Free Music!

So we all know how important it is to vote...right? And we like free music...right?

The non partisan organization Voto Latino is launching a new campaign to encourage young Latinos to vote. They are teaming up with iTunes and with 35 different artists to make this happen. The way it works is that iTunes will give away free music that was donated by these artists.  


But it's just not any artist...Pitbull, Los Lobos, Kat de Luna are included in such list. 


Rosario Dawson, co-founder of the Voto Latino, said that the goal of the incentive was to mobilize Latino voters. In a statement Dawson said,"Our interest is to keep bringing people into the political mix. Everyone should have an understanding of the system whether or not they're eligible to vote and we believe that offering free music through social media platforms will help continue to motivate and engage those that may not already be a part of the conversation."


It's not the first time music was used as an incentive to motivate young Latinos. In 2010, the organization used the same method for young people to complete the census surveys.


Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO/founder of Voto Latino, said to Yahoo! that they now wanted to translate that pledge to the polls. "The iTunes compilation sparks the interest. Voto Latino shows how easy it is to register, vote and carve out our community's future together," said Kumar. 


Yahoo! reported that the organization has helped register more than 120,000 people to vote. 


If you're curious on how to get your music free, just like Voto Latino on their Facebook page and download the free tracks. 


These are the free tracks:
Pitbull — "Something For the DJ's"
Miguel — "Girls Like You"
Kat Deluna — "Bailando"
Los Lobos — "On Main Street"
Rodrigo y Gabriela — "Hanuman"
Ozomatli — "El Jardinero"
Los Tigres del Norte — "Somos Mas Americanos"
Ana Tijoux — "Shock"
Zoé  - "Labios Rotos"
Mariachi El Bronx — "48 Roses"
Ximena Sariñana — "Wrong Miracle"
Nortec Collective — "I Count the Ways"
Beatriz Luengo — "Lengua"
Vicente García — "Yo Robo"
24 Horas "Te Sorprenderás"
Domino Saints — "No Me Digas Que No"
Los Cuates de Sinaloa — "Enamorado al Millión"
Shaila Dúrcal — "El Día Que Me Fui"
Mariachi Divas — "Órale"
Diego Garcia — "All Eyes on You"
Ceci Bastida — "No Me Conocerás"
Ocote Soul Sounds — "En El Temblor"
Girl In a Coma — "Hope"
Carla Morrison — "Suciedad"
David Garza — "Minority Boys Got $"
Brownout — "Olvídalo"
Pilar Díaz — "Ilegal en Estyle"
Los Rakas — "Vengo de Panamá"
Akwid — "Payaso de Ojos Tristes
Ritmo Machine — "Maestro"
Jiggy Drama — "El Culpable"
Maleco Collective — "Respira"
Céu — "Bubia"
Luisa Maita — "Desencabulada"
Paulina Aguirre — "Abrázame"


I included this video to showcase one the of many artists empowering Latinos and not to mention one of my favorite Latin bands. They are Zoé with "Labios Rotos." 

"The Oscar" is Mexican

The Oscars were about a month ago, in which the public gets to see who is awarded the best in film. But what some people might be surprised to know is the history behind the famous golden statue. 

From colorlines.com

The golden statuette named Oscar is about nine pounds and made of about 24-karats gold. The truth is that Oscar was modeled by Mexican filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor Emilio Fernandez also know as "El Indio." 


So, yes. All these Hollywood A-list stars are holding a Latino in his/her hand. 


Accrording to Solvej Schou from Yahoo!.com the story goes like this:

"Working in Hollywood, Fernandez befriended Mexican actress Dolores del Rio, then wife of studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's art director and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences member Cedric Gibbons. Del Rio introduced Fernandez to Gibbons, who was in charge of supervising the statuette's design.

Gibbons asked Fernandez to pose in the buff for a sketch to create the basis for the 8.5-pound trophy. Reluctantly, Fernandez did, and the design became the foundation for artist George Stanley's famous sculpture of the statuette, given out at the very first Academy Awards in L.A. in 1929.

