Nuestra Belleza Latina is a new pageant for me. Apparently, it is an Univision creation, a reality TV show leading to a pageant, and this year a young Cuban-American woman won. Her name is Greidys Gil, and here she gets a very special shout out from her mom directly from Cuba. Her mom's name is Kenya. You cannot make this stuff up. Fabulous. Frankly, just for naming the daughter Greidys, the woman deserves a free plane ticket to Miami to see the pageant, but I guess they could not flout the travel restrictions?
(Now I am hesitating - does it go under my "Foucault and You" reality TV category, or the "Real News/Miss Universe." Ay, Dios Mio! What a dilemma.)
Ay, bendito! Here is some more bochinche: Veteran Pageantry master Osmel Sousa was one of the Judges. I am sure my abuela would be delighted to have him give me a make over - lipo, skin lightening, lasik surgery, bleach blond hair (which, being pelo malo, would promptly fall off), blue contacts.....the sky is the limit for ethnic Pageantry cleansing, gente!
Here too the names are a heady bouquet of Dada poetry: According to Wikipedia (I am now officially a hypocrite as I tell all students that "this is not a reliable nor appropriate academic reference"), the Miss representing Puerto Rico was eliminated for visiting her novio. Hello? She needed the quality time over a steaming bowl of mofongo. But her personal tragedy gave us the joy of being represented by a woman called CHASTELYN. Wepa!
Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am fascinated by religious apparitions - whether they manifest as Chesus the Cheeto in the shape of the Crucified Christ, or the Virgin in the tortilla - here we have the latest version.
In the annals of Dictator Tchotchkes, nothing can equal Hugo Chavez's VERGATARIO the first cell phone produced wholly in the People's Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As the article below indicates, Chavez's name for the product plays with a slang term for a penis. In the video below, the porcine demagogue shows off his spokesmodel talents, making none-too-subtle puns on size and width as he shows off the tacky little device. He has managed to perform an amazing feat, which is unseating the Glow-in-the-dark plastic busts of Mao as best/worst dictator produced chucheria.
Chavez launches $15 mobile phone with a name to make his mother blush Venezuelan president predicts the Vergatario will be a bestseller worldwide Rory Carroll in Caracas guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 May 2009 17.15 BST Article history
It is perhaps the world's cheapest mobile phone. It is the latest offering from Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. And its name is derived from a slang word for penis. Behold the Vergatorio.
Venezuela's president launched the handset on his TV show with a Mother's Day call to his mum and predicted it would conquer all rivals. "This telephone will be the biggest seller not only in Venezuela but the world," he said. "Whoever doesn't have a Vergatario is nothing," he joked.
Priced just $15 (nearly £10), the phone has a camera, WAP internet access, FM radio and MP3 and MP4 players for music and videos. And it has that name.
Why the president chose it remains unclear, but he enunciates each syllable with a grin. Some laugh, others are affronted.
Verga is slang for penis and vergatario is a newly minted word which signifies excellent but retains connotations from its root.
The word verga, and variations of it, are associated with Venezuela's second city, Maracaibo. Residents are famous for swearing and using Spanish verbal constructions uncommon in the rest of Venezuela.
"It's gross. I can't believe they named it something so vulgar," said Leonor Diaz, 52, a cleaner. Others however consider the name playful and harmless.
The newspaper El Universal issued readers a challenge. "Say Vergatario in front of a mirror. Pronounce this obscenity syllable by syllable, slowly, and note the expression on your face."
Chavez, a decade in power, is a shrewd communicator who often uses salty expressions to mark himself out as a man of the people. He called George Bush a "pendejo", a term derived from pubic hair which can be translated as asshole or jerk.
A government subsidy which cut the retail price to a quarter of the manufacturing cost is likely to make the Vergatario an immediate hit. There is a waiting list for the first 10,000 units expected to be released this week.
Production this year has been set at 600,000, rising to 2m in 2011, when the government hopes to export the model to the Caribbean and then further afield.
Parts are imported from China and assembled in a factory in western Venezuela run by a new company, Vetelca, 85% owned by the Venezuelan state and 15% by the Chinese company ZTE.
