Este heatwave in the winter ya fue mucho.

Ya mero llegamos al end of the month. Se nos fue el mes de enero y yo no sé ustedes pero yo tengo calor. Aquí en California tenemos todo el mes con los weather ups and downs and constant changes, from rain to cold to warm. But today it was around 84 degrees in Pasadena, and it’s not even Spring yet! I mean, don’t let the California palm trees fool you. We are not in the tropics. LA is usually coat country during wintertime.

It did not help my cause that today I erred on the side of caution and chose to wear botas, tights, a dress, a scarf, and a wool sweater. Since I ride the metro, I never know if it’s going to be cold during the transfers, so I come prepared. Yes, I know I can check the weather report on tv, but I’m very friolenta, so I take it with a grain of salt.  Today I came a little too prepared and regretted it all day long. I kept peeling the layers until I couldn’t any longer. Ever have that feeling when your clothes just bother you all day long? That was me today.

Yet a little freshness came my way later in the day. I just went for a supermarket run this afternoon and saw these paletas de nieve. Does anybody remember “La Michoacana”? They are a local chain of aguas frescas and paletas de hielo/nieve in Mexico. We had them in my hometown by the border. I doubt these are the same paleteros I grew up with, who knows,  but I was instantly enamored with the name and the presentation… Chocoberry anyone?

Maybe that will help me deal with this heatwave until we get our next storm watch, probably by next week at the way we’re going with these tipsy weather patterns.

Chocoberry, paletas de coco y paletas de otros sabores by "La Michoacana", made in Ceres, California, not Michoacan.

Felicidades Demián Bichir y Emanuel Lubezki, 2 Mexicanos nominados al Oscar

Hoy es una de esas mañanas en que da gusto ver que el talento mexicano es reconocido. A las 5 de la mañana anunciaron las nominaciones a los premios Oscar y como todo el mundo sabe, la sorpresa fue Demián Bichir por su actación en “A Better Life” (director Chris Weitz). Quiero que sepan que fue el primero que anunciaron de los cinco actores, por orden alfabético, así que brincamos de emoción. (Ver Video)

Oscar announcements this morning. Snapshot, ABC Video on YouTube.

Hace unos meses puse un link aquí de una entrevista que le hicieron a Bichir en el NY Times y por lo visto, tanto a la reportera como a su humilde servilleta nos cautivó su persona. Aquí esta el link de nuevo: http://lifeinspanglish.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/a-must-see-movie-a-better-life/…Ojalá que puedan leerla y que vean la película, aunque sí te parte el corazón.

Tomada de la revista US Magazine.

Lo mejor fue la reacción de Bichir, quien dijo:

“I’m overwhelmed for having my name among those incredible actors. Hopefully more and more people will jump into iTunes and Netflix to see our film. That will be the biggest reward we could get. I dedicate this nomination to those 11 million human beings who make our lives easier and better in the US.”

(Read more here. )

¡Bravo Demián!

****

En la categoría de fotografía,  Emanuel Lubezki  fue nominado por su cinematografía de la película “Tree of Life” (el tema “Life” parece amuleto de la buena suerte, no?) del director Terence Malick.

El “Chivo” Lubezki (como le dicen de cariño) lleva varias nominaciones, y para mi que es el mejor fotógrafo de cine que hay. Claro que lo digo con orgullo porque veo sus películas desde que fue fotógrafo de “Solo con tu Pareja” (1991,  director Alfonso Cuarón). Ojalá que este sea su año.

Emanuel Lubezki trabajo con Terence Malick en "Tree of Life". Foto tomada del blog "Below the line" http://www.btlnews.com/awards/contender-director-of-photography-emmanuel-lubezki-the-tree-of-life/

Los premios Oscar son el 26 de Febrero. Prendamos veladoras y rezémosle a San Judas Tadeo amiguitos. Ya es hora que los mexicanos nos llevemos más premios y reconocimiento por hacer cine, algo que hacemos muy bien! Y estas nominaciones son muy bien merecidas. Felicidades a todos los nominados.

Tags: Mexicanos nominados al Oscar

New Spanish TV Network debuts in the fall: MundoFox

Big news in TV Land today…en Español!

