Puerto Rican Film Review: Maldeamores

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Phil Velez

This coming Sunday Boricuas will celebrate the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. I thought I would commemorate the event with my very first film review. I recently saw on DVD a great Puerto Rican movie entitled Maldeamores (lovesickness.) The 2007 film was directed and co-written by Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz and was executively produced by Oscar-winning Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro. Luis Guzmán, a well-known Puerto Rican actor that appeared in the movie Carlitos Way and the HBO series OZ, leads a stellar class of actors in this film about the ups and downs of love. Maldeamores was filmed in 18 days in Aquadilla, Santurce, and Salinas, Puerto Rico.

The film is beautifully Puerto Rican, with specific cultural sayings like “revulú” and “guagua.” It is a Spanish-language film with English subtitles available, but some Puerto Rican Spanish slang just does not translate well. Puerto Rico and its culture are clearly main “characters” in the film. The superb acting all-around, the island setting, music, dialogue, and family drama was culturally entertaining. Senior actress Silvia Brito steals a few hilarious scenes and I was impressed with the serious acting of Luis Gonzaga.

If you would like to see an excellent Puerto Rican film check out Maldeamores on DVD. The movie/DVD was made possible by the hard work and dedication of people from the Puerto Rico Film Commission and Maya Entertainment.

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Posted in latino, puerto rico | 1 Comment

Congressman Luis Gutiérrez: Fighting for Immigrant Rights

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Phil Velez

Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, one of only three Puerto Rican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, was arrested on May 1 in Washington, D.C. while protesting Arizona’s new controversial illegal immigrant legislation bill, SB 1070. Representative Guiterrez, the first Latino elected to Congress from the Midwest, has a long-time commitment and passion for protecting and advocating for the nation’s immigrant community.

Outraged by a controversial Arizona immigration law signed on April 23, tens of thousands of protesters — including 50,000 alone in Los Angeles — rallied in cities across America demanding that President Barack Obama tackle national immigration reform immediately.

Congressman Gutiérrez was among 35 activists arrested and taken away in plastic handcuffs by U.S. Parks Police for failing to move from a sidewalk outside the White House.

Immigration reform is Rep. Gutiérrez’s greatest legislative passion. He has held public forums around the country to build a grass-roots movement in support of overhauling the existing immigration laws. His efforts led to President Obama expressing support in May 2009 for rewriting the immigration laws, however Gutiérrez is not satisfied with the lack national advancement on the issue.

In December 2009 Gutiérrez introduced his own immigration reform bill focusing on border security, detention, and enforcement. The proposed bill also includes employment verification and an earned legalization program for the country’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.

For more information on Congressman Gutiérrez please read the May political column at ElBoricua.com.

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Posted in barack obama, latino, politics, puerto rico | 3 Comments

Meet Daisy Martinez this Saturday at Park Slope’s Bogota Latin Bistro & Bar

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Phil Velez

Latina Food Network star, Daisy Martinez, comes to Park Slope’s premier Latino restaurant, Bogota Bistro & Mojito Bar this Saturday to sell and sign copies of her new book, Daisy: Morning, Noon, and Night.

Martinez, host of the Food Network’s Viva Daisy!, is a native Brooklynite raised by island-born Puerto Ricans. Conveniently divided into appropriate sections, Daisy: Morning, Noon, and Night mirrors Martinez’s life-long love of Latin cuisine and helps you created authentic Latino dishes with robust flavors.

Daisy Martinez teams up with Bogota Latin Bistro & Mojito Bar in Park Slope this Saturday from noon to 2pm for a Mother’s Day weekend cookbook-signing event. Bogota Bistro, founded in 2005, is a Colombian/pan-Latino bar and restaurant in one of the best neighbors in New York City.

Have brunch and buy a book this Saturday at Bogota Bistro and meet Daisy Martinez in person.

For more information on Bogota Bistro, all year-around, check out its innovative social media page.

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Posted in latino, new york, social media, television | 1 Comment

Island-born Puerto Ricans Will Need New Birth Certificates as of July 1, 2010

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Phil Velez

In December 2009 the government of Puerto Rico enacted a new law that would require all Puerto Rican-born citizens to apply for a new birth certificate. The law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2010, aims to fight fraud and prevent identity theft.

Puerto Rico’s legislature passed the law (Law 191 of 2009) after raids earlier in the year broke up a criminal ring that had stolen thousands of birth certificates and other identifying documents from several different schools in Puerto Rico.

As of July 1, 2010 the birth certificate of all Puerto Rican born citizens will become invalid. People born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, are U.S. citizens at birth.

U.S. residents born in Puerto Rico will need to download an application and mail it to San Juan along with a copy of a U.S. photo ID, a return self-addressed stamped envelop, and a $5 filing fee. The law only waives the fee for a new birth certificate for people over 60 and for veterans. There is no replacement exemption for age.

The Puerto Rican government will not accept any applications until after July 1. Officials note that only persons expecting to present a valid birth certificate after July 1 should apply. Others, who do not need to present a new birth certificate for any official reason, should wait.

For more information on how to request a new Puerto Rican birth certificate visit http://www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates/.

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Posted in politics, puerto rico | 1 Comment

Arizona Anti-Immigrant Bill Legalizes Racial Profiling

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Phil Velez

I knew once health reform was tackled that the next controversial issue that would grip this country would be immigration reform. I also thought maybe President Obama would address the economy,  jobs, and even education reform before touching any type of overall immigration legislation. However, after what happened yesterday in the state of Arizona, immigration reform really needs to be a serious conversation in this country and Latinos, both documented and undocumented, need to raise our voices against the underlining and sometimes outright racism surrounding the subject.

An immigration bill passed Monday by the Arizona legislature now only needs to be signed by the state’s Republican governor to become law. Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 would make it a state crime not to carry proof of immigration status and would require police to ask about a person’s immigration status if there is any doubt.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called on the governor to veto the bill, saying it amounts to “institutionalized discrimination and abuse,” and warned that other states could follow suit if the bill becomes law. He also called for a boycott of Arizona if the bill passed.

“We are going to be urging national organizations — religious, civic, labor, Latino, of color — to refrain from spending their dollars on conventions and in national activities in the state of Arizona,” Grijalva said. “There have to be hard economic sanctions for this.”

If the Arizona bill passes it would be the toughest state law against illegal immigration in the country.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) has joined Rep. Grijalva in condemning the anti-immigrant bill.

“The governor of Arizona should veto the bill, and if she doesn’t the president of the United States, Barack Obama, should assert the federal government’s preeminent role in regulating and enforcing our nation’s immigration law,” Rep. Gutierrez said today.

According to the 2008 U.S. Census, 30 percent of Arizona residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin. The state of Arizona was even part of Mexico at one time, so the bill is historically hypocritical.

The United States is and has always been a country of immigrants and I am sure they have not always been documented. It’s just now in the past few decades that these recent immigrants have mainly been people of color that really causes the conservative controversy.

There must be a way to implement fair immigration reform that allows honest and hardworking undocumented residents from legally sharing in the American dream.

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Posted in latino, politics | 3 Comments