– THE HISPANIC BLOG

GARCIA WINS IT ALL WHILE KIRKLAND AND MOLINA ERUPT

March 26, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Mexican ring legend Erik Morales spoke to the press after his twelve round unanimous decision defeat to Danny Garcia in a clash for the WBC 140lb title on Saturday night. “I don’t know what I want to do next,” said Morales. “I have to sit down with my family and look at my health and the desire to keep fighting. One of the reasons I fought Garcia was that I was sure that I still have what it takes to beat some of the best competition out there. After tonight I need to take a step back and really look at what I want to do next. I would like to go out on my own terms, perhaps a fight in Tijuana, Mexico.”

photo source: stacey verbeek

photo source: Stacey Verbeek

Regarding the fight, ‘El Terrible’ stated, “He did a good job early on, but this is a 12 round fight. I knew that around the sixth or seventh round, my work rate would increase and after the eighth or ninth, I would increase it even more. It’s good to have a good first or second round, but what’s important here is to know how to finish, not just how to start.”

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Garcia was emotional at times during the time at the podium. “This was a difficult fight, as are all fights at this level,” admitted Garcia. There are no easy fights in boxing. He was elusive and had a good defense. I give it to Morales that he busted me up pretty good, no disrespect to Erik, but you had your time, it’s my time now to shine and that is what I was looking to do. I just fought some hard twelve rounds with a legend and I plan to be around here for a long time.

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

“I feel great, I’m still taking it all in, I’m glad that all the hard work has paid off for me and I plan on doing what it takes to stay as a champion.

“At times I tried to finish him off, but I didn’t want to get greedy and walk into anything. You have to remember that he has been in the ring with some of the best fighters in the world and has faced hall of fame fighters.”

photo source: Stacey Verbeek

Promoter Oscar de la Hoya added, “Garcia did well against a legend fighter tonight. I was telling him that he has to put his combinations together and not just sit on certain punches. There is no reason that the new WBC super lightweight champion shouldn’t get better after tonight. He did show some flaws and I told him that after the fight and that he’s a good kid and besides the conditioning he has to get back in the gym and get better with his combinations and adjusting in the fight. Those are the type of fights though that makes a fighter mature.”

Controversy in Kirkland-Molina Post-Fight Session

Bonus images from Houston as James Kirkland wins a controversial one over Carlos Molina via disqualification... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

After the drama in the ring on Saturday night, the drama spilled over into the post fight press conference as both James Kirkland and Carlos Molina had to cool down and collect their thoughts on the events that took place earlier. Kirkland (31-1, 27 KOs) who won by tenth round disqualification over Molina (19-5-2, 6 KOs) felt that if the fight hadn’t been stopped he was on the verge of knocking out Molina in either the 11th or 12th round.

Molina: “I felt good, I was ready to go, I was ready to fight. He caught me with a shot, the bell rang, I got up, I didn’t think there was anything wrong.”

Bonus images from Houston as James Kirkland wins a controversial one over Carlos Molina via disqualification... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Kirkland: “I felt that if had gone on to the 11th or 12th round it was going to be over. His ass was on the ground already and I got stronger in the fight. I was going to bring it in the next round. I would give Molina the first 10 seconds of the next round and then I was going to take him out anyway. I didn’t think I needed a knockout at that point in the fight. I was just going to keep bringing my punches together and continue with the game plan.”

Molina would like nothing more than to face Kirkland again in an immediate rematch to settle the unfinished business that he felt occurred in the fight.

James Kirkland wins a controversial one over Carlos Molina via disqualification... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Kirkland: “The second time around, I’m going to do what it takes to make it a fight that is not even close. Ann was telling me to not hold back and put that pop on him. She was trying to motivate me to get him out of there and not play with him. If Molina, wants to go again, than I don’t mind whooping his ass again. I don’t care. My job is to train and get ready for the opponent the team puts in front of me.”

Bonus images from Houston as James Kirkland wins a controversial one over Carlos Molina via disqualification... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Molina: “He can say what he wants, I would fight him right now, and he knows that he didn’t knock me down. He knows that he was losing the fight.”

Bonus images from Houston as James Kirkland wins a controversial one over Carlos Molina via disqualification... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Kirkland trainer Ann Wolfe: “I wish the fight would have gone on for the twelve rounds. This is not what I wanted to happen. I do want people to know that this was a dog fight and Molina was holding and head-butting and I was getting tired of it. I told James, that since he wants to make a dog fight out of it, you do the same thing.”

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

De La Hoya: “I personally don’t like the outcome of the Kirkland-Molina fight. It’s not good for boxing because those are the type of decisions people just don’t want to see and are tired of, including myself. It was a stoppage that you can argue it both ways. The corner should have not been in the ring and that is an automatic DQ. The referee is in charge of the match. I heard the bell ring, but he was still counting Molina as well. That was a tough call to end the bout, things like this look bad on boxing. It was a good fight that was about to turn into a great fight and we as fans were robbed of that.”

