First Annual Hispanic Forum and Gala

There are many issues Latinos face in the United States. Immigration, jobs, education, social media and so on are many of the topics that will be discussed during the Americano's First Annual Hispanic Forum and Gala on December 2-3 in Washington, DC. The theme of the forum will be The Road to Freedom: Sharing American Liberty with Hispanics Around the Globe. The idea behind the forum is to bring Hispanics together to engage in today's hot topics. There will be a "Consensus Lunch Discusion" hosted by Ambassador Roger Noriega with the purpose of creating a bipartisan agreement for the development of the Hispanic community. This is a perfect opportunity for bloggers, media and Latino corporations to discuss "hot topics". To register please click here.

Tek Lado hits stands otra vez

About a month ago a new bi-lingual magazine hit stands across the Philadelphia region. Sure some people are asking themselves why launch a magazine in this time? But hey the creators Mel Gomez and Liz Spikol are doing a tremendous job. But earlier today the November/December issue of Tek Lado hit stands and it was Geekier than ever.

This month's issue includes a Holiday Geek Gift Guide and a great Q&A with Springboard Media owner Everett Katzen. Did I mention there's an article written by yours truly? You'll have to get the hard copy to read the entire article. To add on to the magazine's Geek factor be sure to follow them on Twitter (@TekLadoMagazine) and friend them on Facebook.

Cooking for others

If you know me well, you know I don't cook...much. In fact, after a 2 year hiatus, I recently started cooking more and more (but for myself). Sure I probably should have learned from mom and grandmom, guess I was too lazy eating :). Instead of purchasing food it would be great to entertain guests with delicious recipes...Latino recipes at that. Thankfully Daisy Martinez has a new book and according to her, it's all about organization, organization, organization.

Daisy's Holiday Cooking not only offers extremely user-friendly recipes, but also groups them together by menus, ten in all, each with a theme. Although Martinez is Puerto Rican, she has great Peruvian, Mexican, Chilean, Venezuelan, Caribbean, Spanish and Mediterranean dishes. An actress and model before following her passion into the French Culinary Institute, Martinez launched her career in the food world as a prep-kitchen chef on the sit of Lidia's Italian American Kitchen. She soon became the host of her own PBS series, Daisy Cooks!, and her cookbook based on the show won the title of Best Latino Cuisine Cookbook in the World by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

1 Year Ago

One year ago Gamma Phi Sigma hosted their 5th Annual Stroll Competition and wow what can I say. I believe it was the biggest turn out we had for a stroll show ever! The show was also held at Temple University's Mitten Hall which holds hundreds of people; there were also a good number of people standing up throughout the area. Why was this show memorable? Because we raised funds to support the American Cancer Society and our hermano Ramon Ernesto "Guatu" Baez. Although he is no longer here we know he is somewhere looking after us; his spirit lives on.

Last year's show also brought the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) together to perform a Unity Stroll. Although it was a lot of work and practice, the performance was great; I personally loved the skit ;). It's unfortunate the stroll most likely will never ever be performed again, it was great uniting our strolls and performing for the crown. See you all esta noche.

2 years ago

Two years ago we expected a much better flier than before but unfortunately we didn't. However I must say this was one of my most memorable stroll shows. Why? Because we had four organizations whom never performed at Temple University! Delta Chi Psi, Omega Phi Beta, Lambda Pi Chi and Lambda Alpha Upsilon came on board and broad their best strolls of the year. I'm going to be completely biased and say how absolutely I fell in love with a certain song. You may have heard of it "Cut 'dem off". So props to OPB who brought that song into my life :). Oh and yes it was an awesome stroll. And how about Delta Chi Psi!? They came to exhibit and they definitely showed Temple students what they were made of. The following year, Delta Chi Psi shocked us all. Hopefully this year we'll have as many shocking moments as every year combined!

Your Puerto Rican hero

What do you see above? Do you see a Puerto Rican? A hero? I saw a Facebook wall post on the National Congress for Puerto Rican Right's (NCPRR) wall and was very intrigued. One of the moderators quickly drew the above picture and realized as a young man there was never a figure he thought represented himself. And now to engage the young audience that we are, the NCPRR is asking for your help! What would a Puerto Rican hero's power be? What would his name even be? To enter visit the NCPRR's Facebook group, join, and enter your thoughts on the image. This is a great way to engage a different audience and the youngsters. Did I mention the winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Toys 'R' Us!?

3 years ago

Three years ago the stroll show had to continue and we wanted to make it different. Our usual supporters came and this year Chi Iota Pi made a come back. So what was special about this year? I actually believe it was the year we introduced the "Battle of the Sexes" theme. Because we wanted to shake things up a bit, we allowed the top sorority and top fraternity compete in the final round for a chance to be the top winner. But that wasn't the only memorable moment of the show *wink*. I was also happy because my family came out to this show; they never came back lmao. Why do I love this flier? Because Greeks LOVE to compare themselves with heroes, so we gave them the opportunity to choose a hero to represent their organizations -_-.

If you think organizing a stroll event is easy, please think again. Confirming organizations, last minute drop-outs, last minute fill-ins, judging, time management, commitment and everything else you can think of when planning an event can go wrong. However, you have to have a team behind you; it can't be done alone. See you el viernes!

Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Last Tuesday the Philadelphia Daily News printed a story about the flags on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I completely forgot these flags were down and from what I learned from a tour guide, she stated it's not often they are taken down. Luckily tomorrow, Friday, November 19 the flags are going back up! There used to be 90 representing Philly's diverse population, but now they're going to get 19 more neighbors (in alphabetical order). When I get family, friends and other visitors, the Parkway is a must see just because the flags are up and it's a beautiful view; not to mention this is where many events are held. Latinos LOVE representing their country so it's a given photos will be taken. One new Latino addition will be El Salvador...so I'm sure we'll be getting a lot more visitors from the DMV area ;). Right?