Tato Torres y Yerbabuena perform "Campo" w/Flaco Navaja

Tato Torres y Yerbabuena perform "Campo" for Japanese TV show "NY Music Love". Poet, singer, actor Flaco Navaja is the featured lead. As per Cumbia Media, the song "Campo" is a traditional bomba from Puerto Rico.

Related: Bomba

Roberto Clemente Walker (#21) - A Video Tribute

Growing up in Puerto Rico we got to learn a lot about his character, it was obvious that not only was he one of the greatest players, but a great human being as well.
Bernie Williams, NY Yankee All-Star

There was ... Clemente playing a kind of baseball that none of us had ever seen before -- throwing and running and hitting at something close to the level of absolute perfection, playing to win but also playing the game almost as if it were a form of punishment for everyone else on the field.
Roger Angell, The Summer Game

Roberto had the pride of a racehorse, the fury of a hurricane, the grace of ballet dancer, the arm of a canon, but most of all the noble character of a great man. InterlochenFan

The best player EVER!! stevengargoyle

You can only hope to be as good a person as Roberto Clemente. carlinrulez666

Thank you for the beautiful tribute to one of the greatest sports legends in history. The music you chose with the video is very well done. Roberto Clemente will always be my my favorite athletic hero as I had the pleasure of seeing him play on many occasions. mfclassic

I never got to see him play, but he's still my hero. luis872

Our 5th graders read "We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente" every year. I showed this tribute to my students on the projector in our computer lab today. You could hear a pin drop. Thank you! moondog2323

Links:
Baseball Hall of Fame: Roberto Clemente
Latino Sports Legends: The Great Roberto Clemente
Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente - Wikipedia
Clemente quietly grew in stature

Jose "Chegüí" Torres: R.I.P.

Legendary Puerto Rican boxer Jose Torres died at his home in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was 72 years old. El Diario gives the man known to many as "Chegüí" a lovely tribute. Here's an excerpt:

A tribute to a giant

Tomorrow, Jose "Chegüí" Torres will be laid to rest in his hometown of Ponce, Puerto Rico. But his triumphs in and beyond the boxing ring will serve as inspiration for generations to come.

Torres was a hero—in every sense of the word. He was a boxing legend, an accomplished journalist and author, an Army veteran, and gave his all for the causes and community he loved.

Chegüí, as he was affectionately known among his family, friends and the Puerto Rican community, rose to fame as an Olympic star. A middleweight boxer, he won a silver medal for the United States in 1956. His record setting did not stop there.

Links:
José Torres - Wikipedia
Jose Torres - BoxRec
Jose "Chegui" Torres 1936-2009

9.2% Latino Unemployment

Latino unemployment jumped to 9.2% (December '08 report - U.S. Labor Department). By comparison, Latino unemployment '06 was 4.9%.

Related:
Unemployment Jumps to 7.2% in December, 9.2% for Hispanics
Hoover & Bush: Devastating Latinos

Hoover & Bush: Devastating Latinos

With Barack Obama preparing to assume a nation with a bankrupt economy and a social fabric in tatters, the parallels between Hoover and Bush are striking -- including how the two failed Republican presidencies impacted Latinos:

1) Like Hoover's depression, George the 43rd's crashing of the U.S. economy is having a disproportionately negative impact on Puerto Rico. With an 'official' unemployment of double the national rate at 13%, the island is hemorrhaging jobs as a new wave of islanders flee in search of jobs on the U.S. mainland. Nationally, Latino unemployment has skyrocketed from 4.9% in '06 to 8.8% last fall.

2) Hoover forced 'repatriation' of Mexican workers, including arresting and imprisoning them in 'detention centers', stripping the detainees of their rights and property, and removing them to Mexico. Bush has presided over chillingly similar policies with equally devastating results. Scores of Latinos have been rounded up, families split, rights ignored. Many have been put in detention centers where a number have died under mysterious circumstances. Countless Latinos have been 'repatriated' including U.S. citizens.

Related: 1930's Mexican Deportations: U.S. Ethnic Cleansing?
Bush + McCain = Hoover

Herbert Hoover's Address to the Porto Rican Legislature

Check out this video of Herbert Hoover addressing the Puerto Rico legislature. The 31st U.S. President's visit to the Isle of Enchantment came in the midst of a deeping national depression, skyrocketing unemployment, and the forced 'repatriation' of people of Mexican heritage.

(Yes, Boriken was then officially 'Porto' Rico.)

Pasteles are Taino by Roberto Borrero

Of course, pasteles are Taino. What else would they be? Masa from guineo, yuca and yautia with a tasty filling, wrapped in banana leaves with a schmear of achiote, and cooked in a large kettle, couldn't be anything but a Taino delicacy. And, of course, guanimes -- my childhood favorite.