The possibly of a rematch still looms for the way the bout ended. Fightnews asked De La Hoya about the chances of a rematch.

De La Hoya: “Both teams need to sit down and see what the best thing to do is. I would like to see him fight Molina again. Kirkland wants to fight for a world title so there are some possibilities that we need to talk about.”

Garcia gets called out

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Not even more than an hour after becoming the WBC super lightweight champion, Danny Garcia was called out by Ajose Olusegun, the WBC #1 contender. Olusegun was in the crowed for the post-fight press conference and waited patiently the right moment to speak out about getting dismissed for his mandatory title shot against Morales in favor of Golden Boy fighter Danny Garcia.

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Olusegun: “Now that you are the WBC champion, when are you going to fight me? Are you going to fight me or duck it?

Garcia: “First of all, I’m a fighter, I’m a champion, I will fight anybody any place anywhere, even in their backyard. If you get in there with me I will beat you too.”

Images from the Erik Morales-Danny Garcia HBO bout from Houston, Texas. Garcia captured the WBC jr. welter crown via unanimous decision... Credit: Naoki Fukuda

Olusegun: “Enjoy it while it lasts. I’m coming for you.”

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 3 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Casting call asking for “Caucasian or light skinned Hispanic” extras in New Mexico’s tourism campaign. (On Location Casting, Facebook Inc. / March 23, 2012)

New Mexico was planning to celebrate its statehood centennial by inviting tourists to come experience the state’s rich culture, take in its extraordinary views and have epic outdoor adventures.

But the Land of Enchantment‘s promotion hit a snag, raising questions about who exactly is being represented in the celebration — and reviving historical insecurities.

It all started when the New Mexico Department of Tourism began planning a $2-million marketing campaign to attract outsiders to the state, which had observed its statehood centennial Jan. 6.

The department had learned that the state ranked 38th in a poll ranking tourists’ preferred destinations — and wanted to do something about that.

“We really want to move that needle up,” said Veronica Valencia, director of marketing and communications for the department.

Focus groups in Chicago and Los Angeles assessed the public’s perception of New Mexico, and “the feedback was that it was a dry, barren wasteland with nothing to do,” Valencia said. “So [the state] set on a course to change this misconception.”

Austin, Texas-based marketing agency Vendor Inc. was hired in January to handle the campaign, titled “Adventures Steeped in Rich Culture.” The agency soon contracted with On Location Casting to assign roles in the ad, which was to be filmed in March.

Soon a casting call went out on Facebook seeking “Caucasian or light-skinned Hispanic” people.

The specificity of that call has caused quite a stir, prompting a critical editorial last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican and an even harsher reaction from the state’s Democratic Party chairman.

“Hearing that term brings to mind a vision of casting agents holding up paper bags next to people’s faces to ensure they can pass,” the New Mexican wrote. “We don’t know, of course, who made it into the shoot and how New Mexico will be presented to the world once the campaign is unveiled. But really, light-skinned only? What were they thinking?”

The request seemed ironically appropriate to at least one historian, who noted the territory’s long-ago efforts to attract more light-skinned residents.

“New Mexico’s population in the 1900 census was 70% Nuevomexicanos [today called Hispanic] and 7% American Indian. In the quest for statehood, each group followed many of their traditions in language, dress, religion… all of which alarmed a few hardcore opponents of statehood in the U.S. Congress,” David Holtby, a research scholar of regional studies at the University of New Mexico, wrote in an email to The Times.

Perhaps New Mexico could have been celebrating more than 100 years of statehood by now if it could have proved to Congress that a significant percentage of light-skinned people inhabited the area at the time.

Holtby added: “Now we have the newest ‘tourism message’ being revised to ‘lighten’ the color of people. This can be seen as an example of a throw-back to racial bias of a century ago.”

The hubbub, however, is all an unfortunate misconception, Valencia said.

“We were casting for the role of ‘tourist,’ ” she said. “It was never our intention to make any of this about race. It was more to focus on the experiences and adventures that someone could have in New Mexico rather than the background of the people having them.”

Valencia said the concept for the shoot came from a collaborative effort between the state, Vendor Inc. and On Location Casting, but the specific wording for the casting call was developed by people in the industry, she said.

Tina Kerr, a casting director for On Location Casting, said the request was filed by Vendor Inc. That company didn’t respond to repeated attempts for comment.

“We believe that people from all backgrounds visit New Mexico and it is not a place for any one type of visitor,” Valencia said.

The first ads will be launched April 16 in regional markets near New Mexico, and the state is developing more spots.

This time, Valencia said, industry standards will be shunned when casting the next adventurer.

WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

(Photo: Phelan Marc/BET)

Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) has an interesting theory about how to handle assaults on women’s health care issues and efforts to disenfranchise certain voters, as well as the personal and often racist attacks onPresident Obama. Use them as incentives, she said, to not only help him win re-election, but also so Democrats can regain control of the House and retain the Senate.

“We get real motivated when one of us is attacked,” Bass said during Tuesday’s Leading Women Definedluncheon.

Bass said that Republicans developed a “brilliant long-term strategy” that included regaining control of the House of Representatives and several state legislatures just in time for redistricting. But it may not work out as planned, Bass noted, because of the demographic shifts that have taken place and the growth of minority populations. She believes that’s why states are working to implement stricter voting rules that would make it difficult for many minorities to vote in 2012.

“The president has to be re-elected and we have to take back the House and keep the Senate. If we don’t do that then President Obama is going to be left in his last four years with a Republican-lite agenda because he’ll only have the power of the veto,” she said. “Given the way they’ve behaved over the past 15 months we can imagine what would happen in that second term.”

MSNBC contributor Joy-Ann Reid agreed that the GOP was attempting a long-term game, but said that they’re looking at a “long-term disaster” because by 2020, the electorate will be majority minority and the party still struggles to win minority support.

“They have to grow their Hispanic vote and other groups besides white males or they have to suppress the other team,” Reid said.

According to Bass, voter suppression is an issue that should motivate African-Americans to head to the polls this fall in droves.

MONDO GUERRA IS THE WINNER: FROM PROJECT RUNWAY TO NEIMAN MARCUS AND MARIE CLAIRE

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 5 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

(Photo by Andy Kropa/Getty Images) (2011 Getty Images)
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/03/23/mondo-guerra-wins-project-runway-all-stars-with-therapy/#ixzz1q3QHHrLS

On Thursday’s “Project Runway All Stars” finale, Mondo Guerra beat out Austin Scarlett and Michael Costello to win the cut-throat fashion design competition.

Photo by Jeff Ball for Vivid Photography Studio

A 5^th generation Mexican-American, Guerra has been a fan favorite since he first appeared on the show in Season 8. He’s the first Latino to win in the “Project Runway” franchise. During the All Star finale runway show, Guerra described what went into make his winning collection, “Therapy.” After weeks of stressful design challenges, Guerra said “I needed some therapy, I put all my passion into my work.”

The six piece collection was true to Guerra’s signature design esthetic. A master of mixing prints, Guerra’s use of black and white geographic patterns and unexpected pops of red wowed the judges. Judge and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi told Guerra that of the three collections in the finale, his was “the most cohesive, in the whit of it.” Co-founder of fashion label Marchesa, judge Georgina Chapman, couldn’t rave enough about Guerra, calling him a brilliant designer. When host and model Angela Lindvall told Guerra he was the winner, he couldn’t believe it.

Designer Mondo Guerra speaks on the runway at the Project Runway Spring 2011 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theater at Lincoln Center on September 9, 2010 in New York City.
(September 8, 2010 – Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America)

“Being on ‘Project Runway All Stars’ was the hardest thing I’ve done.” Guerra continued, “I came here with such confidence, understanding who I was…but being here has made me realize I can’t…take what I’ve been given for granted.”

Guerra made it into the finale in Season 8 as well, but lost the title to fellow designer Gretchen Jones. While in Season 8 the designer walked away empty handed, Guerra’s ‘All Star’ win has him taking home the biggest prize in “Project Runway” history.Aside from $100,000 in cash, Guerra also received a yearlong guest editor position at fashion magazine Marie Claire and an exclusive boutique in select Neiman Marcus department stores.

HOW IMMIGRATION GOT OUT OF CONTROL

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Prior to 1965 a thriving Bracero Program was in place in which roughly 450,000 persons entered the U.S. from Mexico each year on temporary work visas. These workers returned to Mexico regularly rather than staying in the U.S., thereby creating a circular flow of legal Mexican migrants. The program had a lot of problems, however, so immigration reformers with a civil rights agenda successfully shut it down. But while the program ended in 1965, the business need for this type of labor did not. The result was that Mexican workers continued to enter the country, although now without documentation. Also in 1965, quantitative limits on immigration from the Western Hemisphere were established. Thus illegal immigration rose after 1965 not because there was a surge in Mexican migration, but because these immigration reforms rebranded legal migrants as undocumented workers and capped the number who could try to enter the country legally.

”]No longer legal guest workers but illegal immigrants, the number apprehended at the U.S.-Mexican borderincreased. This allowed a new narrative to develop: illegal immigration was a crisis and new policies were desperately needed to stem the flow of the “alien invasion.” The more this narrative was repeated by politicians, the more the populace supported increasingly stringent immigration and enforcement policies, setting off a chain reaction: increased apprehensions led to increased calls and better tools for enforcement; increased enforcement led to more apprehensions; and increased apprehensions solidified in the public’s mind that illegal immigration was a growing problem that needed drastic reform. Moreover, increased enforcement did not really deter people from entering the U.S. from Mexico, but it certainly encouraged them to stay; the conversion from legal migrant to illegal immigrant was complete.

