Destellos Borincanos

Destellos Borincanos http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003 News, People and Events about Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican professionals. en Copyright 2009, Boricua Network Fri, 01 May 2009 05:32:47 GMT Fri, 01 May 2009 05:32:47 GMT Looking for a Job? Think GREEN! http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000243#00000243 Green Jobs are here! Now that President Obama has said that the future of our economy is 'going green' and vow to create millions of jobs, if you are unemployed it is a good time to think green in terms of your future job. The possibilities go beyond installing solar panels. You can get a bachelors degree in environmental sciences to work with research organizations, or non-profit groups, or provide green zone certifications for constructions firms. The list is endless and green! For more info go to our <a href="/members/boricua/comm/READ/00000129/Looking-for-a-Job-Think-GREEN.html" target="_blank">Employment Opportunities Forum</a>. (FOTO: Carlos Weick (c) All rights reserved) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000243#00000243">Read More »</a> Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:34:53 GMT 'Moving Forward' Bernie williams' New CD http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000242#00000242 Former Yankees All-Star center fielder Bernie Williams released his second and new CD "Moving Forward" on April 14th. Bernie's next show is Saturday, April 18, 2009 @ the Nokia Theater in Times Square, NYC @ 9 PM. This show is the release party for "Moving Forward". More info in: Ticketmaster or the Nokia Theater box office. (GRAPHIC: Bernie Williams’ second album, "Moving Forward" - by Reform Records) in stores now. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000242#00000242">Read More »</a> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:13:56 GMT Concierto de Willie Colón en Miami http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000238#00000238 Willie Colón anuncia su regreso a los escenarios El Diario/La Prensa Fuente: AP 2009-04-11 (Gráfica: Nuevo CD de Willie Colón "El Malo") SAN JUAN/AP — Willie Colón anunció el domingo su regreso a los escenarios con un concierto el 17 de abril en Miami tras una reciente intervención médica. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000238#00000238">Read More »</a> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:10:08 GMT Want to help the Arecibo Telescope to find a Pulsar? http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000231#00000231 Join the pulsar hunters and work from home Astronomy Blog (Astronomy Magazine) by Daniel Pendick 03-26-2009 “Wanted: a few hundred thousand computers with a little spare time on their hands.” <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000231#00000231">Read More »</a> Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:04:20 GMT Obama to Nominate a Boricua for V.A. Department http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000229#00000229 John U. Sepúlveda was the first Latino and Puerto Rican to become Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under President Clinton administration, a position for which he was nominated in 1998 and unanimously confirmed by the U. S. Senate. (FOTO by: Rudi Williams /Defenselink.mil) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000229#00000229">Read More »</a> Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:26:17 GMT The US-PRican "Peseta" is Here! http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000228#00000228 The Puerto Rico commemorative quarter-dollar, 25 cents coin, was created by the U.S. Mint Quarter Program and is the 2nd issued in the 2009. The Puerto Rican "Peseta" is part of the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. The new quarter honoring Puerto Rico is also the 1st U.S. coin with a Spanish inscription in the reverse side showing a sentry box on an old Spanish fort with the phrase 'Isla del Encanto' or 'Island of Enchantment.' So now when people asked or doubt if Puerto Rico is part of the US, just look in your pocket and show them with proud our "Peseta". (GRAPHIC: PR Coin/United States Mint Quater Program) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000228#00000228">Read More »</a> Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:15:25 GMT PRña Directora de Oficina del Inmigrante del Depto. del Trabajo de NY http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000227#00000227 Mari Tere Arce asegura que continuará defendiendo los derechos laborales de los inmigrantes news.yahoo.com (Por: EFE) 24 marzo 2009 (FOTO: EFE) Nueva York (EFE) - La puertorriqueña Mari Tere Arce, nueva directora de la Oficina del Inmigrante del Departamento del Trabajo de Nueva York, asegura que trabajará para que esta agencia continúe brindando los servicios a una comunidad vulnerable a los abusos. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000227#00000227">Read More »</a> Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:39:07 GMT New Comic Book Series is the Brainchild of a Ponce Born Boricua http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000225#00000225 Guild Works Productions Celebrates Release of New Series Northampton Comic Store serves as the setting for Hell’s Blood #1 Release March 28, 2009 Northampton, MA (PR.com)-- Guild Works Productions this week officially celebrated the release of the inaugural issue of its newest comic series. Hell’s Blood is the brainchild of its creator Hector E. Rodríguez, along with his creative team. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000225#00000225">Read More »</a> Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:10:14 GMT Gilbertito Santarrosa encabeza Premios ‘Lo Nuestro’ http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000223#00000223 LISTOS 'LO NUESTRO' El Diario/La Prensa Por: GISELA SALOMON 26 Mar 2009 <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000223#00000223">Read More »</a> Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:20:45 GMT Arrasan Boricuas en Festival Viña del Mar http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000221#00000221 El famoso Festival Internacional de la Canción celebrado todos los años en la Quinta Vergara del querido país de Chile se colmó de talento puertorriqueño en su 50va edición. Entre los artistas puertorros que engalanaron este evento se encuentran: Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi y Marc Anthony, quien tuvo el honor de cerrar tan importante evento de la música Latinoamericana. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000221#00000221">Read More »</a> Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:24:13 GMT A 1595 Galleon may save the 2010 Central American Games http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000218#00000218 Puerto Rico looks to salvage its public pride with dive for privateer's booty Loot on Hawkins's sunken galleon may plug $30m hole in regional games' budget The Guardian (United Kingdom) Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent Monday 9 February 2009 By tradition English pirates plundered the Caribbean for gold and silver with raids which instilled dread in coastal settlements and Spanish fleets. Their purpose was not to stash treasure on the ocean floor to bail out, centuries later, a cash-strapped municipality which risks losing a coveted sporting event. But more than 400 years after it sank a galleon thought to have belonged to John Hawkins, a legendary English privateer, they may rescue a Puerto Rican city's budget and pride. Local politicians and salvage experts have unveiled a quixotic plan to salvage a wreck which, they say, contains up to $2bn (£1.35bn) in treasure. The bounty would be used to save Puerto Rico's hosting of the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayagüez, a city on the west coast, and avert a humiliating fiasco. "We want you to know this is a well-grounded project," Evelyn Vazquez, a ruling party senator, told a press conference last week. "This has been done in other places, like Miami." She displayed ancient bottles and jugs which have already been salvaged and said the wreck contained an estimated $1bn to $2bn in coins, ingots, jewellery and artefacts such as cannons. Along with another senator, Lucy Arce, Vazquez planned to seek funding for the project from the island's national assembly. The vessel, one of an estimated 200 wrecked off Puerto Rico's coast since Christopher Columbus's arrival, lies off the island's north-western tip near the city of Isabela. A diver and explorer, Efrain Acevedo, claims to have discovered it in 1991 and registered "provisional custodial rights" with the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. He has backed the senators' initiative in the hope of lucrative compensation. After costs the state is by law supposed to evenly split salvage proceeds with its discoverer. Vazquez, a first-term senator with the ruling New Progressive party, said she had notified the British government as mandated by international maritime law since the galleon was thought to have belonged to Hawkins, an admiral and slave trader who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth I. The ship's cannon portholes are square, in the English style, and recovered artefacts appear to date from 1595 when Hawkins made a final, ill-fated voyage to the West Indies. The Plymouth-born naval commander had a fearsome reputation. He made a fortune for London investors by trading west African slaves in the Caribbean. His clashes with Spanish squadrons aggravated England's rivalry with Spain and earned him the backing of Queen Elizabeth, who supplied ships. His leadership helped repel the Spanish armada and garnered him a knighthood. In 1595, aged 63, he joined his cousin Francis Drake for an expedition to the Caribbean. The idea was to raid Spanish targets near San Juan, capital of what is today Puerto Rico, but the mission flopped and ships were lost. Hawkins died, apparently from natural causes, and was buried at sea. Mayagüez has less than two months to plug a $30m hole in its budget for next year's games. A voyage to the bottom of the ocean could save the event, said Vazquez. "We are offering a real alternative." But the proposal has attracted ridicule. Members of Puerto Rico's elite have mocked the senator for her past as a model. The fact that so far only bottles and jugs have emerged has not boosted confidence but Vazquez has promised to provide gold ingots as evidence of real treasure. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/09/puerto-rico-dive" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/09/puerto-rico-dive</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000218#00000218">Read More »</a> Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:55:20 GMT Otro que se nos fue: "Chavito" Marrero falleció http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000217#00000217 PR actor Jose Luis "Chavito" Marrero dies Yahoo! News Sun Feb 8, 1:07 p.m. SAN JUAN, P.R. (AP) – A colleague says José Luis "Chavito" Marrero, a versatile Puerto Rican character actor who appeared for decades in local movies and television and onstage, has died. He was 82. (FOTO: weblo.com) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000217#00000217">Read More »</a> Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:54:12 GMT Puerto Rican in Hollywood for American Idol http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000216#00000216 Boricua se despide de "American Idol" El Diario Fuente: AP Por DERRIK J. LANG 2009-03-12 <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000216#00000216">Read More »</a> Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:11:40 GMT Basketball player Edgar Padilla honored at U Mass http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000215#00000215 Boricua and former University of Massachusetts standout Edgar Padilla will be among those honored during halftime of Sunday's game against Saint Joseph's at the Mullins Center in Amherst. (FOTO: umasshoops.com) Edgar Padilla comes home The Republican (Western Massachusetts) By RON CHIMELIS rchimelis@repub.com Feb 07, 2009 He was one of the best talents ever to play high school basketball in Springfield, and he values his time at Central High School. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000215#00000215">Read More »</a> Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:04:24 GMT Reggaetoneros PRños en el ‘Super Bowl’ http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000208#00000208 Angel y Khriz inician año con el ‘Super Bowl’ El Diario/La Prensa Fuente: EFE 2009-02-01 San Juan, PR/ EFE — Los reguetoneros puertorriqueños Ángel y Khriz aseguraron que han empezado el 2009 con “el pie derecho” tras ser incluidos en las fiestas que se realizan como parte del Super Bowl XLIII y en marzo iniciarán gira por Europa. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000208#00000208">Read More »</a> Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:11:09 GMT "El Cantante": Salsa Singer Héctor Laove's Story http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000207#00000207 La Voz of the people Puerto Rican couple brings Héctor Lavoe - and salsa's heyday - back to life Daily News BY MARGARITA DIAZ marediaz@msn.com July 17 2007 "If my life were a movie, he would be a big part of the soundtrack," Anthony told Viva. "When I was growing up, his music was always playing in the background." But what made Lavoe, who died in 1993 at age 46, truly special was his connection to the audience, Anthony explained. "I saw him in Orchard Beach in one of those outdoor concerts," he said. "I was right in the front row, and he spoke about his son, Tito, who had just died. He stopped the band and talked about how he was feeling, and the people loved him for it." "'El Cantante' is a reflection not just of the times but also of a group of people who had an enormous influence on the sound of Latin music," said the Cuban-born Ichaso, who moved to New York in 1968 and lived through many of the events in the film. "It is a document and a tribute to all those people." Indeed, the movie, with its dynamic musical performances and New York flavor, effectively recreates the intensity of the music scene, when Latinos in the city were merging Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and other regional sounds to create what came to be known as salsa. Within that world, Lavoe emerged as a heroic yet tragic figure: an island jibarito with beautiful diction and perfect phrasing who worked through his drug abuse and family troubles to make exhilarating music. The strong bond Lavoe had with his audience, who identified intensely with his struggles and his vulnerability, is partly explained in the rousing "Mi Gente (My People)": "I called out, Come with me! And you didn't ask me to where. I am so proud of you, My people always answer my call." "He wasn't afraid to put himself out there," Anthony said. "He spoke their language and their music. Once he became a millionaire, he was still hanging out in the same places, but with a million dollars in the bank." Lavoe's street credibility came at a high price: His drug use often resulted in missed or nearly missed gigs, frayed personal relationships and, most tragically, an eventual diagnosis of HIV. Yet behavior that could have easily alienated his fans was tempered by a legendary sense of humor. "He was funny," said Izzy Sanabria, a graphic designer who fashioned the album covers and logos of the Fania record label and ran the pioneer magazine Latin NY. "Sometimes his sense of humor would get him in trouble. But he also could get away with things that other people couldn't get away with." Anthony remembers meeting Lavoe in the late '80s at a friend's house and getting razzed by the singer. As Lavoe's life became more and more tragic - his son was accidentally shot and killed, and he attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a hotel balcony in San Juan - his fans ascribed to him a larger significance. For Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in the city, Lavoe came to embody both the homeland and the metropolis. In fact, since his death, Lavoe has become enshrined as not just a Puerto Rican icon but also a Latino hero. Who's who: Ralph Mercado - One of Latin music's legendary promoters, Mercado managed Lavoe's career for eight years in the 1970s. Played by Vincent Laresca - He has played his share of thieves and thugs in movies and television shows ranging from "Juice" in 1992 to TV's "24" on Fox. But he plays it clean as Mercado. Yomo Toro as himself - The ageless Toro, who plays the Puerto Rican 10-string cuatro, has been a staple in Latin music since the 1950s. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2007/07/11/2007-07-11_la_voz_of_the_people.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2007/07/11/2007-07-11_la_voz_of_the_people.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000207#00000207">Read More »</a> Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:15:37 GMT Cayey Student won Biophysical Award http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000206#00000206 Winners Of 2009 Minority Travel Awards Announced By The Biophysical Society <a href="http://www.biophysics.org/" target="_blank">www.biophysics.org</a> 01 Feb 2009 <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000206#00000206">Read More »</a> Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:57:59 GMT Joseph Acabá: Our 1st Puerto Rican Astronaut http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000205#00000205     Joseph Acaba: Boricua en la Luna NY Daily News By: Marcelo Ballvé ballve@gmail.com Feb 19th 2009 <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000205#00000205">Read More »</a> Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:12:35 GMT Salsero Willie Colón: El malo II ¿Su último CD? http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000204#00000204 El último del ‘Malo’ Willie Colón graba lo que podría ser el álbum final de su carrera musical El Diario/La Prensa (31 Jan 2009) Fuente: EFE/Por: RUTH E. HERNÁNDEZ BELTRÁN NUEVA YORK/EFE — El músico Willie Colón, una de las leyendas de la salsa, ha puesto en “El malo II- Prisioneros del mambo”, su nuevo y quizás último disco, la experiencia de cuatro décadas y su característica fusión de ritmos. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000204#00000204">Read More »</a> Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:45:02 GMT Remembering José 'Cheguí' Torres http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000203#00000203 Hall of Fame boxer José "Chegui" Torres, the former light heavyweight champion and Olympic Silver Medalist who went on to become a newspaper columnist, author and boxing official, died at his home in Puerto Rico of a massive heart attack. He was 72. We include here some news clips and writings from people who get to call him friend. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000203#00000203">Read More »</a> Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:37:49 GMT Lauren Vélez being ugly: Boricua Actress joins the cast of "Ugly Betty" http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000202#00000202 Lauren Vélez: Trading death for laughs NY Daily News By: Lee Hernández (21 Jan 2009) (FOTO: Showtime Networks) Queens native Lauren Vélez, who plays Lt. María Laguerta on "Dexter," has a hush-hush guest role on "Ugly Betty" starting tomorrow that has sparked Internet chatter about the death of a major character in the hit ABC comedy. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000202#00000202">Read More »</a> Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:37:00 GMT Benicio Del Toro en el film "EL Che" http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000200#00000200 El "Che" con sabor boricua Hoy NY Fuente: EFE 03-Nov-2008 (FOTO: AP/Film Society of Lincoln Center , Wild Bunch) Los Ángeles/EFE – El actor puertorriqueño Benicio del Toro estuvo acompañado por numerosos compatriotas en la "premiere" de "Che" celebrada en el teatro chino de Hollywood, por donde también se dejó ver Joaquin Phoenix. Del Toro fue la estrella latina sobre la alfombra roja en la que se reunieron un elenco de artistas de Puerto Rico como Kahlil Méndez, que formó parte del reparto de "Che" o el cada vez más popular Amaury Nolasco. "Lo admiro muchísimo", dijo Nolasco de Del Toro, quien por su parte aseguró que nunca había sentido tanta responsabilidad a la hora de interpretar un papel como con el personaje de Ernesto "Che" Guevara. "Sin duda", afirmó rotundo a Efe el actor por la trascendencia que tuvo la persona de "Che" Guevara, "no sólo para Cuba sino para toda América Latina, aunque era otra época". El ganador de un Óscar por "Trafic" (2000) defendió el perfil guerrillero del revolucionario argentino y rechazó la idea de que haber vivido en el siglo XXI, el Che hubiese sido considerado un terrorista. "Él creía en la pena de muerte, hay muchos que creen en la pena de muerte y combatió fusil contra fusil como dice la canción de Silvio Rodríguez. El terrorista combate fusil contra nada, contra espaldas. El combatió contra ejércitos", indicó. 'Che' abre festival Por: Istra Pacheco Associated Press 2008-10-06 MORELIA, México.