Pepito isn’t pleased with the classroom’s reaction to his video project but he intends to continue what he began until …
chicano
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.9
After a mad scramble away from the mad homeless guy, Pepito’s video ends. But the reaction to his tale of gentrification and displacement is not what he had hoped…
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.8
Remember Pulp Fiction? Remember the army surplus store with The Gimp? Pepito is having flashbacks about that right now…
The Coachella art scene, home made by The Date Farmers (video)
East of Los Angeles via Interstate 10 lies the Coachella Valley, home of the desert oasis of Palm Springs, a famed music festival and acres of stately date palms.
On the wrong side of tracks, in the town of Coachella, there’s a group of Chicano artists who call themselves The Date Farmers. They make art out of love for themselves and their neighbors. This is their story. (Apologies to iOS users. KCET insists on using Flash.)
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.7
Pepito wraps up his discussion of gentrification, but not before an irate store owner decides to STAND HIS GROUND…
Blonde Mexican dissident seeks asylum in Chinese restaurant
Rubio was spirited away from his home in a car trunk at noon yesterday by friends who convinced suspicious local gang members the getaway vehicle was sagging the trunk was filled with drogas, one source told PNS.
“Pablo went to the Che Xuan Panda restaurant because to them he looks Mexican,” she said. “We all look Mexican to them. Also the 75 pesos lunch special with soup and egg roll rocks.”
Pocho Ñews Service PNS is a wholly-fictitious subsidiary of Pochismo, Inc., a California corporation, who is a person according to the Supreme Court. Don’t ask us, we just work here.
 
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.6
Pepito sits by Juan’s hospital bed and tries to pick up his discussion of “gentrification” where he left off.
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.4 and 1.5
After that huge ¡POW! Pepito has some catching up to do — like WTF happened just now? Was the camera rolling? Where exactly is Juan?
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The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.3
Pepito continues his discussion of the forces of oppression and we’ve got the full episode below.
Coming in late?
Start with Numero Uno, and then try the exciting Number Two cartoon combo with rice and beans!
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.2
PREVIOUSLY ON PEPITO AND JUAN
Pepito continues his passionate denunciation of the pendejos that are keeping La Raza down, until…
The whole page is below.
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan 1.1
Pepito has a long list of people and companies and forces that have abused the Latino community for years.
And he names names!
There’s former California Gov. Pete Wilson, for example, the entire Republican party, the Hate State of Arizona, Lou Dobbs, beer companies and …
NPR Cinco de Mayo show taps Gustavo Arellano, La Santa Cecilia
Coming from the East Coast and all, the National Public Radio Alt.Latino peeps needed to come here to get the real California deal on Cinco de Mayo. They called on two local treasures: Gustavo Arellano, editor of OCWeekly.com, and East Los rockers La Santa Cecilia:
This week we bring ourselves to that most bicultural of holidays — Cinco de Mayo. As we discuss in the show, there is a question about whether or not this is just another opportunity for happy hour specials or store-wide sales: “Get your new bed during our Mexican Mattresstravaganza!!!”
We invited writer Gustavo Arellano to help us shed some light on the issue. He has tackled this theme before in his syndicated column Ask A Mexican.
Here on the East Coast, the Cinco de Mayo experience is different from what it is in California. It feels much less connected to themes of cultural pride and more like an excuse to drink margaritas.
Mas…NPR Cinco de Mayo show taps Gustavo Arellano, La Santa Cecilia
MEChA changes name to one members can pronounce
(PNS reporting from WASHINGTON D.C.) The board of the historic student organization MEChA voted Wednesday to change the group’s name to something easier for its members to pronounce.
MEChA was born during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, and its name — Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán — was an artifact of its 1960s’ genesis. But Xicano activism waned in the ensuing decades; every year since 1968, for example, the number of baby girls named Xochitl has declined.
Members are no longer interested in getting back to their Nahuatl roots and Los Angeles local chapter male co-chair David Hernandez told PNS that there’s no need. “I mean, I already am from Aztlán, Whittier, you know? And we don’t speak Spanish here,” he said.
Debuting Cinco de Mayo: The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan
The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan will debut on POCHO at midnight, May 5, Cinco de Mayo. Look for a new episode every night at midnight until we run out of cartoons, or creator Gabriel Tellez, Jr. makes more.
What’s it all about? Per Tellez:
Pepito (left): The highly intelligent, politically/socially conscious Chicano who is considered “too liberal” by conservatives, and “too soft” by self-proclaimed revolutionaries. Though a progressive reformist at heart who likes to be “the middle guy” in social and political issues, Pepito despises hardcore conservatives as much as he despises Che-shirt wearing teenagers who don’t know what they are protesting about.
