Caramelo

I know this posting comes late, as the encore screening was Aug. 13, but I have a good excuse! I've been doing research in Paraguay with limited internet access for the past four weeks.

Anyhoo, my personal adventures aside (don't worry, a blog dedicated to the trip will follow),I'd like to give this film some attention. Jorge Luis Urbina, a local Tucson Filmmaker and UA employee of The School of Media Arts, directed it with fellow filmmaker Benjamin Lopez, who wrote and produced the project.

In Urbina's own words, Caramelo follows the relationship between Miguel, a free spirited young student and Jose, a school janitor who carries the burden of a tragic-filled past of the Tlatelolco Student Massacre of 68'.

Nogales 2008

This year when Summer I ended, friends suggested we celebrate by taking a day trip to Nogales. I think we started a tradition.

Bearing passports, snacks, comfortable shoes, water and cameras, we headed for the border. This was the first time I had ever gone to Nogales with a group of girls, and the experience was pretty hilarious.

We had lunch and margaritas at La Roca where we were waited on hand and foot by several waiters. It was expensive, so I think it was a fair deal. I've always loved that place. As a matter of fact, we hired the Trio Hermanos Estrada that regularly plays there for our wedding ceremony and reception. They were 100% worth it.

Then we went shopping, and every shop owner tried to lour us in with catch phrases. Their favorites were "Hey ladies, I'm single!" and "Come into my shop. If you don't look you'll never know..."

At one point I bought a Cuban cigar from the shop owner pictured above. He personally escorted us to the despensa pictured above where we bought water. He was delighted to show off his newly acquired harem of güeritas. And us four hard-core feminists went along with it. Well, we also study performance theory so maybe we felt obliged to perform the role that was expected of us. Why not? How often do we get to giggle about being shamelessly hit in our ivory tower? There's something refreshing about passes when our everyday roles require us to be practically asexual teacher/scholars.

At one point I decided to go back to a curio alley to buy a yellow fruit bowl I had seen earlier in the day, but I couldn't remember exactly what store it was in. Suddenly, all the shop owners realized I was back and this time they knew I was going to buy something. So they all asked me what I was looking for, and simultaneously produced yellow fruit bowls, trying to convince me that theirs was the one. The funny part is that none of them were. I eventually found the one I was looking for. I felt bad that I had gotten all their hopes up and caused them to scramble so wildly. I really like my yellow fruit bowl tho. It's the center piece of my living room.

I also have an even greater appreciation for Nogales after seeing Riley Merline's presentation, "A Century of Border Fence Construction and Community Transformation: Ambos Nogales, 1898-1998" at the RMCLAS conference this year. I thought about all the old pictures and all the history of this town when it used to be fused with Nogales, Arizona in a seamless, transnational community. It made me nostalgic for some pre-militarized border that I've never experienced.

Why didn't the mainstream media jump all over McCain calling his wife a cunt?

I generally leave the political blogging to those who are solely dedicated to it, but this does involve one of Arizona's very own and it's really not so much about politics as it is about feminism. I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about this question:

Why didn't the mainstream media jump all over McCain calling his wife a cunt?

The following excerpt is from The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter:

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

The reason why I think this story may be true, is because McCain was confronted about it by a Baptist minister on tape at an Iowa town hall forum in May and he didn't deny it. Here's a link to The Huffington Post piece on the subject and a video of McCain being asked the question and his reaction.

But my concern is not really with the truth or McCain. My concern is with a double-standard. Why is it that the mainstream media will engage so gleefully in other types of smear campaigns, (“We live now in an era where everything and everyone is fair game,” recently stated Douglas E. Schoen, who was a pollster and adviser to former President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 2000.) Yet when it comes to something so damaging to women, nearly everyone is willing to look the other way? As far as I know, the Cunt Incident hasn't been touched in television, radio or mainstream print media. It was surprising to me to stumble onto the story online.

On one hand we could respond to this question as did a good friend of mine who is also an excellent journalist: "No mainstream media can write about it because they can't confirm it; these are anonymous sources and the material is too inflammatory to print without people willing to put their names behind it." But to give a specific example of the double standard I'm perceiving, consider that CBS news is reporting about Michelle Obama "allegedly" using a derogatory term for white people ("whitey") but no one so mainstream can be found mentioning McCain "allegedly" calling his wife a "cunt".

