January 19, 1955:
Paul Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México

From Wikipedia:

Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México to Mexican agriculture ranchers. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, where he enlisted in the military; he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota. Rodriguez endorsed Meg Whitman in the 2010 California gubernatorial election.

Really? Meg Whitman? I didn’t know he was a Republican. It’s always a little surprising when I hear of a famous Latino who is not aligned with the Democratic party. Maybe there’s something about Mexicans who grew up in Compton (hey, HP!).

Like a lot of people my age, I first remember Rodriguez as the recent probably-not-legal immigrant, Javier, who shows up at Rudy’s house in Born in East LA. Javier gets freaked out by the television and telephone while Rudy (Cheech Marin) is getting accidentally deported. Over the years, Rodriguez has been in several other films, television shows, done voice over work and recorded comedy albums and television shows. If you Google him, you might get some results for his son, Paul, a pro skateboarder. P-Rod made one of my favorite commercials a few years ago. Check it out.

Reading up on Paul Rodriguez brought a question to mind. If there was a Latino version of the Kevin Bacon game, who would take the place of Bacon?

I’d choose any of the following:
Paul Rodriguez
Edward James Olmos
Lupe Ontiveros
Cheech Marin
Hector Elizondo

All actors are veterans and have been in many mainstream and Latino-focused movies and television shows. In the past, I was pretty sure it was Eddie Olmos. I wrote up mini analyses of Born in East LA and La Bamba, but got lazy and abandoned the project. One of the things I looked for in the Latino LA-based films was an Olmos connection.

Photo via Instant Riverside.

Longoria doesn’t shy away from her ethnicity, unlike other Latina actresses (cough, Jessica Alba, cough). She seems very committed to various philanthropic causes and charities, including Eva’s Heroes for children with developmental disabilities. Eva’s Heroes is quite personal as Longoria’s older sister has developmental disabilities. I don’t know if she’s really a great person, or if her publicists just make her look good.

Last week, I highlighted the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and mentioned that it was supposed to protect those who had been granted land before the Mexican American War. These people are the original Chicanos who can actually say, “we didn’t cross the borders, the borders crossed up.” Apparently, Longoria’s ancestors are one of those families. I knew they had been in Texas a long time, but they went way back.

In 2009, she enrolled in the Chicano Studies master’s program at CSUN. I remember this news spreading through Facebook. My friends in the program were ecstatic, especially the men who couldn’t wait to offer to be a study partner. I don’t think they’ve ever seen her. Maybe she’s taking the classes online.

Happy birthday, Eva.

“I didn’t,” but I’ve written something very similar (the advantages of blogging for nearly 10 years). I fished around the archives of my current and old blog and found the post. It’s still relevant.

Oh yes. Sean passes the test. Of course he does.

yeah, yeah, i love the sandlot [04.18.05]

Last fall I accompanied my best guy friend, Eligio, to the movies. I can’t remember what we watched, but for some reason I think it was related to sports. Anyway, I mentioned that I loved baseball movies and The Sandlot was my favorite. And then Eligio dropped a bomb on me. He confessed that he had never seen the film.

I said something along the lines of, “You’re killing me, Eligio! What?! We’ve been friends how long? How come I never knew this about you?!”

From that point on, our friendship has been different and even a little strained.

It might have not surprised me if Eligio was not as much of a baseball fan as me. We have a lot in common and I just assumed that he always caught on to the frequent references I make to The Sandlot in everyday dialogue. But he hadn’t.

When the film was released in 1993, I immediately loved it. Rather, I loved Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez (Mike Vitar). Yeah-yeah, I was swooning every single time Benny’s beautiful face and intense green eyes filled the screen.

It didn’t hurt that the film was focused on one of my favorite subjects, baseball, that there was plenty of witty dialogue, and that Benny was the star of the film.

If you ask me what my all-time favorite film is, I will always respond with The Sandlot. There are other films I enjoy that are more profound, artistic, and (let’s face it) mature. However, these are films I’ve liked for a much shorter time.

I’ve watched The Sandlot dozens of times in the last twelve years and still have not outgrown the humor and silly gags. If you watch it with me, you might even get annoyed because I have the habit of quoting nearly every line.

