A Trip Down Memory Lane...

If you are a child/teen of the 1980s then you will enjoy this little walk down memory lane...sit back and relax and think about your big, hair-sprayed bangs, plastic bracelets, high-top sneakers with rolled up jeans and your rat-tail (guys). 

Latin Freestyle!

That's right Latin freestyle is the topic today! Why? Well, because every once in while its a good idea to remember all those Latin@s who made a huge impact on American music, style, and culture. Mostly however, because I have a play list on my iPod dedicated to Latin Freestyle that has over 100 songs. Now, what is Latin freestyle you may ask? Well, the following definition is a good one and it comes from:   http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_dance-free.html

Definition: - Freestyle music is a form of hip hop dance (Latin hip hop, Latin pop) that originated from the electro-funk of Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force's 1982 seminal track "Planet Rock". The style is characterized by Latin percussion, heavy syncopation, and themes of romance, love, and partying. Latinos make up the majority of the fans as well as those in the industry although the music has been popular to a certain extent with blacks and whites, particularly Greeks and Italians (especially during freestyle music's beginning stages). Freestyle music peaked in the mid to late '80s and saw a revival in the mid to late '90s but went virtually underground ever since. 

I think that's a fair definition except that I don't think it has gone as underground as everyone thinks. Thanks to Miami, NYC and LA many radio stations keep the music alive and dedicate large portions of their on-air time to the genre. Also the music has come to influence many, many artists...Pitbull? But what I think is most remarkable about this time/genre and its success is that it was led largely by female artists:  Lisa Lisa, Debbie Deb, Trinere, Cover Girls, Expose, Lisette Melendez, Sweet Sensation, Judy Torres, Cynthia and Lil' Suzy just to name a few. 

And let's talk about the songs...they were so pure and so innocent for the most part! Overall they were just good songs, written for anyone to enjoy. They weren't overtly sexual or demeaning to women; they didn't talk about getting high or drunk; they were feel good party/love songs.  So below I give you my top 10 Latin Freestyle songs! Check out the link above for a list of 100!!

The Realist's Top 20 Latin Freestyle Songs (In order of favorites!)

1. I'll Be Loving You - Collage

2. Temptation - Corina

3. When I Hear Music - Debbie Deb

4. Lookout Weekend - Debbie Deb

5. Come Go With Me - Cover Girls

6. Don't Stop the Rock - Freestyle

7. Where Does that Leave Love? - George Lamond

8. Take Me in Your Arms - Lil Suzy

9. Let the Beat Hit 'Em - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

10. Together Forever - Lisette Melendez 

11. I Wanna Be the One - Stevie B. 

12. You are the One - TKA

13. Louder than Love - TKA

14. Silent Morning - Noel 

15. Summertime Summertime - Nocera

16. Mambo (Es Hora De Bailar) - Angelina

17. Do You Miss Me? - Jocelyn Enriquez

18. All Cried Out - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

19. I'll Never Get Over You - Expose

20. Sending All My Love - Linear

Jennifer Lopez Behind the Music - Interesting...

A couple of weeks ago, VH1 debuted Jennifer Lopez's Behind the Music episode. I rolled my eyes and thought, "Puhhhleez, I'm not gonna spend my time watching her talk about herself." Well then I got sucked in - not by her nasal-pinched voice, but by the story of her domineering Puerto Rican mother and her drive to do what she wanted despite her parents' wishes. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her mother's side as well. She wanted success for her daughter and a life full of happiness. Jenny from the block is now in her 40s and has had quite a bit of success. And despite the fact that I feel that she is not a great singer, she is a great entrepreneur and should be recognized as an entertainment industry giant.

Check out the list I put together a year or two ago about Latina/o Fashion Icons...J.Lo is definitely on the list!

 Latina/o Fashion Icons

Here's just a short list of what I think make up Latina/os Greatest Fashion Icons! Many others can be included, and will be in other lists, but these individuals have contributed to the world of fashion design and trendsetting! 

1. Carolina Herrera (Venenzuela) - Designer women's clothing - Carolina embodies the sophisticated Latina, put together and elegant, ready for anything!


2. Oscar De La Renta (Domincan Republic) - Designer women's clothing - For decades Oscar has dressed A-List celebrities with elegance and class.


3. Jennifer Lopez (US/Puerto Rico) - Designer, Singer, Actress - Jennifer can move between high fashioned elegance and hip-hop flare, her designs are for teens and young women, eclectic and vibrant.


4. Narciso Rodriguez (US/Cuba) - Designer women's clothing - Classic designs, celebrity favorite, first American to win the Council of Fashion Designers of America Womenswear Designer of the Year Award two years in a row.

5. Lazaro Hernandez (US/Cuba) - Co-designer/founder for Proenza Schouler, women's clothing - young, eclectic, hip, and fresh and a newer label that has already made a name for itself across the world.


6. Frida Kahlo (Mexico) - Artist, feminist, and truly a unique icon in Mexican and Chican@ culture. Her style was considered 'ethnic' and 'traditional' but has inspired many to stay true to their culture, roots, and heritage.