According to a press release today by the AP, MUNDOFOX, a new Spanish broadcast television network is launching in the fall. It will be the Spanish version of FOX (owned by Rupert Murdoch, ya saben que no tiene la mejor presencia en los medios lately) and it will try to appeal to the Hispanic viewer. Ya ven como sí nos quieren mucho en este país y el español no se está acabando, como muchos creen.

Pues let me tell you one thing, Mundo Fox: lest you change your tone on politics and your own political agendas pushed by NewsCorp., I won’t be that tempted to watch. But if you have smart, modern and well produced shows that don’t feature morning tv hosts doing dance numbers with Mambo and ChaCha, or scripted sitcoms that don’t follow the recent fiasco of “Rob” (sorry Eugenio Derbez, I really wanted to like you on this show) then maybe that will lure us in.

They are partnering with los productores colombianos RCN, which made Betty La Fea (only like one of the best telenovelas EVER, which I used to watch religiously and blog about) among other smash hits. So it should be interesting to say the least.

Here’s the press release. Click to read. Let’s see what happens and how Telemundo and Univision react.

News Corp plans US Spanish-language broadcaster:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NEWS_CORP_MUNDOFOX?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Tags: TV News en Español

Wordless Weds: Not Cool, SOPA. Not cool.

Joining the Protest!

This is Google's page today.

End Piracy, Not Liberty! Tell Congress. https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Tags: Against SOPA

Great Maps of LA exhibit at the Central Library in downtown

I’m always amazed at the sprawling, extensive size of the City of Los Angeles. This city I love está toda spread out, es enorme, llena de tráfico y luces, y freeways y mini-malls. What’s not to love?

So it was such a nice surprise to run into a very interesting exhibit of old Los Angeles maps at the Central Library in Downtown LA called “As The City Grew.” These maps are from the 184o’s to more recent ones from the last century. They all are amazing to look at just for the fact that they portray the gradual growth and initial distribution of el pueblo de Los Angeles.

This is one of the texts from the exhibit:

“The historical maps here trace Los Angeles’ challenges and illustrate its evolution into the metropolis we know today. The maps tell a story about a Spanish pueblo settled by eleven families that, in just 130 years, was to become the second largest city in America. From a Wild West frontier town that lived mostly outside the law, the city grew more sophisticated, surviving periodic cycles of “boom and bust” and doubling its population every decade, from a meager 5,000 at statehood to over a million by 1930.”

I’m always intrigued by the transformation of a place, of how things used to be and how people used to live before.  Did they ride horses? Can you imagine LA without freeways? How did people get to Santa Monica? What was life like here? These maps give you an idea of how LA transitioned into the place we live today.

So it’s worth a visit, and you may also want to check out some books at the library too! Everything is GRATIS, as you know, so take a trip soon if you can.

DTLA Central Library at 5th and Figueroa hours are Monday, Wed, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 5:30 pm; Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm. It is closed  Sundays and will be closed next Monday due to Martin Luther King’s Day.

LA Maps exhibit at Central Library hallway, 1st floor.

Map of the City of Los Angeles, 1884, by Henry J Stevenson.

Birds Eye View of Los Angeles in 1909. Shows LA growing fast and becoming one of the nation's major cities. Population is 300,000.

This was one of the more elaborate maps, very colorful and showing different ethnicities.

The Old Spanish and Mexican Ranchos of Los Angeles County, 1937. Shows LA in the years 1784 to 1849. "The Ranchos as they were called were sometiems as large as 48,000 acres."

Yes people, WE were here first. Se les olvida quien formó esta ciudad.

Hollywood star maps, version 1937. But I doubt they had any paparazzi then.

Hey, with this map you could go look for Cary Grant, Marion Davies and Gary Cooper. Their head drawing was used as the pin point for their house!

Tags: Downtown LA, I Love LA, La Ciudad de Los Angeles

Wordless Wednesday: Tengo a San Antonio puesto de cabeza.

One of my stocking stuffers this Christmas from one of my sisters...

...ahí para quien se le ofrezca.

Tags: Good things, San Antonio de Padua

Ooops! I think La Reina del Sur lost it. El escándalo de Kate del Castillo en Twitter.