No one jumped on McCain for calling his own wife the most derogatory of slanders against women? Really? Why didn't anyone play Arnold Assgrabber's video above (and other similar clips) more often when he was seeking office? Does the mainstream media assume that this brand of sexism is perceived as irrelevant by the public? Is it? Or is the mainstream media afraid that they will come under fire for reporting in "bad taste"? Isn't that a guise for skirting the issue? (No pun intended)...

Story on The Migrant Walk - KUAZ 4th of July

Image from www.panleft.org.

I first became aware of the Migrant Walk when I went to see a screening of Jason Aragón's PRESENTE: inside the migrant trail walk. Aragón's film conveys "a reflective look into the Migrant Trail Walk of 2005. The 7 day/75 mile walk from Sásabe, Sonora, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona, USA that raised awareness about the deadly journey to the U.S., the tragic cost of border militarization, and also an opportunity to walk in solidarity with migrants."

Maisa Taha, a great friend of mine from anthropology did the walk this year and wrote a personal essay about it. I read it. It's honest and excellently written. It's level-headed without being dismissive and raw without being preachy. It's airing on Arizona Spotlight tomorrow at 9:30 am and 6:00 pm and you can't miss it.

She invited me to welcome her back into Tucson as the march returned home. I had been traveling to see friends, going to BBQs, lounging poolside. That's what summer means to me. When I saw the marchers with their white crosses, I was reminded that for some, summer is seared in their minds as the most deadly season.

When I saw them march in, I was hot from just standing around. I couldn't fathom what the trip had been like for them. They were dirty, sunburned, sweaty, dried up and exhausted. Some people burst into tears spontaneously. Many hugged and cried, hugged and cried in the midst of all those white crosses. I cried too, because this is what I saw in their faces: "I'm so fucking exhausted I want to collapse, but the only reason we're here is because of those who didn't make it. My walk ended in a picnic, their walk ended in a grave. And the only real difference between us is which side of the border we happened to be born on."

How could you not cry?

POSTDATA: Missed the show? Listen to the July 4, 2008 Edition of Arizona Spotlight online by clicking here.

Tuesday Night Ride Goes to Dia de San Juan Fiesta

Photo from http://www.tucsonaz.gov/sanjuan/.

This Tuesday's ride took a somewhat dangerous route across Freeway to make a stop at Tucson's 11th Annual El Día de San Juan Fiesta, which "continues the tradition of celebrating the beginning of the "season of monsoon rains". I suppose it was apropos that we were showered with water balloons all throughout the ride.

In case you want a heads up for next year's date, it was celebrated on Tuesday, June 24, from 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. at West Congress St. at the Santa Cruz River (south side, west bank).

The fiesta featured the Traditional Procession and the Blessing of the Altar. The public is welcome to join in the procession followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site.

El Día de San Juan Fiesta features charros and escaramuzas performing on horseback; mariachis, folkloricos, live music, games and activities for children and families, and booths and tables offering information on services available to area residents. Food and refreshments were sold and attendance was free.

The celebration of St. John's birthday was once one of the most important and colorful events in Tucson and the Southwest. It was brought to this region by the Spanish missionaries in the 1600s. Residents of Tucson's west side neighborhoods resurrected this tradition in 1998 and proudly continue a celebration that helps us remember the importance of water in our desert. St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of water, was asked that he help bring the rains so the crops would be plentiful. Legend says that on June 24, 1540, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez Coronado stood on the banks of the parched Santa Cruz riverbed and prayed for rain. It rained, and in an ardent declaration of faith, Coronado deemed that from that day forward the summer rains would come on the 24th day of June, and according to tradition, this begins the monsoon rain season.

El Día de San Juan is sponsored by a partnership of public, private, and neighborhood organizations.

Info from media contacts,
Lillian Lopez Grant, Chair: (520) 791-0925
Rose J Nenninger: (520) 573-7138
Carlos Romero, Ward 1: (520) 791-4040

Tucson Dives: The Silver Room and The Bay Horse

Killing time before/after a wedding yesterday, we went to The Silver Room and The Bay Horse.

The Silver Room is remarkable because: it's the only bar on Plumer, (we caught a Rush Soccer game afterwards); its wood paneling makes it feel "lodgey"; if they open up the divider, you can see right into the restaurant next door - which as seen in the photo above - sometimes hosts kids birthday parties. Most importantly, everyone there is nice, even if you are overdressed.

