Sofía Vergara proves Latinos are thriving in the new marketplace

It’s been a beautiful year so far for the lovely Ms. Sofia Vergara, and she is not shy in admitting she is turning 40 this summer.  Hey, it’s about time we all embraced that milestone.

Sofia Vergara on the cover for the April 2012 "InStyle" issue.

Take a look at her 2012 so far: Continued Hit TV Show on ABC: Check. Emmy Award for the show: Check. Modeling Contracts Galore: Check. Vanity Fair Oscar Party sitting next to Tom Ford: Check. Gigantic Times Square Ad: Check. Cover of the new InStyle for April: Check.

Not bad for la colombiana que conocemos desde hace muuucho, back cuando era más famosa por ser amiga de los famosos y por ser bonita. She’s come a long way and I don’t know about you, pero a mi me da mucho gusto. I guess at first we didn’t give her much credit, but she has proven to be a genuinely funny and talented actress. There, I said it. I don’t care if she turns out to be a diva like Salma or a little ditzy like Charo. She’s earned my respect. It takes a lot of guts and patience to make it big the way she’s made it in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue.

A gigantic Sofia Vergara and her Pepsi ad hover over Times Square in New York. Photo by Yours Truly. February 2012.

Photoclip from VanityFair.com. Photo by Getty Images. Sofia with Tom Ford (left) and her boyfriend Nick Loeb at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in LA.

I read this article today on AdWeek and was impressed with how los big shot americanous en marketing view the advertising and branding opportunities que los latinos (y los latino “wannabes”) representan.

Of course this is not the discovery of the holy grail, but it’s always nice to hear, right?  There are many IMPORTANT people trailing our habits, tracking what we spend on, keeping an eye on who we like and trying to figure out what we will like in the future.

Here’s a clip of the story:

From the website AdWeek.com

“Old Brands, New Faces” by T.L. Stanley

Take a look at Sofia Vergara. Go ahead—everybody else is.

The Colombian bombshell is hard to miss these days: striking a pose on newsstands (Cosmopolitan, Shape), selling her fashion line at Kmart stores, hawking Diet Pepsi during the Super Bowl, and keeping us laughing out loud on ABC’s Emmy-winning Modern Family, TV’s top-rated comedy.

Vergara joins stars including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Eva Longoria, Eva Mendes and Selena Gomez who constitute the face of the “now” America and to whom brands are turning to reach consumers across diverse and evolving cultural and demographic constituencies.

Vergara in particular is “a role model and a poster child for crossing over from Spanish-language media to mainstream U.S. success,” explains Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, a Hispanic marketing expert at the firm Walton|Isaacson in Los Angeles, referring to the star’s beginnings on telenovelas. “Almost no other Latina has done that, and she’s managed to become a powerhouse without ever forgetting who she is and where she came from. She didn’t shed her Hispanic-ness.”

Keep reading article HERE: Adweek. The article is featured on the current Hispanic Issue.

It’s Cinco de Mayo, the most “gringo” of Mexican holidays

Ready for a Margarita? It’s that time of year again, when the USA celebrates a Mexican historical event nobody in Mexico even remembers. (It’s NOT Mexican Independence Day, people, please!)

Happy Cinco de Mayo! The unofficial Mexican-est holiday in the US and the historic date nobody in Mexico cares for.

La Batalla de Puebla took place in 1862 and will be commemorated all across the USA with mariachi music and cheap margarita mix.  As I retweeted from Vanity Fair this morning: “Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for the day when every lame bar brings out the tacky decorations and jacks up the price of Corona and Cuervo.” And you want taquitos with that? Or some basic quesadillas con carne? All the chefs  came out with boring “mexican inspired” recipes this morning on the morning shows.

Salud Señores! Yo paso. I’d rather be at the sushi happy hour with a Sapporo and sashimi, thank you very much.

Cool anuncio con el Danny Trejo

Heard of this Brisk campaign with Danny Trejo? Maybe you caught his movie “Machete” last fall. So happy he’s getting more recognition, and being animated into this spot with a fun storyline  doesn’t hurt.

Here’s the clip. Love the production value…. Ojo: It’s a little PG 13, even though no se ve nada…digo, por si hay niños chiquitos leyendo el blog (that would be nice.)

