Ricardo Montalban, the suave, gentlemanly host of "Fantasy Island," died today. I remember him well from watching the show as a kid, but I did not know that he was an activist on behalf of the rights of Latino actors:
"In 1970, Montalban organized fellow Latino actors into an organization called Nosotros (“We”), and he became the first president. Their aim: to improve the image of Spanish-speaking Americans on the screen; to assure that Latin-American actors were not discriminated against; to stimulate Latino actors to study their profession.
Montalban commented in a 1970 interview:
“The Spanish-speaking American boy sees Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid wipe out a regiment of Bolivian soldiers. He sees ‘The Wild Bunch’ annihilate the Mexican army. It’s only natural for him to say, ‘Gee, I wish I were an Anglo.”’"
Source AP (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28661103/)
Obituary from the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-montalban15-2009jan15,0,3732229.story
I think I need to start a new string sharing Art History schlock that I collect. This stuff was sent to me by my dear friend who lives in Amsterdam. From top to bottom: wrapping paper, and chocolates. Regarding the latter, my favorite ever find was a chocolate bar at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, sadly no longer in production, whose wrapping reproduced Picasso's Guernica." Readers, please feel free to send me more!
As someone of Puerto Rican descent, I have a fascination with touristy souvenirs depicting the Island. I have a collection of ashtrays shaped like the Island that depict its products and natural landmarks. I also have a priceless table cloth, probably from the early 1950s, that is part of a series made depicting products and flora of the 50 states of the USA. The Puerto Rican one was an add-on, and I am shocked that people were interested enough in the Island then, since now it seems to me that most US citizens are unaware that their country has a lovely Caribbean colony.
The table cloth depicts not only Island products - pinneaples, coffee, tobacco, but also US military bases, including the ones recently and thankfully removed from Vieques Island. US soldiers are shown doing military exercises. But what fascinates me the most are the historical parallels created by US imperialism and the Columbus' "discovery" of the Island. Three key moments of invasion are conflated - Columbus' arrival, the entry of US troops on the Island when they invaded in 1898, and the activities of the US army in bases at the time the table cloth was produced. I wonder who was buying this type of object, I assume it was US tourists going to the Island, eating macaroni and cheese on Sunday with their kids, a "Leave it to Beaver" suburban scenario, did they notice the violence depicted in their quotidian object?
Parlato: Cara, cosa mi succede stasera, ti guardo ed è come la prima volta. Darling, what's happening to me this evening, I look at you and it's like the first time. Canto: che cosa sei, che cosa sei, che cosa sei What are you, what are you...
Parlato: Non vorrei parlare. I wouldn't want to speak. Canto: Cosa sei
Parlato: Ma tu sei la frase d'amore cominciata e mai finita. But you are the phrase of love, begun and never finished. Canto: Non cambi mai, non cambi mai, non cambi mai. You never change...
Parlato: Tu sei il mio ieri, il mio oggi You're my yesterday, my today Canto: Proprio mai Really never.
Parlato: Il mio sempre, inquietitudine My always, [my] disquiet Canto: Adesso ormai ci puoi provare, chiamami tormento dai, già che ci sei Now you can try [it on], go ahead, call me "torment" while you're at it.
Parlato: Tu sei come il vento che porta i violini e le rose You're like the wind that brings violins and roses Canto: Caramelle non ne voglio più I don't want any more sweets. Parlato: Certe volte non ti capisco Sometimes I don't understand you.
Canto: Le rose e i violini The roses and the violins questa sera raccontali a un'altra this evening go tell them to some other woman violini e rose li posso sentire I can hear/smell violins and roses quando la cosa mi va, se mi va When I want to - if I want to quando è il momento When it's the [right] moment e dopo si vedrà And then we'll see
Parlato: Una parola ancora [Just] another word Canto: Parole, parole, parole Words, words, words
Parlato: Ascoltami Listen to me Canto: parole parole, parole
Parlato: Ti prego I beg you Canto: Parole, parole, parole
Parlato: Io ti giuro I swear to you Canto: Parole, parole, parole parole, soltanto parole parole tra noi. Words, words, words, words - only words, words between us Parlato: Ecco il mio destino, parlarti come la prima volta This is my destiny, [to] talk to you like the first time.