Juan (right): While being the more friendly and outgoing one of the duo, Juan isn’t really too bright when it comes to more important issues that plague society, and would rather smoke weed than join Pepito in his quest to empower the Latino community. Juan is also flirtatious at heart, as he always seems to find the time to hit on all the pretty girls he comes to contact with (which usually ends up in slaps to the face.)
Published in cooperation with Tellez, who is a hoopy frood.
Mas…Debuting Cinco de Mayo: The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan
LaChata’s Music Box: Aztlan Underground’s newest video ‘Our Nature’
With love from LaChata: For 20 years, Aztlan Underground has presented an evolution of consciousness intertwined with pre-Colombian thoughts, feelings and sounds. In a search for the other — the unknown — Aztlan Underground gives birth to a visceral sound that challenges listeners.
Check out their new, visually-stunning music video Our Nature. It starts with indigenous drums, channels the apocalyptic opera of the Doors and celebrates the natural animal spirit that inhabits us all.
From the hidden vaults of the Mayan pyramids, two more videos below:
Mas…LaChata’s Music Box: Aztlan Underground’s newest video ‘Our Nature’
Beverly Hills Mexican restaurant where Lalo got profiled shuts down
One night in February, POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz was waiting for the valet to retrieve his car outside a Mexican restaurant in Beverly Hills when a white lady repeatedly thrust her parking valet ticket in his direction.
Lalo was at the restaurant to speak on a panel for DigitalLA Latino Content professionals on the need for Latinos to create and control their own media content and channels because mainstream media stereotypes of Latinos are, you know, stereotypes.
And now that restaurant has abruptly closed. No more gigantic fresh three-way chips of blue corn, yucca and plantains with both salsa verde and salsa habanera. No more empanadas. No more $5 Happy Hour specials like ceviche shooters.
We don’t know why they closed (the website is all white.) It’s a shame — they were berry berry nice to us. In memoriam, here’s Lalo’s epic account of that evening. The headline?
Standing While Brown: A white lady tried to get me to valet her car
Mas…Beverly Hills Mexican restaurant where Lalo got profiled shuts down
Chuy, Smiley, Bob Barker, Drew Cary star in ‘Hey Vato!’ (NSFW video)
The Price Is Right game show and a public service announcement inspire the Hey Vato! couch potatoes Smiley (left, in the bandanna) and Chuy to reconsider their personal policies on spaying and neutering their pets, and, in a broader, more holistic sense, their life priorities. (NSFW language.)
Mexican garden statues get up, stand up and go on tour (photos)
(PNS reporting from the HATE STATE OF ARIZONA) The “Sleeping Mexican” statues of Tucson we featured last week snooze no more. Buoyed by the online support they received 
after POCHO publicized their plight, these hombres woke up, stood up, dressed up and went on tour across Los United Estates to tell their story.
From their early untold history — hanging out backstage with Frank Sinatra — to their recent appearances at the Academy Awards, the Mexican garden gnome hombres (AKA gnombres) are on the move, getting out the word and straight up representing! Look for them in a garden near you, or in the photos below.
Mas…Mexican garden statues get up, stand up and go on tour (photos)
Kids, lowrider bikes, culture and history in Tucson 1996: ‘Low y Cool’
When a French filmmaker shoots Chicano Tucson, the result is fascinating and maybe a little bit foreign — in a good way. Low y Cool documents the lives of the Camaradas Lowrider Bike Club in South Tucson, AZ in 1996. The 52-minute video was directed by Tucson resident and transplanted Frenchie Marianne Dissard with funding from French TV channel Planête Cable. The film has been seen regularly since 1997 on Planête.
Ñewsweek: Tucson school board’s exercise in ignorance and hate
POCHO Migrant Editor Al Madrigal (he commutes coast-to-coast so he can work nights as Senior Latino Correspondent for The Daily Show) went to Tucson AZ to find out why students there aren’t allowed to take classes in Mexican-American history.
Cameras running, Al interviewed a school board official who was apparently high on ignorance, stupidity and hate.
These are the POCHO stories that broke the ñews this week:
Mas…Ñewsweek: Tucson school board’s exercise in ignorance and hate
Chicano? Mexican? Cuban? Boricuan? Latino? Hispanic? What are you?
NBCLatino asked POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz whether he’s a Chicano or Latino or Mexican or Hispanic.
Lalo was commenting on the Pew Hispanic Center survey everybody is talking about:
Nearly four decades after the United States government mandated the use of the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label.
Mas…Chicano? Mexican? Cuban? Boricuan? Latino? Hispanic? What are you?
Is guitarist and singer Omar Torrez the Latino Jimi Hendrix?
Omar Torrez sure can play! That’s why he toured with Tom Waits and played with others like the Buena Vista Social Club and Jethro Tull. The Los Angeles Times wrote: “Dare we dub him the Latin Hendrix?! The fastest fingers in the West, a massive talent poised to break out and kiss the sky.”