This morning  el Twitter Universe de los Latinos is going berserk with retweets of a rant from Kate del Castillo, alias “La Reina del Sur.” And now I’m going to have to resort to my voice in Spanglish. Porque no me explico why the heck she thought it would be a good idea to give the whole world her unsolicited opinion on life. For example, she does NOT  believe in marriage, monogamy, in religion, in the Pope nor in government, pero que dice que sí cree en el sexo, en sentir su cuerpo, en las emociones fuertes y en uno de los delincuentes mas famosos de México, el Chapo Guzman. Hasta le dio una lista de ideas para hacer el world a better place, empezando con llevar alcohol a los asilos de ancianos. “No estaría padre que empezara a traficar con el bien?“… pregunta. What??

Con todo respeto, because I think she’s a wonderful actress and a professional, I would beg to differ.

¿Kate, qué te pasó? Tú que casi nunca dabas escándalos, y hoy todo el mundo te está mandando tweets medio groseros… You did not need this, especialmente ahora que estás saliendo más en la television gringa. Tanto trabajo que te ha costado. Is this a publicity stunt? Porque ya sabes que dicen que “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Maybe that was the plan?

Aqui está un poco del tweet. You can read it entirely here: http://twextra.com/a4t17t

I don’t get it. Not that my opinion matters anyway. I just think it’s a shame for an accomplished actress (si no es que la mejor de México) to go off on a rant about things that nobody cares about, diciendo puras incoherencias, tarnishing her image… Maybe she wants to do away with her “nice girl”  in real life? Quien sabe. I guess tomorrow it will be old news.

Or maybe it has to do with the year 2012 and all those predictions. Some people think this might be a cue to go off on a liberating storm and having their honest voices heard once and for all. Maybe they think “What the hell! If it’s all going to end, I might as well go down with a bang.”

Tags: La Reina del Sur, NEWS

It’s never too late: Vivian Maier, the most amazing photographer we never knew until now.

Last year around this time in January, almost to the day, I heard the beautiful story of Vivian Maier in the NY Times Lens section and was enthralled with her  photographs and her life story, as well as the effort to make a documentary about her. I even posted a link to the video here.

Surprise, surprise! This morning I read the LA TIMES Arts&Books section and found a feature article on Vivian Maier! And even more joy followed when I read that there is a current and brief exhibit here in Los Angeles at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery. This news made me literally dance in my pijamas. I love women photographers who do street photography along the style of Lola Alvarez Bravo, Tina Modotti, Ruth Orkin, and Margaret Bourke-White.

Great surprise this morning tor ead about Vivian Maier in the LA Times.

You can read the article here. 

Vivian Maier was a nanny who lived in Chicago, and in the 1940′s took up street photography in her spare time. She produced the most beautiful black and white street photographs for the rest of her life.  She was never published, never discovered, and never famous, until in 2007, when a locker with undeveloped film rolls was auctioned off. A young guy by the name of John Maloof bought it for $400 dollars, for thousands of film rolls, not knowing the story nor images behind it.

Once he saw the images, he realized the treasure he had, and started researching her life, only to find out she had died a few days prior to buying her rolls of films. ( AAAH! It has all the elements of a wonderful movie, so it’s just lovely and absolutely necessary that they make a documentary about her life!) Afterwards he started a blog, and she was finally introduced to the world, even if she was no longer in it. Imagine that! Her life’s vision would have been unknown but for the guy who bought the film rolls, and yet you know how some things are meant to be. It was her destiny not be Anonymous.

Tags: Favorite Photographers

Rosca de Reyes time. ¿Qué les trajeron los Reyes Magos?

La tradición del Día de Reyes (or The feast of the Epiphany if you’re a Catholic and know the story about the “magi from the east” following the star and traveling to pay homage to Baby Jesus) is alive and well in Los Angeles. This year it falls on the first Friday of the month so it’s bound to be celebrated en grande.

If you still don’t have your Rosca de Reyes purchased, and if you’re in the downtown LA area on Friday, may I recommend a panadería right smack in the middle of the Grand Central Market? It’s called La Adelita and they still have a few Roscas available. They range in price from 7 to 20 dollars, depending on the size. They can also add as many monitos as you want, but you have to special order it. Standard roscas come with 2 monitos only, but waiting to see who gets the monito is what the fun is all about, so knock yourself out. ¡Pónganles muchos! I say the more, the merrier.

(Yes, you probably know this, but anyone who gets a monito needs to organize a party on February 2nd, el Dia de la Candelaria… preferably with Tamales and champurrado. Rarely anybody follows through, but we just want to believe we can keep the parties going.)