President Kennedy and Secretary of Defense McNamara in an EXCOMM meeting, October 1962.

Second, the U.S. was involved in several Central American countries during the Cold War, which lead to further destabilization in the region and large scale migration north. While Nicaraguan émigrés were welcome as refugees (since the U.S. disagreed with the leftist government they were fleeing), others from Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras encountered the same restrictions for legal entry as Mexicans. After the 1990s, the threat of terrorism intensified border enforcement and brought about a sharp rise in deportations from the U.S. Deportations replaced border apprehensions as “proof” that a Latino threat loomed.

November 6, 1986: President Reagan in the Roosevelt Room signing S. 1200 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 with Dan Lungren Strom Thurmond George Bush Romano Mazzoli and Alan Simpson looking on.

Third, Latin American legal immigration – led by Mexico—was also on the rise after 1965, and particularly after 1986. Again, this was not a result of a conscious policy effort, but rather an unintended consequence of the various immigration reforms. Due to concerns about terrorism and a growing xenophobia, Congress began in the 1980s to strip civil, social, and economic rights away from legal immigrants. As it became increasingly problematic to be in the U.S. but not a citizen, the numbers seeking to naturalize increased. This happened just as millions of former undocumented migrants became eligible to naturalize after receiving permanent residence under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. Adding to the numbers was a separate policy that exempted family members (spouses, minor children and parents) of U.S. citizens from country quotas as part of a family reunification effort.

The authors end the article noting the massive demographic transformation that has resulted from these unintended consequences – a rise in the Hispanic population from 9.6 million to 50.5 million. They offer a counterfactual scenario, in which the Bracero Program was improved, not abolished, and the U.S. stayed out of Central America; the result might have been a smaller illegal population and a less divided country when the terrorists attacked. More might have continued to cross the border legally and for temporary stays, resulting in fewer permanent immigrants, less undocumented migration, and slower population growth. Amazingly – almost despite ourselves—we may actually be headed that way as both illegal and legal entries have fallen while temporary guest worker entry has risen.

The next step is for the U.S. to find a way to deal with the remaining legacy of failed policies – undocumented residents who number 11 million. Of those, 3 million entered as children. The authors argue that they should receive amnesty – such as that would have been granted in the Dream Act—while the adults should be able to participate in an earned legalization program. As the Massey/Pren paper shows, a large number of permanent undocumented people is not a good situation for the country—and the next policy solution should aim to solve not create more problems.

Article by Douglas S. Massey, the Wilson School’s Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, and Karen A. Pren, Project Manager, Mexican Migration Project at Princeton’s Office of Population Research, argues that the post-1965 surge in Mexican, Central American, and to a lesser extent South American immigration was not a direct result of policy reforms enacted in the mid-1960s but rather the unintended consequences that unfolded afterward.

GARCIA WINS IT ALL WHILE KIRKLAND AND MOLINA ERUPT

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

“We get real motivated when one of us is attacked,” Bass said during Tuesday’s Leading Women Definedluncheon.

MONDO GUERRA IS THE WINNER: FROM PROJECT RUNWAY TO NEIMAN MARCUS AND MARIE CLAIRE

On Thursday’s “Project Runway All Stars” finale, Mondo Guerra beat out Austin Scarlett and Michael Costello to win the cut-throat fashion design competition.

“Being on ‘Project Runway All Stars’ was the hardest thing I’ve done.” Guerra continued, “I came here with such confidence, understanding who I was…but being here has made me realize I can’t…take what I’ve been given for granted.”

HOW IMMIGRATION GOT OUT OF CONTROL

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GARCIA WINS IT ALL WHILE KIRKLAND AND MOLINA ERUPT

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LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

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WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

“We get real motivated when one of us is attacked,” Bass said during Tuesday’s Leading Women Definedluncheon.

Share this:

MONDO GUERRA IS THE WINNER: FROM PROJECT RUNWAY TO NEIMAN MARCUS AND MARIE CLAIRE

On Thursday’s “Project Runway All Stars” finale, Mondo Guerra beat out Austin Scarlett and Michael Costello to win the cut-throat fashion design competition.

“Being on ‘Project Runway All Stars’ was the hardest thing I’ve done.” Guerra continued, “I came here with such confidence, understanding who I was…but being here has made me realize I can’t…take what I’ve been given for granted.”

Share this:

HOW IMMIGRATION GOT OUT OF CONTROL

Share this:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

FWD.US

FIND OUT IF YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE

REGISTER TO VOTE

STATE RESOURCES TO VOTE

INSCRIBASE A VOTAR