Felicidades Danny. Se me antojo un cold Brisk ice tea a tu salud.

Buying Guacamole and stuff at Costco

Planning an Oscar Party this weekend? You may want to head over to Costco and browse through the novedoso Mexican inspired pre-made selections available ahorita.

I knew Fish tacos were popular, but these kits blew my socks off. They’re the kind you would eat in Ensenada, Baja California, although there is no comparison of course. Ya vienen todos empacaditos, all the ingredients are ready to heat and serve, and pre-packaged in one convenient box. And they are made by a company called Okami. That just screams mexicano, verdad?

( I admit, I wouldn’t purchase such a kit, because they could never compare to my friend Martha’s mom, Alicia Coronel. She is the master!)

Baja Fish Tacos, conveniently pre-packaged at Costco. Why didn't I think of that!

Pescado empanizado, check. Repollo, check. Tortillas de maiz, check. Nomas le falta la salsita, la cremita y el limoncito.

Of course, no party is a party without chips and dip, and if you like guacamole, but don’t have the time to make it, just grab a “Wholee Guacamolee” box and you’re set. I never know how they can keep the guac from turning brown though, and that kind of  makes me nervous. (Again, I wouldn’t buy pre made guacamole because my grandomother, la Mama Lilia, makes the best. She is the master!)

I get the word play, but I would have added a "Holy" and some angelitos to the design and then it would look more Mexican.

Lest you feel unsatisfied with these antojitos, you can always go for the pork carnitas box, made by our local Cardenas supermarket familia, and their brand Del Real. I hear they’re good!

Pork Carnitas by Del Real made locally by the Cardenas family, aka Cardenas Markets.

 

Orbits gum translates “el lenguaje del amor”

Just saw this commercial on mun2 recently. You gotta love the creative geniuses that thought of this. We’ve been hearing this tag line for Orbits gum for a while – “Sensación Limpia, no matter what“- but now they’ve elevated marketing in Spanglish to a new level. Enjoy!

From Prada to Nada…Oh give me a break!

Dear East LA community,

Don’t you just love being reduced to a cultural  stereotype?  Here’s the latest, plastic, fake, novela inspired, cinderella story produced by Televisa, a co-production with Lion’s Gate. Only this time it’s showing at your nearest movie theater.

From Prada to Nada is a new movie “coming pronto.” I just ask you, can we please skip it? Just by watiching the trailer, I feel both speechless and wanting to rant.

There are so many clichés and corny references, I can only imagine the Televisa producers had a blast mashing them all together in one big blob of a movie.  And why not! Al cabo que nosotros no sabemos distinguir cuando estamos viendo un CHURRO en el cine, no?  Here’s just a sample of  the elements of the story, seen on the trailer: People with weird Latino accents (check!); lowriders (check!); gangsters (check!); cholas sin cejas(check!); Mexican mechanic (check!); women “costureras” sewing in the hood (check!); immigation issues (check!); casas de colores fosforescentes (check!); gringos afraid of Mexicanos (check!); everybody falls in love at the end (check!)…

Let’s see, what are we missing? Oh yes, the Frida Kahlo disguise and unibrow reference? Check! Check! Check! (Ya ni la amuelan Televisos, de veras!)

Ugh..I am so upset right now I can’t even tell you. Wonder how Jane Austen would feel if she read the synopsis:

From Prada to Nada, a modern twist on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is a new romantic comedy starring Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama, Kuno Becker and Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza. It’s a whimsical fish-out-of-water story of two spoiled sisters: Nora (Camilla Belle), a law student, and Mary (Alexa Vega), an undergrad party girl, living with their father in a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills. Mary has become so “90210″ she refuses to admit she is of Mexican descent. When dad suddenly passes away, their posh lives are turned upside down…

 

Clever title, churro of a movie!

 

Oh Joy! Ya tenemos SCRABBLE EN ESPAÑOL

Ayer en el Barnes and Noble practicamente me desmayo del gusto y grito de la emoción al enterarme que tenemos Scrabble en Español. Lo pusieron en la mesita del “Hispanic Heritage Month” al lado de puros libros “latino minded” y algunos en español.