Canto: Che cosa sei, che cosa sei, che cosa sei What are you... Parlato: No, non dire nulla. C'è la notte che parla No, don't say a word. [Let] the night speak
Canto: Cosa sei Parlato: La romantica notte The romantic night
Canto: Non cambi mai, non cambi mai, non cambi mai You never change Parlato: Tu sei il mio sogno proibito You're my forbidden dream
Canto: Proprio mai Really never. Parlato: E' vero, speranza It's true, [my] hope
Canto: Nessuno più ti può fermare No one can stop you now chiamami passione dai, hai visto mai Call me passion, go on - have you ever seen Parlato: Si spegne nei tuoi occhi la luna e si accendono i grilli The moon extinguishes itself in your eyes and the crickets light up
Canto: Caramelle non ne voglio più I don't want any more sweets Parlato: Se tu non ci fossi bisognerebbe inventarti If you didn't exist, someone would have to invent you
Canto: La luna e i grilli The moon and the crickets Normalmente mi tengono sveglia Usually keep me awake mentre io voglio dormire e sognare While I want to sleep and dream l'uomo che c'è in te, quando c'è The man who is within you - when he's there che parla meno Who talks less ma che può piacere a me But can please me
Parlato: Una parola ancora [Just] another word Canto: Parole, parole, parole Words, words, words
Parlato: Ascoltami Listen to me Canto: Parole, parole, parole
Parlato: Ti prego I beg you Canto: Parole, parole, parole
Parlato: Io ti giuro I swear to you Canto: Parole, parole, parole, parole
parole soltanto parole, parole tra noi
Parlato: Che cosa sei What are you? Canto: Parole, parole, parole
It just doesn't really get any better than this, especially the lyrics to the song (in English it's hard to translate but it's like Death to Love") and her whole performance is to-die-for, particularly the hair tossing and gestures at the end. All she is missing is a cigarette. Also, she's looking just a little bit butch here, which works for her.
Lyrics to "Muera el Amor"
Rocio Jurado Muera el Amor Letras: Muera el amor Que dice que engaña,que besa,que araña Que muera el amor Que queda,que pasa,que pisa,que pesa Que muera el amor Que miente,promete,se apiada y se rie de mi
Muera el amor Que abraza, que abrasa, que roba, que arrasa Que muera el amor Que quema,que hiela, que corre,que vuela Que muera el amor Que droga, que agarra,desgarra y que te hace feliz
Veneno veneno Que estalla por mis venas como un trueno Espuma blanca flor de piel Que hierve cuando estoy con el Amor sin preguntas,sin peros,amor sin cuartel
Tu Que me besas,que me pesas,que me abrazas Que me abrasas,que prometes,que me mientes Y te quiero,y yo te quiero
Muera el amor Que rompe,que rasga,que oprime,que aplasta Que muera el amor Que gusta,que asusta,que gasta y desgasta Que muera el amor Que mancha, que borra,que duele y que te hace feliz
Veneno veneno Que estalla por mis venas como un trueno Espuma blanca flor de piel Que hierve cuando estoy con el Amor sin preguntas,sin peros,amor sin cuartel
Tu Que me besas,que me pesas,que me abrazas Que me abrasas,que prometes,que me mientes Y yo te quiero Tu Que me rompes,que me rasgas,que me dueles Que me das mas,que me mancha Y encima voy y te quiero Y yo te quiero
Muera el amor Muera el amor Muera el amor
_________
Thanks to one of my top readers, Narciso, who has alerted me to this jewel from Venezuela:
Any of my regular readers knows that I have an obsession with unusual names- campy telenovela actresses, Latina/Latin American beauty queen finalists, Barack Obama-loving politicians in Brazil, or Venezuelan congressmen called Lenin, if it's a story about weird naming practices, I am all over it!
But the pet name arena has remained unexplored, until now. Semester crunch-time anxiety led me to scroll around the MSNBC news site while procrastinating today and there I found what might motivate me to adopt a second cat: my top "unusual" cat name ever SIR LIX A LOT. Of course, I appreciate the shout out to that poet of hip hop, Sir Mix A Lot, singer of one of my favorite songs ever "Baby's Got Back."
