What to do in LA this Memorial Day Weekend

Ahhh, long weekends. They’re few and far between but once they come around it’s time to enjoy. Lucky for us Angelenos that we have a pretty good selection of things to do.

In case you haven’t heard, the annual HOLA MEXICO Film Fest is going on this weekend. It’s been a success for 3 years now, and you practically couldn’t get a ticket for last night’s opening night film since it was totally sold out. But if you’re in the mood for good cine en español, then head over to the Ricardo Montalbán theater in Hollywood this weekend and catch a great movie. There’s documentaries, feature films and even shorts. I have a couple of pelis I want to check out myself.  This year the theme is “ADIOS CLICHES” so there’s a great selection of movies to see.

Click HERE for the schedule and full list of movies. The fest runs till Wednesday May 30th.

On the other hand, if you’re a TRANSFORMERS fan, then surely you must be happy summer is here. The long awaited “Transformers The Ride 3D” is opening this weekend at Universal Studios Hollywood. This new attraction is a  big deal in this town, which thrives on family entertainment, so if you’re planning to go, then go early and prepare to get in line. Click here for more details and be ready to shell out the wallet, especialmente si llevan a la family.

The Transformers Ride in 3D opens this weekend at Universal Studios.

If you’re in the mood for going out, there’s a new restaurant in West Hollywood that opened recently, and I have it on good authority that it’s a great place for “Mexican inspired” food and Margaritas.

It’s called “Tortilla Republic Grill and Tequileria” (el nombre no me encanta, pero que se puede esperar de estos gringos que son wannabes paisanos) and it’s a cool spot in the heart of West Hollywood.

It’s not a typical nor authentic Mexican-Mexican food place, but rather a very fresa spot en donde seguramente you can people-watch all “the beautiful people.” Maybe I’ll check it out, ya saben como me gustan los paparrazi shots. Plus  they have “Jalapeño Margaritas” on the menu and serve Herradura Tequila, so I’m definitely intrigued. Click here for pictures and menus of the place.

Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend, and again, if you drink, please don’t drive.

Tortilla Republic is located on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood. Photo from their website tortillarepublic.com

What to do this weekend in LA:

Spring is in bloom and here we are already in the second weekend of May. Ayer festejamos a las Mamás mexicanas y el domingo May 13 we do it again para las Mamás in the US. Did you already get you Mom a nice gift? I hope you did!

But there are other things to include into your weekend festivities if you live in LA.

The Lea-LA Book Fair (La Feria del Libro en Español)  opens today at the Convention Center in DTLA, organized by la Universidad de Guadalajara. It’s a 3 day event that promises interesting book selections and purchases, and a number of author presentations and conferences. Click here for the complete program and go support la lectura en español. It is a free event for the entire family, lleven a los niños y compren libros en español, para que se vayan acostumbrando.  Goes on from Friday May 11 to Sunday May 13, 10 am to 6 pm.

Lea LA starts Friday May 11 and goes on til Sunday May 13, from 10 am to 6 pm. Don’t miss it.

Another big event this Saturday is the annual Revlon Run-Walk at the USC Campus in LA. It’s a major fundraising event for the fight against breast cancer. I’ll be participating in this walk with Team Macy’s, which is a major sponsor of the event and always supports the cause with a big team of volunteers and walkers. If you know anyone who is going through cancer, and you want to support them, you may want to check out this link and see how you can get involved.

Revlon Run Walk is happening Saturday May 12 at the USC Campus. Join the fight against Breast Cancer at do.eifoundation.org

TGIF, Cinco de Mayo Fever, and a Super Moon

Oh yeah, it’s Friday. This weekend couldn’t come soon enough. For all of you who haven’t noticed, today is “Star Wars Day” which gives you a chance to say the now famous tag line “May the Fourth Be With You.”

But mañana, ah mañana nos da a todos los ex-pats mexicanos living in the US a chance to appreciate the one Mexican Holiday that gringous love and cherish, the annual “let’s drink till we crawl” Margarita infused celebration that has become “Cincou de Mayouu”.