If you're in Downtown LA on el Dia de Reyes and you need a Rosca, head over to La Adelita panaderia inside the Grand Central Market on Broadway. They open from 9am to 6pm.

This is the $7 dollar Rosca with 2 monitos included. But I say add more!

While you're at it, you may want to shop around Grand Central Market. It's a great place to browse and take pix. It's also one of the locations used for the movie "City of Angels" (way back in the 90's.)

Post Holiday Clean-Up. It’s over, people.

Ran into Rudolph this morning on his way to storage in an alley in Pasadena. Pobrecito. Time to stay locked in for the next 11 months.

Rudolph rumbo al almacen. Hora de guardar todo lo navideño.

And so it ends, my friends. At least mañana we have the Rosca de Reyes, the last festivity of the Season para los mexicanos y latinos. Better get to la panadería tonight before the big lines tomorrow.

-0-

UPDATE- 6PM Apparently, Downtown LA did not get the memo that the party was over, and they’re still going strong with the ‘Downtown on Ice’ skating rink at Pershing Square. Walked past it this evening and they had a party rocking, even with the balmy 73 degree weather. Skating is 8 bucks a pop and I believe this is the last weekend.

Skating on a "summery" night in January at Downtown LA's Pershing Square. Jan. 5, 2012.

 

Well, Hello There Mr. 2012!

Happy New Year Everybody!

My five readers have been wondering where the heck I’ve been hiding, since it’s been A WHILE since my last post. Don’t worry, I’m still around, although I needed a few days to recoup after the Christmas break with LA FAMILIA. And then all of a sudden, the New Year crept up on me and the ball was dropping in Times Square on TV. Not to worry, I have some posts to elaborate on in the next few days, so you can see what your pochita friend was up to.

I must confess, I’m also having a bit of a blog existential crisis, as I have been going through some PROSPECTION (the act of looking forward in time or considering the future) which may or may not have to do with an upcoming birthday in February.

“Why?” you may ask. Well, it’s a big one and I won’t elaborate until I’m closer to the date. Yet somehow it has permeated a bit into “Life In Spanglish” and made me consider which material may be suitable enough for posting. I can be trite and trivial, but I do worry about the content and how to keep it fresh. You may not know this about me, but writing this blog for almost 3 years, and working on everything I post here, has been a unique joy- self serving, indulgent, mainly concerned with my own interests- and yet I am extremely surprised when I see a new reader, a comment or a follower. So of course I’m concerned with what to do next and how to keep you coming back for more.

On that note, here’s a promise to get more creative, to get more Spanglish, and to get more informative. The year 2012 looks and feels like the kind of year that will have lots to blog about. I sincerely thank you for sticking around and reading. It means the world to me.

I wish you all the best for this Año Nuevo, may it be a wonderful year for us all.

(Que no nos asusten las proyecciones de los locos, las amenazas “doomsday” y la gente que solo quiere infundir el miedo. Let’s work to make it a good year, shall we?)

Here’s a glimpse into the days I was out and about, truly a beautiful Christmas, one which yet again made us realize how blessed we are to live in Los Angeles, California. ¡Gracias Diosito por todas mis bendiciones!

The Lamps at LACMA are a great photo op. Here's a shot as the early evening progressed on one of the last days of 2011.

I'm going to need my Cinderella shoes for 2012 and all the "festejos" I need to get to. Hopefully this pair of glitter pumps from Kate Spade eventually goes on sale so I can celebrate my birthday in style.

I said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE LA. This shot of the Miracle Mile with a pink sunset makes me wanna pinch myself. Can you believe this weather? 78 degrees throughout the day, thank you very much.

Tags: 2012

“Making Tamales Day,” the tradition continues

So it was the Saturday before Christmas 2011 and it was the day we had set out to make tamales para Navidad at the house. We do it every year. It’s a family tradition to have my grandmother lead with her Sonora, México recipe. We all follow her instructions and commands, like “Que no le eches tanto caldo a la masa, te digo!!”

I always forget how hard it is. Every December we go through this and yet I’m still surprised by the labor intensive process, the hard work, the HOURS you spend (todo el santo día!) and how the masa and the fixings (in this case it’s a delicious mix of beef, pork, chile colorado sauce, spanish olives and raisins) just seem to multiply themselves into a never ending batch. Es un triunfo llegar to the bottom of the pan!

