nervous – also, it was really hot, but they’re all so adorable.
After we dropped off our boy, we went to our seats and waited for the big moment. We knew we would be sitting in the upper level of the stadium but I wasn’t prepared for how high up it would be. Climbing the stairs to our seats felt like climbing Chichen Itza and I was very close to having an anxiety attack. It took a few minutes and some deep breathing but I calmed enough to appreciate our beautiful view.
So high up that a bird flew past my face.
The players came out to warm up and the escort kids were instructed to sit along the sidelines. Little did I know at that time that my son had actually had a chance to talk to his favorite U.S. players minutes before in the entrance hallway from the locker rooms to the field. He says he told Landon Donovan, “I’ve seen you on TV. You’re one of my favorite players.” Donovan reportedly smiled and said, “Thank you.” My son also said “Hi” to Tim “El Pato” Howard who responded in kind.
Once the players were finished warming up and the field was readied, the music began and the players returned with their escorts. My son got paired up with a Brazilian player, (Rômulo, #8.)
My sister texted me a few minutes after the anthems played and told me she saw our son on TV – She even took a photo.
Once the game began, Carlos went to retrieve him and we enjoyed the rest of the game together as a family. (This was our older son’s first time attending a soccer game in a stadium so he was just as excited as our younger son.)
Despite the US Team playing really well, ultimately the terrible reffing wasn’t in their favor. While I’m complaining a little, let me just say that the new uniforms make our guys look like Where’s Waldo.
In happier news, we were part of history. The crowd that attended the US vs. Brazil game at FedEx Field on May 30th, 2012 broke records – the stadium was definitely packed.
We ended up leaving the game a little early to avoid being crushed. Thankfully we made it to the Metro moments before a train arrived and we pulled out just as the station was starting to fill up with people. Within minutes our younger son had fallen asleep, the long day finally taking its toll.
Disclosure: This is not a paid or sponsored post. We were invited by McDonald’s to the soccer clinic and given tickets to the game. No compensation was received in exchange for this post and as always all opinions are my own.
Fun for Niños at McDonald’s Fútbol Clinic
Yesterday we were invited to take part in a soccer clinic organized by McDonald’s which took place at Soccerdome in Landover, Maryland. At the soccer clinic, the kids were given a free uniform and tickets for the US vs. Brazil game later this evening at FedEx field. Chévere, right?
El Zol 107.9 FM was there playing music and getting the kids hyped up and they also introduced special guest, Ronald McDonald, the clown. This freaked me out and I made sure to keep my distance, (es nada personal against Ronald – all payasos make me uncomfortable)- however the niños seemed to have fun with him.
At some point, Carlos and I, as well as our 10 year old, were interviewed by Telemundo. I have no idea when and where they’ll use the videos, if they choose to use them. I say “if they choose to use them” because the questions were in Spanish, por supuesto, and I’m sure el chiquito and I made more than a couple grammatical mistakes, besides just being very self-conscious in front of the camera. Carlos was more comfortable than us but even he got a little nervous. Anyway, it was further confirmation that I’m a writer for a reason.
As for the actual clinic – it was a lot of fun. For several hours the kids played fútbol and other games, did drills and were instructed on how to improve their technique by friendly coaches. McDonald’s is often the target of criticism from health advocates and while I don’t disagree with a lot of common discussion on the topic, I think that when a company does something good, that should be recognized. McDonald’s does a lot of good things, the most well-known being Ronald McDonald House Charities – but these sports clinics are also really great healthy initiatives that should be praised. It was fantastic to see all the kids running around getting exercise and I noted that McDonald’s provided the kids with 100% juice rather than soda.
The best part of the event was that 22 of the children were chosen as escorts to walk players of the National US Soccer Team onto the field and stand with them during the anthems at tonight’s game – My 10 year old is going to be one of those kids and I’m sure this will be an experience he’ll never forget.
Disclosure: This is not a paid or sponsored post. We were invited by McDonald’s to the soccer clinic and given tickets to the game. No compensation was received in exchange for this post and as always all opinions are my own.