Let’s be honest, people here don’t know, and frankly don’t care, that this historic celebration commemorates La Batalla de Puebla. It was 150 years ago in the beautiful state of Puebla, México, when the Mexicanos defeated and outmaneuvered a los franceses who had invaded the land of ours. So Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that observes a historical and mathematical coup in México, one that always makes us proud. (Never mind that a few days later los franceses got their act together and came back for more desmadre and fighting… but that’s another story.)

Pero si quisieramos celebrar como Dios manda, we should not just drink Margaritas, but enjoy the typical Poblano dishes, like Mole Poblano, Chalupas, Chiles en Nogada and other delicacies. If only we had a “Fonda de Santa Clara” restaurant in LA. I haven’t found one yet, so I’m gonna have to stick to the Margaritas.

If you feel adventurous, and if you’re not driving this weekend, may I suggest a recipe I found on Bonappetit.com. I think it’s a good twist on the original, and it sounds really good. Click on the photo for the recipe. BUT PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.

Click on the image to get the recipe from bonappetit.com

Also, not to be missed this weekend, is the annual appearance of the “Super Moon,” which is basically the largest size the moon appears all year and the closest it gets to the Earth. (Just don’t get too close, Luna)…And it’s gonna happen on Saturday as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

“For reasons still unknown to science, the moon appears much larger and more magnificent when it is near the horizon than when it is soaring overhead, despite the fact that the moon’s size never actually changes.” (Click here to go to the article by space.com)

Image from Space.com

Just be careful of all the lunáticos * (you know who they are) who get extra moody, sensitive or weirder “cuando la luna se pone regrandota,  como una pelotota y alumbra el callejón…”

For a musical rendition of this fabulous line, check out “El Gato Viudo” on the link. Gracias Chava Flores!

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.)

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.

A few ideas for your “Día de los Muertos” party and outfit

¿Como que hay un boom de Halloween este año, verdad?  But in LA we do it DOUBLE con la fiesta de “Día de Los Muertos”.

It’s amazing how people in LA embrace and celebrate both Halloween and Día de los Muertos back to back, and you don’t even have to be Mexican or Hispanic to appreciate this. Cada vez hay más fans de esta fiesta que celebra la vida después de la muerte, and there’s no better place to witness this than the annual Self Help Graphics Día de los Muertos event. It will be held in Boyle Heights this year, on Nov. 2, and they’ve got a cool procession starting from Union Station (Gold Line) at 4 pm and Mariachi Station at 5pm. (Check the link for more details.) The event is free! But you have to get a metro ticket.

I had a chance to go 2 years ago and it was fabulous. It’s a grand scale event with families, artists, music, local vendors, tamales, champurrado, churros and la vendedora de frutas all rolled into one great night. I blogged about it then (you can read it by clicking here) and  was so impressed with the way this traditional fiesta mexicana crossed the border and became such a big event, it was súper concurrido. It captures the spirit of the celebration in México, where it’s a happy occasion, a true celebration of all our loved ones “que se nos adelantaron” y que están en el afterlife muy contentos y en paz.

So these pictures below are from the photo vault from 2009. Maybe some of you calaca aficionados would like to see them again, in case you need any ideas for your altar or for your disfraz. There’s still time to get one.

¡Feliz Día de Muertos amiguitos!

Altar de familia, con flores de cempasuchil, la tradicional flor que se usa para adornar el altar de muertos.

Estas veladoras están padres para decorar en estas fechas.

Ahi viene la Calaca Ranchera. I’d be scared if I ran into this guy!

Calaca face painting at Self Help Graphics event (2009) was a popular theme.

Colorful calaca magnets on sale at the event.

Las gringuitas también se vistieron de Catrinas. ¡Muy bien!

Louis XV inspired calacas.

Very creative! “His and Her” calaca skeletons.

Little trastecitos de calacas with a Mexican Revolution twist.

Isn’t it interesting how something as dreary as death is exalted to become a happy occasion? Aqui la calaca se pone guapa con mucho glitter.

They’re calling it “Carmageddon” in LA and I’m getting the heck out of town!

If you live in Los Angeles then you know the price we pay for enjoying wonderful La La Land: Traffic. All.The.Time.