The Bay Horse Tavern is remarkable because: they have a cozy little beer garden with misters; they have a gigantic wooden chair - as pictured above - in which you can have your picture taken and then tacked on the wall; they have an old-timey wooden phone booth with a working pay phone in there. However, they are not as nice to overdressed strangers. (I was curtly advised that we should clean up after ourselves. I guess that beer glass I left next to the MegaTouch was just the last straw. BTW, Tres Tigres - that's us with the highest score in Photo Hunt, thank you very much.)

Girls Bike Out Ride and Photoshoot This Sunday!

Girls Bike Out is happening this Sunday, June 22. Dress up to cycle in style. Ladies only. (They say "heels + wheels = fun time", but I've biked in heels before and it's a pain in the ass. However, the idea of ladies dressing up for ladies is highly appealing. Meow.)

Time 6:30

Place: Time Market

Venus Zine which calls itself "the leading source for coverage of women in music, art, film, fashion, and DIY culture" is looking for pictures of ladies and their snazzy bicycles. Bring your hot bikes, hot looks and hot cameras. Here's a notification from their blog:

"Calling all lady bike riders: We're working on a photo-spread for the Fall issue of ladies and their customized bikes. We're not talking just fixed gear here; we're talking streamers, sound systems, sparklers, crazy paint jobs, double-deckers – the whole shebang!...If this sounds like you, or if you know of some rad lady in your town with a bike that's impressive, let Venus know at: uh.plom@gmail.com. Please send us a couple photos and a brief description about why your bikes so awesome."

My bike is really boring but I'd like to take photos. And while I'm at it I might put on a dress or something.

Tucson Querido is Boycotting GoDaddy

I know Go Daddy's advertising has been considered "edgy", and I even chuckled at the Beaver Commercial above, but CEO and Founder Bob Parson's Video Blog bugs the crap out of me. I even wrote Danica Patrick an email:

"Dear Danica,

I've been using Go Daddy as the Registrar for my websites until recently. When I saw this Video Blog posting by their CEO, Bill Parson's, (Episode #9) I decided to take my business elsewhere:

http://www.bobparsons.tv/HowtomakeitBIG-GoDaddyGirlstyleCAUTIONMATURECONTENT.html?showChart=1&watch=1

It's offensive to me because:

1. It assumes a predominately male heterosexual audience, again. It ignores me as a female consumer of Go Daddy services. I'm not gaining pleasure from the buxom brunets. (I am one, and get to see myself in the mirror every day so this isn't exciting to me.)

2. It's patriarchal. Mr. Parson's "advice" to the Go Daddy girls is ludicrous and patronizing. The girls are only there so men can have a laugh and a chubby at their expense.

3. It makes you look bad. I know that it must be hard to straddle the line between professional race car driver and sex symbol and be taken seriously, but in this Video montage, your image clearly gets shoved to one side of the line. To see you - a female pioneer in racing - lumped in so casually with a bunch of Barbie dolls! This wouldn't happen to a male driver. Is Danica Patrick a "Go Daddy Girl" or a professional race car driver? Please don't ignore this double standard.

Divorce this sponsor!

Sincerely,

Eva Romero
Tucson, AZ"

I did a little Google searching on Bob Parsons and GoDaddy and found that sexism isn't the only reason to boycott. There's also the issue of censorship (GoDaddy Silences RateMyCop.com) and condoning torture(Does your Web Host condone torture? GoDaddy.com does!).

FioRito's FEIJOADA Summer Special This Sat. June 21

Good Brazilian eats alert!!! (If you can't afford to spend Summer in Brazil, at least you can bring Brazil to your taste buds...)

The complete FEIJOADA with all the trimmings is now $ 11.75.(including, soda,coffee or tea). VEGETARIAN FEIJOADA is available, too.

Brazilian drinks:
Caipirinha $4
Guarana (traditional Brazilian soda beverage) can $l.80
Maracuja (passion fruit beverage) can $1.60

Brazilian desserts:
Pudim de leite (flan) $4
Goiabada com queijo fresco $4
(guava and fresh cheese)

Come experience these "sabores" of Brazil (eat in or take out)

Saturday: June 21st

12pm to 3:30pm

FIORITO'S
2702 E. GRANT ROAD
(TWO BLOCKS EAST OF TUCSON BLVD ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF GRANT ROAD)
325-6913