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El Callejon De Los Milagros

Santos Peregrinos

Peep this funny short film Larrylandia by my good buddy and great Mexican American director Karim Scarlata (Larrylandia.com)

The Good

The good part is the fact that now so much Latin information is available in one non-stop shop (musica, deportes, news, even recipes). The better part is that it is in both English and Spanish for your comfort. You can have your own little/big latin network of virtual friends. You can even watch TV channels from other countries, that’s pretty cool. I also liked the recipe section, aunque siempre quemo los frijoles.

The Bad

The bad is not really bad it’s more of a web thingy I have for sites that throw everything at you all at once. A little information overload for me, but that’s just me you be the judge. The other aspect I noticed is in the Music section. Most of the music right off the bat is English Hip-Hop and Rock. I like both genres but don’t they already own MTV and 95% of media sites? No manchen! Get some Latino music in the landing page of Music/Video.

The Ugly

The “Ugly” refers more to me. I’m just mad that I don’t fit into Quepasa’s Latin beauty battle agenda (soy feo con ganas :)). Pero no creo que estoy solo, it must have been a bad batch of beans because there’s compadres/comadres out there that well… lets just say we wouldn’t be in a novela. I clicked on every top menu item and every single one feature pictures of babes and muscles. As much as I like the sports illustrated swimsuit edition I’m not sure I want to mix it with the NY Times. I thought “what’s the most unsexy subject? I know, immigration.” I went to immigration and I started looking at Iriana from Carolina, PR (as I looked over my shoulder pa que mi chulita no me de con una chanqleta’). I completely forgot about immigration (send us all back, how old is she?).

Overall Quepasa is the leader in Latin portals. I’m not sure if that’s because they went to beauty island and paid people to sign up or if the young market it targets is just growing so fast. Either way give a little space for us “feitos” to sign up. I’m afraid it’s a little overpowering. As far as the information overload, I consult for a LARGE portal so I understand the complexity of organizing information. It’s best to categorize content in a easy to digest fashion. For example, “Friends”, “Invite”, “Group/Chat” could be under one category called “Community”. Anyways, that’s a boring conversation I would get paid for.

Check them out. You might learn something.
www.quepasa.com, Tell us what you think.

Well that was quick! Mr. Gingrich is “eating crow” as they say and does a “sorry” and sorry video in “the Ghetto” language, lol.

Lo que uno queria de-sirr es kay… yo no say nada y soy un tontito. Mis abogados, l-o-s kay son mis como say dice “puppeteers”?, y mi vieja, me dijieron que uno diciera esto pronto oh si no mi yarda no se va ver bien y nadie va limpiar mi casota grandisima. Y yo como, como en Taco Bell asi kay yo soy buena onda con los Latinos. Oh! y una cosa mas, n-o t-en-go u-na e-spi-na dorsal.

Barrio305

Ok no more of that, since this blog is intended for ideas, critique, and praise of Latino resources on the internet I will instead focus on a positive source.
Barrio305 is a user generated (ala YouTube) for Urban youngsters. They’re from Miami and the content is very much focused on Reggaeton. Pretty cool stuff, these cats are on to something. There’s a couple of “channels” like “Hotties TV” is self explanatory, “Barrio305 TV” is music and interviews, and “Kalle TV” is for cars, games, and other. They have mashups and all sorts of other things. Check them out www.barrio305.com.

They know their market and service it well. The only thing I would critique is that originally the content might have been intended for an older market, yet the site seems to attract a very young crowd. That said, I noticed there is no filter for 18 and over content. A little thuggery going on too, it would be nice for Barrio305 to use their influence to promote education sort of like MTV Tr3s does in a section they call “Voces“. Kids can realize that the cats that did 305 are graduates and many of the stars we see in videos are too. Professionals that fit in to the lifestyle the right way.

Other than that, very good and unique work. Chequealos, even if you aren’t into the whole Urban thing you might learn something. Hi quality work, for realz pa’ que hechen pa lante.

First of all, Spanish is not Ghetto, this is ghetto: “Q-vo, que onda carnal, you heard what that vato said about la Raza? Simon ese, go tell all the vatos in your canton, your morritos, tu vieja, y tus jefes… so they can kick is ass ey.” (if someone can do a good Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other I’d really appreciate it but don’t curse).

