My 2012 voting experience

I must say for the past two months I have seen and heard so many political ads that it drove me insane. I think this year it was far worse than others. Last night while watching the news there were five ads in a row...all attack ads. My feeling is will these last minute ads change your mind? Probably not. Regardless, this morning I woke up like any other day and went to vote. Last night during my random Twitter search, @anniemal tweeted a link to find my polling place. While I already knew where it was from my 2011 experience, I clicked on it to humor myself. Low and behold I had a new polling place with no notice.




So today I did go to the new location and it was the easiest 10 minutes of my life. The volunteer did ask for my ID but all I said was, "My name is Eric Cortes," and she found my name. It was interesting because not once did I actually hand over my ID to prove it was me. Maybe she took my word for it. Polling volunteers are hilarious because they are always yelling at each other. Right after I pushed my buttons someone handed me a I VOTED sticker which felt great. And while most people tweeted and Facebooked photos of long lines, I only had six people in front of me...all older citizens. Regardless of who you vote for, just vote...not because someone told you to, but because you want to make a difference.

ALPFA's leadership summit talks social media

Earlier today I had the pleasure of speaking at ALPFA's 2012 Leadership Summit. Their theme was social media and as you all know I love me some social media. And not just for personal branding, but putting it to use in your professional life. Other panelists included Myrna Soto, SVP & CISO Comcast National Engineering & Technical Operations; Duncan Avis, KPMC Managing Director, Business Intelligence and Lee Raine, Director of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

So is your company using social media? How about you? There's a huge difference when it comes to personal branding and organizations using it to leverage their marketing efforts. Most of the panelists agreed that social media is turning (and integrating) into traditional media. The terms can be used interchangeably. Other takeaways included security issues. When you have giant insurance companies or even something like Best Buy, you have to be 100% careful about what your colleagues are distributing via social media. Remember, once it's out there in the world, it can and will be used against (or for) you.

Richard Negrin, Deputy Mayor and Managing Director from the City of Philadelphia also gave a great introduction about the city's use of social media and where Philadelphia is in terms of use and strategy. Unfortunately, 55% of Philadelphians don't have access to broadband internet. That number is insane and needs to be dropped. Thanks to Negrin's efforts, the city of Philadelphia created the 311 mobile app which allows citizens to get involved with city government. I just downloaded the app myself.

My car buying experience

This post will be a little personal but I thought it would be interesting. For reasons I cannot announce right now I had to purchase a vehicle. Eric...with a car? Imagine that! Luckily I have friends who are car fiends and know everything there is to purchase a car. Also in my favor, I have driven ZipCars for the past two years and have improved my driving. Right? The next step would be to look up cars and narrow it down to three make/models as well as get quotes for insurance.

On a not-very-sunny Wednesday morning (considering I didn't have to work) my friend Randy and I went into South Jersey to look at Mazda, VolksWagen and Ford dealers all within a few blocks of each other. To be honest I didn't expect to be there for about five hours looking at cars and speaking with sales people. If you know me, I do not like salesmen...at all. They throw all these numbers at you, pretend to be your friend, feed you (I didn't get fed) and then make you sign all this paperwork. But luckily I turned down all three offers and made my own decision; thanks to Randy as well.

While the Mazda dealer was a little aggressive, VolksWagen brought out three different people and even ran out to offer us more random crap when we were driving away. The manager also spoke Spanish to us expecting us to feel more at ease. Sorry, that doesn't work with me. The Ford dealer was the nicest and less pushier of the three. His motto was if you're going to buy the car, you're going to buy it. And it's true. If we want something we're going to get it. Point blank. After a lunch break and some candy shopping I went with my top two: 2012 Mazda 3 and 2013 Ford Focus.So who did I go with? Well the top photo just says it all.

Now came the bad news. Since Hurricane Sandy closed down the entire world, the DMV wasn't able to process temporary tags. I had to wait one more day to actually drive off with the car. Luckily, the sales reps at Mazda were nice enough to pick me up from work the following day to go back to the dealer (it's 30 minutes away). Luckily I handled all the insurance information the previous night; thanks Geico! I signed a lot of paperwork, and then boom! Overall, the experience was tiring. But I am happy to have my own vehicle, awesome credit and now the ability to do a lot more.

Taller Puertorriqueño needs your support

There comes a time when you see an organization grow from small to large. I used to work at Taller Puertorriqueño where there mission is to preserve, promote and develop Latino arts & culture. Not just an organization for Puerto Ricans, Taller has changed and connected so many lives in the local and national community. But now they need our help. With arts organizations losing funding, Taller has been struggling with their capital campaign for the last four years.