A mi me toca, como todos los años, hacer la masa from scratch. Nothing else will do. Usamos Maseca, pero en lugar de ponerle manteca de puerco como dice en el paquete, nosotros usamos Crisco, the baking stuff. Así los hacemos desde toda la vida y así nos gustan. Pero esta vez me cansé mucho amasando! Maybe it was because I forgot to do my warmup exercises. You need to approach masa-making like you do a test, or a workout. It is that challenging, especially when you have over 10 pounds of beef en salsa de chile colorado waiting to be assembled into the tamal. Oh the pressure!

But I am grateful for the experience, for the recipe  brought over from Cananea, Sonora, for my amazing grandma still going strong at 92 and still staying there till we’re done, supervising, untando masa en  las hojas, preparando la carne, partiendo aceitunas, you name it.  I am in awe of her and everything she does.

So be happy if you have your Mom, or your Grandma, or your Tias, or your sisters make them for Christmas; or even if you do them yourself, then let me congratulate you on the process and achievement. Making Tamales is truly a labor of love. Here’s to all the women (and men!) who take part in this ritual year after year. Sólo los que los hacemos sabemos cuánto significa.

(And now I need a good strong nightcap porque estoy BEAT!!!)

Left: Amasando la masa, which basically took about 2 hours by hand. Right: All the Tamales are done and placed in their Ziplocs, ready for next week's cena del 24 de diciembre.

Coca Cola Mexicana Rules! And now you can get it at Costco.

Shopping for the Holidays at Costco yet? Me di un quick trip this past weekend and lo and behold- que se me atraviesa un pallet de Coca Cola Mexicana, made in Mexico, in the original glass bottles de medio litro, with a big “Hecho en Mexico” stamp on the box.

¿Qué tal? Now this is the REAL THING of the real thing, you know what I mean?

Yo creo que ha de haber bastantes fans (adictos) al sabor super dulce de la Mexican version because once you sell wholesale across the border and once you’re in Costco, then you must be in demand! Apparently they are considered a gourmet/connoisseur version of regular Coke. But us mexicanos, we already knew that.

For the die hard Mexican Coca Cola fans, la Coca Cola mexicana is now sold at Costco, by the case, for 16.99. Go out and get some.

La había visto por otros lados en la ciudad, en Bottega Louie de downtown y en el M Market on Holly, en Pasadena. Pero ahi las venden individuales.

So now you know, should you need your fix. Seems like now you CAN have a Coca Cola and a smile.

Quick trip to Vegas for NASCAR Champions Week

Las Vegas is the one place on earth where it’s ok to party and work at the same time.  You can have a drink or two, gamble on las maquinitas or on the heavy roller tables, lose all sense of time and money, AND still have fun while you’re at it.

So naturally, when presented with a last minute opportunity to go to NASCAR Champions week, I could not refuse. (Thanks NASCAR and 34/56 Group.)

The NASCAR bunch is a fun, rowdy, passionate crowd. They travel in packs from all over the US and you could spot them a mile away with their NASCAR memorabilia and cool logo jackets. Hace falta ver más fans latinos, but we’re working on that.

We had a chance to ride the double decker bus at the NASCAR Champions parade down the Las Vegas strip, and even though we were freezing allá arriba al aire libre, it was fun to see the cars and drivers up close.

Any girl who is not a fan may want to reconsider after getting a closeup of the NASCAR drivers. Even though it’s a frivolous reason, ¡pues a mi ya me gustó!  Sign me up anytime to see these guys in action.

Ojo: Nos faltó Juan Pablo Montoya, el piloto colombiano. Esperemos verlo el año que entra en el grupo de los top ranking.

NASCAR drivers as they go down the Las Vegas strip.

The top 12 NASCAR drivers as they're presented on stage.

Jimmy Johnson ... sigh. Some NASCAR drivers make you want to become a fan, even if you know nothing about racing. ¡Muy guapo!

Otro guapo! The very popular Jeff Gordon.

Go big or go home! NASCAR fans came out full force.

During the parade, the NASCAR drivers showed off their skills right smack in the heart of the strip. Se pusieron a hacer "donitas"...