— Luego de cosechar éxitos en Francia y España, la película Che abre el Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia y su director anuncia que está a unos días de comenzar su nuevo proyecto sobre una prostituta en Nueva York. Steven Soderbergh, con su barba crecida igual que el mítico personaje, dijo en rueda de prensa el sábado que de no haber tenido 20 años de carrera en el cine no hubiese podido hacer la película sobre el legendario guerrillero Che Guevara, que asegura le cambió la vida. "En aquel entonces no hubiese sido capaz de hacer una película como esta, no sólo a nivel técnico, sino que no habría sabido cómo darle forma", afirmó en inglés mientras tomaba constantes sorbos de refresco. Y aunque en un principio el hecho de haberla rodado en español le puso escollos en cuanto a las posibilidades de distribución, que poco a poco ha logrado superar, defendió la decisión de filmarla en ese idioma. Señaló que es "tonto" y hasta "absurdo" que haya películas intentando retratar la realidad en un país, pero que se hablen en inglés, sólo para asegurar su introducción a ciertos mercados. "Pierdes credibilidad", apuntó. Pero ya el director está pensando en su nuevo proyecto. "Voy a comenzar a rodar el jueves y trata sobre una prostituta en Nueva York". Dijo que el elenco de su nuevo largometraje no contará con ningún actor profesional, igual que lo hizo en Bubble, tomando distancia de trabajos anteriores como la trilogía que comenzó con Ocean’s 11. El guión de la nueva cinta, que llevará por título G.F.E., es una colaboración con George Clayton Johnson y Jack Golden Russell, quienes también se involucraron en la trilogía Ocean’s. Afirmó que siempre regresa a hacer este tipo de cintas, que podrían catalogarse como independientes y que se no se dejan llevar por fórmulas establecidas, porque lo "rejuvenecen". "Es un tono diferente y te dan una calidad y un efecto diferentes", resumió. Sobre Che dijo que a pesar de que no domina el español no fue difícil dirigir la cinta y lo comparó con una ópera. "Así como puedes escuchar una ópera —yo puedo escuchar La Traviatta y puedo saber qué pasa, sentir la emoción de los cantantes—, se siente la emoción" relató. El realizador aseguró no temer la falta de apoyo para que se exhiba la segunda parte del filme del "Che", porque a su juicio ambas se complementan. "Es como si una hablara con la otra; creo que la gente quiere saber cómo termina". Tampoco le preocupa la reacción que podría generar la película en ciudades como en Miami, donde se concentran muchos cubanos opuestos a la revolución de la que fue líder Guevara. Por el contrario, está seguro de que incluso es importante que la vean allí. "Va a ser interesante", dijo sin ocultar una sonrisa. Además anunció que en la primavera del próximo año hará su primer musical en el que contará la historia de Cleopatra y que tendrá como protagonista a Catherine Zeta-Jones. Entre los créditos de Soderbergh figuran Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Out of Sight y Kafka. <a href="http://www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/10/6/che-abre-festival-85531-1.html" target="_blank">http://www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/10/6/che-abre-festival-85531-1.html</a> Hollywood vivirá final de año latino El Diario/La Prensa Fuente: EFE Por: Antonio Martín Guirado 2008-10-07 Los Ángeles/EFE - El “taquillazo” logrado por “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” demuestra que lo latino tiene tirón en Hollywood, industria que verá hasta final de año estrenos importantes con hispanos como protagonistas, como el caso del “Che”, con Benicio del Toro. El éxito logrado por Andy García, George López, Plácido Domingo, Luis Guzmán, Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo, Cheech Marín, Edward James Olmos y compañía en esa comedia familiar de Walt Disney, con casi 30 millones de dólares este fin de semana, es sólo el comienzo. El plato fuerte de la temporada llegará el 12 de diciembre con el estreno de la versión íntegra del “Che”, es decir, las 4 horas y 28 minutos de metraje paridos por Steven Soderbergh y protagonizados por un del Toro que huele a Oscar, según la crítica especializada, en la piel del líder revolucionario Ernesto Guevara. El filme se exhibirá durante una semana en Nueva York y Los Ángeles, aunque su estreno en salas comerciales se hará a través de dos películas en enero de 2009. Esas cintas llevarán por título “The Argentine”, con los cubanos Jorge Perugorría y Vladimir Cruz, los españoles Unax Ugalde y Elvira Mínguez o la colombiana Catalina Sandino, y “Guerrilla”, con el argentino Gaston Pauls o los españoles Jordi Mollá, Carlos Bardem, Eduard Fernández y Oscar Jaenada. Esa misma fecha del 12 de diciembre es la elegida para la llegada de “Nothing Like the Holidays”, un filme repleto de nombres de origen latino, con la dirección de Alfredo de Villa y un elenco formado por actores como John Leguizamo, Melonie Díaz, Freddy Rodríguez, Elizabeth Peña, Luis Guzmán o Alfred Molina, de padre español. Días antes, exactamente el 3 de diciembre, será el turno para “Crossing Over”, protagonizada por Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd y la brasileña Alice Braga. El filme, un lienzo de múltiples personajes acerca de inmigrantes de diferentes nacionalidades que buscan obtener un estatus legal en Los Ángeles, arroja luz sobre la situación fronteriza con México, los documentos fraudulentos utilizados, el sistema para obtener la tarjeta de residencia, el proceso de naturalización y el choque entre culturas. Y en Navidad aterrizará el que se presupone será uno de los bombazos del año “The Spirit”, adaptación del popular cómic de Will Eisner que el también dibujante y director de cine Frank Miller llevará a la pantalla, con ayuda de la estadounidense de origen cubano Eva Méndes y la española Paz Vega. El 25 de diciembre es también la fecha elegida para el estreno en EE.UU. de lo último de Antonio Banderas, “The Other Man”, cinta encargada de abrir la Sección Oficial del Festival de Cine de San Sebastián, España en septiembre. Pero antes de que salgan esos esperados proyectos habrá ocasión de comprobar cómo se desenvuelve el puertorriqueño Amaury Nolasco fuera de los escenarios de la serie de televisión “Prison Break”, gracias al filme fantástico “Max Payne”, en las salas a partir del 17 de octubre. Asimismo, el dominicano Manny Pérez, popular por su papel en “Bella” (2006), tendrá un papel en “Nothing Like the Holidays” y compartirá escenas junto a Edward Norton y Colin Farrell en “Pride and Glory”, desde el 24 de octubre. En el círculo independiente, la distribuidora Maya Entertainment apuesta este mes por “Talento de Barrio”, con el reguetonero puertorriqueño Daddy Yankee como protagonista, y por el documental “Fraude- México 2006”, con el mexicano Luis Mandoki al frente de la obra. <a href="http://www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/10/7/hollywood-vivira-final-de-anti-85727-1.html" target="_blank">www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/10/7/hollywood-vivira-final-de-anti-85727-1.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000200#00000200">Read More »</a> Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:14:28 GMT Perdimos a Nuestro Querido Don Tommy http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000198#00000198 Muere actor y productor boricua Tommy Muñiz El Diario/La Prensa Fuente: AP (16 Jan 2009) SAN JUAN/AP — Don Tommy Muñiz, considerado uno de los padres, artífices y visionarios de la televisión puertorriqueña, murió el jueves (15 enero) a los 86 años. Tenía una condición neurológica conocida como afasia. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000198#00000198">Read More »</a> Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:00:16 GMT Boricua Film: “Nothing Like the Holidays” http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000196#00000196 Freddy Rodríguez: Navidad al estilo boricua El actor espera que el filme sobre una familia puertorriqueña en Chicago traspase barreras y sea vista por todo tipo de públicos El Diario/La Prensa Por: Heriberto González-Andino Jue/11/Dic/2008 (FOTO: Poster/Overture Films) NUEVA YORK— Era una entrevista con el actor Freddy Rodríguez para hablar sobre su nueva película “Nothing Like the Holidays”, que estrena el viernes (12/dic), pero cuando comenzamos a hablar de los pasteles, el arroz con gandules, el coquito y otras delicias de cocina puertorriqueña en las navidades, la boca se nos hizo agua. Por eso, cuando explicó con un poco de pena cómo su mamá le traía pasteles desde Chicago a Los Ángeles en una neverita con hielo, se sintió aliviado cuando le confesé que la mía solía enviarlos congelados desde la Isla vía Federal Express, o los enviaba con algún visitante a Estados Unidos —en una misión casi de contrabando— por los aeropuertos. Entonces la conexión fue inmediata. Y que si bien este proyecto cinematográfico, que gira en torno a la reunión para la Navidad de los miembros de una familia puertorriqueña del barrio del Humboldt Park en Chicago, cuenta con el drama y la comicidad que pueden ocurrir en este tipo de reunión, la comida tuvo un papel muy importante en el filme. "Lo primero que les dije a los actores cuando llegaron a Chicago fue que iban a aumentar unas 10 libras de peso; nadie me creyó. Luego de varios días de rodaje y con todo el ‘cuchifrito’ y la comida puertorriqueña que comieron me dieron la razón", dijo Rodríguez. "Al final del rodaje un actor que no voy a mencionar su nombre me detuvo y me dijo: ‘Maldito, tú me dijiste que íbamos a aumentar como 10 libras, pero aumenté 15’", añadió. "Hacer una película sobre una familia puertorriqueña en Estados Unidos, aparte de que no las hay, es muy difícil verlas en el cine, así como es difícil que una cinta que intente apelar a todos los públicos con un elenco latino se realice, pero creo que hay que comenzar a cimentar las bases para que vengan otros proyectos como este", indicó Rodríguez. Precisamente la intención de los realizadores de “Nothing Like the Holidays” es que trascienda la comunidad boricua o latina y que otros grupos acudan a verla. "No se si ocurra, pero a nivel personal hacer esta película es muy importante porque es como mi carta de amor a Chicago, de donde provengo", dijo. En Chicago, especialmente en el barrio de Humboldt Park, residen cerca de 200 mil puertorriqueños. En la calle principal de esa comunidad, dos enormes banderas de metal que cruzan la calle son el símbolo más grande que tenga bandera alguna en este país y marcan la zona boricua que está repleta de negocios y restaurantes. Con la dirección de Alfredo de Villa y guión de Rick Nájera y Alison Swan, el filme está protagonizado por Freddy Rodríguez —quien es además su productor ejecutivo—, John Leguizamo (colombiano) y Debra Messing (ascendencia polaca-Brooklyn). También integran el elenco los actores Alfred Molina (de padre español), Elizabeth Peña (cubana), Luis Guzmán (puertorriqueño), Vanessa Ferlito (italiana de Brooklyn), Jay Hernández (mexicano) y Melonie Díaz (puertorriqueña). En “Nothing Like The Holidays” los miembros de la familia Rodríguez, que viven en varias partes del país, deciden reunirse en la casa de sus padres para celebrar las fiestas navideñas luego de varios años sin hacerlo. Mauricio (John Leguizamo), el mayor de los hermanos, trae a su esposa Sarah (Messing), una ejecutiva anglosajona; mientras que Roxanna (Ferlito), quien intenta forjar una carrera como actriz en Hollywood, llega y les hace creer a todos que está teniendo éxito aunque no es verdad. Por su parte Jesse (Rodríguez), el menor de los hermanos, regresa del ejército tras salir ileso durante una combate en Irak, pero una vez en casa deberá enfrentar otros fantasmas del pasado. Durante la primera cena juntos estalla una bomba: Anna (Peña), la madre de los muchachos, anuncia que se va a separar de Eddy (Molina), su esposo, porque este supuestamente la engaña. A partir de entonces, la reunión se convierte en un viaje por el pasado en la que cada uno de los personajes intentará perdonar para poder construir un mejor futuro. "No quería que mi personaje tratara sobre lo que Jesse había vivido en Irak, sino sobre lo que pasaba una vez que estos muchachos regresan y lo que encuentran en la familia. De pronto ven que pierden a sus novias o parejas e incluso a su familia, y es muy fuerte cuando todo eso te sucede siendo tan joven", explicó. Sobre haber trabajado con un reparto casi por completo de actores latinos, aseguró que fue una de las mejores experiencias que ha tenido. "Le puedes preguntar a todos los que participaron y te dirán que se divirtieron mucho; ha sido una de las experiencias más satisfactorias de mi carrera", admitió. El joven actor, que está casado con Elise, su novia de escuela superior y que tiene dos hijos Elijah y Giancarlo —este último hizo de su hijo en la serie “Six Feet Ander”, donde Freddy hacía de un embalsamador puertorriqueño—, expresó que tener un elenco como el que tuvieron fue una bendición. "Contar con actores que han participado en filmes americanos tan importantes como John Leguizamo, Luis Guzmán, Jay Hernández, Elizabeth Peña y otros, y que hayan aceptado intervenir en esta producción sobre latinos que intenta captar el mercado ‘mainstream’, no sucede muy a menudo", aseguró. Cuando preguntamos a Rodríguez qué significaba para él los trabajos de otros actores puertorriqueños que se han destacado en Hollywood como José Ferrer, Rita Moreno, Raúl Julia o Héctor Elizondo, entre otros, dijo que su trabajo estaba inspirado en todos ellos. "Ha sido un camino muy largo y me alegro que menciones a toda esa gente, porque 10 años atrás no teníamos actrices como Jennifer López ganando millones de dólares por película, o un Benicio del Toro, o una Salma Hayek produciendo un galardonado show de televisión; todos ellos son una gran inspiración para mí", agregó el actor que inició su carrera en el cine con “A Walk in the Clouds”, del mexicano Alfonso Arau y en la que trabajó con Debra Messing, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Quinn y Aitana Sánchez Guijón. "Aún nos falta mucho por hacer pero me siento muy orgulloso de que soy parte de este proceso que se está viendo con los latinos en Hollywood", dijo Rodríguez, quien próximamente estará filmando una historia en Puerto Rico titulada “Julito Maraña”, que tendrá lugar en La Perla, un barrio marginal de San Juan. Además, estaba a punto de partir a Bulgaria para la integrarse a la producción “Fortuna”, una gran producción de Hollywood. Aunque al momento de la entrevista con Rodríguez faltaba sólo un día para las elecciones presidenciales, el actor se mostraba confiado en que el senador Barack Obama, a quien apoyó en varias campañas, ganaría la contienda. "Yo soy uno de los que se va afectar con su plan de impuestos, pero ¿sabes qué?, estoy dispuesto a pagar más si esto va a restaurar un balance en nuestra sociedad", concluyó. <a href="http://www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/12/11/freddy-rodriguez--navidad-al-e-97715-1.html" target="_blank">www.impre.com/entretenimiento/2008/12/11/freddy-rodriguez--navidad-al-e-97715-1.html</a> <a href="/members/boricua/videos/VIEW/00000042/Nothing-Like-the-Hollidays.html" target="_self">Click here</a>, to see a preview of the movie. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000196#00000196">Read More »</a> Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:26:03 GMT ¡Llegaron los Reyes! http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000195#00000195 Aunque hace mucho frio y para los anglosajones las fiestas navideñas culminaron el 1ero de enero, para nostros los PRños las navidades no se terminan hasta que llegan los Tres Reyes Magos. Claro, que si no le pones yerba para que coman los camellos, los Reyes no te traerán regalos. Así que "you know the drill": te buscas una cajita de cartón, la llenas de yerba y la pones debajo del árbol (que se deja puesto hasta que pasen las octivitas - ocho días después del 6 de enero). Entonces, luego de que te canses de jugar con tus juguetes o con tu nuevo iPod, no olvides allegarte a cualquiera de las actividades de celebración de la Epifanía en tu localidad para que puedas conocer y agradecer en persona a los Reyes por todos sus regalos. ¡Feliz Dia de los Santos Reyes Magos! <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000195#00000195">Read More »</a> Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:49:48 GMT Star studded Governor's Inauguration http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000194#00000194 Salsa singer Marc Anthony and his wife Jennifer López, as well as Raggeatón singer Daddy Yankee and Big Leagues Baseball players Carlos Beltrán, Juan Igor González and Alexis Ríos assisted Friday Luis Fortuño's - Puerto Rico's new Governor - Inauguration day. (FOTO: Reuters/<cite id="captionCite"></cite>Ana Martínez/ From L. to R., Major League baseball player Juan Igor González, and singers Marc Antony and Jennifer Lopez). <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000194#00000194">Read More »</a> Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:03:45 GMT Boricua's struggles at El Barrio gentrification http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000193#00000193 A Puerto Rican couple tell their story as part of the gentrification process that currently endures Spanish Harlem, a.k.a. "El Barrio". Ed Morales is director and producer, with his partner, Laura Rivera, of “Whose Barrio?,” a documentary film about the gentrification of East Harlem. Apartment Lost, Home Found New York Times, By ED MORALES January 4, 2009 (FOTO: (c) Oli Wheatley/A view of a mural at El Barrio (Spanish Harlem), NYC) ABOUT two years ago, an episode occurred on the brownstone block of Sixth Avenue, right smack in the middle of Park Slope, where I had lived for 3 years with my girlfriend, Laura, that would be a portent of our impending doom. A 40-something woman whose house was two doors down occasionally got very drunk and threw tantrums in her front doorway or backyard. She’d be calmed down, and then go back inside to her enormous German shepherd. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000193#00000193">Read More »</a> new york cityel barrioeast harlempuerto ricansgentrification Sun, 04 Jan 2009 06:15:57 GMT A Parranda for your iPhone http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000192#00000192 A new software application for the iPhone help you to keep the Puerto Rican 'Parranda' Spirit even in the coldest nights of winter. iPhone app gets a Puerto Rican party going! The Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minnesota) <a href="http://www.twincities.com/" target="_blank">http://www.twincities.com/</a> Blog: Your Tech / By: Julio Ojeda-Zapata The boricua equivalent of carol singing and communal celebrating is called a parranda. That's also the name of a new iPhone app that lets Puerto Rican expatriates and their gringo brethren get a boricua-style groove on. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000192#00000192">Read More »</a> Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:00:25 GMT Small Earthquake "Shakes" Borinquen http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000190#00000190 Moderate quake off coast of Puerto Rico By:Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) Source: Associated Press POSTED: 03:18 p.m. EST, Nov 23, 2008 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The U.S. Geological Survey says a moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck before dawn off the coast of Puerto Rico. There was no word on injuries or damage. The struck 61 miles north of the capital, San Juan, at a depth of 6.2 miles. <a href="http://www.ohio.com/news/nation/34960209.html" target="_blank">http://www.ohio.com/news/nation/34960209.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000190#00000190">Read More »</a> Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:04:48 GMT Celebrating 100 years of Corretjer http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000188#00000188 Celebrating 100 years of Corretjer Puerto Rico and New York continue to celebrate the 100 anniversary of the birth of one of the most important poets of the 20th Century in Puerto Rico , the Puerto Rican National poet Juan Antonio Corretjer (3/3/1908-1/19/1985). <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000188#00000188">Read More »</a> Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:16:57 GMT J-Lo: Performer, New Mom and now Triathlon Athlete http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000184#00000184 Jennifer López completes triathlon in Malibu, then celebrates in New York DAILY NEWS, BY DAVE GOLDINER September 15th 2008, 4:00 AM (Photo: Merritt/FilmMagic.com) You go, J.Lo! New mom Jennifer López breezed through a whirlwind day that started with a triathlon in California and ended with a star-studded birthday party for hubby Marc Anthony in New York . <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000184#00000184">Read More »</a> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:23:05 GMT Que En Paz Descanse: Edgardo Vega Yunque http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000183#00000183 Murió el escritor Edgardo Vega Yunque El Diario/La Prensa NY Por: Cándida Portugués / Candida.portugues@eldiariony.com 2008-09-09 (Foto: ImpreMedia) Nueva York — El pasado 25 de agosto falleció en el Lutheran Hospital de Brooklyn el escritor Edgardo Vega Yunque a los 72 años, según informó ayer su agente Tom Colchie. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000183#00000183">Read More »</a> Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:27:11 GMT "Mi Gente": Bilingual Short Stories written by a PRican Professor http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000182#00000182 The book written by Rafael Falcón, an Aibonito native who works as a Spanish Professor at Indiana's Goshen College, is a collection of stories with a Puerto Rican perspective. A reading by the author and a book signing will be held at Goshen College on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in Newcomer Center Room 19. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000182#00000182">Read More »</a> Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:09:35 GMT Daddy Yankee talks about Reggaeton and his film "Talento de Barrio" http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000181#00000181 6 Questions: Daddy Yankee Source: Billboard by: Ian Malinow August 14, 2008 Daddy Yankee's studio is located in a modest house that looks just like any other in Carolina, a town on the outskirts of San Juan, Puerto Rico that is home to the reggaeton movement. Inside, it's a different story. There's an expensive, design-conscious look to the floors, walls, soundproofed cream-colored wood and the glass-enclosed booth equipped with the latest sound technology. Construction materials are still spread around the building as the renovation continues but Yankee (whose real name is Ramon Ayala) has recently wrapped up another major project: "Talento de Barrio." "Barrio," which he produced and stars in and which tells a story of the Puerto Rican barrio, had its premier at last month's New York Latino Film Festival and is slated for release in theaters in September. The soundtrack, which includes Yankee's hit single, "Pose", dropped August 12 on Machete Records. "What can your fans expect to hear on the "Talento de Barrio soundtrack"? This album reflects my personal taste. I don't limit myself as an artist, and I have no musical limits whatsoever, I explore every kind of music. There are artists who remain faithful to one sound. Not me. In essence, this is a musical trip through reggaeton, hip hop, vallenato, merengue, rock, soca, bachata and bounce, combined with the electro pop and dance on "Pose". All of the songs are new and I think that they will be equally well received by purists and the most cutting edge fans. The sound of "Pose" is a surprise for people who still identify you with pure reggaeton, what's in the mix? It's difficult to classify that song, and the proof is that it's already being played on thousands of radio stations, whether they're pop, hip hop or reggaeton. We made a fusion using latin music, hip hop, electro, and dance, we used so many things in that song that it came out as something really innovative, totally new. Every time I release a new single, it's always the same phenomenon -- it happened with "La Gasolina" "Rompe, "Impacto." People say, "But what is this? What is Yankee up to now? This is a musical revolution." Then they get it and understand the message, that it is an innovation and that I'm an artist who doesn't just stick to any one genre. As the principal ambassador of reggaeton in Puerto Rico and the whole world, where do you think reggaeton is going? I think the urban genre is in its best moment in terms of its internationalization. We're moving into a world that's more complex and sophisticated, because as you get in to other markets you have to assume that there are fans from different cultures and so you have to pay attention to their tastes as well. That means when I'm putting a song together I can't just be thinking about what Puerto Ricans. Now I have to be aware of the varied tastes of the international public. I think big and you can see that in my videos, hear it in my lyrics and in my musical fusions. You can see it in the people I work with and at my shows. When you're carrying the torch you have to be out ahead all the time, and everyone follows your lead. If I stop, the movement stops. I'm not saying that in an egocentric way. In this genre, let's suppose that the first name that's going to be mentioned is mine. So you have a responsibility that comes with that, to represent the genre all the time, not one hundred percent, but one thousand percent, because you're the international face [of reggaeton]. You play the central character, Edgar Dinero, in the movie "Talento de Barrio." How was your experience acting in a film for the first time? There's no one as happy as me in the world right now. The truth is, I lost sleep during the filming of the movie because it was my first time acting and I was worried about doing it right. We spent about seven months filming in the Gautier de Caguas projects and we were really suported by the people who live there. The production took a long time because of my commitments outside of Puerto Rico. There were no known actors. We used the artists who are in the movie because they took the roles where they need to be: real. Among the actors were Maestro, Voltio, Eddie D, Pedro Prez, Gringo, Glory, and my back-up singer Cochy. What is the movie about? It's about a guy who moves in the streets, who doesnt know that he has a talent that is going to help him out of the low life. What he really likes is music and one day he starts singing and his friend thinks he really has talent. Little by little, he starts taking his singing career seriously but his past won't let him go. Drugs, crime, life in the barrio and hope are all themes in the movie. What is the principal message that you'd like people to take away from this film? There are poor, marginalized negihborhoods around the world where there are problems with drugs, and people in different cultures will be able to idenitfy with it. What I want them to remember from "Talento de Barrio" is that there is a way out and they should never lose hope. <a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003839252" target="_blank">http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003839252</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000181#00000181">Read More »</a> Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:22:59 GMT BallPlayer Orlando Cepeda Honored with a Statue in San Francisco http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000180#00000180 Cepeda gets his statue He joins Mays, Marichal and McCovey Source: The San Francisco Chronicle by: John Shea jshea@sfchronicle.com September 6, 2008 Photo: Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle (Archive/Cooperstown/1999) -- The first three Hall of Famers to have statues erected in their honor at China Basin did most, if not all, of their best work as Giants. Orlando Cepeda is different. He won an MVP award and World Series in St. Louis. To read the full article, go to our <a href="/members/boricua/comm/READ/00000084/BaseBall-Player-Orlando-Cepeda-Honored-with-a-Statue-in-San-Francisco.html" target="_self">"Rincón Deportivo"</a> sport's forum. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000180#00000180">Read More »</a> Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:32:24 GMT Boricua Named Most Valuable Player in Minor League Team http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000178#00000178 Lou Montañez of Bowie Baysox Named Eastern League 2008 Most Valuable Player Friday, August 29, 2008 at 08:41AM Source: MLN - THE RAW FEED (Photo: Will Bentzel/MLB.com) By: Bob Matuszak MLN Newswire - Portland, ME — The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce that Bowie Baysox outfielder Lou Montañez has been selected as the 2008 Eastern League Most Valuable Player. To read the full article, go to our <a href="/members/boricua/comm/READ/00000083/Boricua-Named-Most-Valuable-Player-in-Minor-League-Team.html" target="_self">"Rincón Deportivo"</a> sport's forum. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000178#00000178">Read More »</a> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:50:02 GMT Delegada más Joven de la Convención Demócrata es Boricua http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000177#00000177 Delegada más joven en Denver es puertorriqueña Pierina Ortiz, de 17 años, hace un llamado a los jóvenes para que voten El Diario/La Prensa Por: Humberto García/Enviado Especial 2008-08-27 DENVER, Colorado.— Pierina Ortiz es una muchacha alegre y bastante madura para sus escasos 17 años. Aunque habla calmadamente, no puede esconder la emoción de presenciar la Convención Demócrata en vivo y directo. Y no es para menos, ya que tiene la distinción de ser la delegada más joven de todo el evento. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000177#00000177">Read More »</a> Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:50:53 GMT Haciendo Patria: PRño dirigirá Comunicaciones Latinas de Obama http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000174#00000174 Portavoz hispano de Obama El puertorriqueño Federico de Jesús será el director de Comunicaciones para Medios Hispanos del comité del candidato demócrata. El Nuevo Dia, Por José A. Delgado jdelgado@elnuevodía.com La voz oficial hispana de Barack Obama tendrá acento puertorriqueño. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000174#00000174">Read More »</a> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:07:41 GMT Ricky Martin: Cambiar pañales es ahora parte de su 'Vida Loca' http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000172#00000172 ¡Ricky es papá de gemelos! (FOTO:ImpreMedia) Agencia EFE 2008-Ago-20 San Juan, 20 de Agosto (EFE).- El cantante puertorriqueño Ricky Martin ha sido padre de gemelos, que nacieron “en las últimas semanas" gracias a un vientre de alquiler o lo que se conoce en medicina como método de “subrogación”, dijeron hoy sus representantes. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000172#00000172">Read More »</a> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:41:15 GMT Boricua Publica Portal Latino en NJ http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000171#00000171 Puertorriqueña promueve la unidad y el poder con información (Foto: EFE)El Diario/La Prensa, by Yasmín Rincón (2008-08-01) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000171#00000171">Read More »</a> Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:02:14 GMT American Idol in Puerto Rico http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000170#00000170 'Idol' Searches for Talent in Puerto Rico <a href="http://video.ap.org/v/default.aspx?mk=en-ap&g=7b6b2692-d988-4957-b4c0-73a7b9fb8ed5&f" target="_blank">www.1010wins.com</a> (A.P.) Aug. 4 - Hundreds of 'American Idol' hopefuls showed for auditions in San Juan, Puerto Rico over the weekend for a chance to compete in season 8 of the reality show. It's the first time 'Idol' auditions were held in the U.S. territory. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000170#00000170">Read More »</a> Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:51:38 GMT PRican Police find bones in colonial-era ship http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000169#00000169 Undersea remains an archeological discovery? Police in Puerto Rico find bones and possible artifacts from colonial-era ship Puerto Rican Police Make Undersea Discovery The Associated Press Thurs., July. 31, 2008 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Police divers checking a report of human remains off a Puerto Rican beach may have made an archaeological discovery: bones and possible artifacts from a colonial-era ship, officials in the U.S. island territory said Wednesday. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000169#00000169">Read More »</a> Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:31:39 GMT Puerto Ricans: An Important part in the NY Catholic Church's History http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000168#00000168 Hispanics and Catholic New York NY Times, City Room Blog, By Sewell Chan July 30, 2008 Many people, if asked when Hispanics began to reshape the Catholic Church in New York City, would probably put the date around 1950, when Puerto Rican migrants began arriving in Manhattan in large numbers. But in fact, Hispanics had exerted a powerful influence on religion and society in New York more than a century earlier, an important insight that emerged from a panel discussion on Tuesday night at the Museum of the City of New York. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000168#00000168">Read More »</a> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:42:28 GMT Boricua "Peloteritos" to Play at the White House http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000162#00000162 S.J. T-ball champs are White House bound PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, By Matt Katz mkatz@phillynews.com Mon, Jun. 30, 2008 (Photo: Neal Santos/Inquirer) Cramer Hill T-ball players and coaches wave before heading to Washington, D.C. Camden's Little Red Sox are on their way to the White House. The Cramer Hill Little League T-ball team left in two coach buses at 8:21 a.m. to the South Lawn of the White House, where at 1 p.m. they will play a team from Puerto Rico. President Bush is expected to be in attendance as he has been at every previous game. The 13 players - ranging in age from 4 to 7 years old - are decked out in red South Lawn Sluggers jerseys, red Little League hats, grey pants, and of course red socks. The International Little League and the White House wanted a Latino theme for the game, which is the 18th T-ball match-up at the White House since the tradition began in 2001. The Camden team of 12 boys and one girl is entirely Latino. Puerto Rican baseball great Roberto Clemente uniform number, No. 21, will be retired at the game. "We're No. 1, baby!" said Abner Garcia, 6, as he boarded the bus that left from the Susquehanna Bank Center on the Delaware River. Family and friends filled the buses, which were paid for by donations. The league, which covers the registration fee for 40 percent of its players based on need, also got donations of boxed lunches. "Once we pull up Pennsylvania Avenue, they'll say, 'Wow! We're going there?'" said Jenise Santos. "They may be nervous at first considering at their age everything is bigger than them." A coach led the team in a prayer before the buses left, and the movie Ice Age was put on the buses' DVD players for a little quiet time before the game. Contact staff writer Matt Katz at 856-779-3919. <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080630_S_J__T-ball_champs_are_White_House_bound.html" target="_blank">www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080630_S_J__T-ball_champs_are_White_House_bound.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000162#00000162">Read More »</a> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:46:49 GMT Puerto Rican Fiesta in Coral Springs http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000161#00000161 6th annual Fiesta! Puerto Rico gives town feel, taste of island South Florida Sun-Sentinel, By Georgia East geast@sun-sentinel.com June 30, 2008 (Photo: Sun-Sentinel/Robert Duyos) Salsa dancing made a little star out of 6-year-old Genesis Aroyo of Coral Springs at the 6th annual Fiesta! Puerto Rico Sunday afternoon. She was dancing with family friend Luis Andino, also of Coral Springs, at center with Puerto Rican flag. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000161#00000161">Read More »</a> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:26:41 GMT Camdem's "San Juan Bautista" Parade http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000160#00000160 Latinos celebrate a day of heritage in Camden Courier-Post By BRIDGET SMITH brksmith@camden.gannett.com June 30, 2008 For a few hours on Sunday, the city's streets transformed into a sea of Puerto Rican pride. Latinos of all ages lined the streets clad in red and white and waving their Puerto Rican flags to celebrate the Parada San Juan Bautista, an event to honor the patron saint of Puerto Rico. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000160#00000160">Read More »</a> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:57:29 GMT ‘Que Me Lo Den En Vida’ Author Mike Amadeo Honored in NYC http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000159#00000159 Latin music icon Mike Amadeo gets overdue recognition Daily News, By María Vega Vega792@gmail.com Photo: Alvarez/Daily News When the National Puerto Rican Day Parade said it would honor composer Mike Amadeo this year, many people around his venerable music store in the Bronx thought it was not only well-deserved but long overdue. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000159#00000159">Read More »</a> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:49:20 GMT Author Jerry A. Rodríguez dies at 46 http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000158#00000158 DAILY NEWS, By Carlos Rodríguez Martorell <a href="mailto:crodriguez@nydailynews.com">crodriguez@nydailynews.com</a> Monday, June 23rd 2008, 1:18 PM Author Jerry A. Rodríguez died of cancer Sunday at age 46, his publishing house revealed. The Brooklyn-born playwright, filmmaker and novelist had just published “Revenge Tango,” the follow-up to his acclaimed thriller “The Devil’s Mambo,” featuring Detective Nicholás Esperanza. Rodríguez had been battling cancer for years and had suffered a relapse recently. “It’s been a battle he was having for many years,” said Sulay Hernández, his first editor and a close friend. “Ever since I met Jerry [around 2005], he was in chemotherapy.” The youngest of seven siblings, Rodríguez grew up between his native Brooklyn and Villa Carolina, Puerto Rico. The author of a number of Off-Broadway plays, he also wrote and directed the short film “El Deseo.” Rodríguez had been featured in the latest Daily News’ Viva edition in the article <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000157/Meet-a-New-Generation-of-PRican-Writers-in-NYC.html#00000157" target="_blank">“The Puerto Rican Murder Club,”</a> about New York authors writing crime stories with Puerto Rican characters. In an interview in May, Rodríguez told Viva that he was working on a new Detective Esperanza novel set entirely in Puerto Rico. “In many ways, [Rodríguez] was so much like his main character,” said Kate Duffy, his current editor at Kensington Publishing. “He was stunningly handsome, he was insanely smart, and very unique.” One of his short stories will be published later in the year in the compilation “The Darker Mask,” featuring Walter Mosley. Rodríguez was also Assistant Director of Housing at CitiWide Harm Reduction in The Bronx, which helps homeless and low-income drug users living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/06/23/2008-06-23_author_jerry_a_rodrguez_dies_at_46.html" target="_blank">www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/06/23/2008-06-23_author_jerry_a_rodrguez_dies_at_46.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000158#00000158">Read More »</a> Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:33:42 GMT Meet a New Generation of PRican Writers in NYC http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000157#00000157 The Puerto Rican Murder Club Daily News, By Carlos Rodríguez Martorell crodriguez@nydailynews.com It’s a classic thriller riddled with action, mystery and sex. Only that the hero, a detective, relaxes by eating rice and beans and drinking Medalla beer at a Lechonera in El Barrio. The just-released thriller “Revenge Tango,” <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Jerry Rodríguez’s</a> follow-up to his acclaimed “The Devil’s Mambo,” is the second of a series featuring Nuyorican ex-NYPD Homicide Detective Nicholas Esperanza. “I wanted to do a Latino character, of course,” said the Brooklyn-born <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Rodríguez</a>, 46. “But I wanted to do something different from the standard of the detective thing.” Esperanza is a well-off lottery winner who owns a salsa club. “He’s retired, living the good life, and suddenly things happen to him,” says <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Rodríguez</a>. “I kind of wanted someone who, as a Latino male, is very intelligent, strong, knows about the world, drinks fine liquor, wears fine clothes.” Until recently, Esperanza would have been an anomaly in American hard-boiled fiction. But in the past couple of years, a new crop of Puerto Rican authors are churning out fresh crime stories with Boricua main characters. (Photo: Steven Torres, author of the “Precinct Puerto Rico” series.) “There are more Latino and Puerto Rican writers in the mystery field,” says Bronx-born Steven Torres, who has published four novels set in Puerto Rico, starring Sheriff Luis Gonzalo. Torres, 39, sets his “Precinct Puerto Rico” series in the fictional rural town of Angustias. The crimes solved by Gonzalo reflect the island’s social issues, from the rickety boats of Dominican immigrants that often sink before reaching the shore, to drug abuse or sexual tourism. “When I first started I thought I was the only Latino writing mysteries,” says Torres. For whodunit author Michele Martínez, female references were all but absent when she started the New York federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas series in 2005. “At the time, the only Latina heroine in crime fiction that I was aware of was the cubana private investigator in Carolina García-Aguilera’s series, which is set in Miami,” said Martínez, who is in her mid-40s. (Photo: Michele Martínez modeled prosecutor Melanie Vargas on her own experiences.) Half Puerto Rican and a former N.Y. prosecutor herself, Connecticut-born Martínez modeled Vargas on her own experiences. The fourth book in the series, “Notorious,” was published in February. Alex Gallardo, from Brooklyn, self-published last year under the pseudonym Natalio Feliciano “The Lady Waved Good-bye,” a mystery novel starring Ramón Lull, a Brooklyn-based private detective of Boricua heritage. For these writers, to fit in with the crime fiction mainstream remains a challenge. “A couple of years ago I went to this big convention called Bouchercon, where all the mystery writers attend,” says <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Rodríguez</a>. “Out of 200, maybe eight of us where of color — Latino or black.” <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Rodríguez</a>, who’s also a filmmaker and playwright, says their works tend to be considered Ghetto Lit or Street Lit, instead of crime. “In terms of legit, there’s not as much as you would expect,” he says. A pioneer in pursuing this kind of recognition is <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000139/The-Bronx-brings-Inspiration-for-a-Boricua-Novelist-new-Book.html#00000139" target="_blank">Abraham Rodríguez, whose recent thriller, “South By South Bronx,”</a> features NYPD Detective Sánchez, a character who first appeared in his 1993 novel “Spidertown.” “I wanted to put Puerto Ricans in a Hitchcock story,” says the 46-year-old Bronx-born author. “Puerto Ricans are part of American culture. Yet American culture doesn’t know us,” he adds. “People tend to blame Hollywood or the American system or whatever, but I blame us for that. I think we haven’t done enough to invest ourselves in that culture and to make ourselves heard in a language that they can understand, which is the language of Americana.” Clues to spot a Barrio gumshoe Authors Abraham Rodríguez, Steven Torres, <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Jerry Rodríguez</a> and Michele Martínez have created a host of Puerto Rican crime investigators. What would they look like? Here’s a guide to recognizing them. Family Man: Sheriff Luis Gonzalo Unlike the archetypical loner detective in popular culture, Steven Torres’ Gonzalo has a steady relationship. “The stereotype is the detective is always a drunk, he’s having a bad marriage or he’s divorced 3 times,” says Torres. “I wanted Gonzalo to have a normal relationship with his wife, I wanted him to have children that he loves.” Torres says that ever since he wrote the first Gonzalo novel, he had salsa singer Rubén Blades in mind. Vulnerable: Ex-NYPD homicide detective Nicholas Esperanza In “Revenge Tango,” Esperanza is humiliated by a fearful dominatrix who makes him unsure of his own feelings. <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000158/Author-Jerry-A-Rodrguez-dies-at-46.html#00000158" target="_self">Jerry Rodríguez</a> says he wanted to put “un macho Latino” under this ordeal. “He’s sexually abused but kind of liked it.” Rodríguez cannot think of a specific actor to play the part. “In terms of feel, it could be somebody like Russell Crowe. This side of dangerous and very charming at the same time,” he says. Reflective: NYPD Detective Sánchez In <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000139/The-Bronx-brings-Inspiration-for-a-Boricua-Novelist-new-Book.html#00000139" target="_blank">“South By South Bronx,”</a> Detective Sánchez, a big-league smoker, spends a lot of time thinking about what being a Puerto Rican cop mean. “As I was growing up there was no kid around me in my neighborhood who wanted to be a cop,” says author <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000139/The-Bronx-brings-Inspiration-for-a-Boricua-Novelist-new-Book.html#00000139" target="_blank">Abraham Rodríguez</a>. “I figured that some of these Puerto Rican cops must feel a little freaky.” Tentatively, he thinks Mexican-American actor Jesse Borrego would fit the role. Hot mami: Federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas Michele Martínez says Vargas “looks how you would expect a young Latina prosecutor in New York to look.” Need more clues? “She has dark hair and eyes, full lips, and she’s probably wearing a business suit,” adds Martínez. “Naturally, when I first started writing, I thought of Jennifer Lopez.” She adds that other recent Latina mothers Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba would be good to play Melanie, “who is after all a working single mom.” <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/06/04/2008-06-04_the_puerto_rican_murder_club.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/06/04/2008-06-04_the_puerto_rican_murder_club.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000157#00000157">Read More »</a> writersnew york citynycmurdercrimeprecintpuerto ricolatinoborinquenpuertorriquenoboricuasan juan Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:12:34 GMT Jenny From the Block visited Elementary School Graduates http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000156#00000156 J-Lo brings some star power to Staten Island graduation by Staten Island Advance (Contributed by Greg Alvarez) Tuesday June 17, 2008 Photo courtesy of: Deborah Labetti A group of 8 students from PS 37 in Staten Island's Great Kills neighborhood, had a very special guest in attendance for their graduation today: Jennifer López. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000156#00000156">Read More »</a> j-lojennifer lópezstaten islandnew yorkpuerto ricoborinquenpuertorriquenoboricuasan juanjazzsalsa Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:53:21 GMT NEW York City Prepares For Puerto Rican Day Parade http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000155#00000155 NY1-TV, June 6, 2008 Fifth Avenue will be sizzling with the sounds of salsa Sunday at the 51st Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade. More than 2 million spectators are expected to take in the festivities, which celebrate the history and culture of Puerto Rico. Pop singer Kat De Luna and Reggaetón group Xtreme are slated to perform at this year's parade. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000155#00000155">Read More »</a> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:19:46 GMT 103 years old Puerto Rican Drafted by the Yankees http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000154#00000154 Emilio “Millito” Navarro, the 1st Puerto Rican to play in the U.S. Negro Leagues and the oldest living U.S. professional ballplayer, was drafted by the NY Yankees as an honor to his sports achievements. Navarro and several other ex-Negro League players were picked in the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) draft in a in a pre-draft ceremony, a tribute formulated by Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield and embraced by Major League Baseball. ¡Felicidades Millito! ¡Eres un orgullo para Puerto Rico! <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000154#00000154">Read More »</a> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:00:22 GMT Hillary Clinton Victory Celebration's Remarks (Transcript) http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000152#00000152 (Photo: AP/Brennan Linsley) 1-June-08 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., give thanks to her supporters at a rally after her victory in the Puerto Rican Democratic presidential primary, in San Juan, Sunday. Thank you so much. I have four words for you: <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000152#00000152">Read More »</a> Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:50:42 GMT PRican Veteran will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000141#00000141 Veterans Notes The News-Press (Florida), by Mary Ann Husty mhusty@news-press.com May 15, 2008 (Boricua Network NOTE: <a href="/members/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000003/00000069/Piden-Medalla-de-Honor-para-hroe-hispano.html#00000069" target="_self">Go here to read a previous post regarding this PRican soldier)</a>. Marine Sgt. Ángel Méndez was ordered to leave, but he was not going to abandon his seriously wounded lieutenant on the battlefield in Vietnam. His bravery saved his commanding officer, Lt. Ronald Castille, at the expense of Méndez's own life. In recognition of his ultimate sacrifice, Méndez was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second highest honor for valor. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000141#00000141">Read More »</a> Mon, 26 May 2008 21:24:40 GMT UP DATE: Top Chef: What happened in the show recorded in PR http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000140#00000140 Snippet’s from different Blogs of the Puerto Rico’s Episode: I hardly see this cooking or – as some like to call it – food show. But when a friend told me that they were going to record it in Borínquen, I tried to endure watching it completely. However, for those who love it, here are some snippets from different Blogs that talked about or made direct references about the Island and our delicious food. ¡Buen Provecho!(Photo:Top Chef) <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000140#00000140">Read More »</a> Mon, 26 May 2008 19:50:30 GMT The Bronx brings Inspiration for a Boricua Novelist new Book http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000139#00000139 Author Abraham Rodríguez delves into Barrio noir in "South by South Bronx" Daily News, by Carolina González Wednesday, April 30th 2008, 4:00 AM (Photo: Giancarli/Daily News) Novelist Abraham Rodríguez. A mysterious blond appears naked in the bed of an aimless man who has frequent blackouts. She’s got a pair of Manolo Blahniks, a secret and a gun. This scenario would fit right in with the hardboiled detective novels from the 1950s, the ones starring cynical gumshoes like Mike Hammer or Philip Marlowe. Instead, it’s the opening to Abraham Rodríguez’s new novel, “South by South Bronx” (Akashic Books, $15.95), which intersects concerns about terrorism, changes in the drug trade and gentrification with Hitchcockian double-crosses and a mountain of cash. The novel, Rodríguez’s third, takes the Bronx-born writer’s longtime concerns about Puerto Rican identity and street-level realism and meshes them with the structure of a classic pulp fiction narrative. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000139#00000139">Read More »</a> Sun, 25 May 2008 00:24:29 GMT Organizers reveal deatails about the NYC 2008 National Puerto Rican Day Parade http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000138#00000138 The Puerto Rican parade is one of the city’s most massive and colorful events, attracting over 2 million people every year to 5th Ave. for a full day of salsa, reggaetón and Boricua pride. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000138#00000138">Read More »</a> Sat, 24 May 2008 18:42:58 GMT For this PRican Dance is his Life http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000137#00000137 Arthur Avilés: Boricua tai chi NY Daily News By Halley Bondy HalleyBondy@gmail.com (Photo: Giancarli/Daily News) As a teen, Arthur Avilés didn’t dare entertain becoming a dancer. Raised by Puerto Rican parents in the South Bronx, he knew to avoid anything that threatened masculine norms. “The male-female thing was very strict in my family,” says Avilés , 44. “I thought there was one persona to be, and dance was not in that persona.” Trained in wrestling, diving, gymnastics and swimming, Avilés was admitted to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., where he learned that his true calling was outside his family’s norms. “I learned from my professors that my body didn’t always have to be used in competition — it can be esthetic, too,” he says. “They weren’t taking me away from my culture, they were expanding my mind.” Avilés enrolled and excelled in Bard dance classes. After graduating, he spent 8 years with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company performing all over the world. He started his own company, the Arthur Avilés Typical Theatre Company, in 1996, and coined the dance technique “swift-flow,” so called because the movement is continuous, like flowing water. “We made ‘swift-flow’ to create a common language between us,” says Avilés about the members of the company. “Although some people call ‘swift-flow’ the Puerto Rican version of tai chi.” His company is based in the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, or BAAD!, a nonprofit performance space in Hunts Point — also founded by Avilés — with a mission to welcome performers underrepresented in the arts. Avilés, who is openly gay, enjoys bringing the arts into the lives of young people who might feel restricted by tradition. “I have a real affinity for my people, and a lot of them here didn’t have the opportunities I had,” says Avilés. “Some of them don’t know how to get out of the ghetto.” Avilés teaches dance and gymnastics at Public School 106 in Castle Hill, the Bronx, and at 4 centers in the Juvenile Justice Department, where he instructs incarcerated girls ages 14-17. “The lives of these kids are usually chaotic,” he says. “We are offering them structure and something else to focus on for a while.” Avilés was part of <a href="http://www.BronxAcademyofArtsandDance.org " target="_blank">BAAD!’s Boogie Down Dance Festival</a>, a series of dance shows and workshops celebrated in May. His dance concert featured the world premiere of works by Jones, choreographer Doug Elkins and a duet with Aviles and ’80s voguing star Benny Ninja. There was over 30 performers and instructors participating in the month-long festival, including flamenco dancer Nelida Tirado...  “It’s a festival that celebrates dance here in our borough,” he says…“We haven’t reached a level of snobbery that we can turn people away,” he says. “It’s about getting people to come to the Bronx to experience the work.” <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/05/08/2008-05-08_arthur_aviles_boricua_tai_chi.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/05/08/2008-05-08_arthur_aviles_boricua_tai_chi.html</a> Note: This article was published a while ago, but we decided to include it here because it can still be considered interesting for some members. In order to make it current, our posting was edited (...) to eliminate any time and dates references. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000137#00000137">Read More »</a> Sat, 24 May 2008 16:33:16 GMT Hillary on Puerto Rico Radio Show http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000136#00000136 TODAY - LIVE ON TAPE - Hillary on Carmen Jovet's (Puerto Rico) Radio Show Fri., May 23rd - 10 am to Noon ET Show Name: “En Caliente Con La Jovet” with Carmen Jovet. Bellow is a minute by minute account of the radio interview in the Free Republic discussion board. It has some spicy political commentaries by Silvie Waldorf MD (and her friend cll), but for people like me, who don't have configured the player needed to hear this radio webcast, we gladly appreciate the effort ..... <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000136#00000136">Read More »</a> Fri, 23 May 2008 16:11:16 GMT Boricua named acting deputy assistant secretary for U.S. Insular Affairs - Domenech takes over Cohen http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000135#00000135 Douglas Domenech Will Head Insular Affairs at Interior Press Release: U.S. Department of the Interior • Office of Insular Affairs WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has named Douglas W. Domenech to be Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs. Domenech, who currently serves as Secretary Kempthorne’s Deputy Chief of Staff, will provide policy-level leadership for Insular Affairs, a position that had been held by David Cohen, who resigned in January 2008 to pursue opportunities in the private sector. “I have full confidence in Doug, whose commitment to this Administration, management expertise, background and knowledge will be invaluable in carrying out our responsibilities for the U.S. territories and freely associated states, “ Kempthorne said. “I am honored to be given this assignment,” said Domenech, who will serve in both capacities. “This is an indication that Secretary Kempthorne cares deeply about the welfare of the insular areas and wants island issues handled directly in his immediate office.” Domenech, who joined the Bush Administration in July 2001, previously served as Interior’s Deputy Director of External and Intergovernmental Affairs. From 2002 to 2006 he served as White House Liaison to the Interior Department before being promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff. Domenech, who was born in the United States, is of Puerto Rican descent and lived in the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Puerto Rico as a child. He has a degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management from Virginia Tech and worked on national and state natural resource issues for 15 years prior to his appointment. Among his duties at the Department, Domenech represents the Secretary on the Advisory Board of the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, and often travels to the U.S. Virgin Islands on Interior business. He also represents the Department on the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico Status and on the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. "I look forward to working with Nik Pula and his fine team in the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA)," Domenech said. “Secretary Kempthorne's appointment of Doug Domenech to Insular Affairs is indicative of the Secretary's strong interest and support of issues affecting the U.S.-affiliated areas,” said Nik Pula, OIA Director. “I know this will be welcomed by the leaders and the people of the islands.” Pula also thanked Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett and Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason for their support of the Secretary on island issues. “We are very happy to work with Doug who is a familiar face in the OIA corridor. His enthusiasm, experience and energy will be a great asset to our office as we continue forward," said Pula. <a href="http://www.doi.gov/oia/press/2008/05122008.html" target="_blank">http://www.doi.gov/oia/press/2008/05122008.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000135#00000135">Read More »</a> Thu, 22 May 2008 03:59:52 GMT Cotto Vs. Margarito in Las Vegas July 26 http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000134#00000134 The already traditional Puerto Rican/Mexican boxing rivalrly continues, with our undefeated WBA Boxing Champion Miguel Cotto defending his WBA boxing title against mexican IBF title holder, Antonio Margarito, in an event that will be held in Las Vegas on July 26. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000134#00000134">Read More »</a> Tue, 20 May 2008 20:55:52 GMT Unemployed? Need a better job? http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000133#00000133 U.S. companies are looking for Puerto Rican workers - professionals and skilled personnel - to fill the positions that were left empty by illegal immigrants. And they are not talking only about cleaning or agricultural jobs, no. According to this article, they are looking for people to work in a great variety of industries: hotels, vacation resorts, hospitals, meat-processing, manufacturing, skiing companies, construction companies, poultry processing operations, and a leather goods plants. ¡Ay bendito! It is ironic that at this day and age there are still companies that don't know that Puerto Ricans are American citizens who happened to be bilinguals. Anyway, if the Island's economic crisis left you jobless, check this out. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000133#00000133">Read More »</a> Mon, 19 May 2008 23:03:53 GMT PRican & Latino Comedians in NYC http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000132#00000132 La raza cómica: Latino comedians find their place in N.Y. Daily News, By Erasmo Guerra delriogrande@hotmail.com Wednesday, May 7th 2008 (Photo: Sunshine/Daily News) Heard the one about the word “chancla” making it into the English dictionary? According to New York-Puerto Rican comic Bill Santiago, “The next edition of Funk and Wagnalls will include the word chancla — cheap sandal that doubles as a disciplinary device in Latino households. See also: chancletazo, fuete and pow pow.” Latino comedy used to mean funny accents and squealing, “Cuchi cuchi.” These days, chistes are more sophisticated — and a whole lot less about getting the cheap laugh. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000132#00000132">Read More »</a> Thu, 15 May 2008 21:07:28 GMT Dayanara's New Book: "Married to Me: How Committing To Myself Led To Triumph After Divorce" http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000131#00000131 How Dayanara Got Her Groove Back <a href="http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2008/05/how-dayanara-got-her-groove-back.php" target="_blank">www.radaronline.com</a> (By Paige Ferrari) 05/14/08 3:20 PM In 2004, Dayanara Torres—a former Miss Universe from Puerto Rico—became the former Mrs. Marc Anthony. The couple's nearly four-year marriage dissolved amid rumors that Anthony was having a relationship with actress-singer Jennifer Lopez. Those rumors seemed confirmed when Anthony married Lopez just four days after his divorce from Torres was final. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000131#00000131">Read More »</a> Thu, 15 May 2008 05:27:17 GMT 40 Años de Salsa para Roberto Roena http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000129#00000129 Roberto Roena celebrará sus 40 años con grandioso concierto en Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez de Bayamón Por Jorge J. Muñiz Ortiz | 2008-05-13 | EFE (FOTO: <a href="http://www.viejoteca.net/" target="_blank">www.viejoteca.net</a>) San Juan/EFE — El músico puertorriqueño Roberto Roena, uno de los grandes salseros en la historia del género, celebrará el próximo viernes (16 de mayo) los 40 años de su orquesta, Apollo Sound, la que muchos críticos pronosticaron que sólo duraría 3 meses. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000129#00000129">Read More »</a> Wed, 14 May 2008 06:29:12 GMT Menudo is Back and Bilingual http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000128#00000128 MTV-revived Menudo hits the road MYCentralJersey.com/By CHRIS JORDAN May 13, 2008 Menudo, the ever-pubescent Latino boy band that caused a cultural ripple in the 1980s, is back, and the new fantastic five know they have some pretty big dancing shoes to fill. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000128#00000128">Read More »</a> Wed, 14 May 2008 06:24:50 GMT Grand Theft Auto IV: a Reggaeton Paradise http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000126#00000126 Reggaeton Gets 'Grand Theft' Push Reggaeton artists should get a boost from "Grand Theft Auto IV," the new video game that sold 6 million copies and took in $500 million in sales in its first week, according to game publisher Take Two. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000126#00000126">Read More »</a> Wed, 14 May 2008 04:55:48 GMT Actress Roselyn Sánchez will marry in P.R. in November http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000125#00000125 Sánchez Set For November Nuptials In Puerto Rico <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000125#00000125">Read More »</a> Wed, 14 May 2008 04:38:42 GMT Lessons on Landscaping from a PRican in the States http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000124#00000124 Go Green-Scaping! (Versión en español : <a href="http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/05/08/86/#espanol " target="_blank">¡Viva la jardinería ecológica!</a>) Greenversations, the official Blog of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Lina Younes (Posted on May 8th, 2008) When I lived in Puerto Rico, there were flowers plants and trees everywhere. Beautiful orchids, bouganvilleas, <a href="http://www.puertoricopix.com/panoramas/red_flamboyan.htm" target="_blank">flamboyanes (flaming trees)</a>, palm trees—a true painter’s palette. My close relatives were gifted with green thumbs. It seemed they could produce a full plant from a little twig. Unfortunately, I was not as lucky. I confess that living in a tropical setting, it was an adjustment to relocate to a region where we have four seasons and with seasonal flowers. Last year when we were remodeling the house, I let my husband redesign the decks, but I asked that he leave the landscaping to me. Working at EPA, I was convinced that I had to practice what I preach. The <a href="http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/green/owners.htm" target="_blank">whole concept of greenscaping</a> is a practice we highly recommend. This type of gardening not only contributes to the natural beauty, but it also protects the environment. Before buying plants and designing the landscape, I studied which are the native plants to the area of Maryland. By selecting native plants, you minimize the use of water as well as the use of fertilizers and pesticides. I also selected several varieties of evergreens to ensure some type of foliage year round. I also studied which were the ideal plants for the type of soil I have to reduce maintenance and labor—remember I mentioned that I don’t have a green thumb. In sum, gardening can be a very positive experience for environmental protection. <a href="http://www.epa.gov/compost/" target="_blank">One of the projects for this summer will be composting</a>. I’ll let you know how that goes. About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies. <a href="http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/05/08/86/" target="_blank">http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/05/08/86/ </a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000124#00000124">Read More »</a> Fri, 09 May 2008 22:02:46 GMT El Gran Combo Esta Noche en Seattle http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000123#00000123 “La Universidad de la Salsa” estará dando cátedra esta noche en el ‘Proyecto Siente la Música’ (Experience Music Project) de Seattle, Washington. Esta presentación es parte de la exhibición “Sabor Americano: Latinos en la Música Popular de E.U.” (American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music). Para poner dicho evento salsero en el contexto anglosajón y para aquellos que no conocen sobre una de las mejores – si no la mejor – de las agrupaciones musicales de este género, a continuación incluyo parte de una reseña publicada en inglés en el Seattle Times. <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2004401328_grancombo09.html" target="_blank">http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2004401328_grancombo09.html</a> El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico: You have got to dip into this salsa The Seattle Times, By Paul de Barros (Seattle Times jazz critic) pdebarros@seattletimes.com Friday, May 9, 2008 <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000123#00000123">Read More »</a> Fri, 09 May 2008 17:44:55 GMT Francisco Oller's Painting to be Auction at Sotheby´s http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000122#00000122 La Batalla de Treviño will be offered for sale at Sotheby's London in The Spanish Sale NEW YORK.- From May 24 through 29, the most important painting to be offered at auction by Puerto Rico’s preeminent 19th-century painter, Francisco Oller y Cestero (1833-1917), will be on view at Sotheby’s New York, alongside the exhibition for the New York sale of Latin American Art, which will take place on May 29 & 30. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000122#00000122">Read More »</a> Tue, 06 May 2008 06:40:08 GMT Saxophonist Miguel Zenón Awarded Guggenheim http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000121#00000121 Zenón Quarted performs live in New Haven (Conn.) on May 9th San Juan native and ‘Escuela Libre de Música’ alumni, Miguel Zenón felt honored and humble when he recently received confirmation that he was awarded the music fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. This honorable mention made him one of the youngest jazz musicians ever awarded that prestigious fellowship. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000121#00000121">Read More »</a> puerto ricoborinquenpuertorriquenoboricuasan juanzenónjazzplenasaxophoneguggenheimescuela libre de músicaberklee Tue, 06 May 2008 05:56:28 GMT J-Lo Twins in Cable Reality Show http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000118#00000118 J.Lo to give cable's TLC a glimpse of her twins' TLC Daily News, BY Leo Standora/Thursday, April 24th 2008 (Photo: People Magazine) Jenny from the block is coming to a new 'hood - the small-screen, on her own reality TV show. Jennifer López tried to low-key her pregnancy, but now she's ready to share her life as a mother, wife, actress and singer with the world. Jenny from the Block and salsa star hubby Marc Anthony have signed on with The Learning Channel to do an upclose and personal reality show, The Learning Channel announced Wednesday. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000118#00000118">Read More »</a> Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:31:32 GMT Tego Calderon's double winner: New CD and Movie Role http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000117#00000117 Mellow Tego strikes back Daily News, BY MARGARITA DÍAZ ...after the ambitious “El Subestimado/The Underdog” failed to ignite the charts, Tego Calderón is back with a new album and a new sound — well, not exactly a new sound. “El Abayarde Contraataca” (El Abayarde Strikes Back)... is really a return to the lean production and tight lyrics that made the Puerto Rican rapper famous in the first place. What’s different here has more to do with attitude: The man is happy. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000117#00000117">Read More »</a> Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:02:15 GMT "Tres Lirios Cala" en el Teatro Rodante Puertorriqueño http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000116#00000116 Amor sin perdón Daily News, por Pablo García Gámez/Saturday, April 19th 2008 (Foto: Gerry Goodstein/Actrices: Dalia Davi, Susan Rybin y Elvira Franco.) En su 41 aniversario, el Teatro Rodante Puertorriqueño presenta "Tres lirios cala" de Abniel Marat, hasta el domingo 4 de mayo, pieza en la que una noche se reúnen tres hermanas con motivo de recordar a su madre fallecida. Allí se reencuentran y redescubren los lazos y las diferencias entre ellas. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000116#00000116">Read More »</a> Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:39:17 GMT Green Ideas for Earth Day and Beyond http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000114#00000114 April 22nd was Earth Day and what better way to celebrate it than by looking for ways to leave it better than we found it for the generations to come. Or to be more specific, your daughter, your son, your nephew, your niece, your godson, your grand daughter, and so on... When it comes to resolving problems, I am not that preachy kind of person that annoys you with their hero-like life story, so here is a list of examples of things that I found on the Web that you can do to improve our one and only home planet. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000114#00000114">Read More »</a> Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:25:23 GMT Congress: Please, Save the Arecibo Observatory! http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000112#00000112 IMPORTANT Note: After Boricua Network posted this news story, there has been a new development on this situation. <a href="/members/boricua/comm/READ/00000045/bNY-Senator-Hillary-Clinton-Introduced-legislation-to-support-Arecibos-Observatoryb.html " target="_blank">Click here to read it in depth</a>. Observatory in Puerto Rico struggles to stay open The Orlando Sentinel, By Jeannette Rivera-Lyles ARECIBO, PR — In its 45 years, the Arecibo Observatory has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments. It took some of the first pictures of Earth's changing surface signaling global warming and has mapped the surface of Mars with more precision than any other instrument. It also houses the only radio telescope in the world that can predict with enough accuracy just where and when an asteroid would hit Earth. Yet the Cornell University-run observatory is struggling to stay open after the National Science Foundation, its main funding source, decided last year to slash its budget from $10.5 million to $8 million. By 2011, the money is expected to dwindle to $4 million. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000112#00000112">Read More »</a> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:07:16 GMT The Life Story of a Proud Puerto Rican in Ohio http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000111#00000111 Juanita Serrano: 'The voice of the community' The Plain Dealer Newspaper, by Alana Baranick abaranick@plaind.com (Photo: Juanita Serrano in 1993, when she was grand marshal of the Puerto Rican Friendly Day Parade.) Juanita Serrano and other single moms staged demonstrations at government buildings in Cleveland, Columbus and Washington , D.C. , in the late 1960s and early '70s to get more financial and practical aid to raise their children. "We were arrested a few times," said Iris Cuevas, a fellow member of the now-defunct National Welfare Rights Organization. "They kept us there [in Cleveland ] for hours and hours until they decided to let us go and then, I guess, no charges. We went to Columbus to the governor's mansion to demonstrate. He turned on the sprinkler. We all got wet!" Serrano, a Puerto Rican native, who died of complications from cancer March 5 at age 77, instructed Hispanic women whose husbands had abandoned them about welfare benefits and the importance of getting an education and a job. "None of us can speak good English to express ourselves," Cuevas said. "Once she became very active, she wasn't afraid to speak. She was all over. Here in town. Out of town. Talking about people's rights. My goodness, she was the voice of the community." The mother of seven sons marched, picketed and staged sit-ins with her peers to get such basic needs as children's underwear, shoes and appliances. They also requested help with paying rent and utilities. "We were kind of scared, really afraid at the beginning," Cuevas said. "We learned we have to teach others that what we do is to help ourselves and our children instead of staying on welfare. We became good citizens." Serrano was born Juanita Sanchez Vasquez in the mountain town of Cayey , Puerto Rico , where her family worked in the tobacco fields. She was the eldest of nine siblings. "By default, the oldest becomes the caretaker, a strong leader," her son Leo said. She attended but didn't finish high school, got married and had five sons before migrating to Miami in the 1950s. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000111#00000111">Read More »</a> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:39:40 GMT 10 Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000110#00000110 10 Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000110#00000110">Read More »</a> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:19:20 GMT Art Pieces from 'Museo de Arte de Ponce' in Arizona http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000109#00000109 "Passport to Europe" The Arizona Republic by Richard Nilsen richard.nilsen@arizonarepublic.com (Photo: "Immaculate Conception of the Mirror," Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660–1678. Oil on canvas. (59.0126) Collection Museo de Arte de Ponce. Fundación Luis A. Ferré, Inc., Ponce, Puerto Rico.) Let's face it: Too often we hear the hype over a new art show and go licking our chops waiting to see something really blow-me-away good, only to arrive at the museum and be disappointed. The show might be fine, as far as it goes, but the PR has promised more than the show delivered. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000109#00000109">Read More »</a> Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:01:08 GMT Percussionist “Chembo” Corniel with New CD http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000108#00000108 Chembo is Everything in One NY Post, "Tempo Expresso", by Javier L. Orellana Percussionist Wilson “Chembo” Corniel has made the switch from salsa to Latin Jazz music with easy. He has played with people like Tito Puente and Larry Harlow to Chucho Valdes and Paquito D’Rivera. Now Corniel has taken the next step in his career and has become a record producer for his independent record company Chemboro Records. “Now a days no one is signing any new artist,” says Corniel. “So I took it upon myself to start my own record company and produce my own CD’s.” The transition from percussionist to independent record producer was not an easy move Corniel assured me. “It is hard work…I’m wearing all the hats in this company.” Corniel continues, “Besides being the distributor, I have to be the accountant, and manager. I’m everything in one.” Corniel is not doing it for the money but for the love of making music. All the money that Corniel makes from his music sales is rolled over into his next project. And as long as Corniel breaks-even and is able to record and put out good music, he is satisfied. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000108#00000108">Read More »</a> Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:08:29 GMT Actor David Zayas in Broadway Play http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000107#00000107 BRAND-NEW BEAT BRONX EX-COP’S ARRESTING AUDIENCES IN NEW DOWNTOWN PLAY Daily News, By BARBARA HOFFMAN You may have noticed him as an inmate in TV's "Oz" or as a homicide detective in "Dexter." But one thing's for sure - you won't have any trouble spotting David Zayas in "The Little Flower of East Orange." As Espinosa, a disorderly hospital orderly with the motor mouth, big heart and mania for the Mets, Zayas steals the show. For a former cop, that's something. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Zayas grew up in The Bronx, joined the Air Force, married young and joined the NYPD. But deep down, he always longed to act. "It was risky, but hey, you only live once," says the stocky actor with the dark goatee. "And it worked out, thank God!" So he took acting lessons when he wasn't patrolling Midtown North, and in 1992 joined the LAByrinth Theater Company, a kind of training gym for actors. There he met "Little Flower" playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Oscar-winning actor who directed the play. He also met his future wife, Liza Colón-Zayas, the play's tough but saintly nurse, Magnolia. "I've done five plays with Liza and we're lucky to have a company that lets us work together," says Zayas, who left the police force 8 years ago to concentrate on acting full-time. "Working with her on this play is the cherry on top!" "The Little Flower of East Orange" at the Public Theater www.publictheater.org Tickets, $50 / Tel: (212) 967-7555 <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/04022008/tempo/brand_new_beat_104601.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nypost.com/seven/04022008/tempo/brand_new_beat_104601.htm</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000107#00000107">Read More »</a> Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:02:01 GMT Singer/Guitarist José Feliciano Sings at Papal Mass for Pope Benedict XVI http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000106#00000106 Playing for the Pope Weston Forum Newspaper (Connecticut), by Patricia Gay José Feliciano is no stranger to performing at baseball stadiums. The legendary singer and guitarist, whose hits include 'Light My Fire' and 'Feliz Navidad', has performed numerous concerts at stadiums and sung The Star-Spangled Banner for the Detroit Tigers and the New York Mets. But this Sunday, April 20, Mr. Feliciano will perform for a different type of crowd at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. He has been asked to take part in a pre-Mass concert for Pope Benedict XVI. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000106#00000106">Read More »</a> Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:08:09 GMT Reguetonero Don Omar se Casa http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000104#00000104 Su Boda con la Reportera de Univisión, Jackie Guerrido, Contará con Luminarias de Puerto Rico y los E.U. (Fotos: RODRIGO VARELA/WIREIMAGE.COM) Si todo sale como lo han planificado, el cantante de Reguetón puertorriqueño, Don Omar y la reportera del tiempo de los programas “Despierta América” y “Primer Impacto” de Univisión, Jackie Guerrido, se casan este sábado 19 de abril en Puerto Rico. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000104#00000104">Read More »</a> Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:44:38 GMT At Least 15 Storms Predicted for 2008 Hurricane Season http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000103#00000103 Above-average hurricane season predicted By DANICA COTO Wed, Apr. 09, 2008 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico- (A.P.) A noted hurricane researcher predicted Wednesday that rising water temperatures in the Atlantic will bring a "well above average" storm season this year, including four major storms. Foto (NASA/NOAA): Hurricane Georges hits P.R. on September 21, 1998 The updated forecast by William Gray's team at Colorado State University calls for 15 named storms in the Atlantic in 2008 and says there's a better than average chance that at least one major hurricane will hit the U.S. An average of 5.9 hurricanes form in the Atlantic each year. "The Atlantic is a bit warmer than in the past couple of years," said Phil Klotzbach, a member of the forecast team. "That is something we would like to keep an eye on." Gray had projected seven hurricanes with three major storms in a preliminary forecast in December. One of the most closely watched hurricane forecasters, Gray has been issuing hurricane predictions for more than 20 years. But he and others have been criticized in recent years for having forecasts that were off the mark. Gray's team says precise predictions are impossible, and the warnings raise awareness of hurricanes. "We have not been ashamed of our forecast failures. It is the nature of seasonal forecasting to sometimes be wrong," Klotzbach said in a telephone interview from the Bahamas, where the team announced the forecast at a weather conference. Before the June-November season, U.S. government scientists predicted 13 to 17 named storms and 6 hurricanes, 3 to 5 major. Gray was further off, forecasting 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes, five of them major. The 2007 Atlantic season saw 15 named storms, 6 of which became hurricanes and 2 were major storms. U.S. government forecasters issue their seasonal outlook in late May. National Hurricane Center director Bill Read, who is in his first year on the job, has said he would prefer to characterize the season in general terms - as above average, average or below average - instead of trying to forecast a precise number of storms. "It doesn't matter what the numbers are," center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said Wednesday, repeating a center mantra that it takes only one powerful storm to make it a bad season. <a href="http://www.kansas.com/wireupdates/story/367546.html" target="_blank">http://www.kansas.com/wireupdates/story/367546.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000103#00000103">Read More »</a> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:39:04 GMT Our 2001 Miss Universe at NYC's Theater Repertorio Español http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000102#00000102 Denise Quiñones (almost) naked in 'Doña Flor y Sus Dos Maridos' By Lee Hernández LeeEmil.Hernandez@gmail.com Photo: Christopher Auger Domínguez <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000102#00000102">Read More »</a> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:50:34 GMT Major Agreement for Vieques Cleanup Finalized http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000101#00000101 Three US agencies and P.R.'s Environmental Quality Board will be involved in the Cleanup <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000101#00000101">Read More »</a> Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:46:34 GMT Higher Homeownership, Larger Houses & other Census Facts About the Island of Enchantment http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000099#00000099 Residents of Puerto Rico had a higher homeownership rate, had more people per household and were less likely to move than U.S. stateside residents, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2006 PR Community Survey. These are among the wide range of data now available annually from the Census Bureau’s PR Community Survey. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000099#00000099">Read More »</a> Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:52:34 GMT Salsa Singer Tito Nieves Slim & Happy http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000098#00000098 The New and Improved Tito Nieves No, this is not PhotoShop. This is the new Tito Nieves. NY Post reported that when Tito Nieves performed recently at the <a href="http://www.lehmancenter.org" target="_blank">Lehman Center</a> recently with Brian McKnight, NY salsa fans saw a whole new Tito Nieves... "Nieves who is known for his golden voice and his big size made an enormous change in his life, he lost 104 pounds in the past 6 months after going under gastric bypass surgery last summer. Nieves who weighed 352 pounds is now 248, his waist size dropped from 56-inches to 38, and his jacket size went from a 58 to a 44. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000098#00000098">Read More »</a> Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:20:57 GMT Student of Fajardo High School represented PR at NASA's Moonbuggy Race http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000097#00000097 The "CariDuros" Students won the Race's "Rookie Award" FOTO Credit: (NASA/MSFC) A pair of intrepid student drivers from a Fajardo High School (Puerto Rico), endure a fearsome, buggy-flipping crash early in the day during the high school division of NASA's 15th annual Great Moonbuggy Race, held April 4 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. Despite the crash, the two racers jumped back into competition quickly enough to post the fastest race time among competition newcomers, earning them the 2008 "Rookie Award." Presented by race sponsor Northrop Grumman Corp. of Huntsville., the award is just one of many vied for each year by dozens of participating teams from all over the nation and around the world. NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race, organized by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, challenges high school and college students to build lightweight racing vehicles inspired by the original lunar rover used during the 1970s Apollo moon missions. The race is one of dozens of education projects and initiatives NASA leads each year to inspire America's next generation of engineers, scientists and explorers. Below is the <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07apr_moonbuggyrace.htm" target="_blank">report of the event</a> from NASA: The 2008 Great Moonbuggy Race Author: Dauna Coulter/ Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips/ Credit: Science@NASA April 7, 2008: Not one of the participants in NASA's 2008 Great Moonbuggy Race was old enough to have seen the 1969 movie, Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies. Nevertheless, the racers all looked like stars of that film as they careened about the simulated lunar terrain race course in a motley variety of strange vehicles. These high school and college students, representing 20 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany and India, were having a blast in their home-made moonbuggies. They were spinning out in "moondust" and rumbling over "craters" at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on April 4th and 5th, competing to traverse the 0.7-mile course faster than any other team. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000097#00000097">Read More »</a> Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:34:46 GMT NYC Subway Street Art http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000094#00000094 The Chance to Find Strange Stuff like these When you less expected is one of the things that I Love about NYC! You are walking down a street in NYC, minding your business and suddenly, when you are near a Subway vent, a plastic bag (that was stuck on top of it) begins to grow and transforms into a white bear that dances with the rhythm of the air. No, you are not getting crazy... it is a public art sculpture made with plastic bags by Joshua Allen Harris, a NYC art student. Harris, 31, said that his inspiration for creating this unexpected street art was a piece of construction tape flying off a grate on Manhattan's West 21st St. Subway grates are a regular feature of the city landscape made famous by Monroe's billowing white dress in the 1955 film "The Seven Year Itch". "The animation part is out of my control," Harris said. "I set this thing up, and then the subway completes it." To see an amateur video done by the artist to see the reaction of the public in NYC <a href="/igroops/boricua/videos/VIEW/00000010/NYC-Subway-Street-Art.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/04072008/news/regionalnews/thats_pretty_grate_105386.htm" target="_blank">Below is a news article</a> about this plastic bag sculpture from The New York Post: THAT'S PRETTY 'GRATE' NY Post, by GEMMA JONES April 7, 2008 -- Polar bears have been popping up all over Manhattan. Actually, they're plastic bags fashioned into the animals by Brooklyn artist Joshua Allen Harris, who designed them to inflate over street-level subway vents as trains rush by below. Proving one man's trash is another's treasure, Harris said he was inspired when he saw discarded construction tape billowing from a subway vent on West 21st Street. The 31-year-old Williamsburg artist then spent 3 months perfecting the lifelike polar bears using recycled white shopping bags. They have created widespread enthusiasm among pedestrians - and video posted on an Internet arts site of the bears swaying to the gusts of passing trains has delighted thousands of Web viewers. "We all walk with our heads down in New York thinking that maybe that could be the person who rips my head off," said Harris, a fine-arts student at the School of Visual Arts in Midtown. "When I set them up, the surprise brightens people up. They say, 'I can't have a bad day now. I have seen that.' " Trish Tillman, 33, a grad student from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, noticed Harris' bears and sent photographs to the <a href="http://www.woostercollective.com/sculpture/" target="_blank">Wooster Collective art Web site</a>, sparking a frenzy of interest. "It is the most inventive thing I have seen in a long time," she said. "It is amazing how [a bag] comes to life when the air moves through it." To read a full AP news article where Harris talk about his new creation: an inflatable giraffe, <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--subwaygrateart0408apr08,0,2412413.story" target="_blank">click here</a>. To see an AP TV report of the same story, <a href="http://video.ap.org/v/default.aspx?mk=en-ap&g=41f8be4f-ca57-402e-ad72-9387c3dacde0&f=null&fg=email" target="_blank">click here</a>. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000094#00000094">Read More »</a> Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:09:14 GMT President Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife Hillary in PR http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000090#00000090 Bill Clinton campaigns in Puerto Rico By DAVID McFADDEN, A.P. Published in: San Luis Obispo Tribune Bill Clinton told Puerto Ricans on Sunday (Apr. 06) his wife will boost employment for island residents if elected president, as well as ensuring them the same access to affordable health care as people who live on the mainland. (A.P. Photo: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton greets fans while campaigning for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sunday, April 6, 2008). <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000090#00000090">Read More »</a> Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:37:00 GMT Actor/director Jacobo Morales honored at Chicago Latino Film Festival http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000088#00000088 Jacobo Morales honored at Chicago Latino Film Festival Jacobo Morales will be honored at Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University on Wednesday, April 16, when tha Festival concludes. This special evening includes a 6:00 p.m. cocktail reception and the presentation of the 'Gloria Career Achievement Award' to this Puerto Rican comedian, actor and film director. The evnt is followed by the screening of Morales’ latest film, 'Ángel'. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000088#00000088">Read More »</a> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:54:49 GMT Puerto Rican Films at the Chicago Latino Film Festival http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000087#00000087 Jacobo Morales' "Ángel" and a Detective Film were Two of the Three Featured at the Chicago Latino Film Festival Running from April 4-16, 2008, the 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival will showcase more than 100 feature and shorts films from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States. The programming represents the broad diversity of themes and genres in Latino filmmaking. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000087#00000087">Read More »</a> Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:51:12 GMT Pollution is a New Sin http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000079#00000079 Vatican lists "new sins," including pollution (Reuters) By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight. The guidance came at the weekend (Mar 10, 2008) when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils. Asked what he believed were today's "new sins," he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the greatest danger zone for the modern soul was the largely uncharted world of bioethics. "(Within bioethics) there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said. The Vatican opposes stem cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning. Girotti, in an interview headlined "New Forms of Social Sin," also listed "ecological" offences as modern evils. In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues such as climate change had become gravely important for the entire human race. Under Benedict and his predecessor John Paul, the Vatican has become progressively "green." It has installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity and hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change, widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels. Girotti, who is number two in the Vatican "Apostolic Penitentiary," which deals with matter of conscience, also listed drug trafficking and social and economic injustices as modern sins. But Girotti also bemoaned that fewer and fewer Catholics go to confession at all. He pointed to a study by Milan 's Catholic University that showed that up to 60 percent of Catholic faithful in Italy stopped going to confession. In the sacrament of Penance, Catholics confess their sins to a priest who absolves them in God's name. But the same study by the Catholic University showed that 30 percent of Italian Catholics believed that there was no need for a priest to be God's intermediary and 20 percent felt uncomfortable talking about their sins to another person. (Editing by Keith Weir) Copyright © 2007 Reuters <a href="http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20080310/hl_nm/pope_sins_dc.html" target="_blank">http://green.yahoo.com/news/nm/20080310/hl_nm/pope_sins_dc.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000079#00000079">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:38:00 GMT Rock Band Rush Begins their Tour in PR http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000077#00000077 The 2008 leg of the "Snakes & Arrows" tour of the Rock band "Rush" will kick off on at the <a href="http://www.coliseodepuertorico.com/" target="_blank">Coliseo de Puerto Rico</a> in San Juan, on April 11 and will conclude July 22 in Atlanta, Georgia. Also newspaper <a href="http://www.elnuevodia.com/diario/home" target="_blank">El Nuevo Día</a> is sponsoring a Rush Pre-party for this show at the Coliseo for select subscribers. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000077#00000077">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:11:04 GMT Happy People have Happy Genes http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000075#00000075 Happiness can be inherited, research finds By Reuters - Thu Mar 6,2008 Photo: icKYpöö/Dilip Nair Photography (cc) LONDON (Reuters) - You can't buy happiness but it looks like you can at least inherit it, British and Australian researchers said on Thursday. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000075#00000075">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:12:36 GMT Carlos Arroyo: Sello boricua en la NBA http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000074#00000074 El basquetbolista Carlos Arroyo busca recuperar minutos de juego en la NBA y sueña con Pekín 2008 (A.P.) MATIAS MACIEL matiasmaciel@gmail.com Carlos Arroyo, el armador boricua del equipo de baloncesto Orlando Magic, asegura que la madurez y los años de experiencia le ayudan a conservar la paciencia, cualidad necesaria para mantenerse en la NBA (National Basketball Association). Es que luego de un inicio de año con asistencia casi perfecta (13 juegos de 14 en enero), su entrenador Stan Van Gundy decidió no enviarlo a la cancha en ocho de los trece partidos que los Magic disputaron en febrero. Se trata de una circunstancia difícil si se tiene en cuenta que el contrato de Arroyo con su equipo concluye al término de esta temporada y necesita sumar minutos de juego para conseguir un nuevo fichaje en la NBA. Además, esto ha puesto en duda su participación en el Seleccionado puertorriqueño que disputará en Grecia en julio próximo el torneo de repechaje por una plaza en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín. "Creo que tenemos un gran equipo (Puerto Rico) y un buen chance de clasificar a los Olímpicos de Pekín. Contamos con jugadores preparados gracias a la experiencia en otras competencias internacionales", opina el deportista de 28 años nacido en Fajardo, Puerto Rico. En caso de que el Seleccionado boricua consiga la clasificación a Pekín 2008, después de enfrentar a Croacia y Camerún en Grecia, Arroyo tendría su segunda participación en unos Olímpicos. En Atenas 2004 el base fue el abanderado boricua en la ceremonia de inauguración y lideró a su equipo para conseguir el sexto puesto, la mejor ubicación para los puertorriqueños desde los olímpicos de Munich en 1972. "Es un gran honor ser parte del Seleccionado y ojalá consigamos el boleto a Pekín", declara con ilusión el armador. Para Arroyo, los Olímpicos tienen un encanto especial, "porque allí juegan los mejores entre los mejores" y porque desde pequeño siguió con interés las competencias olímpicas. "Además del baloncesto, me gustaban las pruebas de atletismo, la natación, el voleibol y el boxeo, un deporte muy popular en mi tierra", afirma. Consultado acerca de qué otro deporte le gustaría practicar, Arroyo se inclina por el voleibol o el béisbol: "¿Fútbol? Me gusta verlo, pero no lo he jugado más que unas pocas veces con amigos", responde con sonrisa amable. Sueño de infancia Antes de llegar a la NBA el fajardeño jugó para los Cariduros de Fajardo y para los Cangrejos de Santurce, ambos de la Liga de Baloncesto Superior de Puerto Rico. Entre 1998 y 2001 formó parte de los Golden Panthers, el equipo de la Universidad Internacional de Florida, de la liga universitaria estadounidense, donde se convirtió en el máximo anotador en la historia de ese equipo. Su llegada a la NBA tuvo lugar en 2002, luego de graduarse de la universidad: "Siempre quise pertenecer a la NBA. Cuando se me presentó la oportunidad fue como una bendición del Señor", afirma el armador, que comenzó su carrera en la liga contratado por los Toronto Raptors. Aunque muy pronto fue desvinculado de los Raptors y se trasladó a España, regresó dos meses más tarde para incorporarse a los Denver Nuggets. Después le siguió el Utah Jazz, más tarde pasó a Detroit Pistons y, desde febrero de 2006, viste la camiseta del Orlando Magic. "Jugar en diferentes equipos me dio la posibilidad de conocer distintas ciudades y a mucha gente. Considero que se trata de una gran experiencia y he tratado de aprender mucho de cada oportunidad. Me ha ayudado a madurar como jugador y como persona", afirma. El 25 de febrero pasado Arroyo fue elegido para formar parte de los 24 jugadores más importantes de la historia del baloncesto puertorriqueño, una selección realizada por un comité de conocedores de ese deporte a pedido de la BSN, Baloncesto Superior Nacional de Puerto Rico, institución que organiza la liga profesional en la isla. Por reconocimientos como ese Arroyo está muy agradecido con sus compatriotas, al tiempo que no quiere fallarles: "Es una responsabilidad bien grande, por eso me preocupo por hacer las cosas bien, con orgullo, dignidad y respeto", asegura. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/espanol/2008/03/01/2008-03-01_sello_boricua_en_la_nba-4.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/espanol/2008/03/01/2008-03-01_sello_boricua_en_la_nba-4.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000074#00000074">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:08:44 GMT Chupacabra Named one of the Top 10 Monsters http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000073#00000073 Live Science website has a photo essay on their “10 Favorite monsters that may have a basis in real life” where our Puerto Rican “Chupacabra” made number 6 on the list … <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000073#00000073">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:05:11 GMT Chupacabra Part of Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000072#00000072 Chupacabra was part of the exhibition “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids” of the NYC’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000072#00000072">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:46:48 GMT Actress Luisa de los Ríos' film will be distributed in the US http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000071#00000071 Victoria, Luisa de los Ríos' film will be distributed in DVD in the US According to it's <a href="http://www.empirefilmgroup.com/pr058.html" target="_blank">website</a>, Empire Home Entertainment, the distribution division of Empire Film Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: EFGU) ("Empire Film") (<a href="http://www.empirefilmgroup.com" target="_blank">http://www.empirefilmgroup.com</a>), announced that it has completed the acquisition of 7 new titles for release to the USA DVD and Blu Ray markets in the coming months. Included in these is ‘Victoria’ a ‘Spanish-language comedy, shot in Puerto Rico from director Coraly Santalíz, starring Luisa de los Ríos in the title role as a love-struck attorney, with Latin-rap star Vico C as a demanding, new client. "We want to enhance our video and television schedules with a good supply of quality films and videos that have had only limited or no theatrical exposure. These titles have great commercial value, especially on DVD, and will generate significant revenues for Empire and our program suppliers," said Eric Parkinson, CEO of Empire Home Entertainment, the distribution division of Empire Film Group, Inc. 'Victoria' 2006/Spanish with English subtitles. Cast: Luisa de Los Rios, Jonathan Dwayne, Vico C. Writer/Director/Editor: Coraly Santaliz Awards: The Best of The Accolade Film & Television Festival Award, 2007, La Jolla, California Paoli Award: Best TV Movie of the Year, Puerto Rico, 2007 Synopsis: When you think you have everything & find out you don’t. “Victoria proves the power of skilled acting and a powerful storyline. Excellent casting of secondary players allows for an engaging, and well-told story. This is the first feature-length drama from director Coraly Santaliz, but clearly it shouldn’t be her last.” Victoria is a beautiful, successful lawyer who is missing one thing: she’s completely unsatisfied. Everything changes when she meets her next client – “Fat Girl” – a rapper who has a unique perspective on life & seems to understand Victoria. While resolving Fat Girl’s case, Victoria resolves her own inner turmoil. She finds the courage to quit her job & begins working for a college friend who has started a non-profit law firm. Although the cast of characters who enter the law firm are a bit unnerving, Victoria manages to adjust to the chaotic & diverse situations – while hoping to further her friendship with her college friend & find her place in the sun. <a href="http://www.wonderphil.biz/trailers/victoria/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.wonderphil.biz/trailers/victoria/index.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000071#00000071">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:14:20 GMT An Urban Legend Confirmed: PR was a guinea pig for Contraceptive Pill. http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000070#00000070 An urban legend confirmed: PR was a guinea pig for the human contraceptive pill. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000070#00000070">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:54:09 GMT Piden Medalla de Honor para héroe hispano http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000069#00000069 Piden Medalla de Honor para héroe hispano El Diario/La Prensa Manuel E. Avendaño <a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:manuel.avendano@eldiarioiny.com" target="_blank">manuel.avendano@eldiarioiny.com</a> STATEN ISLAND, NUEVA YORK — Al cumplirse 41 años de la acción heroica del sargento Angel Méndez en Vietnam, quien murió por salvar a los miembros de su pelotón durante un feroz combate, sus colegas de la Infantería de Marina le rindieron homenaje ayer, reiterando su pedido para que se le otorgue la Medalla de Honor como homenaje póstumo. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000069#00000069">Read More »</a> Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:42:09 GMT Chayanne on 2008 Billboard Latin Music Awards http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000068#00000068 Chayanne, one of the Latin Superstars at 2008 Billboard Latin Music Awards Romanctic pop star, Chayanne will perform during the 10th annual Latin Music Billboard Awards that will aired 'live' on Telemundo Thursday, April 10 from 7PM / 6c at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino en Hollywood, Florida. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000068#00000068">Read More »</a> Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:22:08 GMT PR Governor Indicted of 19 Criminal Charges http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000067#00000067 PR Governor surrenders to FBI; pleads not guilty Puerto Rico's Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila waves to his followers after walking out of the U.S. Federal Court building, after turning himself in to attend his first hearing after being charged for election funding fraud, in San Juan March 28, 2008. The charges said Acevedo Vila collected illegal contributions and spent far more than he reported during his election campaigns from 1999 to 2004. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000067#00000067">Read More »</a> Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:55:30 GMT Roberto Clemente Documentary in PBS http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000065#00000065 PBS's AMERICAN EXPERIENCE premieres a one-hour documentary about baseball's first Latino superstar, Roberto Clemente, Monday, April 21 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings). Done by independent filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz and actor Jimmy Smits (The West Wing, NYPD Blue) narrates. After April 21, a Spanish-language version will be available for free viewing online at <a href="http://pbs.org/americanexperience" target="_blank">http://pbs.org/americanexperience</a>. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000065#00000065">Read More »</a> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:00:17 GMT Poet Jack Agüeros Fights Alzheimer’s http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000064#00000064 A Puerto Rican Poet’s Fight With Alzheimer’s NY Times, City Room, Blog, By David González <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000064#00000064">Read More »</a> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:12:19 GMT Líder Taína Moderna Reclama Vigencia del Indio Borincano http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000063#00000063 Vive el taíno "Cómo es posible que de los taínos no se acuerde nadie’". El Nuevo Día, Por Eugenio Hopgood Dávila ehopgood@elnuevodia.com Siglos después de que la historia oficial declarara extintos a los indígenas de Borikén, centenares de puertorriqueños invocan desde investigaciones genéticas hasta las revelaciones místicas de sus caciques y proclaman ser el pueblo taíno vivo entre nosotros. Las dos organizaciones taínas más conocidas son el Consejo General de Taínos Borincanos, que dirige la artesana y música Elba Anacaona Lugo, conocida entre su gente como “Anaca”; y el Concilio Taíno Guacu-Matú a Borikén Inc., que lidera el también artesano y enfermero graduado Martín Veguilla, mejor conocido entre los suyos como el “Cacike Cacibaopil”, que significa Piedra Sagrada del Espíritu. Aunque estos dos líderes taínos son enconados rivales, con pésimas relaciones entre ellos, ambos tienen en común la práctica de la espiritualidad taína -con sus variantes- el afán de identificarse con los antepasados indígenas y su cultura, como la interpreta cada cual, y la reivindicación del derecho -como pueblo indígena- de participar directamente en el manejo de sus coabeyes (cementerios) y demás “lugares sagrados” que el gobierno y los científicos ven como yacimientos arqueológicos. “Desde niño mi abuela me decía que venía de indios taínos... ella decía que venía de una abuela que se llamaba Gueiyara”, cuenta Veguilla, oriundo de los campos de Cayey. Dice el cacique que su interés en lo taíno se incrementó cuando fue a estudiar Artes Plásticas a la Universidad de Puerto Rico en la década de 1970 y se adentró en la lectura de las crónicas de Indias. “Vi que los españoles habían cometido atrocidades contra los taínos en nombre de Cristo... cuando empecé a leer todas esas cosas el dolor fue grande y pensé que cómo es posible que de los taínos no se acuerde nadie”, reflexiona Veguilla con expresión de desconsuelo mientras se toma un café. “De ahí fue que vino el interés de yo levantar entonces un pueblo, más bien culturalmente. O sea, convertir al puertorriqueño en boricua, dice en alusión al gentilicio de origen taíno”. El encuentro de Anaca con lo taíno también tuvo que ver con abuelos y con tristezas. Recuerda ella que de niña en el barrio Tetuán de Utuado le deprimían las películas de “indios y vaqueros” en las que “siempre mataban a los indígenas”. “Cuando veía eso me escondía a llorar detrás de la puerta de mi cuarto, lloraba con tanta angustia...”, cuenta Anaca desde la sala de su modesta casa, repleta de arte y decoraciones indígenas en una loma del barrio Quebrada Negrito de Trujillo Alto. “Luego descubrí que teníamos la consanguinidad de los pueblos indoamericanos... que yo tenía esa identidad adentro y no lo sabía”. Sobre la manera en que han aprendido las prácticas ceremoniales que fueron abandonadas por siglos, ambos invocan visiones y revelaciones místicas -además del estudio histórico y arqueológico- como uno de los fundamentos de su conocimiento sobre la cultura de los ancestros. “Una vez en El Yunque estábamos soplando los caracoles y escuchamos los mayoguacanes, (tambores taínos), también escuchamos cantos en lengua taína, los areytos, hablando, tocando las maracas”, relata Veguilla al explicar cómo conoce los ritmos y música taínos. La visión de Anaca, quien afirma tener ocasionales revelaciones de los ancestros, no sólo fue musical, sino un llamado hacia el mundo espiritual taíno. Eran los años 1970 y Elba era una joven cuatrista que incursionaba en la música jíbara y la nueva trova y vivía en un campo del sector La Yuca en Ponce con otros músicos. “Cerré los ojos para descansar cuando entonces me presentan esa finca gigantesca sembrada artísticamente y veía como unas matas de plátano, pero con flores, palmas y yagrumos; entonces había unos caminos serpenteados y por ahí corrían los taínos y tenían moñitos, un jacho de tabonuco prendido en fuego y era de noche y yo lo observaba de arriba... pues pregunté qué es eso y me dicen: ese es el paseo taíno desde nuestras raíces más antiguas hasta la actualidad”. Entonces bautizó a su grupo Paseo Taíno, germen que evolucionó hasta convertirse en la organización que hoy dirige y que como la de Veguilla -sólo que cada cual a su manera- se dedica a promover “valores taínos” como el amor a la Madre Tierra, y la práctica de rituales indígenas y recreaciones artísticas y la defensa del patrimonio indígena. <a href="/igroops/boricua/blog/Entonces%20bautiz%C3%B3%20a%20su%20grupo%20Paseo%20Ta%C3%ADno,%20germen%20que%20evolucion%C3%B3%20hasta%20convertirse%20en%20la%20organizaci%C3%B3n%20que%20hoy%20dirige%20y%20que%20como%20la%20de%20Veguilla%20-s%C3%B3lo%20que%20cada%20cual%20a%20su%20manera-%20se%20dedica%20a%20promover%20%E2%80%9Cvalores%20ta%C3%ADnos%E2%80%9D%20como%20el%20amor%20a%20la%20Madre%20Tierra,%20y%20la%20pr%C3%A1ctica%20de%20rituales%20ind%C3%ADgenas%20y%20recreaciones%20art%C3%ADsticas%20y%20la%20defensa%20del%20patrimonio%20ind%C3%ADgena." target="_blank">http://www.elnuevodia.com/diario/noticia/puertoricohoy/noticias/vive_el_taino/380814</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000063#00000063">Read More »</a> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:46:04 GMT Scientists Made a Map of Puerto Rico's Reefs http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000062#00000062 High-tech mapping offers view of Puerto Rican reefs March 23, 2008 ABOARD THE NANCY FOSTER (AP) Whirring over a sun-streaked patch of tropical seafloor, a submersible equipped with cameras is helping provide the most detailed maps ever recorded of underwater shelves and struggling coral reefs off this U.S. Caribbean territory. The small machine, tethered to a 187-foot survey ship, was steered by remote over coral hills, sending a fish-eye view back to scientists who studied the images in hopes of restoring reefs weakened by manmade and natural threats. More exact contours were mapped in an hour by video and multibeam sonar imagery than were ever charted before in the area. "It's neat getting the images because some of these spots are where Captain Cook's ships were once dropping lead lines to get an idea of what was down there," said researcher Mike Stecher, referring to the centuries-old practice of lowering weighted lines to map depth. Scientists and observers oohed and aahed as they watched a sporadic grouper or squirrel fish dart behind coral or sponges on images sent by the submersible to a control room on the Nancy Foster, a ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The maps generated by the NOAA team during an expedition along coastal stretches of Puerto Rico will help gauge the health of dwindling coral habitats, some of which have been "bleached" and killed by climate change, according to the mission's chief investigator, Tim Battista. <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.seafloor23mar23,0,6960778.story" target="_blank">www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.seafloor23mar23,0,6960778.story</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000062#00000062">Read More »</a> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:15:24 GMT Miss Washington 2008 ¡Es Boricua! http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000061#00000061 A dream come true Renton Reporter Newspaper, by By Emily Garland <a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:emily.garland@reporternewspapers.com" target="_blank">emily.garland@reporternewspapers.com</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000061#00000061">Read More »</a> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:01:23 GMT Actriz Lilliam Hurst Muy Solicitada en Hollywood http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000057#00000057 RESPETADA EN HOLLYWOOD Como actriz y como instructora de actuación, la boricua Lilliam Hurst no para de trabajar. El Nuevo Día, Por Patricia Vargas pvargas@elnuevodia.com <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000057#00000057">Read More »</a> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:15:56 GMT Actress Roselyn Sánchez Engaged http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000056#00000056 Puerto Rican actress, Roselyn Sánchez gets engaged by: Hispanicsurf.com Staff January 2, 2008 -- Puerto Rican actress, Roselyn Sánchez got engaged this past weekend with fellow actor Eric Winter during a holiday vacation on the island of Vieques, just east of mainland Puerto Rico. The couple, who have been dating for 2 years, will talk about a date and location for their nuptials once they return to Los Angeles, according to Brenda Rodríguez, Sánchez's publicist in Puerto Rico. The 34 year old beauty, Sánchez, currently plays an agent for the FBI Missing Persons Squad in the CBS series “Without a Trace”.  