Just in time, the Innovation grant program rewards artists for using their talents to turn their cities around. And now their asking art lovers to help pick the viewer's choice to help a worthy project win $15,000. choice. Taller has been chosen as one of the top 64 organizations fighting for the grant that will help support their own programs. This grant would actually help Taller make their dream a reality- they have already over halfway there, having secured the site and $6.5 of the $10 million needed to build a new building.

Here's how to help Taller: 

1. Log in to Facebook (or register if you don’t have one) 
2. Click this link: https://www.facebook.com/OvationTV/app_255394737897823 
3. Click the “Like” button that the big red arrow on the page points to. 
4. Scroll down to find our project, “Building Community Through Art: Taller Puertorriqueño’s Capital Campaign” 
5. Click the “Vote” button under our project.

NALAC's inspiring preformances

Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra

Last night (Thursday, October 18) I had the pleasure of attending NALAC's evening performances at the Prince Music Theatre. I didn't know what to expect when I attended, but I left amazed. Performances included Awilda Rodriguez Lora, Quique Aviles, Circa '95 and Spoken Had Percussion Orchestra. All different types of performances, but they had something in common. They each brought a sense of identity and the self to the audience.

Lora performed a very personal story about her upbringing through spoken word, music and acting. She spoke about the role of women in today's society and the machista mentality our fathers usually have. While adding some humor, she ended on a note about discovering herself and looking after herself but still caring for others. Aviles had a great story to tell through poetry and spoken word. He spoke greatly about immigration and how our mothers and fathers leave their country to come live the dream in the United States of America.

So what is it about the arts? I believe it can change lives for the better. Whether visually, voice or through sound, we should be creating better worlds for our sons and daughters. Keep art programs in our schools, encourage a little creativity, because without these activities, we will not only lose culture, but our self-identity as well.

Disney announces their Latina princess

Now I'm not one to add people to "boxes" but sometimes I have to ask myself and others, "What exactly does a Latino(a) look like?" In fact, what defines us as people living in the United States. Remember, a Colombian in Colombia will never call them-self a Latino. An Argentine living in Argentina will never call them-self a Latino and so on. Some people may say our language, food, music is what makes us Latino. Just because some don't speak Spanish does not define who we are. But now, Disney has decided to announce their first Latina princess and some people aren't liking it.

“She is Latina,” Entertainment Weekly reported executive producer Jamie Mitchell as saying. “It’s sort of a matter-of-fact situation rather than an overt thing.” In a mashable.com story, "Disney had announced the movie and subsequent of 2013 TV series back in December 2011, and made no mention of the characters’ ethnic backgrounds." I hear both arguments.There's the, "The complexion of a person does not make you Latino(a)." However, Disney could have probably given her a little more spunk to give the viewers the illusion that she is indeed Latina. If children are watching this, they will have LOTS of questions about identity. And we don't need that.

I wonder if a little change in complexion would make things different. Or how about an accent? Maybe some lines in Spanish? What would you change? Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess airs Sunday, November 18 at 7 p.m. on the Disney Channel. 

NALAC conference begins with a welcoming reception

Just this evening, Wednesday, October 17th, 2012, the National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC) held their welcome reception at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel (33rd Floor). NALAC and the Philadelphia host committee welcomed all attendees and community leaders to a warm reception. With an amazing view, NALAC explained their reasons why they chose our beloved city. Philadelphia was recently chosen as the #1 city for arts & culture by Travel & Leisure Magazine. The Philadelphia Cultural Alliance mentioned that people of color (mostly Hispanics) have the highest level of engagement when it comes to arts & culture in the city.

Reception attendees included the Mexican Consul Carlos Giralt-Cabrales, Maria del Pilar representing State Representative Angel Cruz and Mayor Michael Nutter. From today through Sunday, October 21st, NALAC conference attendees will enjoy a variety of workshops, exhibitions, tours and more. Who knows, maybe there will even be a few surprises. For information regarding the conference visit http://conference.nalac.org and follow them on Twitter @Nalac_Arts (use #NALACphilly).

Video: Rosie Perez speaks the truth against Romney

Celebrities have no issue discussing politics, especially if they're against the Republican side. Actress/comedian Rosie Perez spills the truth against Governor Mitt Romney. In the video Perez states:

“What if you were just a little bit gay, Mitt,” Perez cracks. “Think of all the advantages that would provide. No, wait for it ... what if you had a vagina. If you were a gay Latina, this election would be in the bag for you. Unfortunately for you Mitt, you were cursed with the hard-knock life of growing up as the son of a wealthy governor and auto executive."

So is she right? What if Romney was indeed Latino...or a little bit gay?

P.S. Don't forget to watch today's (second) presidential debate at 9 p.m. Click here for more details including where to watch.