Que buena onda de los HASBRO, esta gente sí sabe.

"Goce de la diversión que le brinda el juego Scrabble. Acepte el reto de aprovechar al máximo las 7 letras para una acertada combinación de juego de palabras, competencia y diversión."

De qué manera les puedo explicar que ni siquiera tuve que pensarlo dos veces para comprarlo. Y bueno, alguien se preguntará si de verdad vale la pena comprar la versión en español cuando tienes el Scrabble de toda la vida. Pero sí vale la pena y créanme de veras que cuando ví que traía la Ñ me dio mucha felicidad. Y por si fuera poco, también nos dieron la LL. ¡Ni me acordaba de la LL!! Tendré que usarla mas seguido. Lo único que no tiene son acentos, pero como todas las letras son en MAYUSCULAS pues no nos vamos a fijar mucho en eso.

QUIBO??? Tan sólo por esta letra, la letra más representativa del espaÑol, vale la pena tener este Scrabble.

Además, soy de la idea de que cualquier cosa que convenza a las compañías “americanas” de que los latinos en Estados Unidos compramos, consumimos y leemos en español es bueno. Apoyemos la causa y el consumismo pues!

Para estrenar, invité a mi Mama Lilia a jugar. A sus 91 años tiene mejor vocabulario y creatividad que yo y nos divertimos mucho. Era la primera vez que ella jugaba y ahi quedamos mas o menos iguales. Claro que tengo que tomar en cuenta su comentario de “Pues está bueno el juego pero es más bien para cuando está muy frio y no puedes salir y se te antoja un chocolatito caliente, que no?”

Now everybody can understand tv novelas en español con subtitulos

Good article on the LA Times today (Click here to read) about Telemundo subtitling novelas for the younger, hipper kids on their mun2 channel. Según ellos, they don’t really speak or understand Spanish, so the producers/programmers thought the subtitles would make it easier for them to understand the drama, the passion, the tears and the joy that don’t translate on screen. Frankly, I don’t think Spanish language novelas need translation. Aren’t they universally understood? Pero bueno, it’s all about bringing in the younger viewers and new audiences to the shows.

Here’s a tip, if they really want to engage the kids on mun2, they should subtitle them with all the acronyms they use for texting. Then they would really get it!… Like: JK, KOTC, LOL, F2F, TMB, DIKU, JFF, BFF, BBS, OMG, and SLAP.

Or as we used to say in a pre-digital, didn’t we use to talk to each other before? world: Just Kidding, Kiss On The Cheek, Laugh Out Loud, Face To Face, Text Me Back, Do I Know You, Just For Fun, Best Friend Forever, Be Back Soon, Oh My God, Sounds Like A Plan.

Now those are subtitles I would really appreciate everyday just to understand what people are saying these days.

BBT (Be Back Tomorrow!)

Fiestas Patrias marketing LA

Another year. Another mega event in a downtown plaza. Another effort involving time and money for “celebrating” Mexico in LA with the same marketing tricks. (Free samples of sugary juice anyone? Just stand in line.)

Yet still it makes me wonder. Don’t our people deserve a little bit more support throughout the year? Not just during Fiestas Patrias, not just with the “Bicentenario” excuse this time around.

How about a little bit more $$$  for education, for health, for opportunities in the future? Looking at the people attending the event, thousands of them,  I wish we (the marketing people) could come up with a better formula for promoting brands while creating ways to improve the quality of life everybody deserves.

Just saying.

Walking by herself at Fiestas Patrias event in Plaza Olvera. 9/19/2010

Jarritos yum!

Without trying to sound too much like a commercial, I got a box of Jarritos sent to me this week. Guess what? They are delicious.

Yo no sé como le hacen, but they got the natural flavors right. They’re not too sweet and not too carbonated. And now you can pretty much find them at more supermarkets all over. They’ve been sold in Mexico since the 1950′s (according to wikipedia) and are the most popular mexican soft beverage drink in the US. Now they’ve gone all modern and jumped on the social media scene, with a fun promotion called “Jarritos Nation” where you claim your Jarritos for your corner of the world and win prizes. You can also follow them on FB, twitter and even flickr.

