Video: MQS speech

Since I'm mobile for the next few day, I found this video from Maria Q. Sanchez's celebration party. Enjoy!

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Sunday in DC

This Sunday I'll be volunteering at WZDC Washington's Fiesta de las Madres event in Silver Spring, MD. This festival celebrates all things related to mothers because...well what Latino doesn't respect their mother. It's in our culture to cherish nuestra mama por todo la vida. It's not as big as a Feria de la Familia, but it's just as important to our comunidad.

Catch my live tweets via @navaja1cortes.

Our cultural engagement rises

The Cultural Engagement Index (CEI) is a research tool that tracks trends in consumer cultural engagement over time in the Greater Philadelphia region. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (GPCA) has released the results of the second CEI survey which finds an 11% increase in cultural engagement since the last survey in 2008. So what does this exactly mean? Um only that the Philly region is more engaged in cultural activities than the national average.

AWESOME ALERT. The study found that engagement levels in African-Americans and Hispanics increased more overtime than the average bear...aka caucasians. So what is it that we do that has us more engaged? Well there are the obvious cultural festivals like the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival, Puerto Rican Day Parade, Hispanic Fiesta, Global Fusion and because we find reason to promote our own culture in dance/music among other things.

So what do you do with this research? Well you take it and promote it and this most definitely puts Philly on the map (even more) as a cultural city. I'm sure organizations will apply for grants and maybe some nice arts & culture conventions will want Philly to bid to be host city. Time will tell. So go out and get cultured...let me know how it goes :).

Are you against a name change?

Okay. So I have to mention the opinions expressed in this post are of MY OWN and in no way represent anything else I represent including work and organizations I represent. A few days ago I wrote about the Concilio brand change and commended the new executive director for taking a new approach. However, what I didn't know was that there was a change in festival name as well.

The "Festival Puertorriqueno" will now be named the "Festival Anual Latino de Cultura y Arte." Are there pros and cons of this change; of course there are...lots. But you have to put it in the perspective of the organization today. Yes keep the history and yes maintain your mission. But things change over time...that's what brands do. We also have to consider the people who founded the org. and those who have been there since the beginning. Do I think this is a stab in the back to Puerto Ricans? Of course not. While I do not know the whole story, everything is done in good intention. But I can see both sides to the story.

Remember, the 2010 Census changed EVERYTHING. Media, advertising, sports, business, communication, social media, culture...the list goes on. There is also an organization rallying to discuss and maintain the Puerto Rican name. Whatever the result may be, Latinos need to stick together and prove the stereotype wrong. Let's unite and prove the 2010 Census right; that we are here and we hold the power of the future.

Latism partners with BlogWorld

Our good friends at Latism (Latinos in Social Media) have partnered with the BlogWorld Conference to be held on May 24-26 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. The conference will include a Latism panel which will include Latism board memebers Ana Roca Castro, Elianne Ramos, Giovanni Rodriguez and Sylvania Aguilera. During they panel, they will unveil the results of the largest study of the Latino Blogosphere to date.

With a network of 134,000 Latino/a bloggers, Latism continues to study the trends, demographics and purchasing behavior of influential Latinos online. Details about scholarships and special discounted rates will be revealed separately. The BlogWorld conference provides an education experience for all levels of expertise and interests.

So what is next in social media? Like every other industry, Latinos are getting more and more attention. An article from HispanicAd.com said it best, "It's important to knwo that there are 32 million HIspanics online, the Hispanic online market grew 13% from April 2010 to April 2011 and that Hispanics make up 14.5% of the total US Online market." Imagine that.

Today: MQS made history

Getting involved with politics was never in my best interests. I just never thought it was necessary for me as a young leader to get into the "nitty gritty." However, after helping about Maria Q. Sanchez a few years ago and getting to know her better, it was obvious that I needed to get more involved.

Over the last few years I got to know her better and started to realized that no matter what career path you take, politics will be right there knocking on your door. Earlier this evening, Maria made history (again) and won her re-election as 7th District city councilwoman. It was a great feeling not only being part of the celebration but helping out in any way I could.

I'm not one to canvas nor knock on doors but through little writings here and day-of canvasing there, I was happy to help. I noticed there were people on voting day standing outside canvasing for 10+ hours which I give much credit too. The few hours I was able to commit may not have been as much, but I was happy to be there. Tonight, I celebrated with hundreds of supporters and voters. Here's to more years to come MQS! Pa' lante.

Maurica hosts the Silk/Smooth Stroll Show!

Okay. So we all know who Maurica is right? Dassit! Well for some reason the Greek system has embraced her...specifically the Latino Greek world. There are many Greekstand shirts being created like CUS: Dassit and LUL: Dassit. Makes sense if you ask me. Right? If only there was a, "West Chesta! Dassit" shirt because I would buy it.

Anyway. The award for brilliant idea of the year goes to Greekster.tv. Why? Because they got Maurica to host the SILK/SMOOTH 2011 Stroll Show. So imagine a whole bunch of Latino Greeks and Maurica? I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of YouTube videos created. In fact, if the video below is true, Phi Beta Sigma and Lambda Alpha Upsilon better watch out. Sororities? You all will probably attempt to recruit her (him). Enjoy! And I may see you there.

The African influence in dance

I love when organizations celebrate their culture. And I do love a good dance party :). Well on Friday, June 3rd, 2011 the Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble will host its annual fundraiser with a Dundunba entitled The Circle of Rhythm: A Dundunba Dance Party. The fundraiser will take place at the First Episcopal District Plaza, 3801 Market Street and will feature lots of drumming and dancing. Best part: you are able to participate!

Performances and workshops actively engage audiences and convey the significance of the dances in the societies from which they are derived. For many in the audience, a Kùlú Mèlé performance strengthens the sense of cultural identity; for others, it offers a look at the rich traditions and heritage of Africa. As always, you don't have to be of the culture to enjoy these performances. In fact, one of the dancers is Latino! Must I mention Latinos do have African influences in our culture. It's most notable in dance and music.

The fundraiser costs $50 but again...it's a fundraiser. Enjoy!