Three Kings Day Toy Drive/Fund '09-'10

Latinos in Social Media and Being Latino presents:

Our 1ST ANNUAL THREE-KINGS DAY ONLINE TOY DRIVE & FUNDRAISER to benefit The Children's Aid Society 's Latino Outreach Initiative and the United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF]

January 6th, is the traditional day for gift-giving in Latin American tradition, will bring joy to disadvantaged Latino children in the US and Latin America.

The Toy Drive & Fundraiser will have two levels:

1st Level: Thanks to generous donations from our sponsors Time To Play, Ingenio and Discovery Toys, we will be donating new unwrapped bilingual Educational toys to the Latino Outreach Center of the Children's Aid Society, located in Washington Heights, New York City. The toys will be distributed to less fortunate Latino children in the area.

2nd Level: We will be collecting donations from our growing online networks. This monetary donation will benefit UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, and be distributed through UNICEF to centers aiding disadvantaged children in Latin America.

LAUNCH DETAILS:
• WHAT: Live Twitter Party
• WHEN: December 30th 2009, 8pm - 10pm EST
• WHERE: Twitter (use hashtag #latismtoydrive or enter latismtoydrive in
TweetChat.com – you must have a Twitter account).

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
• Donate ONLINE through our Chipin/PayPal account here.
*****Donations accepted until January 3rd, 2010*****

• Make a toy donation by sending new, unwrapped toys to: The Children's Aid Society -105 East 22nd St. Please use codename: LATISMTOYDRIVE. Toy donations will be accepted until January 4th, 2010.

• Follow and Retweet our Toy Drive message using #latismtoydrive on Twitter

• Write about it on your blog

• Post up toy drive widgets on your blog (http://bit.ly/5urQXF) and social networks.

All Toy Drive, Donations totals and ceremony pictures will be posted on our Latism.org and Being Latinos website on January 6, 2010.

We thank our sponsors Time To Play, Ingenio and Discovery Toys for their generous toy donations, and our social media community for their support!!

Responses to "Illegals in my Yard"

The recent display of disrespect against Latinos as a whole has shown that we still have strides to make. No matter how they paint it, the ugly face of racism has shown itself again. Can they claim freedom of speech and self expression? Well, I'll remind them that while they do so, some of those very Latinos that they offend are serving in the military to defend those very freedoms.
The apologies have come, but I am sure the insensitivity will continue....enjoy the real deal...José Feliciano con Feliz Navidad.

Willie Colon's call to "Stop hate speech against Latinos"

This is what racists call a Merry Christmas: "Illegals in my yard"

Feliciano protests use of 'Feliz Navidad' for musical spoof about immigrants

Puerto Rican Rum: Pitorro

Ah, yes...with all the talk about coquito a friend 'en la isla' just reminded me about "PITORRO". What is pitorro? Well, pitorro is a clandestine rum made in Puerto Rico. Produced by distilling sugar cane, adding various fruits and then aged. Tis' the season for a little pitorro!

así...

o así?...

Una Jodia Aventura: El Pitorro de Patillas

Pitorro o Ron Cañita

¿cuál deseas ha beber?

Legal una marca de pitorro::: Wapa.tv
16/12/09

Spanglish Christmas? Hmm......

I was thinking about what exactly I would write about in relation to the holidays but then I came across a great post. I'll direct you to the post shortly but before doing so I'll briefly mention that the post is by Judith Mercado. Judith is a Puerto Rican born author who moved to the U.S. at an early age. Many of her short stories can be read via her blogs entitled "Judith Mercado Short Stories and more..." and "Pilgrim Soul".

Her latest post on Pilgrim Soul, 'A Spanglish Christmas Eve', really sums it up quite well. On that, enjoy the story, the poem and your holidays!

Isabel Gonzalez: Gonzales v. Williams, 192 U.S. 1 (1904)

On Aug 24, 1902 a young pregnant Puerto Rican female, Isabel Gonzalez, arrived in New York from Puerto Rico by steamship. She was to meet her fiance, who had left Puerto Rico earlier that year in search of work, and family to then settle down and get married. Little did she know that she would be transferred to Ellis Island and detained as an 'alien immigrant' upon her arrival.

In late 1898, the Treaty of Paris would be signed placing Puerto Rico under U.S. control. Military rule would almost quickly be established, the Americanization process would begin and by 1899 the islands name would be changed to Porto Rico. Considering the islands population at the time racially and socially inferior, the U.S Congress opposed U.S. citizenship. When it applied to law, Puerto Rico was foreign on a domestic level but was a part of the U.S on an international level. When the Immigration Commissioner then decided to issue new guidelines, Gonzalez status would be considered 'alien'.

Initial attempts by family to get her released were fruitless so a petition was filed on her behalf. Lawyers interested in her case would file the petition with the U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York where the court would eventually rule that she was an alien.

Although she had lost her case there, Gonzalez decided she would then appeal to the United States Supreme Court. At the same time, Federico Degetau, a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer (and 1st Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico) was writing in protest of the new rules that made Puerto Ricans subject to immigration laws. He became interested in the Gonzalez case and on Dec. 4 and 7 of 1903 the case, which became known as Gonzales v. Williams, would be argued. This time around the court would rule in Gonzalez favor. Although she would not be declared a U.S. citizen, she would not be considered an alien.

Isabel Gonzalez would go on to live in New York and actively pursued the cause of U.S. citizenship for all Puerto Ricans. In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act would be signed into law granting all Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship.

Case Preview
Full Text of Case

'Jibaro Clause' Puts a Smile on Kids Faces

With that look of joy and anticipation on their faces,the children of Bushwick United Headstart were treated to a visit by Sofrito for your Soul's own George 'Urban Jibaro' Torres. Donning costume, the 'Urban Jibaro' was transformed into 'Jibaro Clause' for the day. He came bearing gifts for the eagerly awaiting children and was rewarded with hugs and smiles.

Smile after smile, you could see the joy in their faces as they each received a gift from the 'Jibaro Clause' and then in unison tore them open. The gifts, which came from the help of sponsors and donations, were a result of the Pa'L Pueblo charity event held the week prior. While the event was exciting, the results were even more rewarding in that it brought so many smiles. The children will hopefully remember this wonderful day.

El Periódico Claridad Closes the Year with an Exclusive Interview

Exclusivo: Hablan los Macheteros

Gervasio Morales Rodríguez
entrevista al Comandante Guasábara, Subsecretario General del Ejército Popular Boricua-Macheteros

A diez meses de la toma de posesión de la administración de Luis Fortuño y el PNP, ¿qué balance hacen los Macheteros de la situación del país?

La derrota del candidato a gobernador del Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, por el candidato del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) Luis Fortuño, no cambia radicalmente la política neoliberal de ambos partidos. Ambos hablan de paz, justicia y libertades sociales. Ambos utilizan la demagogia para llegar al poder. Ambos despiertan enormes esperanzas entre las masas, cuando la realidad es que, no importa el partido que gane las elecciones, ambos responden a los intereses de la burguesía estadounidense y la burguesía criolla, entre los que se encuentran los bancos, los desarrollistas, los contratistas, etc.

Seguir leyendo aquí......