Once the box arrived, hice mi propia “cata” de Jarritos con mi familia, aprovechando el long weekend get-together. Todos los sabores nos gustaron. The best thing about them is that they are “naturally” flavored. Meaning, they only use natural cane sugar. No High Fructose Corn Syrup is used here. And that is a BIG deal. You’ve probably heard all the effects that regular soft drinks have on your health. Sodas are basically bad for you, any way you look at it. Hace daño. Es malisima!! And typical sodas are loaded with HFCS’s, so you’re drinking yourself a ridiculous amount of processed sugar each time you have a sip. Pero bueeeno, cada quien sabe lo que toma.

At least Jarritos isn’t as loaded with sugar. But they’re still good. Favorite flavors so far: Tamarindo, Jamaica, Piña. De veras que no se cómo le hacen, pero el tamarindo is the best tamarindo flavored drink other than the real agua fresca you’ll find at any taquería. I‘d written previously about their “Mineragua” and their cool name. Now Jarritos Tamarindo siempre estará en mi lista del supermercado.

Puro sabor mexicano, Jarritos style. Try them all!

¿Qué onda con el vitamin water?

Running through the downtown metro station transfer when I saw this poster for Vitamin water.

Made me stop in my tracks…what did I just read?

Como que Que Onda Last Night? I guess we all need our vitamins in the morning.

Dice el poster, “QueOndaLastNight water” y no le entendi hasta que pensé “AAAhhh! ESA onda.”

OKokok. I give them credit for trying and for using Spanglish in their marketing.

Promise to look more closely and take a better picture soon.

Drink your vitamins! By the way, did you know Fifty Cent (the rapper) owns part of the company. Nice, right?

Eva Mendes presents “Vida for España” at Macy’s

Fans turn out to support and meet Eva Mendes, who was all smiles as she presented her "Vida for España" collection.

Add another checkmark to the list of credits for Eva Mendes, actress, model and now designer. Last week she made an appearance at Macy’s Home Store South Coast Plaza to introduce her new tabletop* collection “Vida for España” by Eva Mendes. Yes, Spanglish used yet again for brand names all around. (* By the way,  what do you call “vajillas”? I was kind of stumped when thinking about a translation, anybody have another word?)

Turns out, Eva is quite a crowd pleaser and the event had a great turnout. Some fans even arrived at 9 am to get in line. The paparazzi went nuts!  She was very sweet, signed every autograph, posed for pictures, even had a chance to say hello to family friends, Macy’s personnel and Costa Mesa police officers who were only so happy to be there.

During the one-on-one interviews for media outlets, Eva spoke in perfect Spanish, con acento cubano, and I think everybody was surprised to learn how down to earth she is.

She mentioned the inspiration for the designs came from her memories growing up and how her mother made sure important moments were celebrated with nice settings and wonderful food. “No teníamos muchas cosas, ni mucho dinero para comprar cosas elegantes, pero lo que teníamos era especial y mi mamá hacía que todo luciera bonito. Y eso es lo que quiero, que las cosas sean accesibles para todos, porque las cosas finas no tienen porque ser caras y todo el mundo debe poder comprarlas.”

The collection is exclusive to Macy’s. You can see it at Macys.com. It runs between $16 and $50 dollars, good for everyday use and also for entertaining, is hand painted and very colorful. Personally I thought it was kind of inspired by the Talavera designs from Puebla, Mexico, although someone later pointed out that it looks like something you would see in Istanbul or the Middle East. It’s a sign of the times, when the buzz word is “multicultural” and you can’t quite place where something is from, but you still like it.

I think the only objection of the day was the outfit. The photographers were setting up for the diva and sexy back shot, but no luck. Se quedaron con las ganas…

¿Que pasó Eva? Looking totally innocent and demure in her Christian Lacroix dress, there was no sexy Eva in sight. Maybe the papz were a little disappointed.

At the Supermarket: Productos con Funny Names

This week during one of the regular supermarket runs, I came across a few products that made me do a “double-take.” I love finding new things at the stores, but these spanglish name applications came together in a way I think their brand managers didn’t imagine. All apply Spanish meets English double entendre…y el doble sentido se me hizo very clever!

