Latino Life in America

Having missed Sunday night's The Next Food Network Star, I relied on TiVo to record for me the sweat and food shenanigans of the contestants for this year's competition. I have been rooting for JAG-Joshua Adam Garcia given that he was the only Latino on the show and has been batting for Boricuas from day one. Much to my dismay, I faced the black screen toward the end of the show with its white letters informing me that in fact, La JAG was misrepresenting his culinary qualifications and his military career. WHAT!!! I could not freakin' believe it, I mean, I was really hoping that this dude was going to come through for all Boricuas who faithfully watch the food network with nary a Portorra showing us the magic of Puerto Rican sofrito, sazon, or any other of our culinary secrets. I was totally disheartened and totally pissed off. Now he's gone, having "resigned" from the competition. Puerto Ricans are not prominent on any television show and here is this miscreant ruining it for the good people out there! BOOOOOO!! hisssss!! to him. Now that I got that out of my system, how sad is it that JAG felt the only way to validate his obvious talent was to make up stories about himself. See, he needs direction on how to get on the ladder because he is truly misguided. Someone help that man, please.

Elsewhere, I was putzing around at the Blabbeando Blog when I found this-I don't even know what to call it- story.
(from the Blabbeando Blog)

Sports Illustrated Latino is gay-inclusive

The June-July issue of Sports Illustrated Latino has two different covers depending on where you buy it.

States in which the predominant immigrant population is from the Caribbean (read: the Eastern coast) can oggle at Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees because residents in these latitudes like baseball a lot, or so tell us the editors. Residents in states where the predominant immigrant population is from Central America, South America and Mexico (read: the rest of the states) get a cover story on Copa America, the soccer tournament taking place right now in Venezuela in which Uruguay and Brazil will duke it out for the championship this coming Sunday, because they like soccer a lot (thanks SI Latino editors! Now I really know my peoples!).

Not happy to pander to two different Latino populations, the editors have sneakily targeted a third: Los marico... ehem... da gays!

In a photo gallery featuring fourteen of the "most colorful" Mexican lucha libre fighters (that's wrestling to you muchachos) they include Maximo (pictured above):

"This exotic [character] (a wrestler who interprets a homosexual) causes confusion in his rivals by flirting with them. He's been a professional [wrestler] for five years" says the caption.

Considering the machismo in Latino sports, it's good to see SI Latino promote tolerance in it's pages. Not that the US-based WWE hasn't been just as inclusive in the past.

Posted by Andrés Duque at 4:48 PM