Fiesta Latina vs. Fiesta Gringa
It’s birthday party season again and one of the more popular posts on Latinaish is Latino vs. Anglo Birthday Party. A Spanish version of this post was even published in the June/July 2010 issue of SerPadres Magazine after being discovered on Tiki Tiki Blog. So here it is for those of you who are new here or who might have missed it!
The Differences Between an Anglo Kid’s Birthday Party and a Latino Kid’s Birthday Party
#1. Who gets to come?
Anglo – Those whose names are written on the invitation.
Latino – Those whose names are written on the invitation, plus their uncles, cousins, and sometimes random neighbors who had nothing better to do that day.
#2. What time should we come?
Anglo – The time is right there on the invitation.
Latino – An hour late, or else the hosts won’t be ready when you arrive.
#3. Food Etiquette
Anglo – Eat only what is given to you. Don’t ask for seconds even if you’re really hungry.
Latino – Eat as much as you want and then ask for plates to take home leftovers for eating later or to bring to family members who didn’t feel like coming.
#4. Singing, dancing, music
Anglo – The only music heard is when the kids sing “Happy Birthday” at cake time. Dancing is rare, but when it happens, it is usually the “Hokey Pokey”.
Latino – WHAT?! I CAN’T HEAR YOU! THE MUSIC IS TOO LOUD! … Adults dance Perreo in front of the kids, no importa.
#5. Alcohol?
Anglo – Of course not! What’s wrong with you?! It’s a CHILDREN’S birthday party!
Latino- Claro que sí! … The cerveza is there in the cooler, hermano!
#6. Entertainment
Anglo – A strict schedule of organized activities and games for the children.
Latino – Niños, go play in the street or something. Stop bothering the grown ups! We’ll do the piñata later! Híjole!
#7. What’re we eating?
Anglo – Probably pizza.
Latino – Steak, chicken, rice, beans, salad, tortillas, etc. Load your styrofoam plate up until it’s ready to crack under the weight.
#8. When does the party end?
Anglo – Refer to your invitation. Thank your hosts and excuse yourself on the dot. Clear out!
Latino – Party until everyone’s tired and/or Tío Eduardo passes out on the couch while watching a fútbol game.
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Credit: Images by Eric Peacock and Paul Kelly used to create graphic.
Chicharitos de Sabor (recipe)
When I saw this recipe, I knew right away that I wanted to share it here on Latinaish. Of course the name of the recipe caught my eye – I love Javier Hernández, the Mexican footballer better known by the nickname “Chicharito” – but “Chicharito” or “Chícharo” is simply the word for peas. (Javier’s father was given the nickname “Chícharo” for his green eyes, and that’s how Javier became “Chicharito” – the little pea.)
Anyway, for once, my mind wasn’t in the wrong place because this recipe does seem to be a play on words. Look at the little soccer ball-like “bolitas”!
Image source: MiMaseca.com
Notice the red, white and green plastic food picks! (Colors of the Mexican flag) … Clearly Chef Maggie Jiménez is not only a creative genius, but a fan of Chicharito.
I haven’t had a chance to try this recipe out but it looks almost as good as Javier Hernández on the pitch – chécalo!
Chicharitos de Sabor
Ingredientes
4 Tazas MASECA®
2 ½ Tazas Agua
½ Cdta. Sal
½ Taza Aceite para freír
1 Taza chícharos congelados
½ Taza Queso manchego cortado en cubos pequeños
½ Taza carne molida
½ Taza Chicharrón
½ Taza Chorizo
Preparación
Mezclar la MASECA® con el agua y la sal durante 5 minutos hasta que la masa ya no se pegue en las manos. Dividir en 20 porciones iguales y hacer 5 bolitas rellenas de queso, 5 de carne, 5 de chicharrón y 5 de chorizo. Integrar las bolitas con chícharos. Calentar el aceite y freír las bolitas.
Disclosure: This is not a paid or sponsored post. MASECA® granted permission for this recipe and photo to be reproduced from their website, MiMaseca.com.
