Guatemala

The 20 Greatest Los Tigres Del Norte Songs of All Time: The Complete List

The very first music review I wrote for this infernal rag was 11 years on Los Tigres del Norte, the conjunto norteño group who will one day go done in history as one of the greatest musical groups of any genre or language for their brilliant fusion of politics, braggadocio, storytelling, awesome su ... More >>

The 20 Greatest Los Tigres Del Norte Songs of All Time, Nos. 10-1

Yesterday, we sang the praises of Los Tigres del Norte by revealing their best B-sides, so to speak; today, we tackle 10-1. Methinks everyone will agree with half of my choices, dispute three of them, and ridicule my top choice--enjoy!

The 20 Greatest Los Tigres Del Norte Songs of All Time, Nos. 20-11

The very first music review I wrote for this infernal rag was 11 years on Los Tigres del Norte, the conjunto norteño group who will one day go done in history as one of the greatest musical groups of any genre or language for their brilliant fusion of politics, braggadocio, storytelling, awesome su ... More >>

Carnage Doesn't Trap Himself Into Making One Style of Dance Music

There are some artists who are destined for the lime-light. Even their names offer some insight to their future and Carnage is no exception. Born Diamante (which means "Diamond" in Spanish) Blackmon, the big "black man" from Guatemala was like a rare diamond in the rough who moved to Maryland at six ... More >>

Azul Café, Valle de Guadalupe: Southern Mexico's Coffee Without Leaving Baja

In the center of the wine and olive oil laboratory known as La Escuelita (but officially as la Estación de Oficios de El Porvenir) stands a wooden building with mattress springs for walls. Inside is a brown clutter of detritus: a Christmas tree made of upturned wine bottles stands anachronistically ... More >>

OC's Scariest People 2012!

Child molesters, Shaheen Sadeghi, serial killers, Dana Rohrabacher and so many more!

Why Won't My Mexican Mom Accept My Gabacha Girlfriend?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And what exactly is a huipil?

"Peace and Dignity" Run Arrives in Anaheim

On Aug. 27, about 20 runners with Latin American indigenous group Peace and Dignity Journeys made their way from Long Beach to the La Colonia neighborhood in Anaheim, making a brief stop on the Anna Drive where the police shooting of Manuel Diaz set off several days of civil unrest through ... More >>

The Five Stupidest Things Nativo Lopez Ever Said

All of Orange County engaged in a simultaneous shrug of indifference when longtime Aztlanista Nativo Lopez announced earlier this week he was retiring from public life and becoming a mere private citizen...where he would continue to agitate for the hot Mexican cause of the month. Huh? It was a fitti ... More >>

OC Bookly at the LA Times Festival of Books

I've attended nearly all of the previous 16 years of the annual Los Angeles Times books festivals, this one again on the campus of USC. There was that one year I missed, when the bibliochild was born and some friends, fellow writers and Santa Monica Review volunteers staffed the SMR booth, ... More >>

Pedro Pimentel Rios, Santa Ana Deportee, Sentenced to 6060 Years in Guatemalan Massacre

​Pedro Pimentel Rios, a former factory worker who lived in Santa Ana until he was deported last July, has been sentenced to more than 6000 years for his role in one of the worst atrocities carried out by the U.S.-backed military during Guatemala's decades-long civil war. According to news reports, ... More >>

Erwin Johnny Sanchez Gets 29 Years to Life for Murder of Man Who Died of Pneumonia

​Nineteen-year-old Scott Sittler lived another 15 years paralyzed and on a respirator after Erwin Johnny Sanchez shot him in the head on a quiet Santa Ana street in 1994. But after Sittler died of pneumonia in February 2009, the district attorney's office filed murder charges. Sanchez had been sch ... More >>

Is Mitt Romney Really Part-Mexican?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And how popular is Mormonism among Mexicans?

Blase Bonpane, Legendary Toppler of Wally George's Desk, Returns to OC This Friday

​Blase Bonpane, religious rebel and renegade, has lived a life inspired by the prospect of peace in our world. Director of the Office of the Americas, weekly radio host of World Focus on KPFK 90.7FM Los Angeles, and author of numerous books, the tireless activist turns to the subject of his own li ... More >>

What We Learned

The Year on Navel Gazing and Beyond!

Are Mexicans Racist Against Half-Mexicans?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Plus, should Mexicans hate the Irish, and vice versa?

Five Questions with Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Singer Tony DeSare

​Here's the thing about the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra's POPS! concerts: You might not think you'd want to go, but you'd be wrong. Take me for example.When I was a wee lad, I thought the music world began at the Germs and ended at Jawbreaker. I guess you could say I've expanded my horizons sinc ... More >>

Kellogg's Threatens Non-Profit Over Toucan Logo; Cereal Maker Insists is Toucan Sam Rip-Off

​To the right is Toucan Sam, the brightly-plumaged mascot of Kellogg's Froot Loops.After the jump, the logo of the Maya Archaeology Initiative, a non-profit organization intended to preserve Maya ruins in northern Guatemala.