Second, English is simply a communication tool and it doesn’t matter what you use, if you want to communicate in Chinese, Spanish, French, or “Ghetto” what matters is WHAT you communicate and HOW you communicate it. The HOW part is something my little boy will have to teach this Gringo.

Third, I agree that English is the language of Business and that we in the U.S. should learn to speak it properly. But only while conducting business. Please! Don’t talk like Newt Gingrich to your kids or friends! You don’t insult people to get them to speak English, that’s bad business and is against the idea of speaking English in the first place.

Fourth, If the U.S. was to loose its status as the World Super Power…, I know this idea seems impossible to some, but it seemed impossible to the Romans, and Egypt, and Persia, and… My point being, we will be speaking another language. So don’t go forcing your ideologies into peoples throats. As you see others now, they shall see you.

Fifth, he’s so narrow minded that he forgets that bilingual education is not just just for internal communication, but for prosperity through our business with other countries. I’m trying to get my kids to learn more languages. I wish there was tri-lingual or more! Many countries are superior in this respect and frankly we should be ashamed. We should come out of school knowing three to four languages, not one.

Sixth and final (ya me canse), how about being faithful to your wife! How ghetto is that.Ghetto should be defined by your actions not the way you speak. So far Mr. Gingrich, you don’t want our kids to learn more languages to enhance their education (like a looser), you insult others to do what you say (like a “trailer trash” in English), you speak ideas that don’t make sense (like a marijuano and my uncle Gilbert (RIP buddy)), you cheated on your wife (like a punk), and lie like a pimp. He knows the language of “prosperity” but not the language of Love (Spanish). So far Gingrich your the most ghetto of them all!

ps - A toda la raza, no dejen de hablar español. Si no le gusta nuestro dinero no lo soporten! Nunca permitamos que una persona que nos insulte de tal mannera suba a poder.

See this Gingriched getting punked by Ali G (in english, lol), that’s how much he knows the ghetto. He can’t even spot a fake.

So Marivi, why “Oranjo”? I was thinking about the word ‘naranja’ or like Puerto Rican’s say ‘china’(a little more on this bellow) and I thought, “now thats a marketing challenge”. How do you twist that word to market to Latinos? Hhhmmmmm, interesting…who cares, and I took another shot. Just kidding, just kidding, the half empty bottle in the picture is all done in Photoshop. Check out Marivi, you might learn a thing or two.

»Disclaimer: I usually drink Padron, but this was on sale (girly flavors taste good when they’re on sale).

»Footnote: One time I was in the Bronx and they asked me “quiere jugo de china?” I thought, “Juice from China?” Cool! When I tasted it, I said in my little brain, “damn, this tastes just like orange juice”. What an ignorant soul I was.

The one thing that is so great about this site is that you can network with people that have similar tastes in movies and can direct you to other great films you might not have ever heard of. I love to see films from other countries like Ethpania pero vale, no conothco a muchos de Ethpania (that’s my wack Spaniard accent) or films from Argentina (verda che?), but really, where are you going to find these in a Blockbuster? I once asked a counter guy about a Spanish movie and they looked at me like if I was an alien asking for their leader. They where like, ‘O-H M-Y G-O-D, did this little Mexican just ask me for a movie from his country? He’s like so lost, they don’t make movies in Mexico’. Anyways… sorry, reliving the moment. The point is that you see films that show the REAL Latin culture, I’m not talking about movies like “La Bamba”, I’m talkin about the real ****. The fun of seeing these films is learning the culture unadulterated by Hollywood. I just saw a short of an upcoming Hector Lavoe film. Y se ve, Chacho… por la maceta! (that’s my wack Puerto Rican accent) Oh and you have to see Los Pelegrinos, this is one of my favorites, fuuuuunny.

The best part is that If I’m watching a film that’s just not my taste, I can stop it, and right then and there get another one. You have to install the player but, common ‘no manches’, that’s nothing. It won’t clash with your cheesy wallpaper.

Tips when you use it (and you will use it, I command you):

1. Not all Latin movies are in the Latin American section. Look around because if the director is in the U.S. it is in North American (hhhhmmm, don’t know why Latin is not the priority). If the movie is from Spain it is also not in Latin American, its in “Spanish” or “European” category (ay si, we conquered you so we don’t share your category).
2. Don’t be afraid because there is a “Buy” button. A couple have told me that Jaman charges. That is true some films have a rental fee (like $1.99, less than a Starbucks), but most are free to rent. The buy is to, um well… buy (you download it).