Here's an excerpt from Roberto Múcaro Borrero's Pasteles are Taino:

Even today, making pasteles is still a family affair, for example, your Mom might grate the yucca or guineo, while an aunt will prepare the masa, grandma could be seasoning the meat to perfection, and a cousin can literally wrap the whole process up nicely.

As I understand it, in Boriken, there were at least three and possibly more original “pasteles” - one made from mais (corn), one from yuka, and another from yautia. If you thought you were the only Boricuas making pasteles from yuka, my sisters and brothers, – we Tainos taught you that hundreds of years ago.

In fact, yuka and yautia are Taino words. “Mais” derives from the Taino word maisi. And the Taino word for pasteles made from corn is guanime.

Full article published in La Divina Latina

Holiday Violence Against Mt. Kisco Latinos

The Journal News reports that four masked thugs assaulted two Latinos and attempted to rob a Latino business in Mt. Kisco over the Christmas holiday.

Mt. Kisco is an affluent town one hour north of mid-town Manhattan in upper Westchester County, New York. While an estimated 25% of the population is Latino, none of the town's elected or appointed officials is Latino.

While we don't yet have any information on the thugs, what we do know is that Mt. Kisco area Latinos are in the crosshairs of racists. Read some of the comments at the end of the article to glimpse what Latino immigrants in Lower Hudson area are up against.

Mt. Kisco police are 'investigating'. Of course, they have thus far failed to find any of the criminals responsible for the brutal slayings of 6 Latino immigrants over the past few years. Protecting immigrants and bringing anti-Latino criminals to justice just does not seem to be a priority for Mt. Kisco Police.

Photo: Fernando Mateo of Hispanics Across America and Westchester DA Janet DiFiore at a vigil for slain Latino immigrant Rene Perez.

Akon's Ghetto & New Year Resolutions II

The following is a post from a year ago (12/27/07)-- before Obama's campaign for hope gained traction. It's still relevant. While most Americans are looking forward to a better world under the leadership of Barack Obama, it's even more urgent that change comes for the sake of the people of America and the world. Soooo....

Think about the haunting lyrics and images of Akon's "Ghetto" when making your New Year resolutions. We know in our hearts as Americans and as human beings that we can--and must--do better. Peace.

Ahhh, Ahh, Ahhh, Ahh

Ghetto, Ghetto, Ghetto, Ghetto livin’

[verse one]

These streets remind me of quicksand (quicksand)
When you`re on it, you`ll keep goin’ down (goin’ down)
And there`s no one to hold on to
And there`s no one to pull you out
You keep on fallin’ (fallin’)
And no one can here you callin’
So you end up self destructin’
On the corner with the tuli on the waist line
just got outta the bing doin’ state time
Teeth marks on my back from the K-9
Dark Memories of when there was no sunshine
Cause they said that I wouldn`t make it
I remember like yesterday (day)
Holdin’ on to what God gave me

[Chorus]

Cause that’s the life when your
Living in the (ghetto)
And eating in the (ghetto)
Or sleeping in the (ghetto) (ghetto, ghetto)
Cause that’s the life when your
Living in the (ghetto)
And eating in the (ghetto)
Or sleeping in the (ghetto, ghetto, ghetto)

[Verse Two]

No need to cherish luxuries (cause everythin` come and go)
Even the life that you have is borrowed
(Cause your not promised tomorrow)
So live your life as if everyday gon’ be your last (be your last)
Once you move forward can`t go back
Best prepare to remove your past

Cause ya gotta be willin to pray
Yea, There gotta be (there gotta be) a better way oh
Yea, Ya gotta be willing to pray
Cause there gotta be (there gotta be) a better day (ay)

Whoever said that the struggle would stop today
A lot of niggas dead or locked away
Teenage Women growing up with aids

[chorus]

Cause thats the life when your
Living in the (ghetto) oh
Eating in the (ghetto) or
Sleeping in the (ghetto, ghetto)
Thats the life when you`re
Living in the (ghetto)oh
Eating in the (ghetto) or
Sleeping in the (ghetto, ghetto, ghetto)

[bridge]

Gun shots every night in the (ghetto)
Crooked cops on sight in the (ghetto)
Every day is a fight in the (ghetto)
(oh oh oh oh oh) (ghetto)
Got kids to feed in the (ghetto)
Selling coke and weed in the (ghetto)
Every day somebody bleed in the (ghetto)
(oh oh oh oh oh) (ghetto)

[chorus]

Thats the life when your
Living in the (ghetto)oh
Living by the (ghetto)oh
Eating in the (ghetto, ghetto)
Thats the life when your
Living in the (ghetto)oh
Sleeping in the (ghetto)
Living in the (ghetto, ghetto, ghetto)

(wooohhoohh)