Case in point: when looking for chicharrones con chilito, one will always look for the “picosito” taste. But when the name includes the “PICA” factor and mixes it with the  ”CHONES” part…then you have a whole new semantic message.  Of course the semantics I’m referring to are from northern México (soy de Baja California, norteña de corazón), where you sometimes replace “chones” as slang for calzones, or underwear…pero solo de cariño. Ejemplos: Se te ven los chones! Or ‘Ay que feos chones te pusiste…’

So this name could sound funny to someone along the border, “Quiero unos Picachones… Que sabrosos esos Picachones…Como pican!”

If we were travel down south of the border, pero hasta el sur de México pasando fronteras, we’d eventually end up with our neighbors, los salvadoreños, who have their own ideas and other interpretation of names. Me llama la atención que les gustan mucho nombres americanos, de preferencia presidenciales. Algunos nombres comunes para niños son Lincoln, Nixon y Clinton… como para verse mas internacionales (pero ese es asunto de ellos).

But lo and behold, que voy viendo en el beverage section este producto importado de “el pulgarcito de América” haciendo uso del recurso USA. Y les quedó chistoso: Su soda se llama “SALVA COLA”.

¿A poco no está como para tomarle fotos? A definite double take. And then we can think of slogans for a tie-in advertisement of both products, something like:

“Después de unos Picachones, una SalvaCola.” Oh the possibilities!

Habrá que probarlos, después les digo que tal.

You just can’t make this up! For a tasty snack, first try the PICACHONES…then go for the SALVACOLA.

Another item caught my eye, and forgive me for indulging. Este es mas mellow pero igual de original.

Los genios de Jarritos, que tienen las mejores sodas ANYWHERE, ahora salieron con su agua mineral de venta en USA. Y se llama MINERAGUA!!

Esta sí la probé y me gustó mucho. De ahora en adelante, pura Mineragua de sparkling water.

From now on, sólo quiero Mineragua. Love the name and it’s better than Perrier.

A whole new meaning to barbacoa.

This is NOT your Mexican hometown's barbacoa.

For a few weeks now, I’ve been watching the new Subway ads introducing their new “barbacoa” sandwich. And they’re saying it in Spanglish!

I’m curious to try it, even though I am not a fan of the traditional mexican dish, pero quiero averiguar si esto es un “gringo interpretation,” as with most Mexican cuisine available to the masses in the US. Taco Hell anyone?

It’s likely that people who have never tasted it before would be kind of shocked to find out that barbacoa is actually goat, or cow’s head, or sheep meat, prepared with a unique marinade and spices. Note: the barbacoa flavor does not resemble the traditional BBQ sauce that is popular here in the States. AND most importantly, the secret to good barbacoa is in the preparation, because in Mexico everything is cooked the right way (and the hard way!)…starting with getting the poor chivito (sheep) or cabrito(goat) drunk to the point of collapse, then killing it, boiling it, shredding it…uhmmm, I think you get the picture. Hey, at least it’s organic and you know where your food is coming from. (Presumably, vegetarians and animal lovers are not amused.)

ENE-BE-A.com just in time for the basketball season

Ready for the basketball season to get in full swing? (Go Lakers!) Just in time for the season starters tonight, the NBA recently launched a new campaign to reach latino basketball lovers and make us part of the game. Por fin they realized just how much we follow the sport! The effort by the NBA to engage us en español starts off with a full Spanish website called: ENE-BE-A… which probably doesn’t make sense to your typical anglo or spanglish speaking buddy, but to someone in Chihuahua, Mexico or Valencia, Spain who follows the sport, and doesn’t speak English, it’s music to their ears.

What do you think of the name Ene-be-a? It is the literate and accurate translation of NBA (something you don’t see often in other translations) and at first the spelling is confusing, but I guess over time we’ll get used to proper Spanish (at least for this) and pronounce las siglas en español, como deberia ser.

The site is very well put together with interesting info and stats. You can tell they made the effort to get us to become fans and follow all the Hispanic players on the NBA. Did you know there are 18 hispanic players on different NBA teams? You can see their pictures and a little bio. Solo conocía a Eduardo Nájera, de México, los hermanos españoles Pau y Marc Gasol, y el argentino Manu Ginobili…pero hay más. Some cute ones too!