OK, here’s my little/big tips for Jaman (anyone know him? Mr. Jaman?):

1. After you see a film and your still wiping your tears (ahem, soy macho… I don’t cry), you feel like telling a friend right then and there. If you don’t see it right in your face like on the screen, you probably won’t go through the effort of looking for a “email” button (I could be wrong). It would be nice to see a “you tube” type screen appear. Would be a little tricky because of the credits, but common think outside the bun. It would make the application a little more viral.
2. When you post a comment and someone replies there is no real way to reply back. Also, you can’t subscribe to your posts or to a movie thread via RSS. You have to log in to your account, go to ‘My Jaman’, then click on the ‘reviews’ tab and… ay ya yay I’m tired who cares if anyone replied. Thats the end of that thread, you dig? The forum lacks engagement. Next best thing is to get an email when someone replies to a post. Hey that’s a good idea! I’m goood (I have to tell myself that).
3. When you first go to the home page, you don’t see a prominent button to see the catalog. That right there will make anyone click away. Join Now is big (of course), but why should I join. There is a link that visually gets hidden, I’m afraid they are loosing customers they don’t know about.
4. Here’s the biggie! If Jaman could team up with a company like Tivo or any other set-top box company, I know there are some others out there, they would rule the world! You don’t get it, do you? I’m saying that we could see these movies on our TV!!! That’s all that is needed to really make me faint. Here’s my dream… Jaman says to Tivo, look at what this guy from Insomne said… Tivo (or another like) says “He’s brilliant”. They exchange wedding bands and come up with some great price (almost free) where if you buy a setbox you get 30 days of Jaman free or the other way around. Subscribe to Jaman and get to rent the box for blah blah blah. Why not cable company does it, and they suck. Now you might say how is that different than the cable companies or Netflix or Blockbuster. Well first they don’t have the technology or the great film libraries, and cable companies charge $100 a month for Oprah and MTV. The only ones that can maybe pull it off is Netflix so Jaman better hurry.

Jaman Links:
All Categories
Latin America
Spanish (where the Spaniards hang)

]]> http://www.insomne.net/blog/entretenimiento/jaman/feed/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/hablando-de-todo-un-poco/why-should-we-care/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/hablando-de-todo-un-poco/why-should-we-care/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2007 06:14:19 +0000 dcastro freefreedomgovernment neglectlatinosloyal supportersmovementsocializeworldzapatistazapatistas http://www.insomne.net/blog/hablando-de-todo-un-poco/why-should-we-care/ Ok, this is our first ‘official’ post so I don’t want to get all ‘Zapatista’, but I do want to open some eyes. You know I once heard a story of a baby Elephant that was tied to a tree and would tug and tug until it realized it could not escape. The day came that the baby was not a baby no longer and instead was this huge beast. Even though it was huge enough to break the rope it never tried to (don’t ask me if this is a true story just bear with me ok?). Well, Latinos are like that, we’re big and strong and yet condition to some extent. By this I mean that there was a time (like yesterday) that BIG CORP would listen to requests of “Latin” products, media, and business and it would flex its muscle and simply ignore us. Now that they are salivating at all the numbers that studies show on the economic potential they want to bring us flowers. The problem I see is that most (not all) are trying to offer the fabric flowers from the drug store (with the smelly perfume).

The reason I would like to focus on the Internet (besides the fact that it pays for my ‘chile con limon’ chips habit), is that it is a free medium. Not $$$ free but free as in freedom. No one can answer the question of what we want or need like we can. Technology is becoming an integral part of our lives almost like a car. We shop, play, learn, socialize, and even work! It is becuase of this power and the fact that we are not held back any longer by “the man”, that we should exploit this ability. I said I was not going to get all Zapatista, but I lied.