Omar Torrez describes his music as “equal parts rock, Latin, delta blues, atonal classical, and performance art.” His heritage is as diverse as his music, ranging from Spanish and Basque (via Mexico) to Norwegian, Native American and Russian roots.
We especially like his new release — a happy-go-lucky smile of a tune called Marina (play this loud!) which will have you chair-dancing in no time at all. Srsly.
California’s new official poetry man is Juan Felipe Herrera (video)
Gov. Jerry Brown has sworn in UC Riverside professor Juan Felipe Herrera as California’s Poet Laureate — the first Chicano to get the honor. In this video, Herrera reads his poem 187 reasons Mexicanos can’t cross the border. The poem illustrates the difference between Jerry Brown’s California and Jan Brewer’s Hate State of Arizona, where Mexican-American Studies are outlawed. Cali isn’t perfect, but at least we know where we came from.
New Mexico Tourism Board’s racist want ad: ‘Morenos need not apply’
When your casting call includes skin color, people are going to think one of two things: Either you’re filming a sunblock ad or you’re a stone racist.
The New Mexico Tourism Board’s little gaffe (nicely summed up here from local news clips by the sharp folks at Cuentame) pretty much says it: Arizona Cerebral Fever – which renders bureaucrats completely tone-deaf to their own cluelessness about race – is contagious. You catch it from the pendejos next door in the Hate State of Arizona.
What’s priceless is the third-class backpedaling the spokeswoman offers – about how they’re looking for “a wide range of people” and this spot is “the first of many.”
Mas…New Mexico Tourism Board’s racist want ad: ‘Morenos need not apply’
ICE unveils first-ever resort-style hotel for immigrant detainees
(PNS reporting from DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEJAS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is opening what they call the first-ever “resort-style hotel” for immigrant detainees.
Critics are calling the new Karnes County (TX) Civil Detention Center a “prison for profit” but ICE is marketing it as a migrant “destination” with “vast amenities” that will keep immigrant detainees coming back for more.
Mas…ICE unveils first-ever resort-style hotel for immigrant detainees
Video Triple Feature! Cheech’s art + braceros + ‘Margarita’
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Sabado Pochonte Triple Feature! Cheech Marin’s collection of “small Chicano paintings” lights up the documentary Chicanitas, the black and white history of braceros comes to life in Harvest of Loneliness and the classic poem by Ruben Dario shimmers in the wordless animated Margarita.
Mas…Video Triple Feature! Cheech’s art + braceros + ‘Margarita’
Los Brioles: ‘Hombres muertos no hacen ruido al caminar’ (videos)
TGIF Music Videos: Los Brioles are a crazed psychobilly trio from Spain. Dead men, like dead puppies, probably don’t have much fun, but they sure do rock!
But wait — there’s more! Dig this local cholobilly music video from Los Bandits who describe themselves this way:
Psychobilly, Rockabilly, Punk, Spanish guitar, Cumbia, and Mexican music that has an infiltration of Chicano based lyrics.
Mas…Los Brioles: ‘Hombres muertos no hacen ruido al caminar’ (videos)
‘Ballad of the Pocho’ by Los Alacranes, featuring Chunky Sanchez (RIP)
Not really much video here, but a heartfelt performance of a very personal song. This classic ode to Pochismo is from San Diego’s Los Alacranes, featuring the late Chunky Sanchez.
Joining a gang is serious business, holmes! (NSFW)
So you wanna join a gang. Got a resume? (NSFW language.)
Ñewsweek: Hectors and actors and commentators oh my
POCHO’s ñews team started the week in glossy Hollyweird and ended up scraping the crap off their shoes near Rush Limbaugh’s headquarters in La Floridita, but the big story of the week was the release of Mexican Mitt Romney’s music video/camapaign commercial.
Will the GOP wannabe become the nation’s first Latino president? And why does his MittShake bring all the viejas to yard? You’ll have to watch and figure it out yourself!
The Academy Awards were just around the corner from installation artist Ramiro Gomez Jr. so he made sure the neighborhood got to see normally-invisible Latino elements of the star-making machinery with a poignant installation on Hollywood Boulevard.
Scientists ID Chicana who hasn’t seen ‘Blood In Blood Out’ (video)
(PNS reporting from ALTA CALIFORNIA) Ethnic anthropologists recently discovered the last living Chicana who has never seen the coming-of-age movie Blood In Blood Out.
The woman, not named in the report, was spotted and identified last summer in the Los Angeles suburb of Cudahy, according to a study published in the prestigious journal Science.
The subject, 32, had no explanation for not seeing the film that is “required viewing” for a true Chicano or Chicana, according to the paper, although scientists have been analyzing her brain for abnormalities in her “cholo receptors:”
Mas…Scientists ID Chicana who hasn’t seen ‘Blood In Blood Out’ (video)