Sol by Hélios González

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Phil Velez

Sol by Hélios González (Album Cover, all rights reserved.)

I admire young Latinos living their full potential and creating incredible works of art. In my continuous support of Latino artists, I’d like to showcase the music of someone I recently started following on Twitter: Hélios González. I listened to Hélios‘ album Sol and truly enjoyed the music.  You can feel the talent in every note and the overall musical project is impressive. I am not the most knowledgable person out there when it comes to Latin popular music, but Hélios has opened my mind a bit. I really liked each of the five tracks on Hélios’ album with my top two favorites being Deja el Alma and Sol. You can sample all of the tracks on SoundCloud.

For his first album, Hélios sought to provide something different. “We wanted to offer something new and refreshing,”  Hélios says in his bio. “Many have said the same, but just follow the same rules that have always existed in Latin pop. We wanted to break the mold, and I think we did.”

Hélios is supported by respected producers Alfredo Cevallos and Mike Swittel. This talented duo has participated in productions of some of the greatest Latino musicians including Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Puerto Rican flutist Nestor Torres (with whom they won a Latin Grammy,) among many other artists.

Hélios González was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. He later moved to the island of Puerto Rico where he honed his musical talent. Today Hélios lives in Miami promoting his music to the Latino masses. Hélios is living his dream and I am happy to help promote the music of a fellow Boricua.

So take a listen, hear what Latin pop music is today. Support a Latino artist. Buy a iTune or/and share this post.


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Wassup en LA?

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Phil Velez

Image courtesy of vanguardia.com

Have you heard of Wassup en LA? It’s a family-themed, TV comedy sitcom about a Cuban-American family that moves from Miami to Los Angeles to support their son’s acting career. It’s not on TV yet, but the people behind the show are trying to raise funds to get a full episode in front of the eyes of network TV executives.

I’m a strong supporter of more Latino-themed English language television programming. Are you? I’ve been waiting for the next great show since Ugly Betty was canceled. I don’t know what is taking so long. With the growing strength of Latino audiences on television, every network should have a Latino-themed show on the air or in the works by now.

So help Wassup en LA? Spread the word, share a link. Every Tweet counts and the Latino artists behind the show would appreciate every dollar.

Make a difference.

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Bronx Community Pride Center Closes After Former Director’s Arrest

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Phil Velez

Logo of the Bronx Community Pride Center, New York.

About two days after news that the former director of the Bronx Community Pride Center was charged and arrested for possibly embezzling $338,000, the board of directors of the LGBT non-profit organization today announced the closing of its doors effective June 30th.

“The board of directors of the Bronx Community Pride Center (BCPC), the borough’s largest LGBTQ service organization, has unanimously voted to cease operations of the center on June 30, 2012 and to begin making arrangements for current services to be provided by partner organizations within the Bronx,” noted a press release issued this evening.

The former director of the Bronx Community Pride Center, Lisa Winters, has been arrested and accused of stealing over $338K for personal expenses—including a vacation for her and her future wife to South Africa, according to an article published late this afternoon in the Gothamist.

According to the BCPC press release, because of the “current economic difficulties, past debt and inability to raise sufficient unrestricted funding, the organization can no longer implement its current programs. The organization has debts which exceed revenues at this time and without significant cash infusions from major donors they (the board of directors) are unable to continue operations financially.”

Winters, 47, and her wife Scroggins, who have been together for 14 years, were married at the City Clerk’s office in Manhattan on the first day of legal gay marriage last year, today’s article noted.

“As BCPC closes I ask that all Bronx LGBTQ organizations come together and fill the void that would be left behind,” said Antonio Centeno Jr., BCPC Board Chairperson. “The Board of Directors is committed to assisting in any way to make sure that our clients continue to be served, especially since this population is traditionally under served in the Bronx.”

The Bronx Community Pride Center was a not-for-profit organization which was incorporated in 1997 as the Bronx Lesbian and Gay Health Resource Consortium. Around 2005/2006 the name and mission was changed and the agency then became a community center.

“We’re a group of caring individuals and this decision has been difficult for us to make, but we will never give up for our mission of health equality,” said Centeno.

(For an updated version of this article check out the Examiner.com. )

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Colombian Adoptees Connect in NYC to Share Their Life Stories

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Phil Velez

Colombian adoptees from across the US met in Jackson Heights, Queens to share an incredible personal experience and a wonderfully social time. June, 2012.

I had an incredible opportunity earlier this month to meet and interview a phenomenal group of people who were adopted from Colombia and raised by American parents. Thanks to a Facebook Group they met in New York City during the second weekend in June for a momentous occasion. They decided to have dinner at Bogota Latin Bistro in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where I work. I wrote a blog post for the restaurant that I wanted to cross post here. Below are some excerpts:

Being adopted and choosing to share your life story is a very personal and sometimes painful decision for many adoptees. For some, learning about one’s birth culture can be a lifelong process. For others the desire to connect with people with similar experiences is profound yet not always easy.

When an adoptee learns of his/her birth culture some totally immerse themselves in the culture, while others take their time digesting information. Some just like to keep things the way they are, not learning much about their ethnicity at all. It’s a very personal choice and some adoptees go through different phases of feelings throughout their lives.

Some adoptees may feel they are slighting their adoptive parents if they show interest in learning about their birth culture, but others eventually need to know more to fully understand who they are, a process most people go through, whether adopted or not, to truly know themselves.

To read the full Bogota Latin Bistro blog post visit Colombian Adoptees Connect in NYC to Share Their Life Stories.

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East WillyB Webseries Needs Your Help

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Phil Velez

Hola everyone. Last year I posted a blog entry about East WillyB, a Latino webseries about a group of longtime residents in Bushwick, Brooklyn going through the ups and downs of the gentrification of their neighborhood.  The amazing talent behind this original effort now needs your help to film a few more episodes in hopes of it being picked up by a major network. The episodes are a few minutes long but with additional filming East WillyB will have 90 minutes worth of material to shop around.

This is where you can help. The producers of East WillyB have started a fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 in 50 days. In 15 days they have already raised over $10,000. With your donation of $1, $5, $10 or more dollars you can soon be seeing more Latinos on television and have the wonderful feeling of knowing that you helped make it happen. So let’s make it happen. Donate now!

I thought the series was extremely funny, the acting stellar, the writing incredible, and the production awesome for an independent project. I can see EastWillyB as an HBO series, on any of the major television networks, or on a future Latino-themed cable channel.

So take a moment to help support independent producers and Latino-themed programming by making a pledge now!

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