A good example of this is the Zapatista movement, mostly everyone just hears the lies of the press which only tell what corrupt governments have ’staged’. The Zapatistas have a very nice site that explains their fight for indigenous autonomy. The press never mentions the thousands that die every year due to Government neglect. Just one of the sites has over 20,000 visitors a month and loyal supporters from all over the world (doctors, lawyers, journalists, professors, etc…). Anyways, back to my point… If an indigenous group (that’s not to say they’re not smart, but in reference to resources), can provide a network for spreading the word, we should have no excuse in the U.S. to have an internet tailored to our taste. Fortunately there are some American as well as Latin companies out there that are starting to provide some good examples of what can be done. This is where the fun begins, stay tuned…

]]> http://www.insomne.net/blog/hablando-de-todo-un-poco/why-should-we-care/feed/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/about-el-blog/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/about-el-blog/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2007 01:30:40 +0000 dcastro http://www.insomne.net/blog/about-el-blog/ This blog is a grass roots effort to create an Internet that caters to Hispanics/Latinos (pick your flavor). We Discuss good examples, bad examples, and great ideas. Oh! and one more thing…. by Internet we are not limited to websites or web applications. We can also consider mobile phones, iPods, games, and any other medium the Internet supports. “Think outside the bun”, no?


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Este blog es dedicado al movimiento de crear un Internet mas adaptado al Hispano/Latino (tu escoje, “hechale sal, al animal, al que le pico…”). Temas seran del mismo, enfocado en buenos y malos ejemplos al igual que ideas asi… “machin”, “masa”, “fregonas”, “a todo dar”, “brutal”, “perronas” (oops! ya me pase). Oh! Y una cosa mas… al decir Internet no es limitado a sitios del web, sino cualquier medio que soporte el Internet. Por ejemplo, equipo mobil, juegos electronicos, iPods, y asi por el estilo.

]]> http://www.insomne.net/blog/about-el-blog/feed/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/mercado-hispano/the-hispanic-campaign-challenge/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/mercado-hispano/the-hispanic-campaign-challenge/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:20:37 +0000 dcastro http://blog.insomne.net/?p=12 For many companies, Hispanics have grown from a niche to a necessity, unfortunately that pot of gold is a greater challenge than most companies anticipated. Early adopters believed that simply translating a website to Spanish would solve the problem. Yet that has not had the expected results, why? This is because the hardest problem is to understand the problem.
To start, don’t think of Hispanics as monolithic people.

To get a small glimpse of how complicated this can get, consider the following:

Generally speaking, Hispanics can be broken into three categories and three groups

• Euro-Latins: Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, etc…
• Euro-Africans: Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic etc…
• Euro-Indians: Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico.

Then broken further into three more groups…

• Core Hispanics: those who live think and act Hispanic. A little more than half of Hispanics fall into this group (typically immigrants).
• Transitional Hispanics: Comfortable with both English and Spanish. The greater US assimilation the more they will prefer English as the language of preference (typically 1st or 2nd generation).
• Peripheral Hispanics: Do not speak Spanish but consider themselves Hispanic (typically 2nd generation and up).
]]> http://www.insomne.net/blog/mercado-hispano/the-hispanic-campaign-challenge/feed/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/mercado-hispano/hispanics-online-hispanos-y-el-internet/ http://www.insomne.net/blog/mercado-hispano/hispanics-online-hispanos-y-el-internet/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:15:15 +0000 dcastro http://blog.insomne.net/?p=11
5. Fastest growing demographic online. Approximately 19 million, that’s 11% larger than the total online population of Spain, or 4% larger than the total population of Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia combined. (HispanicTrends.com, 2007)
6. Two-thirds of online Hispanics say that they wish there were more sites with interesting information for Hispanic Americans, and 45 percent express a desire for more Web ads in Spanish.
7. Online Hispanic consumers are younger and heavier users of the most cutting edge features of the Internet as compared to the general online population.
8. Hispanics spend more time online than the general online population.
9. Online Hispanics look to the Internet as a primary source of information. Half agree—51 PERCENT—that they “get more information about products and services from going online than they do from television or newspapers or magazines.�
10. Nearly two-thirds—63 PERCENT—of online Hispanics use the Internet for information for the final brand decision, more than any other source asked about, compared with about half—52 percent—of the online general population.
11. 70 PERCENT now view the Internet as the best source for comparing prices—vs. 59 percent in 2004. Nearly two-thirds—63 PERCENT—go online to get advice on brands to buy—vs. 56 percent in 2004.
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