The LA Times reported today that Gael Garcia Bernal was blasted by Milenio newspaper columnist Jairo Calixto this morning for writing an editorial in El Universal newspaper Tuesday that expressed much sadness about the recent grenade attack during Mexican Independence Day celebrations in the state of Michoacan, his father’s birthplace.
The article, written by Bernal from Europe in what’s being called complicated Spanish, is a poetic response to the eight people who died in last week’s bombings in Morelia, and… READ MORE

Have we been living under a rock and are the last to hear about The Ashley Madison Agency, an online dating service for those already in a relationship?
We can’t believe there’s actually a site advocating betrayal. What would the host of Cheaters have to say about this? Users post taglines like “Seeking Someone Discreet and Experienced” and get to chose from options like “Attached Female Seeking Male” or “Attached Female Seeking Female.”  WTF!
The good news is that the… READ MORE

Only in Pilsen does getting your flat changed come with an art show. Thanks to someone slashing my front tire at work today, I took a trip to Angel’s Tire Shop and felt transported inside an installation at the National Museum of Mexican Art (only a couple blocks down from the shop). I knew there was a bright yellow tire shop a couple blocks from my house  but never knew how intricate and fascinating the store front really is. The… READ MORE

Students from San Francisco’s June Jordan School of Equity spoke out at an SF City Hall conference about the violence happening in their communities and the recent killings that took three fellow students, brothers and friends. Although the violence is happening in the Mission District, a predominantly Latino neighborhood, the problem is universal. Young people standing up and demanding justice in their cities is crucial in creating peaceful dialouge and everyone can learn from their strategies. Watch Shadi Rahimi’s footage… READ MORE

LaLa’s at it again. When not shooting cheesy music videos, she’s giving advice to Latina.com on how to date a thug. No joke. Staying true to her latest album, Love and Respect, LaLa drops knowledge on everything from why you should know his measurements (no, not those) in order to buy him clothes that fit to throwing him a bone (no, not that kind) so he can feel worthy fixing things around the house. Deep. But for real, if you’ve… READ MORE

The sound of Cumbias Amazonicas from Chicha Libre will open the 10th annual World Music Festival Chicago. Over the next week the city will host over 60 shows in 23 venues around the city (except where noted they’re all-ages and free). Chicha Libre from NYC is described as a psychedelic Peruvian cumbia surf band. They like to mix the accordion in their cumbias, they rock out to Andean sounds mixed Cuban son and they’re known to throw in there some… READ MORE

The column “This is Your Nation on White Privilege” by Tim Wise might have made it to your inbox sometime this week (from someone outraged or in absolute support). Tim Wise is one of the nations biggest critics on race and specifically white privilege. This time he focused the concept of white privilege and its role in the 2008 presidential election. Call it what you will, but no doubt this election continues to challenge on a national scale issues that… READ MORE

The Trust Your Struggle Collective landed in LA this past weekend, making their marks on the walls of IMIX Bookstore.
Hailing from the Bay Area, artists Borish, Tres, CeCe, Bounce (pictured), Yoshi, Shaun, EZC, Mikey and Oba have been traveling all over the U.S. spreading the good word about art’s ability to heal communities. Through grafitti, murals and paintings, the Trust Your Struggle crew connected with individuals/organizations in different neighborhoods of New Orleans, Atlanta, Flagstaff, Texas, NY, SF, and LA,… READ MORE

Contrary to stereotypes still lingering in the 2008 election- Latinos speak English, we are Republicans, Democrats, Independents and we do vote. Maria Teresa Petersen, Executive Director and co-founder (along with Rosario Dawson) of Voto Latino (VL), breaks down the 2008 election and the importance of the young Latino demographic in this process. She tells us more about VL efforts, the power Latinos hold in key swing states, and why candidates still don’t understand the young Latino demographic in this country. … READ MORE

A recently released report by  UCLA’s School of Public Affairs finds a major demographic shift in today’s South Los Angeles neighborhoods since the 1992 Rodney King riots. But one constant remains: poverty. In 1990, Latinos and African Americans each comprised 47% of the area’s population; today Latinos outnumber blacks 2 to 1. But that ethnic transformation is one of the few dramatic changes in an area that for decades has been characterized by poverty and crime.
According to a recently… READ MORE