She also had movie parts in action-packed comedy "Rush Hour 2" as well as "The Game Plan" with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Eric Winter, 21, has appeared on multiple TV shows including the soap opera Days of Our Lives. This will be Winter’s first marriage and Sánchez’ second.  Sánchez’ first husband was Gary Stretch for 3 years until their 2001 divorce. No date or location has been released for the wedding. <a href="http://www.hispanicsurf.com/newsroom/2008/sanchez_roselyn_gets_engaged-010308.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hispanicsurf.com/newsroom/2008/sanchez_roselyn_gets_engaged-010308.htm</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000056#00000056">Read More »</a> Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:47:02 GMT Dayanara Torres breaks her romantic relationship http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000055#00000055 Dayanara Torres breaks up with Prison Break star, Amaury Nolasco March 12, 2008 -- Former Miss Universe and current actress, Dayanara Torres is once again single. She has split up from her boyfriend, Prison Break star Amaury Nolasco, after a high-profile year-long romance. The break-up was confirmed in a joint statement, which was released on Monday. The statement reads, "After a year together, we have decided to end our relationship. We will always have a lovely friendship and share great love and respect for each other." Nolasco's "break out" role came when he landed a major part in the hit FOX TV series, Prison Break, where he plays Fernando Sucre, an escaped convict. Nolasco, 37, also had several small acting roles in both Transformers and The Benchwarmers, but he's currently working on the action flick Armored where he holds his own amidst a star-studded cast. He appeared at the Transformers premiere (see photo) in 2007, side-by-side with Torres. Torres, 33, is the ex-wife of singer Marc Anthony and she is scheduled to release a self-help book this summer called: Married to Me: How Committing to Myself Led To Triumph After Divorce. According to her agent, Jennifer Nieman, Torres will not divulge any details about her marriage to former husband, Anthony, in the book. <a href="http://www.hispanicsurf.com/newsroom/2008/amaury_dayanara_breakup-031208.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hispanicsurf.com/newsroom/2008/amaury_dayanara_breakup-031208.htm</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000055#00000055">Read More »</a> Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:12:17 GMT Encuesta: Más gente ve al gobierno federal como opaco http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000047#00000047 Más gente ve al gobierno federal como opaco; casi todos quieren saber la posición de los candidatos sobre la transparencia WASHINGTON, 15 de marzo /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- De acuerdo con una encuesta de Sunshine Week realizada por el Servicio de Noticias de Scripps Howard y la Universidad de Ohio, 3/4 partes de los adultos estadounidenses ven al gobierno federal como opaco, reservado, y casi 9 de cada 10 sostienen que es importante conocer las posiciones de los candidatos presidenciales y parlamentarios acerca del gobierno abierto para decidir por quién votar. La encuesta muestra un aumento significativo en los últimos tres años en el porcentaje de estadounidenses que cree que el gobierno federal es muy reservado o algo reservado: de 62% en la encuesta del 2006 a 74% en la del 2008. "En una democracia cuya supervivencia depende de la transparencia, da que pensar ver que las 3/4 partes de los estadounidenses consideran en la actualidad que su gobierno nacional es algo hermético o muy hermético", sostiene David Westphal, editor de Washington de McClatchy Newspapers y copresidente del Comité por la Libertad de Información de la American Society of Newspaper Editors (Sociedad Estadounidense de Editores de Periódicos; ASNE, según su sigla en inglés). "Por otra parte, es gratificante ver que casi el 90% cree que la posición de un candidato sobre la transparencia del gobierno es un tema importante para tomar su decisión el día de la elección". La encuesta, que se llevó a cabo entre 1,012 adultos, fue encargada por la ASNE para Sunshine Week, una iniciativa nacional que fomenta el debate sobre la importancia de un gobierno abierto y la libertad de información. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000047#00000047">Read More »</a> encuestagobiernoestados unidos Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:18:14 GMT Cuaresma: Que la Gracia nos ampare http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000046#00000046 Cuaresma: Que la Gracia nos ampare El Camino de Cuaresma, recorrido por el Señor Jesús, junto con sus discípulos, durante su vida en la tierra, lo sigue recorriendo ahora con la Iglesia. La Cuaresma es el período de una presencia de Cristo particularmente intensa, en la vida de la Iglesia. Por tanto, hay que buscar de forma especial en este tiempo la cercanía con Cristo. Es preciso vivir en intimidad con El; abrir en su presencia el propio corazón, la propia conciencia: «Señor, que tu gracia nos ampare, porque esperamos en ti». <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000046#00000046">Read More »</a> Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:21:06 GMT "Maldeamores’" Producer Talks about the Film http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000045#00000045 Maladies of love Producer of bittersweet, funny ‘Maldeamores’ will speak at Latino Film Festival Worcester Telegram & Gazette Mar 20, 2008 For a film that often takes an ironic and melancholic look at love, the new Puerto Rican movie “Maldeamores” (“Love Sickness”) is surrounded by a lot of actual nice, heartwarming, feel-good kind of love. The co-directors, Carlos Ruiz Ruiz and Mariem Pérez Riera, are married. The producer, Luillo Ruiz, is Carlos Ruiz Ruiz’s brother. Meanwhile, the film’s executive production coordinator, Belly Torres, is Luillo Ruiz’s “life partner,” Ruiz said. The love of filmmaking may have something to do with it. “Film is so intense,” Luillo Ruiz said. “We don’t find another way to do it but to share it with your loved ones.” Luillo Ruiz and Belly Torres will be sharing “Maldeamores” and their perspectives on it when the film is shown at 1 p.m. March 29 in Razzo Hall, Clark University, as part of the 13th annual Latino Film Festival. Ruiz and Torres will be guest speakers as they come from Puerto Rico for their first visit to Worcester. The festival — whose overall theme this year is “Love Sickness” — runs Tuesday through March 30 and features 3 other films — “El Cimarron” (also from Puerto Rico), “No sos vos, soy yo” (Argentina), and “Rosa de Francia” (a joint Cuba/Spain production). During a telephone interview from Puerto Rico earlier this week, Ruiz was loving the fact that “Maldeamores” was still riding high in the island’s box offices. In its 5th week since being released, “Maldeamores” remained in the box office top 5 in Puerto Rico, he said. The film is competing with all the Hollywood fare that we are seeing here. Indeed, Puerto Ricans get to see that fare one day earlier than here. Films generally get released on Thursdays in Puerto Rico, as opposed to Fridays on mainland U.S. “It’s incredible,” Ruiz said of the performance of “Maldeamores” to date. “Puerto Rico is behind the film. It’s getting what every producer dreams of — word of mouth.” The film consists of 3 separate stories. In one, a boy gets his first kiss at the same time he finds out his father has been unfaithful to his mother. In the other stories an elderly couple are involved in an unusual triangle, and a desperately love-struck man gets involved in a hostage situation. The film is funny as well as ironic in its approach to the subject matter. Critics have been impressed. “Maldeamores” was chosen to represent Puerto Rico at the 80th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist for Best Foreign Film. Still, there’s more good news. “Maldeamores” opened in New York City last week, and opens tomorrow (March 21) in Miami and Orlando, Ruiz said. Eventually it will be seen on U.S. screens coast to coast, and there are some crossover dreams. “It’s a film made by Puerto Ricans for the rest of the world,” Ruiz said. Something else Ruiz loves is that the rest of the world is starting to see a great rebirth taking place in Puerto Rican filmmaking. The government and the Puerto Rican Film Commission have been taking an active role in encouraging the local production of films, and pushing Puerto Rico as a good destination for American and international filmmakers to come and shoot. To boost homegrown films, the commission has a film fund. A commission spokesman yesterday said the fund allows producers to apply for a no-interest loan that will cover 80% of the movie’s budget to a maximum of $1.2 million. Ruiz said that “Maldeamores” cost about $1.2 million to make and received, in total, about 80 percent to 90 percent assistance from Puerto Rico. Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro (who is from Puerto Rico) also worked as an executive producer for the film. “It’s become a cinema revolution in Puerto Rico,” Ruiz said. “Everything has come together and films are getting produced.” Ruiz is the son of an actress and he and his brother were raised in theater circles in Puerto Rico. At the time the brothers were growing up “there was a gap” in terms of the number of films being made locally. “There were times when not even one movie was made a year. Last year there were 10,” Ruiz said. The brothers took in American films as children. As adolescents, however, they started to attend film festivals where Spanish, Cuban and Latin American movies were shown. “We started loving those movies and how different they were and how truthful they were,” Ruiz said. The production of commercials for Hispanic audiences is big business in Puerto Rico, and Ruiz had his own production company. Meanwhile, “we had always wanted to make a film,” he said of him and his brother, who studied filmmaking in the U.S. His brother’s wife is a talented director in her own right. So ideas started to be put on paper. “We wanted to look at what happens with love when it goes sour, but from a fresh perspective. A Puerto Rican perspective,” Ruiz said. Another production company involved with backing “Maldeamores” was the British-based Buena Onda. Ruiz has since become partners with them and has opened a new company in Puerto Rico called Buena Ondita Films. “We are going to keep on working to make it happen. We have the talent and a lot of beautiful stories that have to be told,” he said. Asked if he’s working on a specific project at the moment, he replied, “I’m working on up to 10 projects at this moment.” The Latino Film Festival is presented by Centro Las Americas, a social service agency, in conjunction with Clark University, Worcester State College, Assumption College, WPI, College of the Holy Cross and Quinsigamond Community College. For information, visit <a href="/igroops/boricua/blog/www.centrolasamericas.org" target="_blank">www.centrolasamericas.org</a> <a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20080320/NEWS/803200452/1092/NEWSREWIND" target="_blank">http://www.telegram.com/article/20080320/NEWS/803200452/1092/NEWSREWIND</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000045#00000045">Read More »</a> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:23:05 GMT Two PRican Films Featured in Worcester, MA, Latino Film Fest http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000044#00000044 13th annual Latino Film Festival “Maldeamores” (“Love Sickness”) and “El Cimarron” are two Puerto Rican movies that will be featured during this Latino Film Festival celebrated in every year in Worcester, Massachusetts. Organized by the "Centro Las Américas" this festival 13th installment also includes two other movies: “No sos vos, soy yo” (Argentina) and “Rosa de Francia” (a joint Cuba/Spain production). Producer, Luillo Ruiz, and executive production coordinator, Belly Torres, will be sharing their perspectives on “Maldeamores” when the film is shown at 1 p.m. March 29 in Razzo Hall, Clark University. Ruiz and Torres will be guest speakers as they come from Puerto Rico for their first visit to Worcester. The Latino Film Festival is presented by Centro Las Americas, a social service agency, in conjunction with Clark University, Worcester State College, Assumption College, WPI, College of the Holy Cross and Quinsigamond Community College. When: Tuesday 25th through March 30 Where: Room 320, Jefferson Academic Center, and Razzo Hall, both at Clark University. How much: $5; $3 students and seniors. For more information visit <a href="http://www.centrolasamericas.org" target="_blank">http://www.centrolasamericas.org</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000044#00000044">Read More »</a> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:49:27 GMT J-Lo Twins in People Magazine http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000043#00000043 See Jennifer Lopez's Twins! People Magazine WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Here's your first glimpse of Jennifer Lopez and her twins, Max and Emme, <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20171851,00.html" target="_blank">born Feb. 22</a> in Long Island, N.Y. This week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday (March 21st), features 12 pages of new photos of the pop star with husband Marc Anthony and their 1-month-old bundles of joy inside their Long Island home and nursery. The happy new parents spoke candidly to PEOPLE about the pregnancy, addressing everything from Jennifer's weight gain to rumors of infertility. For all the details, pick up the new issue, on newsstands Friday. <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20185328,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20185328,00.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000043#00000043">Read More »</a> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:32:20 GMT Taino Leaders Call for Solidarity for the 8,000 Drums Event http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000042#00000042 Taino Answer 8,000 Drum Call 3/19/2008 UCTP Taino News – The Otomi Nation of Mexico has issued a call to “Indigenous First Nations, Peoples, Communities and Organizations of the World and all Humankind” in an effort to fulfill a prophecy that speaks of healing Mother Earth. Entitled the “Grand Ceremony of the 8,000 Sacred Drums”, Otomi spiritual leaders and allies will conduct a ceremony on March 21st 2008 at the Otomi Ceremonial center at 12noon, (local time) in the Temoaya, State of México. In collaboration with the International Indigenous University, the Otomi have called for solidarity for this ceremony on previous occasions and this year, they have renewed their efforts to “begin a a true Healing of Mother Earth, of All the Species and of the Human Family”. The Otomi feel that the state of the Earth today represents a “total imbalance” and that there is a need to “re-unify” and “re-discover” our connection to the earth and “cosmic energy”. Taino leaders in Boriken (Puerto Rico) and the Diaspora have responded officially to the Otomi Nation, and have pledged solidarity with the 8,000 Drums event on Friday, March 21st. Council and community members of the <a href="http://naciontaino.blogspot.com/">Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos </a>will conduct ceremony at 12noon at the Jacanas Ceremonial Grounds in Ponce, Puerto Rico. This site has been the center of controversy since last year as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and their contractor, New South Associates, continues to conduct work in the sacred area without consultation with the local indigenous community. “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New South Associates have removed sacred artifacts from our island with no accountability” stated Elba Anaka Lugo of the Consejo. “These entities, supported by the government, continue to ignore the calls for dialogue.” In solidarity with the event in Jacanas, council and community members of the Caney Quinto Mundo will also gather at 12noon on their 400 acre land base located in the island’s central mountain region in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. In solidarity with the activity in Jacanas, the Caney will provide a space for elder community members from the “cordillera” who are not able to make the trip to Ponce. In New York, members of the <a href="http://tainoculture.blogspot.com/">Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society </a>and Iukaieke Guaynia will gather in the Bronx with the <a href="http://www.friendsofbrookpark.org/">Friends of Brook Park </a>later that evening to unify with the Otomi’s purification ceremonies also occurring on the 21st and throughout the weekend. The Bronx ceremony will be led by Kasike Roberto Mukaro Borrero and will begin at 5:30pm at Brook Park located at 141st St. and Brook Ave. Participants are urged to arrive at 4pm to assist in the preparations. “We felt it was important to honor and unify our traditions on this special day not only with drums but through the purification ceremony known by the Otomi as Temascal and by Taino as Kansi or Guanara” shared Borrero, who is also a representative of the <a href="http://www.uctp.org/">United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP)</a>. Another 8,000 Drums Ceremony will be held in Massachusetts and led by Claudia Fox Tree, a local representative of the UCTP. Fox Tree will begin her gathering at 2pm to link to the ceremony in Mexico at 12noon. To participate in the ceremony at Jacanas, contact Elba Anaka Lugo at 1(787)568-1547. To participate in the ceremony in Orocovis, contact Awilda Lopez Molina at 787 867-2393. To participate in Massachusetts or New York, contact the UCTP at 1(212)604-4186. For more information on the Grand Ceremony of 8,000 Drums, visit the website at <a href="http://www.universidadindigena.org/uii/index.html">http://www.universidadindigena.org/uii/index.html</a>. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000042#00000042">Read More »</a> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:19:27 GMT St. Patrick’s Day- PRican Style http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000029#00000029 Irish eyes smile on Puerto Rico - thanks to a Hilltown couple The Intelligencer (Pennsylvania) By HILARY BENTMAN (Mon, Mar/17/2008) A Puerto Rican coastal town may be the last place you expect to see a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Then again, everyone’s a little Irish on March 17 — even if you’re on an island thousands of miles from the Emerald one and your native tongue is Spanish. For the last several years, the town of Luquillo has hosted a day-long festival honoring Ireland’s patron saint, thanks to the work of a Hilltown couple. For years, snowbirds Larry and Sue Keefe have spent their winters in the warmth of northeastern Puerto Rico. Five years ago, St. Patrick’s Day was approaching, and the couple, along with a few other mainlanders of Irish descent and some bona fide Irishmen, found they had no way to mark the holiday. So they threw a parade. Decked in green, and accompanied by a boom box blasting Celtic ditties, the small group marched down a street. Natives in the old fishing town were confused at first, but gathered to watch the commotion. “They came off the beach. The reaction was great,” said Keefe, 69. “The following year they joined us.” Enthusiasm has grown. Last year’s parade drew about 200 people, waving flags alongside floats and banners. Revelers wear their Bermuda shorts (because the temperature reaches the 80s) and green shirts. The town lends the organizers its speakers atop a truck to play their music and the mayor even sends a police escort. Keefe believes the Luquillo event is the only St. Patrick’s parade in all of Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rican people are so nice and hospitable and they love to have festivals,” he said. “It’s a really fun day and probably one of the funniest things I’ve ever done in my life.” In their first year, organizers had to improvise. Keefe, who had to fly home for a funeral, picked up 35 pounds of corned beef for the occasion. Nowadays, the traditional Irish delicacy is bought locally. But there are some definite Spanish influences in this celebration. For one, St. Patrick is called San Patricio. There’s also no Guinness; the beer is a local brew. Keefe said there are more Puerto Ricans of Irish descent than one might expect. Former Navy officers, for example, settled on the island after World War II and married local women. He’s friends with a man named Jose O’Neil. And some Irish men and women made their way to Puerto Rico as early as the 19th century when the potato famine, which spurred large waves of immigration to the mainland United States, drew people to the largely Catholic island. <a href="/igroops/boricua/blog/Irish%20eyes%20smile%20on%20Puerto%20Rico%20-%20thanks%20to%20a%20Hilltown%20couple" target="_blank">http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-03172008-1504588.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000029#00000029">Read More »</a> st. patrick’s daypuerto rico Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:17:42 GMT Painter Rafael Tufiño Died http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000028#00000028 Rafael Tufiño, Artist, Is Dead at 85 March 17, 2008 The NY Times, By STUART LAVIETES Foto: Ángel Franco/The NY Times Rafael Tufiño, a painter and printmaker considered one of Puerto Rico’s most prominent cultural figures, died on Thursday in San Juan. He was 85 and lived in Old San Juan. The cause was lung cancer, said Augusto Font, a friend. An artist known as the “Painter of the People” for his canvases and posters depicting traditional aspects of life on the island, Mr. Tufiño will lie in state in the "Galería Nacional del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña" in San Juan before burial later this week. Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá, the governor of Puerto Rico, ordered flags to be flown at half-staff over the weekend in his honor. Mr. Tufiño, who was born in Brooklyn and frequently returned to the city, was an important presence in New York, where he was a mentor to Puerto Rican artists and served as a bridge to Puerto Rico’s traditions and aesthetics. He was a founder of Taller Boricua, a workshop and art collective started in East Harlem in 1970, and was also influential in the establishment of El Museo del Barrio in that neighborhood. His work was the subject of a major retrospective at the museum in 2003. Mr. Tufiño’s art, which can be seen on posters throughout Old San Juan, presents scenes of daily life in Puerto Rico — work, dance, music and festivals — in bright, Fauvist colors. His paintings, including landscapes, interiors and portraits, are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress and the Galería Nacional in Puerto Rico. In 2003, he was given a lifetime achievement award by the National Arts Club in New York City. Born Rafael Tufiño Figueroa in 1922, he became interested in Puerto Rican traditions as a child in Brooklyn, where he often heard stories of life on the island from his mother and father. When, at 10, he moved to San Juan to live with his grandmother, his drew pictures of nearly everything he saw. After serving in the Army Signal Corps in Panamá during World War II, he went to art school in México under the G.I. Bill. Returning to Puerto Rico in the early 1950s, he became a member of "Generación del Cincuenta", a group of young artists dedicated to forging an aesthetic identity for the island. He created some of his best-known posters and prints during the ’50s, many for government-sponsored literacy and hygiene campaigns. He also spent time in New York on a Guggenheim fellowship, and returned to the city in the 1960s, when he encountered a generation of Puerto Rican artists particularly intent on exploring and celebrating their cultural heritage. Mr. Tufiño is survived by his daughter, Nitza Tufiño of South Orange, N.J.; his sons, Rafael Tufiño Jr. of Manhattan, Salvatore Tufiño of Miami and Pablo Tufiño of Manhattan; and five grandchildren. “I always think of him as an international populist,” said Susana Torruella Leval, who was director of El Museo del Barrio at the time of the 2003 retrospective. “He was a man who knew art history and had an international perspective, but who worked in a figurative style because he thought that art should be accessible, that it should be for the people.” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/arts/design/17tufino.html?ref=arts" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/arts/design/17tufino.html?ref=arts</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000028#00000028">Read More »</a> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:59:45 GMT Latinos regresan a Broadway http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000026#00000026 Latinos regresan a Broadway Lin-Manuel Miranda es el responsable por el regreso de los latinos a Broadway con 'In The Heights' <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000026#00000026">Read More »</a> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:09:31 GMT Priscilla López Regresa a Broadway http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000025#00000025 Priscilla López regresa a Broadway Thursday, March 6th 2008 NY (AP) _ Hace unos 35 años Priscilla López se sentó en un círculo formado por otros bailarines de Broadway y le contó la historia de su vida al director y coreógrafo Michael Bennett. Ese corrillo pasó a integrar la leyenda de Broadway. Bennett aprovechó la experiencia de esos bailarines para crear la exitosa musical "A Chorus Line" de 1975. El retrato que trazó López de Diana Morales, un personaje basado en ella misma, la erigió en estrella de Broadway. La actriz ganadora del Tony regresa a Broadway con "In the Heights", que narra la vida de una comunidad hispana de Washington Heights durante tres días ricos en experiencias. El musical, que tuvo una recepción exitosa en off-Broadway, se estrena en Broadway este domingo 9 de marzo. Lin-Manuel Miranda, el creador y astro de la obra, de 28 años, acredita a la actuación de López en "A Chorus Line" de haber abierto el camino para su trabajo y el de otros ejecutantes hispanos. "Ella es la razón de que todos estemos aquí", dice Miranda. "Morales fue el primer personaje puertorriqueño tridimensional que tuvimos en el teatro musical". "In the Heights" también ha trascendido límites, particularmente en su música, llena de ritmos latinos, pop y hip-hop. El atractivo de ese sonido particular atrajo a López a la obra. "Musicalmente hablaba a los jóvenes, los latinos y el público de Broadway", afirma. López interpreta a Camila Rosario, una madre obligada a actuar como mediadora entre su orgulloso marido y su hija de férrea voluntad que acaba de regresar de la universidad a su hogar. Con el trasfondo de un corte de suministro eléctrico en pleno verano, Nina choca con sus padres mientras lucha por reconciliar sus propios deseos con la lealtad a su familia. "Tiene gran intensidad", se admira Miranda. "Es la misma intensidad que le dio a Morales en 1975". Tanto en escena como fuera del escenario, López, que acaba de cumplir los 60 años, luce más joven. Tiene el cabello renegrido y mantiene su figura esbelta de bailarina, aunque dejó la danza hace casi 25 años. <a href="/igroops/boricua/blog/www.nydailynews.com/latino/espanol/2008/03/06/2008-03-06_priscilla_lpez_regresa_a_broadway.html" target="_blank">www.nydailynews.com/latino/espanol/2008/03/06/2008-03-06_priscilla_lpez_regresa_a_broadway.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000025#00000025">Read More »</a> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:03:03 GMT Cantautor Danny Rivera Adquiere Nacionalidad Dominicana http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000024#00000024 Puertorriqueño Danny Rivera adquiere la nacionalidad dominicana Foto: cedida por el diario El Caribe. El Cantautor y poeta puertorriqueño Danny Rivera en el podio. A la der., el artista plástico puertorriqueño Pablo Marcano García. EFE Santo Domingo, 13 marzo, 2008 (EFE).- El cantautor y poeta puertorriqueño Danny Rivera, adquirió hoy la nacionalidad "privilegiada" dominicana, concedida por el presidente del país, Leonel Fernández, informó hoy el Ministerio de Interior y Policía. El interprete de los éxitos "Madrigal", "Alfonsina" y "Amar o morir", y que tiene propiedades en la República Dominicana, recibió la ciudadanía en un concurrido acto celebrado en dicha cartera y al que asistieron funcionarios, artistas y religiosos dominicanos. Rivera, de 62 años, dijo sentirse "muy contento, feliz y orgulloso" por adquirir esta identidad, algo que deseaba, según agregó, "desde el primer momento en que pisé tierra dominicana". El cantante argumentó que a pesar de haber nacido en la vecina isla de Puerto Rico, su "espíritu está en esta nación". Mientras que el ministro de Interior y Policía local, Franklin Almeyda, dijo que la concesión de la identidad a Rivera llena de "orgullo" al pueblo dominicano. Junto al cantante también recibió la nacionalidad "privilegiada" el artista plástico puertorriqueño Pablo Marcano García. <a href="http://mx.entertainment.yahoo.com/13032008/38/entretenimiento-puertorrique-danny-rivera-adquiere-nacionalidad-dominicana.html" target="_blank">http://mx.entertainment.yahoo.com/13032008/38/entretenimiento-puertorrique-danny-rivera-adquiere-nacionalidad-dominicana.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000024#00000024">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:44:21 GMT Pablo Marcano Garcia's 25-year Painting Retrospective http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000023#00000023 DIFFERENT STROKES 25 YEARS OF PABLO MARCANO’S REVOLUTIONARY ART <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000023#00000023">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:26:50 GMT Samuel Vera, comic publisher & animator, on TV http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000022#00000022 Samuel Vera, comic publisher & animator, on TV <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000022#00000022">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:05:14 GMT Puerto Rican ‘Maldeamores’ now in Theaters http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000021#00000021 A feat in P.R. film industry, ‘Maldeamores’ thrives in loco love by Ana Maria Toro Anamariatoro78@gmail.com Wednesday, March 12th 2008 (NY Daily News) A besotted bus hijacker, a catfight at a wake and septuagenarians in lust create the triptych of stories in the film “Maldeamores,” a funny and poignant take on the pleasure and pain of romantic relationships. Set in Puerto Rico and directed by the island’s own Carlitos Ruiz — with Benicio del Toro as executive producer — “Maldeamores” tells three tales of love at different phases, from the thrill of a first kiss to the heartache of infidelity and the joys of old age. “Our film is a reflection of how hysterically we react to love, how we face love in each stage of life,” says Ruiz, 33, of making his big-screen debut. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000021#00000021">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:46:01 GMT Silvia Brito in "Maldeamores" film http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000020#00000020 Long overdue second act for Queens theater pioneer Silvia Brito Wednesday, March 12th 2008 (Daily News) NY stage actress Silvia Brito had never acted in films before and — as she puts it, had “retired with the century” — but she knew she could not pass up “Maldeamores.” “This is something that I never thought would happen. It seemed like it was too out of reach for me,” says Brito of her silver screen debut at 75. “At this point in my life, to be in a film and have a stupendous role, what else can you ask for?” Her role as Flora, a flirtatious, no nonsense senior who is the object of two men’s desires, is the high point in “Maldeamores.” Last Friday, the performance won her the Best Supporting Actress award at the Cartagena International Film Festival in Colombia. After spending five decades as a stage actress, director and head of the Thalia Spanish Theater in Queens, which she founded in 1977, Brito looked forward to a slower pace when she retired in 1999. A theater enthusiast since she was a young girl watching zarzuelas in her native Cuba, Brito went on to work on everything from Greek tragedies to American classics like “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” But now she is going through her own second act as a film actress. Brito, who lives in Woodside, Queens, shares the screen with veteran Puerto Rican actors Miguel Angel Álvarez, 79, as her first husband returning home after a long absence, and Chavito Marrero, 79, who plays her mischievous second husband. The onscreen chemistry she has with her co-stars after they are all forced to live under the same roof and a surprising twist at the end makes her performance stand out. “I give thanks because at this age there are still people who call me to do something of this artistic quality,” she says. “It is a great character, I had no choice but to do it well.” <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/03/12/2008-03-12_long_overdue_second_act_for_queens_theat.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/03/12/2008-03-12.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000020#00000020">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:04:26 GMT Ricky Martin en foro de Filantropía http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000019#00000019 Ricky Martin y Maná disertaron en Miami sobre importancia de ayuda social miércoles 12 de marzo, 05:23 PM MIAMI (AFP) - Estrellas del pop latino, como el puertorriqueño Ricky Martin, e integrantes de la banda mexicana Maná, disertaron este miércoles en un foro de filantropía en Miami, en el que subrayaron la importancia de que líderes internacionales y artistas famosos se comprometan en fomentar actos solidarios. Ricky Martin, que preside una fundación con su nombre, junto al cantante de Maná, Fher Olvera y el percusionista de la banda, Alex González, fundadores de la organización ecologista Selva Negra, participaron del foro "Poder", inaugurado la noche del martes con un concierto del dominicano Juan Luis Guerra. "Intento hacer todo lo que puedo para sacar a la gente de la oscuridad", dijo Ricky Martin, cuya fundación lleva adelante acciones contra el tráfico de niños. "Si tenemos la posibilidad de hacer algo y no lo hacemos, simplemente permitimos que ocurra. Pero cuando uno decide hacer filantropía necesita estar organizado y hacer alianzas para lograr resultados", consideró. El líder de Maná, Fher Olvera, agregó que "la filantropía no se debe limitar a gente famosa, con poder o dinero. No es sólo un asunto de los Bill Gates, sino de todos". Y opinó que a los artistas, por su poder de comunicación, corresponde "inspirar, y formar conciencia sobre la pobreza, como lo hicieron en algún momento John Lennon, Bob Marley o Bono". Entre los panelistas intervinienen entre otros Muhammad Yunus, Premio Nobel de la Paz y fundador del banco de microemprendimientos Grameen Bank, Larry Brilliant, director de la división filantrópica de Google, Google.org, Nicholas Negroponte impulsor del proyecto una laptop por niño ("One laptop per child"), y Ann M. Veneman, directora ejecutiva de UNICEF. La conferencia, organizada por la revista hispana "Poder" tiene el patrocino de la cadena mexicana Televisa, el grupo Banamex, el BID, la Universidad de Georgetown y la ciudad de Miami, entre otros, y apunta a incentivar la filantropía y estimular la inversión corporativa en ese sector de la comunidad hispana de Estados Unidos y Latinoamérica. En el cierre del foro se entregaron una serie de premios a varias personalidades en reconocimiento a su labor y compromiso social, entre ellas, la brasileña Viviane Senna, hermana del fallecido campeón de Fórmula Uno y presidenta del Instituto Ayrton Senna, con sede en Sao Paulo, que trabaja a favor de los niños brasileños. También fueron premiados el escritor colombiano Juan Carlos Botero -hijo del famoso artista plástico- y el arquitecto y diseñador mexicano, Enrique Norten. <a href="http://mx.entertainment.yahoo.com/12032008/43/entretenimiento-ricky-martin-man-disertaron-miami-importancia-ayuda-social.html" target="_blank">http://mx.entertainment.yahoo.com/12032008/43/entretenimiento-ricky-martin-man-disertaron-miami-importancia-ayuda-social.html</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000019#00000019">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:42:13 GMT Calle 13 New CD http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000018#00000018 Down 'n' dirty, South America way Calle 13 comes out blasting in fiery new CD <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000018#00000018">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:28:48 GMT Yankee's Jorge Posada personal quest http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000017#00000017 THE HOME TEAM UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH PAPA POSADA NY Post, Tempo Mag, By BILLY HELLER <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000017#00000017">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:03:15 GMT Jockey John Velázquez’ diet advice http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000016#00000016 HOW TO REIN IN YOUR APPETITE A WORLD-CLASS JOCKEY SHARES HIS DIET ADVICE NY Post, Tempo Mag, By JOSEPH BARRACATO March 6, 2008 -- It's easy for jockeys to be overlooked when a majestic horse is galloping towards the finish line. But what's not as simple is maintaining a trim and healthy physique to mount and direct these beautiful creatures to the winner's circle - something John Velázquez has made look easy. The 18-year veteran, who will eventually be enshrined in the Racing Hall of Fame, sticks to a daily regimen of diet and exercise that keeps him flexible and alert during long afternoons at the track. Velázquez, a 5-foot-6-inch, 110-pound native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, starts by eating extremely light in the morning. He always has a small bowl of granola and quick cup of coffee before heading to the track where he engages in a ritual of stretching his entire body, especially his back. "I'm not big on running or lifting weights. And to be honest, I really don't have the time during the day because I'm usually involved in every race that goes off," Velázquez, whose trainer is the legendary Angel Cordero Jr., explains. During the card, Velázquez fights off hunger pains with oranges and occasional crackers. He also drinks plenty of water and, if he finds himself growing weary, pours a few more cups of java. "Most jockeys have very similar regimens. But it's not easy," Velázquez, 36, explains. "Some guys really struggle with it. At times it can be very stressful." He says that his family has "normal" dinners consisting of meat and potatoes, chicken and rice, and pasta. The West Hempstead resident also admits to having a sweet tooth. "For dessert, I always have something sweet whether its ice cream or cookies," laughs Velázquez. "I love sugar." Just like horseracing fans love it when they find out Velázquez is sitting on top of their pick. <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062008/tempo/how_to_rein_in_your_appetite_100722.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062008/tempo/how_to_rein_in_your_appetite_100722.htm</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000016#00000016">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:44:49 GMT Lolita López, NYC SportsCaster http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000015#00000015 SHE GOT GAME NY Post, Tempo Mag, By BILLY HELLER March 6, 2008 -- IF you hear "Da me tres" in a Knicks-game recap, you'll know it's lolita lopez and no one else. When the WPIX sports broadcaster first began sprinkling some Spanish into her reports, Lopez says, "I didn't even realize I had done it. It just kind of came out." The news director "totally supported it" and the rest is history. Now she has a slew of Spanish phrases for each sport (see sidebar). Speaking Spanish certainly doesn't hurt when covering baseball in New York. "You have many players that aren't able to speak [English well] but they had a great game and you want to talk to them. Other reporters kind of shy away because they don't understand them." Off-camera, Lopez is more about family than fame. The mother of 3 1/2-year-old Lulu Lopez laughs, "I basically never put on makeup or fixed my hair until I got into TV." Catch Lolita Lopez (in NYC) on CW11 News at Ten. <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062008/tempo/she_got_game_100728.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nypost.com/seven/03062008/tempo/she_got_game_100728.htm</a> <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000015#00000015">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:36:59 GMT Boricua who's big in Belgium http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000014#00000014 From Belgium, with love <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000014#00000014">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:13:50 GMT ESAI DOES IT http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000012#00000012 ESAI DOES IT THE NEW YORK NATIVE’S BACK ON THE TUBE IN 'JERICHO' (NYPost) Feb 6, 2008 -- Esai Morales may be best known for having played a cop on "NYPD Blue" but all he's ever wanted to do is rock out. "I'm a frustrated pop star," says the actor. "I did 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at karaoke the night before," he says enthusiastically. You can't blame him for letting loose. This month, the New York-born actor will be back on television playing a man of the law on "Jericho," a post-apocalyptic series that was canceled last season and resurrected after passionate fans launched a campaign. "I thanked them for my job," says Morales, who will play Major Edward Beck, a military officer in charge of reconstructing a battered town. Thankfully, the 45-year-old Brooklyn native prefers being the good guy, stepping up to the challenge every time. "It's not as easy as someone who is deliciously naughty or evil," says Morales, who gets to indulge his bad side on the upcoming film "La Linea," in which he plays the kingpin of the Tijuana Cartel opposite Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia. "I feel terrible that I have to play the bad guy but it's a reluctant pleasure," he says. "We need to have more characters portraying the good people we have in our community," says the actor, who co-founded, along with Jimmy Smits and Sonia Braga, the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts as a way to advance the presence of Latinos in the media. Morales can speak from experience. He has worked steadily ever since graduating from the High School for the Performing Arts almost 30 years ago. Next up, he wants to sit in the director's chair. "Finding something to direct is like finding someone to marry," says the unattached bachelor, who is currently looking for the right script. "I know I have the talent but do I have the discipline to stick with it?" he asks. We hope so. <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000012#00000012">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:44:15 GMT Monólogo teatral " LA CECI ": http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000011#00000011 <a href="/igroops/boricua/blog/VIEW/00000002/00000006/Monlogo-teatral--LA-CECI-.html"></a>NUEVAS FUNCIONES para " LA CECI "   Marañao Inc. presenta al actor puertorriqueño Josean Ortiz en el monólogo teatral "LA CECI ", original del dramaturgo cubano Raúl de Cárdenas, bajo la dirección del boricua Antonio Bones. Después de su estreno mundial, el pasado fin de semana, la obra se volverá a presentar este viernes 14 y sábado 15 de marzo de 2008 a las 8:00 pm, y el domingo 16 de marzo de 2008 a las 4:00 pm, en Teatro SEA, en el Centro Cultural Clemente Soto Vélez, localizado en el 107 Suffolk St. (2do. Piso) en el Lower East Side, Manhattan, NY .   En "LA CECI ", Ortiz interpreta a un travesti cubano en la dolorosa soledad del exilio. La pieza es una cómica reflexión sobre la cubanía y sobre la compleja dignidad humana; llena de cantantes latinas, de ritmos caribeños, de los sabrosos olores de la comida cubana, del lenguaje cotidiano de La Habana, todo adobado con la influencia del Hollywood de los Cincuenta; pero siempre afirmando la vida, la nostalgia, y la esperanza.   Raúl de Cárdenas es uno de los dramaturgos cubanos contemporáneos más representados, exilado desde 1961 y actualmente residiendo en Los Angeles , California . Ganó el premio "Letras de Oro" 1988-1989 por su monodrama "Un hombre al amanecer" sobre la vida de José Martí. Su teatro se ha publicado y estrenado en Cuba, España y Estados Unidos.   "LA CECI " cuenta además con la participación de Nestor Carrillo como el ayudante del protagonista. Completan la ficha técnica de la obra el diseño de escenografía de Alejandro Cirilo; las luces de José Bisonó; el maquillaje y los peinados de Jan Louis; la coordinación de vestuario de Wilma Castro; las fotos,  diseño de promociñn y regiduría de escena de Cleo Vivas-Rojas; y la Producción Ejecutiva de Josean Ortiz y Antonio Bones para Marañao Inc. Para más información y reservaciones, favor de llamar al (347) 806-1617. Entrada General: $20. Estudiantes con identificación: $15. Mas info:  teatro_m@yahoo.com <a href="http://www.boricuanetwork.net/members/boricua/blog/VIEW+00000003+00000011#00000011">Read More »</a> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:39:25 GMT