Here’s the link and a screen shot to the site. Now if you excuse me, I’m going back to the Laker opener. I feel a repeat this year, verdad Pau y Kobe?

http://www.nba.com/espanol/

All things basketball en español are now found on nba.com/espanol

 

Sí Señor…quiero Mucho Cheese!

It’s been a week of the munchie-attacks… However, one was actually work related (aha!) and had to do with sampling a nice box of Si Señor and La Abeja products we have at the office (things like churritos, cacahuates japoneses, cacahuates con limon, etc.) which by the way, were absolutely finger licking good. It took me back to my “prepa” days when lunchtime involved snacking on various spicy, chilosito-tangy inspired “snacks”…NOT the apple and orange variety. Sooooooo…just for works’ sake, I tried these absolutely marvelous cheese puffs called what else? MUCHO CHEESE!

Love the name, love the product. It has the taste you remember from your lunchbox from a long time ago. I highly recommend them. Just not for everyday of course. Here’s a pic, I believe you’ll find them at Walmart, and your typical Hispanic supermarkets in California. If you find them elsewhere, let me know!

Mucho Cheese y mucho sabor...super ricos!

“Yo Quiero Taco Bell” Pooch says Adiós

Sad news today for advertising media folks, fast food aficionados and pet lovers everywhere. The original Taco Bell Chihuahua, played by Gidget, passed away at age 15.

Remember the slogan? It used to be all over the place, and now that I think about it, also coincided with the Latino explosion of the late 90′s and early millenium (Ricky Martin’s La Vida Loca also comes to mind from the time… seems like it was AGES ago, right?) It was around the time when the general market finally started believing and focusing on Latinos in the US…and then the whole advertising world took notice. Then some Latinos became upset because supposedly this campaign created streotypes (whatever!)….But I digress. Let’s give Gidget her due. Fue la pionera de los perritos actores latinos, si señor!

Here’s the info and link from Advertising Age: http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=138062

According to a PeoplePets.com exclusive, Gidget, one of the Taco Bell chihuahuas, died from a stroke. She was 15 years old.

The Taco Bell dog made its first appearance in June 1997 in a campaign created by Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat/Day of Playa del Ray, Calif. The first dog was actually Dinky, and the character was portrayed as a male who uttered a line that would quickly become a pop-culture catchphrase: “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”

Though the dog made Taco Bell cool again, it was not without its problems. Throughout its run, the dog was the target of criticism from Hispanic groups, who accused the Yum Brands unit of trafficking in stereotypes. And in June 2003, a federal jury ordered Taco Bell to pay $30.2 million (plus another $11 million in interest) to two men who accused the restaurant company of stealing their idea for a marketing mascot and icon.

More Spanglish in action, this time on Dishtv.

The reference to Versace still gets good airtime.

Not your typical wrestler, Rey Misterio is an authentic luchador that has crossover appeal with gringos.

Nice tagline Tecate!

Very cool surprise to find yet another example of Spanglish advertising. This time it was on English only tv, The Travel Channel, of all places.

As I was waiting for another installment of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (have yet to blog about this) a fairly new spot for Tecate Light turns on, featuring a few cultural hispanic references weaving into the “gringo” culture.

Among our contributions:  Rey Misterio, an authentic luchador making his mark in the US wrestling world; a street sign that says “Beware of Perro Malo” warning you of an aggressive Chihuahua dog; and the Versanchez logo based on Versace, which surfaced circa 1994, but somehow doesn’t get old. I don’t know if mainstream americanos will get it, but it’s a nice try.

However, for the true brilliance of Tecate branding en español, please check out the Papás (parents) spots on youtube, which are hilarious. Here’s one below:

Gael, ¡invítame a tu Party!

Wired magazine is a cool source of techie news stuff, and it usually takes a while to browse through it all, but lo and behold! Que se me aparece el cuerito del Gael (o GALE if you’re british proper) in a fullspread 3 page color ad for Grey Goose Vodka.

The spread is titled “On The House” and it invites you to “join actor Gael García Bernal and friends as they gather on a picturesque West Village terrace for an evening of summer cocktails.” Then you turn the page and you see him partying on the terrace, lounging with hip, trendy friends and chilling with a vodka drink.