El carro de uno de los hermanitos Busch, el Kurt Busch.

Reigning champ (though he's not my favorite by any means porque es un poquito sangrón) Tony Stewart (left) and Kevin Harwick (right) chill out before the show.

Saludando a todos. Say hello to all the fans, Kevin.

The double decker bus was a hit! Pero nos ibamos congelando.

Tags: Cars

Quién quiere Mexican Hot Chocolate?

One of the guilty pleasures of fall/winter is enjoying un chocolatito caliente just because it’s cold and just because you feel like it.

I have yet to have my first hot chocolate of the season, being that it has been a little warmer than usual in LA this week. But when I do, I know exactly what I’m having. El Chocolate Abuelita tendrá que esperar; this year I’m trying a new chocolate brand that I found at the lovely M Market on Holly  Street in Pasadena. It’s called TAZA Chocolate and it’s made in Massachusetts of all places! ¿Quién iba a decir?

I have to say, at first I fell in love with the packaging. I am such a sucker for visual stimuli, that anytime I see good design and nice fonts, I’m sold! But truth be told, I am very curious to see what these chocolate discs taste like and I have a feeling I am going to owe you a segunda parte on this blog post, once I make it and taste it.

I was going to do the step by step chocolate boiling and whisking con todo y the molinillo, but I went to Taza’s website and they already did this for us, so I am just going to redirect you there to see the pix and the how to… (Ando muy práctica el día de hoy que tengo el tiempo limitado.) So click HERE to see the process and learn more about this brand, parece que son gringos los dueños, pero gringos con muy buen gusto! They even have other sweet and savory recipes going on.

Their flavors sound very tasty: Salted Almond Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Dark Chocolate, Chipotle Chile 70% Dark Chocolate, Orange 70% Dark Chocolate, and  Salt and Pepper Chocolate.

This is not your Abuelita's Hot Chocolate: Taza flavors are Salted Almond, Vanilla, Chipotle Chile, Orange and Salt & Pepper.

If you want to try Taza yourself, it’s sold in several places in LA: Susina, on Beverly in LA; Erewhon Natural Foods, in LA; Cacao Mexicatessen in Eagle Rock (LA); and The M Market on Holly in Pasadena.

My first choice is Salted Almond. A ver que tal me sale. It’s $4.99 for 2 discs, so hopefully it’s good.

Love the packaging!

 

 

 

 

Tags: Choco Love

Dando el rol por el “LA Auto Show”

The Honda display at the LA Auto Show.

I love my car, a beautiful VW. But… I hate driving in LA, for obvious reasons.

I think every angeleno has a special relationship/bond with their car. Or their imaginary car they will someday own and remains on their wish list. You know which one I’m talking about. Es el carro de tus sueños que ves que otra persona al lado tuyo va manejando mientras estás atorado en el 405…y de repente te vas en tu daydream driving off into the sunset.

But I digress…

This week every car maker and brand in America had their annual big “dog and pony show” which is appropriately called “The LA Auto Show.”

You still have this weekend to go see it at the Convention Center. The entrance is $12 dollars (parking is another $20 or so) and it’s open until 10 PM. If you’re a car aficionado, then this is something that’s totally worth your time. Get up close and personal with every new car on the market. You can even pretend it’s yours as you slide into it and sit in the driver’s seat, since most of the cars are open to get a sense of what they feel like on the road.

A few things really stood out. The trend this year is to finally convince us, the regular people, that the fuel efficient, eco-friendly, gas saving, “small is the new reality” vehicle is here to stay. It’s no secret that we are all minding our dollars and cents, and oil ain’t ever going to be free, so we might as well start thinking that “smaller is better.”  At least that’s the big push by most of the companies, including the luxury brands. Every brand has some sort of hybrid, electrical or fuel efficient option. Everybody is reinventing itself. The future looks like it’s here when you see the electric plug enchufando al carro en el garage. Could it be that we all drive electrical cars some day?

There’s still many models of gas guzzlers and big ass trucks, so don’t despair. (A los latinos nos gustan mucho los big cars todavía.) It all depends what you like and how much you are willing to spend on your next car. Even if you are of the idea that an automobile is just something that gets you from point A to point B, I think there’s never been a time when the driver has had so many options to choose from.