So it should be no suprise to anyone that the 405 freeway closure next weekend (July 16 and 17) will be a mess for the westside. (Pronostican que se va a hacer un desmadre.)

For over a month we’ve been hearing the warnings, but now that it’s almost here, you can sense people are really really worried about this. So heads up! If you live in the area, stay home. If you are planning on traveling by car that weekend, change you plans, and if you’re flying out of LAX, just plan to sleep at a hotel nearby. No se confíen amiguitos, this 405 closure sounds really scary. Por algo le están diciendo el “Carmageddon” en todos lados.

We’ve heard that Metro LA  enlisted Lady Gaga to tweet about it, so she can remind us. And they also asked Poncharello himself, the original CHiP, Erik Estrada to do a PSA (public service announcement) in English AND in Spanish.

Here’s the Spanish version from youtube. (Todavía no se le quita lo “pocho”. Lo digo con cariño, that’s the original pocho accent we grew up with.)

So avoid driving, do your grocery shopping in advance and prepare to stay home. Hey, what a novel idea!

Vamos a ver películas mexicanas en el Hola México Film Fest

Como siempre nos estamos quejando que nunca nos llegan buenas películas mexicanas a LA (and no, the B-movies from KWHY Canal 22 LA do NOT count!) hoy me puse de buenas cuando mi amigo Xesus Naranjo me dio una buena noticia: Tenemos un Mexican Film Fest la semana que entra! May0 19- 25 en el Teatro Ricardo Montalbán de Los Angeles.

Vamos amiguitos!! Aprovechemos ahora sí para ver como Dios manda, y no en youtube, películas como “Presunto Culpable” (el documental mas taquillero – EVER- en México), el documental de Café Tacvba “Seguir Siendo”, y la muy comentada película  “El Infierno”  que recientemente se llevó muchos premios Arieles. Estvue viendo el “schedule” y hay varias opciones interesantes, así que creo que iremos a darnos el rol.

Aqui esta el link a la página, Hola Mexico Film Fest. Ahi pueden ver los trailers de las peliculas, horarios y donde comprar los boletos. ($5 en las tiendas FAMSA; $8 online; $9 at the door.)

Y no conozco a los organizadores, pero MUCHAS GRACIAS por traernos estas movies a LA. We really appreciate it!!

BRAVO!! Vamos a apoyar al cine mexicano.

Vamos: LéaLA, la primera feria del libro en español en California

VAMOS.

Todos los amantes de la lectura en español estamos de fiesta este fin de semana en LA.

LéaLA promete ser uno de esos eventos especiales que hay que disfrutar en Los Angeles, con escritores, intelectuales  y amantes de la lectura en un espacio enorme y con entrada GRATIS. Lo organiza la Universidad de Guadalajara con otros patrocinadores locales.

No todos los días tenemos la oportunidad de ver en persona a Isabel Allende, Laura Restrepo, Xavier Velasco, Ofelia Medina, Kate del Castillo, Lydia Cacho, Francisco Martin Moreno, Dayanara Torres, José José (!!!) y muchos otros presentadores en un solo lugar. Además hay talleres de lectura, de cine, de lenguaje e idioma, temas culturales, etc.

Ahorita estuve leyendo el programa y me emocioné mucho. ¡Quiero ir a todo! Espero ustedes se puedan dar una vuelta tambien.

Tendrán temas para lectores de todos los géneros, y algo para toda la familia, incluyendo un espacio de lectura para niños. Because it’s never too early to get them to love books.

Visiten el website y vean todo lo que pueden disfrutar. Aqui esta el link:

Programa LEA-LA

Por favor vayan y lleven a su familia. De verdad hay que asistir para apoyar este evento porque 1) es un esfuerzo muy grande traer todo este programa a California y 2) si no vamos, ya no nos van a querer traer estas opciones culturales gratuitas. Que vea todo el mundo que los latinos en California leemos y queremos más cultura y más opciones inteligentes.

Léa-LA es este viernes 29 y sábado 30 de Abril, y el domingo 1 de mayo en el LA Convention Center en Downtown LA, “Concourse Hall”. Direccion es 1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Abierto desde las 10am hasta las 7pm. Entrada Libre!

