Blog Description Change

I have decided to change the description of this blog to better suit the direction I am headed. Whether it is a thought, memory, comment or opinion, my goal is to share nuestra cultura. In so doing, I hope to encourage others to seek understanding and knowledge of the same and/or to also share what they know.

Cemi Underground's 2009 All-Star Extravaganza

Un orgullo profundo...Hector Lavoe could not have sang those words better and that is exactly how I felt after attending Cemi Underground's 2009 All Star Extravaganza. An evening of music, poetry and comedy with art by Mia Roman Hernandez.

The evenings host, Caridad 'La Bruja' De La Luz, kept everyone on their toes with her coolness. The perfect host for this venue, she performed a piece with Los Pleneros de la 21 that was exuberating with energy. Los Pleneros de la 21 held their own with their bomba and plena performances that had me moving in my seat and several others getting up to dance.

Poetry not withstanding, Jose Angel Figueroa, Maria Aponte and Bobby Gonzalez hit me with their poetry and have made me a new follower.

The comedy...hilarious..El Boogie Down Comedy Show host Arnold Acevedo set it off and Eric Nieves, Marilyn Torres and Cindy Sugarush carried it the rest of the way.

At the end of the night, we took a step back into time, with musica de ayer by Joe Falcon del Grupo Coco Rico. This definitely took me back to a time when I was young and I would visit my abuelita in Puerto Rico. Refreshing.

In closing, my biggest regret of the night was that, in the two years Cemi Underground was in business (officially closed on April 30, 2009), I never paid it a visit. The web page is still up and running so stop in and support Cemi and Luis Cordero for all he has done. Now, I can only look forward, all the more after this extravaganza, to future events such as this. In the words of Papo 'swiggity' Santiago "I wanted to see people that look just like me" and that is exactly what I got to see...talented Latinos.

A photo collection of Cemi Underground By Elena 'Mamarazzi' Marrero


Los Pleneros de la 21

Los Pleneros de la 21 con Caridad "La Bruja" De La Luz

After all This Time.... Immigrants?

Several weeks ago, when the news was abuzz with the possibility of Sonia Sotomayor being an outstanding choice to replace outgoing Justice David Souter in the Supreme Court, I decided to remain in the sidelines and not comment or write about it. I kept a back seat and waited for further development and further development indeed it is. President Barack Obama has announced his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States.

It is not the nomination that has me finally writing, the news is abuzz again, but something else that caught my attention. A tweet that I read earlier in the day stated that if Sotomayor parents are from Puerto Rico how could they be called immigrants? Apparently, that is exactly what some in the media were saying. Well, Why does this not surprise me? I remember many years ago being asked if I was Mexican. When I replied with a "no" the response to my reply was "well, what's the difference". I also recall a time when asked about my nationality and responding that I was a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent. To this reply I was asked what and where is that? Now, I come full circle to the tweet and it all comes down to stereotypes and the uneducated (not always entirely their fault).

Immediately, since Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican descent then her parents must have immigrated to the U.S.
Mexicans, El Salvadorians, Dominicans and Ecuadorians, just to name a few, all immigrate and speak spanish so Puerto Ricans must immigrate also. Unbelievable... It was only 1898 when then Gen. Nelson A. Miles led an invasion into Puerto Rico. It was only the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 (over ninety years ago) that gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship and it has only been a commonwealth since 1952. These truths are as much a part of American history as they are Puerto Rican history but are never taught in the classroom. Hence, part of the reason for the ignorance.

In moving on, it is with great pride in seeing a Latina of Puerto Rican descent getting the nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. Sonia Sotomayor es....orgullo Boricua!

Now back to the sidelines to await a confirmation.

National Association of Hispanic Journalists press release: Avoid Confusion on Sotomayor