Go visit the LA Auto Show before it ends and have a little pipe dream yourself. Total, soñar no cuesta nada.

Here are a few images from the show. I had so many I wanted to post, but made a brief selection for browsing purposes.

Germans do cars right. Here are a few Audi pics. They have a beautiful line and are quite popular.

An electrical BMW "Active" can be yours if you lease it for $499 a month, plus deposit.

Looks like the future arrived. The BMW i8 (concept) cars are all electrical. And they are amazing to look at.

The new 5 Series BMW. No wonder it's the ultimate driving machine.

Concept cars by Chevy will be here in 2013. Already sold in Europe.

The Chevy Volt is one of the more popular electrical cars. But I'm not crazy about the design.

Cool display by the new CODA cars. But the car design is so boring, I did not post a picture. It's all electrical and just a basic 4 door sedan.

Mini Cooper: still a very expensive toy car.

The new VW Beetle is amazing. Loved it!

Even Land Rover is going smaller with the Evoque and their new concept cars.

The Mercedes Benz G Series is BACK!! If I had an extra 100 thousand dollars, I would buy this car in an instant. My absolute favorite thing in the show. I don't care if it's big and boxy, this is it. They had stopped making them a few years ago so I wonder if it's back by popular demand.

I could also get a Fiat Gucci. So cool, so hip...so now. Too bad J-Lo endorses it!

Even the inside of the Fiat has the Gucci branding. Nice!

You can also get the Gucci accessories to go with you car, so you'd be all Gucci'd out. Qué fresas!

More people are embracing the new electrical vehicles. Here's the Nissan Leaf, which are now on the road. You hook up this baby through the front outlet and charge!

UPDATE- SATURDAY: A petición de X, Chucho:  Here’s a photo of the X1 car I took and some others that just had to make it to the list. Había muchísimo y quisiera poder subir más. Sorry if the pictures are small, they have to be optimized for the site.

Para X:

Yes, there were Formula 1 models.

I actually took a pic of la moto with my name on it (my initials, always have loved the CBR) but there's a peek of the Target F1 Model in the back.

I know you like the Audi Spyder!

 Para mis sobrinos-ahijados:

Life size Mario Kart model was a big deal!

Me encantó el display de Hot Wheels.

Para mi Papá, que le gustan los Bentleys…

Fit for a king...or a famous hip hop artist.

Tags: Cars

Save Thanksgiving! Let’s celebrate it como Dios manda.

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It’s a time for family, friends, good food and to take a break from our “regularly scheduled programs”so we can meditate on our blessings and say GRACIAS A LA VIDA QUE ME HA DADO TANTO.

The Pilgrims had that idea in mind when they feasted with and thanked the Native Americans back in the 1620′s.  They were grateful for all their help in surviving the first tough seasons in their new found land,  and for getting their first harvest. That was the same idea that trascended 100 plus years later, when the founding fathers, specifically George Washington, proclaimed it as a national day of gathering and giving thanks during the autumn season of 1789. ( I read this here if you want more details on the subject.)

But flash forward to 2011 and seems now that all the emphasis is on Black Friday and stores opening at midnight to grab all the crazy shoppers who want to take advantage of “door buster deals.” I’m sorry, but when did shopping for stuff become the focus of this holiday? Don’t employees of retail chain stores deserve a full day to celebrate with their families as well?

I applaud Nordstrom (the store) who sent out a letter with their catalog explaining they would be closed on Thanksgiving and open for regular business hours the following day. They want to give their employees the time off to enjoy their holiday and “each coming holiday at a time”. Seems we all need to remember that it’s about taking time to BE with family. Even if there’s a recession and you want to beat your competitors. There are more important things.

Besides, it’s just stuff and it’s not worth being crushed for in a crazy stampede at Wal-Mart at 10 pm on Thanksgiving. Who started this crazy madness anyway?

If you really want to take advantage of the sales, then go on Friday. Don’t leave your family at night to go buy a digital gadget. It will still be there in the morning. I promise you.

As for me, el Black Friday yo me voy a poner a hacer otra cosa and also have a second helping of the Costco Pumpkin Pie. Have  you tried it? It’s the best!

I sincerely hope all of you have a great  and Happy Thanksgiving. I am so grateful to my (few) readers who read me and to the fabulous WordPress who gives me a blog for free. Gracias! Gracias!