The Ad also explains how he “abides by a few key entertaining principles to ensure that everyday occasions are extraordinary: Music:  Gael knows that his party is a success when everyone ends up dancing…”That’s a sign that it was good for their souls.” Food:  Not one for elaborate preparations, Gael prefers to serve food food that’s familiar, straightforward and low key, like the “really good” tamales that his grandmother helps him make.”

(Hmmmm… vodka and tamales is not my party combo of choice, but I’ll try the abuelita tamales with an ice cold cerveza por favor!)

He does make a point to say that he “believes that it’s best to start early so everyone has time to get comfortable and make themselves at home.” Knowing a bit about his night owl lifestyle through the mexican tabloids and fresa magazines, I would dare mention that he also believes it’s best to finish the party really early, say 5AM, preferably accompanied by an admiring femme fatale.

Oh but I digress… he is now a Dad so I guess “early bird special” terrace parties in the West Village (NY) are the norm. No matter, they still sound like fun. I’d like to go to those parties, wouldn’t you?

Gael says "ven a mi fiesta."

Ah!!! The beautiful people having fun with Gael and his vodka drink.

Los “Victorinos” de Telemundo: looking good!

On Sunday, Telemundo had their annual Experiencia Deportiva event, at Huntington Park. Good turnout, great weather and it was Father’s day, so people were celebrating.

One of the highlights of the day was the personal appearance by the Victorinos cast to promote the new novela that starts on Tuesday June 23. AND… I have to say… it looks very interesting. I’m not just saying that because all 3 male leads are bona fide hunks who are as handsome (even more so) than any of your Hollywood A-list stars; one of the lead actors, Mauricio Ochmann, is the closest thing you’ll ever get to a Mexican Tom Cruise, for example. The story line is intriguing, for a change, and the synopsis reads more like a drama tv series rather than your regular cinderella-esque novela de toda la vida:

“El 11 de noviembre de 1985 a la 1 de la tarde, nacen en distintas ciudades 3 niños que compartirán un mismo nombre, Victorino, y un desafío fatal: cuenta la profecia que el día en que coincidan físicamente en el mismo lugar, uno de ellos morirá. El extraño augurio es lanzado por un mentalista durante una función a a que las futuras madres de los tres Victorinos asisten. A partir de ese momento, la tramanos muestra paralelamente la vida de los tres Victrinos desde la concepción hasta el día del fatal encuentro manteniendo a la audiencia en una constante intriga que sólo será resuelta en el capítulo final. Hay quien dice que no se puede escapar de los designios del destino porque todo te empuja a un mismo final.”

In other words: on Nov. 11, 1985 at 1 pm, 3 boys are born at the same time in different cities. They will share a name and a fatal destiny. On the day they all physically meet at the same place, one of them shall die. This was predicted by a psychic at a show that all 3 mothers attended. The story will evolve and tell the paralel lives of all 3 Victorinos from their birth to to the final fatal day of their meeting.

Esta medio “weird” el concepto… but it could work. I was told it is based on a novel by Venezuelan writer Manuel Otero Silva called “Cuando quiero llorar no lloro”. So I am watching it at 10 PM, as I tivo Betty La Fea. The cast is made up of a good looking bunch: Mauricio Ochmann (es un adorado y super lindo en persona), and 2 relative newcomers that you will probably see more of: Arap Bethke (un güerito chilango, con nombre poco común, que es un cuero) and Roberto Manrique (otro bello). Let’s hope it’s a good show and Telemundo does well with it. Here are pictures from the event as they signed autographs and posed for pics. And here’s the link if you want more info on the show: http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/novelas/Los_Victorinos/

Roberto Manrique, Arap Bethke, Mauricio Ochmann promoting their novela "Victorinos."

Roberto Manrique es de Ecuador y es uno de los 3 Victorinos.

Mauricio Ochmann, channeling his inner Tom Cruise.

Arap Bethke es del DF y es el Victorino "malo" pero en persona es muy buena onda.

Everybody got a t-shirt from Telemundo, packaged tightly in a "V" shape.