Pizza Patrón Forcing Hungry Gringos To Speak Spanish – Gringos Outraged
Image source: Seth Werkheiser
Bilingualism has many rewards including enhanced cognitive skills, lower occurrence of dementia in old age, higher paying job opportunities, double the pool of friend and relationship possibilities, and now, free pizza.
A Texas-based pizza chain is getting some backlash over their latest promotion. On June 5th from 5 to 8 pm, Pizza Patrón customers who order in Spanish will receive a free large pepperoni pizza, but this has some monolingual English-speakers feeling a little cheesed off. (I couldn’t resist the pun. ¡Perdóname!)
“This is America and in America we speak American when we order Italian food!” said one angry customer, (Okay, I made up that quote, although it’s not much of an exaggeration from real quotes I’ve read.)
Pizza Patrón unfortunately can’t claim to be surprised by the reaction they’ve gotten since they generated a similar response in 2007 when they announced that they would accept pesos as payment.
Image source: Pizza Patrón
Regardless of how ridiculous people are being about the promotion, they can’t accuse Pizza Patrón brand director Andrew Gamm, of not playing fair – Hungry gringos wanting their share of the pie will not be left out. “If you don’t speak Spanish, come on in. We’ll give you the phrase and make sure everyone that shows up walks away with a pizza.” (By the way, the very difficult phrase customers must learn how to say is “Pizza, por favor.” …Seriously people, if you can’t say that, you have bigger problems than not being able to get a free pizza.)
Image source: Pizza Patrón
Did you notice how “pizza” is spelled in the advertisement above? That is genius marketing at work. Here’s an excerpt from a Pizza Patrón press release explaining:
“Collateral materials for the promotion feature the word PIZZA spelled with a “C” resulting in text that reads PICZA POR FAVOR™ (pronounced “PEEK-ZA”). Company officials say many of Pizza Patrón’s corporate staff members pronounce words like PIZZA as PICZA or PEPSI as PECSI.
“Nearly half of our corporate staff says PICZA (“PEEK-ZA”) instead of PIZZA,” says Gamm. “And when we dug a little deeper, we soon realized that a good number of our Hispanic customers also say PICZA (“PEEK-ZA”) too. We thought it would be fun to incorporate that cultural component into the campaign.”
I have to say, at our house it’s pronounced “PEEP-SA”, but “PICZA” is close enough that I smiled, recognizing right away what they were up to.
How do you pronounce “pizza” at your house?
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Bonus: Check out this hilarious take on the Pizza Patrón news story over at Pocho.com – Speaking Spanish gets you a free pizza – and Pocho Ocho other things
Latinaish.com at the White House – The Issues
On May 21st I attended the LATISM Top Bloguera Retreat in Washington, D.C. and part of that event included a White House briefing on issues affecting the Latino community. Today I want to share my experience and some of the things I learned which I think are worth passing on.
The main issues discussed were Health and Education, however, that didn’t stop Meagan Ortiz of Vivir Latino from kicking things off with a very good question regarding immigration. Of course the answer to the question was less than satisfying to anyone who has long supported comprehensive immigration reform, but perhaps that was to be expected.
(Check out Meagan’s thoughts on her experience here.)
Meagan’s question seemed to ignite others. Passionate blogueras lined up and asked very brave and difficult questions. I was proud to be in a room full of women who weren’t afraid to stand up and speak their minds.
Roxana Soto of SpanglishBaby asked about bilingual education and the possibility of more dual immersion schools – again, the answer she/we were given, didn’t satisfy me, but I still feel that our voices were heard, and that’s a start.
(Check out Roxana’s thoughts on her experience here.)
While the blogueras were given plenty of time to ask questions, the White House also had plenty of talking points and messages they wanted to get out to us and to the Latino community as well. Here is video I took, highlighting some of the parts I found most informative.
Here are some links to learn more about the programs mentioned in the video:
FNS.USDA.gov (Nutrition Assistance Programs)
La Mesa Completa
Let’s Move!