Gracias Diosito por todas mis bendiciones.

En serio que “Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto…”

Saturday Night Quinceañera Party

La quinceañera está de vestido largo, aquí con todas sus friends.

I went to the best quinceañera party EVER last Saturday night. Of course, I am not even remotely close to the quinceañera festivities age but rather a generation above la quinceañera (no estoy yo para contarlo ni ustedes para saberlo) and I still had a fabulous time.

I think this is the first party in a long time where everyone from the baby sobrinita, to the padrinos, the tios and couples, as well as el abuelito y la abuelita, had a blast and danced the night away. Ya sabemos que a los latinos nos gusta divertinos “en bola”.

Here’s what I learned from attending the party:

• ALWAYS have a theme and stick to it. This was a Havana nights themed party, and EVERYTHING matched the theme: the invitations, the decor, the beautiful quinceañera dresses she used, the MUSIC (at least during the dinner phase, Pérez Prado ruled the ambience) and of course, the food.
• Girls will be girls and boys will be boys: I don’t know if this was a very “wholesome” crowd, but the kids were respectful and well behaved, and they genuinely had fun without thinking that partying with their parents was boring. Although on the dance floor the girls stuck to their all female group and the boys were “echando su desmadre” over at their corner, making funny faces and jumping up and down. Give them a couple of years…
• Rihanna Rules. As soon as the dj played the first beat of her new song “We Found Love”, the kids went NUTS. I mean, they were screaming and singing every word of the song verbatim. (They did NOT play Katy Perry, thank God!)
• Ditto for PitBull and LMFAO “Party rockers in the house tonight“….(Both a los chavitos y a los grandes nos gusta mucho.)
• Salsa and Cumbias colombianas still makes us all dance. Esa música pone a bailar hasta las piedras.
• Have a dessert and candy table in addition to the birthday cake. At the end of the night, chicos y grandes had their own “bolsita de dulces” to make and everyone left happy.
  

  Los chavitos baile y baile. The guys "dance" by jumping up and down and making a huddle. Girls are much more elegant!

  

  Hey! A los grandes también les gusta bailar. Here's a group dancing to Pitbull's "Tonight".

  

  The candy bar was a hit! This was just one of MANY cool and unique details that made this quinceañera party above and beyond the rest. It's all in the details, people.

Fall movies que quiero ver

Are you all getting ready for Thanksgiving next week? I am looking forward to the food, the family love, and the pumpkin pie. Also, the long weekend is a great chance to catch up on all the fall movie and new releases at my local Arclight and Laemmle theaters (los mejores cines en LA, if you ask me.)

Here are a few clips of recent and upcoming releases that look like my cup of tea.

THE DESCENDANTS- Directed by Alexander Payne and starring George Clooney. This is the latest release by the director of Election, About Schmidt and Sideways,  and it’s been getting wonderful reviews. Este es un director que me gusta mucho por como maneja las emociones y los dramas de la vida diaria con mucho dark humor pero sin hacer juicios.

THE MUPPETS- Directed by James Bobin and starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams.

This movie is for the kid in ALL of us.

I grew up in Mexico watching The Muppets and they were just as equally famous over there as they were here.  It was called “El Show de los Muppets” y lo pasaban en español.  We would watch them every Sunday nights on Canal 13 (which no longer exists) and it was a BIG deal.

Jason Segel (who also wrote the movie) recently tweeted that he was in Mexico promoting the film and he didn’t know why the female reporter was getting all emotional about it. Well, that’s because we loved it too. Ask anyone who grew up with them and we can immediately time travel back to the late 70′s/ early 80′s and start signing the Muppet theme while visualizing the Theater opening…. “It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights…” (Or as we used to sing it “Ta ta ta ra ta ta ta…Ta ra ta ra ta ta”) Here are the Trailer and the Original Theme song from the TV Show.

The Muppets Movie

The Muppets Original Song

HUGO- Directed by Martin Scorsese. Just by looking at this trailer, I immediately know I want to see this film. It looks amazingly beautiful.  Don’t you love the cinematography and 3D animation? The fact that Mr. Scorsese directed this movie makes me want to see it even more.

Wordless Wednesday: Random moment at a bar.

At the Traxx Bar at Union Station. 3 pm. Looks like someone needs a drink.

Tags: Downtown LA