The government, facing a financial crunch and labour unrest over tumbling oil revenues, said the investment would boost the country's "technological independence".
Chavez turned a segment of his weekly TV show into a promotion. "Has your Vergatorio arrived?" he asked his mother. "This is the first call I've made with my Vergatorio."
When I named my series of posts on Reality TV "Foucault and You" I never imagined that eventually the worlds would collide, and I would read the following post on Inside Higher Education, discussing that "Wife Swap" is seeking parents who are also philosophers for their show!!!
Ok the last part is making my mind explode, maybe it's because I am still waiting for my espresso to brew, but are they talking about couples where both partners are philosophers? That sounds so frightening. (The concept of two philosophers married to each other is nearly as frightening as two art historians. LoL!)
Despite my Model Minority Tenure-Track Deadline Pressure Reality TV Rationing Policy, I might have to add "Wife Swap" to my list if indeed Professors are added to their repertoire! (right now, I am prioritizing the Real Housewives New Jersey, and my favorite Real Estate Porn, House Hunters International)
Why a Reality TV Show Is Seeking Professors A few weeks back, several bloggers commented on reports that "Wife Swap," an ABC reality show in which the wives of two families are switched for a week, was seeking philosophers. Kieran Healy wondered which of two ways the show might go: "airy-fairy life of the mind vs huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ " or a contrast of philosophical beliefs, such as "Modal Realists vs Phenomenologists ('I thought you said all the beer was in the effing fridge'); Rawlsians vs Libertarians; or John Emerson goes to live with John Hawthorne." ABC was quiet at the time the rumors appeared, but the network now confirms that it is looking for philosophers -- and will pay $20,000 to those selected. Danielle Gervais, casting producer for the show, said in an interview said that "we thought it would be interesting to find parents who are philosophical" and who bring their philosophical outlook into their role as parents. How might that be evident? Gervais said philosopher parents might teach young children that "we don't believe in things like the tooth fairy" and would encourage children to "really question things" and to "ponder deep things." Gervais said she wasn't sure if the network would swap the wives in two philosophy couples or swap the wife of a philosophy duo with the wife of a non-philosophy duo. But the network wants to have couples where both spouses are philosophers and have similar approaches to raising their children. Several faculty couples have already applied, but interviewing is still going on and more candidates are welcome.
'Dummy Ruiz,' 'Dear Pineapple' OK as bid to ban unusual names fails in D.R.
Gracias a Dios! Finally the Law overcame unreason and the Dada Poetry that is Caribbean Naming Practices has prevailed. Little Mazda Altagracia will get to keep her name. But....which is of the two is the more unusual? The ubiquitous brand name or the religious moniker?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, May 8th 2009, 2:50 PM SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A judicial panel says Dominicans are free to name their kids "Dummy Ruiz," ''Dear Pineapple" and other unusual monikers if they choose. The Central Electoral Commission has rejected a proposal to ban any names that could be confusing or give no indication of gender, such as Querida Piña (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz). Judge Jose Angel Aquinas had called for a crackdown on unusual names after the country's civil registry showed some families were naming their offspring after cartoon characters and car brands. One family named their girl "Mazda Altagracia." But the commission said Thursday it is not appropriate for the government to dictate what parents name their children.
I am not quite sure what makes the poor dog "bipolar" exactly. I guess it's the mental illness du jour, now that anxiety is well, so.....early 2002. It's all about mood stabilizers now. Perhaps its more of the pathologization of Mexicans, first, swine flu, now, feral chihuahuas? Watch your back for the insidious diseases carried by the neighbors from South of the Border! Maybe it's PETA, giving a stern warning against inter-species love? If only Cesar Millan, "The Dog Whisperer" were here to utter his magical incantation "Chhhh" with the accompanying side tap with the foot, as well as his charismatic Jim Jones "Drink my Kool-Aid" gaze.
Here is the video to my probably favorite Dog Whisperer Episode of all time: Chihuahuas from Hell, featuring "Diablo."
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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