El fin de semana went by so fast.

48 hours is not enough. Here are some random shots from the weekend. Todos en downtown LA.

Walking on Main street at midnight.

New favorite sign: the "Million Dollar." Should say "Hotel Rosslyn". Que bueno que son "fire proof."

Over at La Fonda by MacArthur Park, nuestros amigos colombianos tocan padrisimo el vallenato y las cumbias.

Baile y baile. ¡Qué buena música!

Cante y cante y cante con el Conjunto Primavera

El House of Blues de Sunset Blvd. estuvo sold out el miércoles en la noche con puros románticos mexicanos y latinos. Todos fuimos a ver al grupo de música regional norteña, Conjunto Primavera and boy did we have fun!

No sabía que fueran tan populares y tan taquilleros, pero de verdad no cabía ni un solo alfiler en el HOB. El concierto fue patrocinado por las tiendas La Curaçao “Un poco de su país” y fue un gran triunfo de los latinos en LA. Se anotaron un DIEZ. Lo que sea de cada quien, they really know their market and audience.

Fue mucha gente linda y super divertida, todos con sus iphones y blackberrys grabando el concierto y tomándoles fotos. El público les mandaba recaditos solicitándoles “una complacencia.” Y los chavos del Conjunto fueron super amables y leían todas las notitas que les enviaban al stage. Los leían como telegramas y mensajes en la radio, a toda velocidad “Margarita le manda saludos a Vicente y dice-que-lo-quiere-mucho-y-le-quiere-dedicar-una-canción-con-todo -su corazón, con mucho amor-y-dice-así-para-todos-ustedes…” y cantaban “Algo de Mi” and then people went crazy! Después otros mensajes solicitaban “Las Mañanitas “para la señora Conchita que esta festejando su cumpleaños…” Y luego leían saludos para los de Zacatecas, y los de Ojinaga, Chihuahua, y los de Guanajuato y hasta para los amigos de nuestra hermana República de El Salvador. No se quedaron atrás la Valeria y la Linda quienes pidieron la de ‘Empaca tus Cosas’ “…porque se vinieron a festejar que hoy se divorció Linda.” (Hey, there’s something for everybody to sing about!)

Todos, de verdad que todos se sabían las canciones de memoria y hasta las coreaban a ellos. ¿Qué se sentirá que el público te cante con tanta entrega y con tantas ganas? Me imagino que se siente muy bonito, pero más si estas fuera de tu país y entre tanta gente tan sincera.

“Si acaso supiera que me has extrañado tan solo un poquito…Con tan solo una muestra de amor, correría a buscarte… Porque no me haces este favor… ¿qué te cuesta extrañarmeeeeee?” fue una de las letras que mas eco tuvieron y asi se fueron con todo el repertorio.

No faltaron las parejas que bailaron mucho a pesar del poco espacio. Con el saxofón y el acordeón y la bateria, creo que ponían a bailar hasta las piedras.

Sin pena a decirlo, me encantó verlos y conocerlos.  El Conjunto Primavera canta padrisimo, tocan padrisimo, le ponen mucho feeling and they make you want sing about Love. ¿Qué más se puede pedir para un miércoles en la noche?

Aqui les dejo una de las que más me gustó.

The “Summer of Bricia”

Just a quick link to a great article that came out last week in the LA Times featuring the coolest girl on the planet, Bricia Lopez and her brother Fernando. They are continuing a great family restaurant tradition with their Guelaguetza chain of restaurants, as well as new business ventures and ideas.

I usually reserve my praises for generation Y kids, but these two are something else. They’re 25 and 23 years old and they could teach us older kids a thing or two. They are a force of entrepreneurship, family values, social media connections, foodie passions… y GANAS! Congrats to them and keep it coming. Felicidades Bricia!

Click here to read the LA Times Food section.

From the LA Times article published last week, Fernando and Bricia López, continuing the tradition of La Guelaguetza restaurants. (Photo: Kirk McCoy, LA Times)

Un paseo por el Hollywood Walk of Fame

As I was reading the LA Times this weekend, I came across an interesting article about a man who polishes the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He does this for a living, every day, even with an amputated leg.

