Just a Quick Link to my London Cultural Studies Class Going Down This Summer 2009 in the UK

Here's the image that I used that I ran across trawling the internets!




Two portfolios of my design work are available online here at Veer.com and here, at the memogr@phics blog.

Frito Bandito Flashback

I owned this eraser and cherished it! The YouTube poster says this video was banned but I don't have time to verify the facts on it; in and of itself, the short commercial is more interesting for how it re-makes an old Warner Brother's standby--the animated character being erased mid-cartoon!

Thank You to Amazon Shoppers!

For some reason Tex[t]-Mex is back in the top 10 of Hispanic titles on Amazon.com! Gracias, gracias.

Lucha Libre/ Tex-Mex, Paris Style!

African Latino Xicanosmosis, Hair, Race, and Shared Destinies! Cool Blogfind...

and now, for a horse of a different color!

It's Only a Matter of Time Before the Bathroom Jokes Begin on This One

Pre-emptive Strike Department

Chon Noriega Steals My Dream Gig on TCM!!!

A big tip of the sombrero to Chon[ers] Noriega, Profe extraordinaire, for landing this primo gig with Turner Classic Films! ¡Órale!

Brown is the New White

Luis Federico Aldama and Guillermo Antonio Nericcio in Columbus Ohio, Spring 2009

Frederick Luis Aldama and William Anthony Nericcio, with ersatz "human" friend, at the Tara McPherson show (see below) at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Monday, February 23, 2009. This was just before my gig with Guisela Latorre at the Ohio State University faculty club later that afternoon.

A Dispatch from the Deep Old South

Holy Jesus! The video above, from 2005, comes to me from new, deeply embedded "Old South" correspondent William Minton-Marshall, who sends in this missive!

Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:51:36 -0600
To: memo@sdsu.edu
Subject: Frank Myers Auto, Paco, a chicken, and the Reconquista of North
Carolina
From: William Minton-Marshall

This came at me like a big slow overhand curve ball from 2005! I'm almost certain that by next year "Frank Myer's Auto Maxx" will be rechristened "Paco's Auto Maxx." There will be chicas instead of chickens. La Fiesta in SE Houston is the future for Winston-Salem. Chido has his own Myspace page.

enjoying your blog,

WMM

High Society Chicanos for a Great Cause!

Violet Blue, SF Gate, Interracial Porn and the Recession

The whole gnarly matrix of sex and ethnicity that comes to the fore when you are talking about African Americans and Latinas/os is one of the root theses of Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the "Mexican" in America. Sex worker cum journalist Violet Blue's recent piece in the SF Gate eloquently speaks to this heady mix as the porn industry grapples with the world-wide recession. Here's a taste of the piece:

Locally-based Hapa performer Jiz Lee (jizlee.com, link NSFW) told me, "I think the racial layout of mainstream porn is such a mindf--k. It's like a magnified look at race and power in our economy. And 'interracial' is particularly curious to me because it stands out as the only straight category that isn't defined by the female actor -- i.e., 'Asian' or 'Latina' indicates a white male with an Asian or Latina female; however, 'interracial' indicates black men with white women. It's bizarre to me."

It may be that some porn producers cling to the extremes of the "interracial" umbrella to survive the economic storm. Lee thinks that the exact opposite of marketing "funny" racial slurs is the recipe for success and survival saying, "Personally I see porn as a medium for social change, and diverse casting more adequately reflects my own identity and community. Perhaps this authenticity is one of the reasons indie porn is also 'recession proof.'"

Go here for the full story.

A Special Treat for my Ohio State Latino/a Studies Audience

I have just hit the ground here in Columbus for a presentation this afternoon with Guisela Latorre called Eyes Wide Open. In a moment of serendipity I just happened across a YouTube posting of a Lupe Velez film short--it is quite peculiar and cool; allegorically, it is as if she is framed (symbolically foregrounding the "frame" of cinema) even as the odd, tiny serenaders give vent to their desire for her via music! Yowza.




postscript

I want to thank all the amazing students and professors that made my all-too-brief junket out to Columbus and THE Ohio State University such a success; it was cool to share the stage with Guisela Latorre who delighted the audience at OSU's posh faculty club Grand Room with her findings on Mexican and Chicano murals and muralists--even though Latorre had stacked the deck for herself question-wise by having her Daddy, a professor himself (and utterly proud Papa) in the audience! If you are looking for a first tier, top rank graduate and/or undergraduate crib to immerse yourself in Latina/o Studies, you cannot do yourself wrong by firing up that lowrider (forgive the stereotype) and cruising yourself to the American Midwest and OSU. Huge abrazos y besos to polyglot, empresario wunderkind Luis Federico Aldama, aka Frederick Luis Aldama (yes, that is him in the luchador mask--and, unseen, the speedos, keys in pants), for making this bracing gig happen!

Ana Castillo, This Week at SDSU!

Go here for more info!