I currently do a Sandlot test of most people I meet. I quote a few lines and see if he/she catch the reference. If he/she doesn’t, I know we’re not soulmates nor is he/she a potential best friend. Yeah yeah, it is that serious.

A few of my favorite lines [The Sandlot script]:

• Benny: Anyone who wants to be a can’t-hack-it pantywaist who wears their mama’s bra, raise your hand.
• Benny: Man, this is baseball. You gotta stop thinking.
• Benny: I bet you get straight A’s and shit.
  Smalls: No, I got a B once, but it should have been an A…
• Squints: If you’da been thinkin you wouldn’t ‘a thought that.
• Squints: It’s about time Benny, my clothes are goin’ outta style.
• The Babe: Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you’ll never go wrong.
• Ham: Hey, Smalls, you wanna s’more?
  Smalls: I haven’t had anything.
  Ham: No, do you wanna s’more?
  Smalls: How can I have some more of nothing?
  Ham: You’re killing me Smalls!
• Ham: This pop isn’t workin’, Benny! I’m bakin’ like a toasted cheeser! It’s so hot here!
• Smalls (adult): Even my own mom, a grown-up girl, knew who Babe Ruth was.
• Ham: You play ball like a girl!
• Squints: Come on, Benny. Man. The kid is a L, 7, WEENIE!
  Yeah Yeah: Yeah-yeah, a real square
  Squints: Oscar Meyer even, foot-long, a Dodger Dog!
• Mr. Mertle: Baseball was life! And I was good at it… real good.
• Squints: forever!
• Mom: You’ll always be just an egghead with an attitude like that.

Photo credit: Sean

Way back when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I had to write a report on a famous person. I chose Edward James Olmos. I’m not really sure why, I was probably influenced by Stand and Deliver* and wanted to know more about one of the few Chicanos I saw in mainstream entertainment. I learned that his father (or grandfather, can’t remember) printed a newspaper and fled Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. I also learned about his roles in movies, television shows and plays I’d never even heard of, like Zoot Suit

Of course, his roles have varied. Via Wikipedia:

Among his most memorable roles are Commander/Admiral William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica re-imagined series, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film Selena, Detective Gaff in Blade Runner, and narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of Zoot Suit.

Do you have a favorite Olmos role/scene? One of my favorites comes from Selena:

powered by Splicd.com

*I just recently learned that my sister, a math major and aspiring math teacher, has not seen Stand and Deliver. What’s worse is that we have a few cousins who took calculus with Jaime Escalante! I felt like I failed my sister the day I learned that.

For details, see the original post.

Good luck!

I don’t hide the fact that I love the Harry Potter series. My brother… well, he’s not so open about it.

Still, we’ve been talking about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for a while. Last November, we bemoaned the fact that we’d have to wait until July for the release of the penultimate movie in the series. We kept ourselves entertained with flashy trailers. As the July 15th, we’re making plans for opening night. We’ll definitely catch a midnight showing, but still need to decide if we’ll upgrade to IMAX or IMAX 3D.

If you can’t wait until the 15th, you might be in luck! I have three pairs of tickets for screenings in the following cities:
New York, Monday July 13, 6:30 pm
Los Angeles, Monday July 13, 6:30 pm
Miami , Monday July 13, 6:30 pm

To enter:

1. EMAIL ME with the subject line “Harry Potter Contest.” In the body of your email, include your name, phone number and which city you’re entering for: Los Angeles, New York or Miami. [contact page]
2. Email entries must be received by Monday July 6th at 11:59 pm PST.
3. Only one entry per person.

See HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE in theatres everywhere on Wednesday, July 15!

© 2009 Warner Bros. Ent.
Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R.

Harry Potter characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.

Last night’s episode, “Eek, A Penis!” makes me wonder if South Park has Chicanos from East LA on the writing staff. Half the episode was a parody of Stand and Deliver (1988)…

Read the rest at VivirLatino. If anyone finds a clip of the episode (I already search hulu and youtube), I’ll love you forever, not just on your birthday.