From oscars.org

That design remains to this day."

The ironic thing is that only two Mexican actors have nominated for an Oscar, this according to colorlines.com.  The site also states that "across all categories only 11 out of 2,809 Oscar trophies have been awarded to Mexicans— and they’re mostly behind the scene awards."


If you also take a look at the people who chose the nominees only 2% are Latinos. No wonder there isn't much diversity on who wins such honor. 


Another thing that caught my attention is the fact that in researching about the Oscar, no where did it mention in their website about who modeled the statue. Take a look and all they mention is the sculpture and the why of the name Oscar. 


I think the model deserves a mention too. Just saying...


Well now you know. If one of these days you want to have a good conversation starter mention what I just told you. 


Dixy

In honor of the upcoming elections

So most of us that are constantly on the web are aware of the "Sh**t people say" videos on YouTube. But in honor of the upcoming elections I ran across a very funny and true one that is about what politicians say to Hispanics. All I have to say is LOL (laugh out loud)!! This video is so true!! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Will Ferrell is Arrrrrmando

Courtesy of cinema.theiapolis.com

Could it be possibly true Will Ferrell will be talking completely in Spanish for his upcoming film?

Sí!!!! 

The comical actor known for his outrageous characters will be taking a major leap in new his role as Armando Alvarez in the upcoming film "La Casa de mi Padre" (My Father's House).

The movie itself is a satire mimicking telenovelas (soap operas)... meaning that it will be extremely exaggerated. We have to give Will Ferrell the credit he deserves for always trying new things.

In this new film he will be working with Mexico's leading men Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, both who have had international recognition with for their films.

It's surprising to see such a movie make a leap in its entirety being spoken in Spanish. For those of you who do not know Spanish, do not panic, the movie will have subtitles.

As the number of Hispanics increase, this movie is going to appeal to many Hispanics in this country. Either it be first-generation or second-generation Hispanics, it will mostly appeal to what they already know of the melodramatic telenovela genre. The fact that the production is "from the gringos that brought you Anchorman" as said in the trailer, it is interesting to see why they chose to take such a huge leap in producing it in Spanish.

This film will not only attract Hispanics but also the fans of Will Ferrell that will be eager to see what new bizarre character he will portraying.

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father's ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando's younger brother Raul (Diego Luna), shows up with his new fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul's success as an international businessman means the ranch's troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul's business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

Synopsis by IMBd.com

Yes, I know! The lame welcome post.

First of all, WELCOME TO MY BLOG!!

Courtesy of Shakira.com

It has been mentioned over and over again Latinos will be the new majority by 2050 and in pop culture it is becoming less and less unusual to find a representation of a Latino.

Pop culture is everywhere. It's in our everyday lives. It's what we read, eat, text, listen, watch. Basically all around us. When we talk about pop culture we mean everything such as movies, magazines, books, television, sports, etc.

The purposes of this blog is to mention and point out the Latino presence in pop culture and how the U.S. is becoming more diverse and subtle to the changes occurring to its population.

I'm not saying the Latinos will take over the U.S. but it is becoming more of a soup than that of a "melting pot." In the future we hope for a mixture of cultures. But for the purpose of this blog, I will be talking about the presence of Latinos and it's impact on pop culture.

Courtesy of sportsrantz.com

An example of the growing presence of Latinos is with faces such as Shakira, Sofia Vergara, Alex Rodriguez, Benicio Del Toro, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Salma Hayek, and so on. These are only the ones that came to head as I was writing this post.

What you can expect to read in this blog is basically my point of view of what is happening in pop culture and how this impacts the Latin/Hispanic community. It can be said it will be my "critical analysis" of pop culture and the media presence.

Well, as of all this is about much I will say in this post. Keep posted and overall enjoy this blog!!!

This is video is exactly what I would be talking about in the LatinoTimes.