Here is the list, according to the TODAY show via MSNBC:
Most unusual 1. Edward Scissorpaws 2. Sir Lix-a-lot 3. Optimus Prrrime 4. Buddah Pest 5. Snoop Kitty Kitty 6. Miss Fuzzbutt 7. 80 Bucks 8. Sparklemonkey 9. Rosie Posie Prozac 10. Toot Uncommon
For the full list and the ones for dogs as well: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28540800/?pg=7#TDY_Pets_TopNames
Last night I finally saw "Milk" and was absolutely devastated by the story. I knew that he had been assassinated and that he was the first openly gay politician to be elected in the United States, but what I was struck by -- besides Sean Penn's incredible, Oscar-worthy performance - were the similarities between him and Barack Obama.
An outsider/insider privileged man leaves his cushy job to become a community organizer in a marginal neighborhood. Using mouth-to-mouth grassroots methods, he builds a political movement that creates a series of unlikely alliances. Despite early defeats, his refusal to give up and his ability to put himself in the situations that will garner the biggest publicity pay off, earn him name recognition, and eventually lead to elected office. An enormous ego and charisma, as well as great speaking ability, enable him to mobilize thousands. His use of testimony to elicit empathy and humanize himself to those who would hate him because of his sexual orientation or religion is similar to Obama's strategic referencing of his own race and class in his campaign.
Like Obama, Milk made reference to historical parallels to shock people into awareness of the horrors of discrimination. In Milk's case, the Holocaust was a point of reference he used, citing the famous quote about how the Nazis would go after the Jews and if people did nothing it would be the Communists, the Catholics, and so on. In Obama's the Civil Rights struggle was an event that he often recalled, placing himself as the heir of that heroic generations' struggle for justice.
Unremarked is the fact that I think Obama is also an heir of Milk. Without the precedent set by Milk, who risked his life to go into office to serve everyone while watching out for the human rights of those who were among the most discriminated against, someone like Obama could never have been the first black man in office. I think Van Zant may have been purposefully making some implied parallels between the two campaigns and the two men. It is staggering to me to realize that Milk was murdered only 10 years after MLK and RFK; that 30 years later we still don't have full civil rights for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, and transgendered people in this county; that few people know who Milk was.
But most of all, what I find staggering is that Obama, who built his campaign on civil rights, defending the oppressed, presenting himself as an improbable candidate coming from marginalized groups in American society, can throw G/L/B/T supporters under the bus, again and again and again. Even though we fought for him (I count myself as a bisexual woman) in many ways, he felt free to draw the line at G/L/B/T issues during speeches and debates - defending marriage from us as his trump card to show right wing zealots that he was OK. A negro they could let into the Master's House, as long as the gays remained working out in the fields. By inviting Rick Warren to give the blessing at his Inauguration, he is doing the equivalent of inviting Anita Bryant. Milk is turning over in his grave.
I was struck by the rhetorical similarities of Milk's speeches with Obama's. For example, this is what Milk said when he won:
"It's not my victory, it's yours and yours and yours. If a gay can win, it means there is hope that the system can work for all minorities if we fight. We've given them hope." - Harvey Milk, after winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977
As an Obama volunteer, I was given encouraging talks by precinct captains, and received emails from Obama or his deputies, telling me again and again that it was not Obama's victory but mine. And that it was "because of you" that he won. Obama also used this phrase in his acceptance speech, to dramatic effect. I remember that this rhetoric brought me to tears more than once.
Here is an example of Obama's use of the "because of you" rhetoric:
"And today, on this Tuesday in February, in states North and South, East and West, what began as a whisper in Springfield has swelled to a chorus of millions calling for change. It's a chorus that cannot be ignored, a chorus that cannot be deterred. This time can be different, because this campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different. It's different not because of me. It's different because of you."
Just as Milk often cited the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, so too did Obama, and just as Milk cited himself as an example of the fact that democracy had to include everyone, so too did Obama, as in the quote that follows:
"It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect."
Obama's mantra of change could well have been spoken by Milk, and if we believe in what he says, then we have to take responsibility for our own share of duty to bring human rights to all Americans, not just for those that Obama feels are politically expedient to support.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -- Barack Obama
With interests including the sinister doings of the artworld, pageantry, 20th and 21st century dictators, reality TV, racial and gender politics, camp, schlock, deposed and reigning European aristocrats, and fashion, Petite Maoiste writes this blog as a means of grappling with academentia.
for more see: why is this blog called petite maoiste????
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