La Bamba (1987)

Director: Luis Valdez

Starring: Lou Diamond Philips, Esai Morales, Elizabeth Peña and Joe Pantoliano

Neighborhood: Pacoima (San Fernando Valley)

Based on a true story: Yup, which is what makes anyone with tear ducts want to cry when Connie Valenzuela learns of her son’s death in a plane crash. There really was a Ricardo Valuenzuela whose name was later changed to Ritchie Valens to “broaden his appeal.” He lived in Pacoima, California where he taught himself to sing and play guitar. He gained fame while still in his teens, but we all know how that ended. That creepy incident where the planes crash over the playground and kills hi best friend? Yeah, that was real too but Valens was absent that day. He went to his grandfather’s funeral. According to a close listener of the DVD commentary who posted on the discussion board at Ritchie Valens Tribute the following aspects of the film were fictional: Ritchie’s crush on Rosie; trip to Tijuana and visit to the curandero (what a surprise); Ritchie’s tattoo (not a flying guitar, but his initials instead); doing a rock rendition of La Bamba was Ritchie’s idea (Bob Keene, says it was his idea).

Edward James Olmos connection: No Olmos, but there’s definitely a connection. Luis Valdez wrote and directed La Bamba as well as Zoot Suit, which starred Olmos as El Pachuo. Esai Morales and Olmos both starred in Mi Familia.

Main themes: rags-to-riches, fame, family, interracial dating

Memorable quotes:
Richieeeeeee!

And pretty much anything that comes out of Bob’s mouth. I’ll add more after I watch the movie again. I’ve been meaning to do so all week, but haven’t gotten around to it.

Bonus: Joel/DCNatsWin featured La Bamba as part of his Film Vault Tuesday in January 2006 (link). Check out why he loves the movie despite bad acting and cornyness.

Born in East L.A. (1987)

Director: Cheech Marin

Starring: Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Kamala Lopez-Dawson, Daniel Stern and Lupe Ontiveros

Neighborhood: East LA

Based on a true story: No. However, deportations of undocumented workers are a common occurrence in/around Los Angeles. During the Great Depression and then again in the 1950s, the US launched mass deportations of immigrant and US-born Chicanos. Present day, we have the story of mentally disabled Pedro Guzman who was wrongfully deported by ICE and was lost in Tijuana for three months (LA Weekly story on Guzman). So, it isn’t too far of a stretch to imagine that Rudy, a US-born Chicano, who barely knew Spanish could be mistaken as an undocumented worker and deported.

Edward James Olmos connection: Not directly. But there are several actors including Paul Rodriguez and Lupe Ontiveros who have worked on projects with Eddie Olmos such as American Family and Mi Familia.

Main themes: immigration, undocumented immigration, assimilation and reconnecting with one’s roots.

Memorable quotes:

Immigration officer: Where were you born?
Rudy: What?
Immigration officer: Read my lips, El Paco. Where were you born?
Rudy: I was born in East L.A., man.
Immigration officer: Sure, sure. If you were born in East L.A., then who’s the president of the United States?
Rudy: I-I don’t know, that guy, that guy who was on T.V., the guy in the cowboy hat… he used to be on “Death Valley Days”… uh, John Wayne!
Immigration officer: Get him out of here.

Rudy: The president of the United States is Ronald “dickhead” Reagan!

Feel free to add more quotes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie!

I started watching the show during my last year of college in 2001-2002. Lori, my sister, was already a fan. She would record the show and on the weekends, I’d catch up on the episodes I missed because I was often in a meeting at 8 pm on Tuesday night. Over the years, both my mom and dad became Gilmore Girls fans too. My dad thought Lorelai was cute, and my mom identified with the mother/daughter relationships depicted on the show.

I loved the show because it depicted women who were smart and silly, strong and vulnerable, and simply fun. I know others disliked the show for the dizzying pace of the dialogue, but that was one of the things I love about the show. I also loved the pop culture, history and politics references. When the DVD’s were released, a guide to “Gilmore-isms” was included to help younger and less pop culture savvy fans follow along with the semi-obscure references.

I’ll miss the show, but at least I have the DVDs to keep me entertained.