Let’s Move! – Spanish version/español
Choose My Plate
Choose My Plate/Mi Plato – Spanish version/español
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What information did you find most useful or surprising? What question would you have asked?
Random El Salvador
Today is Spanish Friday so this post is in Spanish. If you participated in Spanish Friday on your own blog, leave your link in comments. English translation is in italics!
Cuándo regresamos de El Salvador yo compartí con ustedes un montón de fotos que tomé mientras estábamos allí pero todavia tengo unas fotos interesantes que no encajan fácilmente en un tema. Hoy comparto esas fotos “random” con ustedes.
When we returned from El Salvador I shared a whole bunch of photos with all of you which I had taken while we were there. However, I still have some interesting photos that don’t fit easily into a category – Today I share those “random” photos with you.
Una Tía de Carlos tiene un van decorado con un imagen de los “Thundercats” – no sé por qué.
One of Carlos’s aunts has a van decorated with an image of the “Thundercats” – I don’t know why.
La próxima vez que se quejan de tener que lavar la ropa, mejor estar agradecidos por su lavadora y secadora. Esta es la forma de lavar la ropa en la casa de Carlos.
Next time you complain about needing to do laundry, be thankful for your washer and dryer. This is how you do laundry at Carlos’s house.
Camisas de la Selecta (equipo de fútbol) para toda la familia por venta en una tienda en Metrocentro.
La Selecta (soccer team) shirts for the whole family for sale in a store at Metrocentro.
Donas por venta en WalMart, San Salvador. (Fijaste que no están en una vitrina?)
Donuts for sale at WalMart, San Salvador. (Did you notice they’re not in a glass case?)
Pregunté por qué los árboles y postes de teléfono estaban pintados de blanco en la parte de abajo. Se me dijo que le da un aspecto limpio y simboliza la paz, (no sé si es verdad.)
I asked why trees and telephone poles were painted white on the bottom. I was told that it gives a clean look and symbolizes peace, (I don’t know if that’s true.)
CD’s, DVD’s, etc.
Chalet Teresita, Chalatenango
Estos jóvenes estaban usando pintura en aerosol en la pared en plena luz del día. Estaban destruyendo la propiedad o creando arte? No lo sabemos.
These young people were spray painting the wall in broad daylight. Were they destroying property or creating art? We don’t know.
¿Quién quiere agua de coco?
Who wants agua de coco?
Este era el pasajero en frente de nosotros en la fila mientras esperábamos abordar nuestro vuelo de regreso. Una familia en los Estados Unidos iba a comer Pollo Campero por la cena. (Tenga en cuenta que la bolsa tiene una foto de la catedral antes de que fuera destruido unos meses más tarde.)
This was the passenger in front of us in line while we waited to board our flight home. A family in the United States is going to eat Pollo Campero for dinner. (Note that the bag has a photo of the cathedral before it was destroyed a few months later.)
Latinaish.com at the White House
As you all know, I attended the LATISM “Top Bloguera” Retreat in Washington, D.C. Since coming back home I’ve had a lot to catch up on with work, my family, the household, and on top of that, we’ve been having some suegra drama so I haven’t had the luxury of sorting out my thoughts on the event, (let alone my videos and all my photos!)
I did write a recap for Latina Bloggers Connect though, and here is what I said, in part:
“Me personally, I’m still processing it all. I’m the type that needs a few days to think before I can say for certain what conclusion I’ve come to, but I can say with certainty that the event did the following for me:
The Top Bloguera Retreat encouraged me to re-think what I put my energy into and to consider whether I need to re-focus or re-distribute that energy in a different way for more satisfying payoffs, (emotional as well as financial.) – Now you know why I have a lot of thinking to do!”
(Read the rest at: Latina Bloggers Connect.)
The White House briefing was really informative. The Obama Administration has done a lot of things that benefit not just the Latino community, but all communities, and I’m hoping to bring you the highlights of what I learned in an upcoming post.
For now, check out the White House blog: #LatismAtTheWH – Latinos Active in Social Media Visit the White House.