7. Iris Chacon (Puerto Rico) - Entertainer, lavish, and comfortable with herself - This television star became one of the most popular pop stars in Latin America.


8. Kat Von D (US) - While Kat was not born to Latin American parents, she grew up in Mexico, speaks Spanish, and considers herself a Latina; and that's just fine, because her style speaks for itself: Rebellious, sexy, and demure.


9. Dolores Del Rio (Mexico) - Hollywood starlet of the 1930-40s and the first woman to wear a two-piece bathing suit in a major motion picture.


10. Cesar Romero (Mexico) - The original Latin Lover, major motion picture star of the 1930-40s.


11. Rita Hayworth (Spain/Ireland/England) - The quintessential glamor queen of the 1940s, the poster girl for soldiers and young boys at the time.


12. Gisele Bundchen (Brazil) - Forbes' highest paid model in the world in 2008, and the sixteenth highest paid woman in the entertainment field, everything from perfume, bags, lingerie, Gisele is a major fashion icon.

Dominican Slugging and ESPN Needs a Latin@ Announcer!

So last night at the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby, two Dominican players battled it out in the final round - David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez. "Big Papi" took the title, which made him the third Dominican to take a Derby trophy. But what I found entertaining about this year's Derby was not the 450+ feet that Ortiz and Ramirez were putting between their bat and the ball, or the cute kids that watch their daddy's from the sidelines, or even Chris Berman's crazy descriptions ("that ball had some hair on it"),  - but how the ESPN announcers as a group sound really stupid because they don't understand Spanish. A few times that microphones caught Ortiz and Ramirez talking to each other in Spanish  - and the announcers had to guess what was being discussed - and they weren't even close. Ortiz also muttered "Coño" a few times and Joe Morgan said "I think he said conyo.." but they did not go on to explain why...AYE YAY YAY speaking of Joe Morgan - is he not one of the most boring announcers on ESPN ever? How many times did he mention Ortiz's shoes? They were nice and all but they weren't anything spectacular. 

Finally, what was really the most entertaining thing of all was how many times Erin Andrews called David Ortiz "Big Papi". I hope he and his wife had a good laugh about it, because I sure did.

In essence the moral of the story is ESPN needs a Latin@ broadcaster. Nothing sounds better to the millions of Latin@ fans out there than someone who can say players' last names correctly and translate the conversations playing are having with each other and their families. With the continued domination of Latinos in baseball, ESPN is way behind the curve (wink, wink)!

She works hard for the money...and respect.

This weekend I sat on a NYC subway train to meet up with a college friend. While I sat there listening to my IPod - looking around at the eclectic group of people with millions of destinations ahead of them, a middle-aged Latina sat down right in front of me. I wasn't purposely being nosy but it does intrigue me when people are reading or studying on the subway. I am curious what people are reading and typically if I see a theme I know that maybe it's a NY Times Best Seller or something like that.

Anyway, this woman sat down in front of me and as I glanced at her face first, I noticed she was mumbling to herself. I looked down at her book and it was a United States Citizenship practice exam. She was covering up the answers with her hand and memorizing the information about how amendments are made. Like the hundreds of other people I saw on the subway this past weekend, she was studying on the train instead of listening to music. But this study guide, a guide to assist someone with hopes of passing the naturalization exam, stood out to me because of what it means to me personally given the climate of Arizona and other states who obnoxiously want to force people "back to where they came from" or into American citizenship. Here was a woman who was using her time away from work, school, family, or whatever else we can think of to study to be an American citizen. Those of us who are citizens by birth, we never had to study to become a citizen. Many US citizens probably don't know/care/remember the process of amending bills or putting bills into laws. Yet the arrogance in which anti-immigrant Americans display with regards to Latin Americans in this country (without even knowing their legal status or the path in which they are on to citizenship) astounds, baffles, and angers me. 

As this woman sat silently on this train, reciting answers to herself, studying, STUDYING, to become a US citizen I got choked up a little. Then I remembered why this blog is important as are the many other Latin@ themed blogs, web sites, civic organizations, fraternal organizations and community-based agencies  - we are their voice, but just for a little while until they can fully participate in democracy through voting or speaking out, or by taking a damn test. For those who can't and probably won't fully participate because they have not taken a test or because they are too busy working for us, and for those millions of undocumented individuals who are just doing their thing, positively - I honor you. 

It's About Damn Time!

July 6th is the day that the White House stood up to Arizona. The Department of Justice (Obama Administration) finally sent a clear message that the Arizona law was impeding the federal government's ability to reform immigration law. Of course, Gov. Jan Brewer was quick to spin the lawsuit into the government's attack on the (white) people of Arizona. She failed to mention how the law impacts people of color, in particular Latin@s in the state. Similarly John McCain weighed in on how Obama was impeding the people's rights to protect themselves from drug trafficking and those breaking the law (all Latin@s in AZ). Anyway, while the lawsuit will not cool the dry hate state - it does shine a major spotlight at the bigotry exhibited by the conservative politicians in Arizona.

It's about time someone (Obama) starts to put people (racists) in their place! 


http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/06/arizona.immigration.lawsuit/index.html?hpt=Sbin