Read the story  here.

And see photos here.

I thought about contacting him to request he work his magic on the star of our beloved Cantinflas, which looks a little under the weather. About a week ago, my cousin Mariana and I went on a photo outing and mini-staycation to Hollywood and we saw it. We lamented the state of the star and the fact that it looks medio abandonada, ahi nomás fue a quedar en frente de un kinky negligé shop. Cantinflas would not be happy, chatos!

The star for Cantinflas on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is lacking a little shine.

We walked around a little more and found a mural I really had been wanting to shoot. It’s the famous “all star” mural that has the greatest stars from back in the day, from James Dean, John Wayne, Sophia Loren, Judy Garland, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, even Woody Allen. But we were so disappointed to see somebody had messed it up by adding graffiti to Marylin Monroe. So sad! Parece que ya nadie respeta nada.

El mural de los famosos en Hollywood. Marylin fue víctima del graffiti.

How can they do this to Marylin?

La Liz and Richard Burton, from their Cleopatra days.

James Dean and Sophia Loren in all their youth and beauty.

Then we walked around to the Kodak Theater and shot some more images. But I think the sun and the heat (over 100 degrees that day!) got to us. Not to mention the crowds of turists and weirdos jamming the Hollywood Strip. So we had to stop for a bit. Para no deshidratarnos llegamos por unas margaritas a La LoteriaGrill (super recomendable) y para no errarle también nos echamos un delicioso ice-cream de Chongos Zamoranos. You have to try it if you can before summer ends. It’s simply delicious.

Here are a few shots of a great day. Saludos a mi prima M., que es además una excelente fotografa. I think it runs in the family. See her blog here.

At the entrance of a legendary theater, the Egyptian.

Another beautiful mural, a total suprise. Honor a Dolores del Rio y todas sus películas. Para muchos, ella es la más famosa actriz mexicana. Lástima que también le rayaron su mural.

Turists and locals taking a little breather from the heat at the Kodak Theater outskirts.

A larger view from the Kodak Theater, facing Hollywood Blvd.

Get yourself over to La Loteria Grill (on Hollywood or Studio City) and ask for el helado de Chongos Zamoranos. The best and most authentic chongos this side of the Rio Grande. You will love it!

Los Tigres del Norte ROAR at Disney Hall

Cantaron, bailaron y gozaron en el Disney Hall. (Foto Universal Music)

Un verdadero acontecimiento tuvo lugar el viernes en la noche en Los Angeles. History in the making!

Los Tigres del Norte, el famosísimo grupo con éxitos como La Puerta Negra, La Jaula de Oro, La Reina del Sur entre otras miles de canciones, hicieron historia al ser el primer grupo de música regional mexicana que tiene un concierto el prestigioso Disney Hall de Los Angeles.

THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL!! And you’ve got to hand it to the organizers and the board of trustees of the music center who thought of this. I’m sure once all the latinos started coming in en masse they thought, “Oh MY GAWD, what were we thinking?“

Still, it was a great concert that went over 2 hours long, in a beautiful setting, and even the gringos enjoyed it. Of course they probably got lost in the translation and didn’t understand the lyrics. Esas canciones están llenas de reclamos, de verdades. Piden justicia para los indocumentados y exigen que se nos reconozca más a los latinos en este país, “que también es nuestro.”

"De qué me sirve el dinero, si estoy como prisionero, dentro de esta gran nación, cuando me acuerdo hasta lloro, aunque la jaula sea de oro, no deja de ser prisión..." (La Jaula de Oro)

Ya entendí porque son tan famosos. Tienen el don de combinar la música popular con historias y letras que expresan lo que sienten los imigrantes, estén legales o no, y el coraje que da que te hagan menos por tu raza, especialmente en estos tiempos con leyes como las de Arizona.

“Ya me gritaron mil veces que me regrese a mi tierra, porque aqui no quepo yo. Quiero recordarle al gringo: Yo no cruce la frontera, la frontera me cruzó…Y si no miente la historia, aqui se asentó en la gloria de esta poderosa nación…entre guerreros y valientes, indios de dos continentes, mezclados con español. Y si a los siglos nos vamos: somos más americanos, somos más americanos que el hijo del anglo sajón…” (Somos Más Americanos)

Los Tigres le cantaron a los imigrantes, a los latinos, a los enamorados y a los desenamorados.