A Handy Guide to Cuban Hip-Hop: Krudas Cubensi, Obsesión, Anónimo Consejo, El Aldeano, Hermanos de Causa

​ When the femcee duo Krudas Cubensi was in Santa Ana a few months ago for a show, I personally reiterated to them my long-held opinion that Cuban hip-hop was the best in the world. Later on, they delivered a scintillating performance that only served to solidify that belief. Fortunately, if ... More >>

Pedro Pimentel Rios, Accused in Civil War Atrocity, Deported to Guatemala

Courtesy ICEAdios, Rios.​Pedro Pimentel Rios, 54, an erstwhile maintenance worker from Santa Ana, has been deported to Guatemala to stand trial for his involvement in the most notorious massacre of that country's civil war. Along with several other suspects who have been rounded up in the US, Cana ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Report: Pasta the Most Popular Dish in the World

​Grand, overarching summations derived from research papers must always be viewed skeptically, but the global organization Oxfam is well-regarded for its research, and its only real agenda is feeding folks, something they've been working on since the 1940s. They know a bit about global food trends ... More >>

Pedro Pimental Rios, Accused in Guatemalan Massacre, To Be Deported

​A maintenance worker from Santa Ana must leave the country, according to a ruling issued yesterday by Judge Lorraine J. Munoz at the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse. Pedro Pimental, 54, will likely be flown to Guatemala to stand trial in one of the most brutal mass slayings in Guatemala's long c ... More >>

[UPDATED with Quickie Review:] 12 Local Documentaries Worth a Look at the Newport Beach Film Festival

​UPDATE, APRIL 29, 5:15 P.M.: Just finished watching the short documentary on Orange County naturalist Joel Robinson at Triangle Square and, I gotta tell you, it left me wanting to know more.Directors Jonathan Formica, Celesta Giaimo, Mj Lat and Alexandra Santoro present an eye-opening look at ar ... More >>

Ruben Vives, Former Illegal Immigrant, Wins Pulitzer for Coverage of Bell Scandal

​There are a lot of local angles to tie in this week's Pulitzer Prize victory by Los Angeles Times reporters Ruben Vives and Jeff Gottlieb for their coverage of the City of Bell Scandal. You have the man they took down, Robert Rizzo, being a resident of Huntington Beach, and that Gottlieb used to ... More >>

Can a Gabacho Become President of Mexico?

And Why Do Mexicans Jump So Much?

Grinding Justice

Operation Streamline costs millions, tramples the Constitution, treats migrants like cattle, doesn't work

Helen Mirren Will Cut You

Killer instincts, bad knees and other awesome old-people things in 'Red'

Making America's Borders Unpalatable

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Punishment for illegal crossings? And is Irvine racist?

Special Comida Edition

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Where to get Mexican food in NY and how Mexis take their coffee

John Wayne Airport Named Among 10 Scariest

​John Wayne Airport is one of the 10 scariest airports in the world.That's the opinion of "a couple of pilots, along with SmarterTravel readers," who provided "their insights and experiences with difficult takeoffs and landings" to the travel site.

Racist OC Register Reader Fustercluck of the Day

​Headline: OC Man, 5 Others Convicted of Defrauding Medi-CalComment by DAN18NY: Oh dear look at all those latin namesComment by LOSJETS: Yup,,,,They are latinos alright..............Berly Schartz, 53, of La Mirada, Dante David, 51 of Costa Mesa; Socorro Narciso, 39, of Sacramento; Orlee Lumiguid, ... More >>

More Mormon Mexicans?!?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Also, why do the people of Jalisco look down on other Mexicans?

An Immigrant's Heart

To survive the ordeal of escaping Guatemala, Julia needed a big heart. But not this big

[UPDATED:] New Details [and Videos] Emerge About Double Murder Suspect Dan Wozniak

UPDATE: A Sims-style video based on the police account of the two murders Daniel Wozniak has been accused of carrying out has been posted on YouTube. More details throughout . . . The video was created for NMA World Edition, the YouTube page for Taiwan-based Next Media Animation, "the largest full- ... More >>

Iceback-Spotting?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And: Do Mexicans measure up?

Orange County Boasts 3 of the Top 10 Coolest Beach Houses For Sale

McMonigle GroupA guest house comes with the No. 1 coolest beach house.​Top Ten Real Estate, which each week posts the top 10 real estate deals in the U.S., has branched out in light of the foul weather pummeling the rest of the country to compile what's promised to be a totally independent list of ... More >>

[¡Ask a Mexican!] Do Mexicans Think It Sucks to Be Salvadoran?

[Hole in the Wall] Salvi Supper at Anita's

Go Home to El Salvador

Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary reveals the true anti-immigrant assholesMexicans

Special on Sambo, Aisle Dos!

Picking apart racist caricatures at Orange County Latino grocery stores

Go Home to El Salvador

Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary reveals the true anti-immigrant assholesMexicans

The Disorder at the Border

Rating the sides in the April 1 Arizona-Mexico border free-for-all

Eight Days

Genocide Reloaded

Rerelease of When the Mountains Tremble is bad news for Guatemalan generals

Tamale Time!

Tamales, topos and pan dulce at Panaderia y Antojitos Guatemala

A Reality Shrine for a Wired World

The year in coffeehouse founder Carl Diedrich