Ya se imaginarán que la raza casi se vuelve loca con gritos y aplausos. Me dió gusto ver a la bandera mexicana, a la gente cantando en español la música norteña. De veras que emocionan.

Todos Los Tigres del Norte son parientes. Creo que son hermanos y primos. Desconozco exactamente los lazos familiares pero todos se parecen: Jorge Hernández, Hernán Hernández, Eduardo Hernández, Luis Hernández y Oscar Lara. Ahi entre todos tocan guitarra, acordeones, saxofón, el cello y los tambores. Y con la acústica del Disney Hall, la música estuvo fabulosa. Cantaron y cantaron y cantaron. Hasta les dieron papelitos con peticiones para que cada quien escuchara su favorita. A una señora le cantaron las mañanitas porque era su cumpleaños. Todo el mundo salió contento.

Así que ya lo saben: all you Rush Limbaughs, Pete Wilsons, Jan Brew-has and other immigration haters out there: You may seem to be gaining ground and air time; pero a los latinos ya nos invitaron al Disney Hall, y esta fiesta con nos gustó. We like it here.  Entonces ya se pueden ir acostumbrando al rugir de estos Tigres por aquí, verdad que sí? Ajúuuuua!!

"Así quedó" el Disney Hall after the concert.

Fin de Cursos del Citizenship Class

One of the wonderful things in the USA is that you have great access to free education services either by local community colleges, churches or the state. Right now English and Citizenship seem to be the most popular subjects.

Such is the case of LACC, LA City College, where my wonderful, beautiful and amazing grandmother is learning English and preparing for her citizenship test. Oh, did I mention? She’s 91 years old. When she registered for the class, they asked her: ¿Por qué se quiere hacer ciudadana de los Estados Unidos? And she responded very clearly, “Porque quiero tener Voz y Voto.”

Asi es, mis querido 4 lectores, ustedes que la conocen, saben que mi Mama Lilia es lo máximo. Se ha esmerado mucho en asistir todos los sábados en la mañana a sus clases. I think she loves to learn, and has a quick mind. Sometimes she’ll forget a name and dates like Who wrote the US Constitution or who was John Hancock? but generally, she LOVES the history of the United States. Ask her who is on the 100 dollar bill and she’ll say “Franklin… ¿qué no?” or who was the president of the USA during WW2 and she’ll say “Roosevelt era MUY BUEN presidente!”

Of course, she’s become the teacher’s pet. She has a wonderful and very patient teacher, Mr. Jose Rodriguez, who has helped her with her lessons, switching between Spanish and English to make sure everybody in class understands the lessons so they’re ready for the citizenship test.

Team Orange! Parece que se pusieron de acuerdo. My grandmother has become the teachers pet: Lilia Rodriguez y su maestro de inglés y ciudadanía, José I. Rodriguez. (No son parientes - No relation.)

This Saturday was the last class of the Spring Quarter. To celebrate, Mr. Rodriguez invited everybody to bring a typical dish from their home countries. There was food from all over: Pupusas from El Salvador, Empanadas de Argentina, Ensalada de frutas de Guatemala, Tacos Dorados de nuestros paisanos de México, etc. etc.  y para no quedarse atrás, mi Mama Lilia se lució con un “Pastel Azteca” que le quedo delicioso. Se levantó a las 5AM para hacerlo ella misma, con pollo orgánico y todo el kit. Basically it’s her version of a Mexican lasagna, but with tortillas fritas and guajillo sauce, jack cheese rayado y aceitunas verdes.

So everybody had a good time and here is the photo to prove it. Thanks to Mr. Rodriguez for being such a good teacher and congratulations to all the class. Buena Suerte en su examen de ciudadanía. Imagine this: Más latinos CIUDADANOS, legales y preparados. We are very proud!!!

Congratulations to all the Students and GOOD LUCK in your citizenship test.