Sometimes it seems like school districts place a higher premium on those students that are constantly struggling, always suffering from valid but incessant social needs, and those kids that are frequently the source of distraction and behavioral issues. But what about the teachers' pets and all those hungry-ready-to-learn students that possibly suffer from similar issues at home as the other kids, but despite such challenges these students actually deal with it, and arrive at school with an aggressive attitude to learn.
In many parts of the deep inner city, whether in Compton, East LA, Harlem or North Philly, these kids are out there. You don't see them causing any trouble because they have no time to waste. These are the kids that like army ants preparing for the winter are ferociously reading and doing Thursday's homework in advance. It's amazing how the government has yet to design a program that will tap into this most precious of natural resources, those minority students that despite their low income status, substandard living conditions, and lack of adult supervision resist the temptation to be "bad", "delinquent" and violent. No, these students want more from life, and instead of making it easier for them, we often lump them into the big fish tank to fend for themselves in a sink-or-swim environment that may not necessarily be the best long term investment of our country's futures.
The following article doesn't exactly address the issue the way I would, but it does shed some light into a very significant but often overlooked subgroup of our educational system: high achieving latino students.
ETS Study Looks at Fragile Futures of High-Achieving Latino Students
January 30, 2006
Many high-achieving Latino students miss the opportunity to succeed academically because their needs are poorly understood, according to a new report from ETS and a University of California, Davis, researcher. As a result, these students' academic futures are left "hanging by a thin thread of hope."
The report "Fragile Futures: Risk and Vulnerability Among Latino High Achievers," was written by Patricia Gandara, a professor of education at UC Davis.
Using two national databases and including personal vignettes of high-achieving Latino students, Gandara's report demonstrates how high-achieving Latino students' personal and academic profiles differ from their non-Latino peers, and how these differences can result in academic risk and vulnerability. The report concludes with a series of recommendations including early identification and nurturance of the strengths of Latino students who are performing well in school early on.
"The achievement gap is not just a phenomenon that exists at the mid-range of scores," explains Gandara, a leading expert in minority language instruction and Latino education issues. "It is a significant feature of achievement at the upper score ranges as well. It is imperative that interventions designed to close the achievement gap attend to the needs of the entire academic spectrum of Latino students."
According to Gandara, factors such as language, culture and immigration status are all issues that can greatly affect these students' motivation and ultimate achievement. For example, research shows that unlike other high-achieving students, Latinos who demonstrate high academic ability — especially those of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry:
are not as likely to come from economically and educationally advantaged backgrounds;
attend schools that are less likely to offer rigorous curricula and Advanced Placement classes; and
have lower percentages of qualified teachers and fewer resources overall.
To address these shortcomings, Gandara recommends:
earlier intervention to help identify academic strengths that can be nurtured among students who may not have the resources to reach their potential otherwise;
schools building on the strengths that students bring to the classroom, including their home language skills;
schools placing special attention on intensive academic-English instruction;
schools and programs finding ways to better target and distribute resources to these students;
developing special interventions that help these students gain access to rigorous college-preparatory courses and integrating those interventions into schools;
providing frank information to both students and parents about the real costs of college, and the various means of financing it;
offering information to all Latino students who have demonstrated the ability to gain admission to four-year colleges and universities, and their parents, about the benefits and liabilities of attending nearby, less-demanding institutions; and
cultivating counselors who come from the same background as their students and who understand and can communicate with the students' parents.
"If we begin with the assumption that superior talent exists among all groups of students, but that it must be nurtured if it is to thrive, then the work ahead is clear," says Gandara. "We must provide high-achieving Latino students with similar educational opportunities available to other students, as well as with the personal and social support they need. All are necessary for converting the thin thread of hope held by these students into a sturdy lifeline to the future."
Download "Fragile Futures," for free at http://www.ets.org/research/pic. Purchase copies for $15 (prepaid) by writing to the Policy Information Center, ETS, MS 19-R, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541-0001; by calling (609) 734-5949; or by sending an e-mail to pic@ets.org.
About Patricia Gandara
A member of the UC Davis education faculty since 1990, Gandara is a recognized expert in minority language instruction and Latino education issues. She provides leadership in research centers focusing on promoting equitable distribution of educational resources and opportunities in public schools. The centers include Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE); the research working group of UC ACCORD; the UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute; and the UC Davis Institute on Education Policy, Law and Government.
About ETS
ETS is a nonprofit institution with the mission to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. In serving individuals, educational institutions and government agencies around the world, ETS customizes solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools. Founded in 1947, ETS today develops, administers and scores more than 24 million tests annually in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.ets.org.
Media contact(s):
• Patricia Gandara, School of Education, (530) 752-8262, pcgandara@ucdavis.edu
• Thomas Ewing, ETS, (609) 683-2803, tewing@ets.org
• Julia Ann Easley, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-8248, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu
lunes, enero 30, 2006
domingo, enero 22, 2006
DeNADIE - Un Filme por Tin Dirdamal
Domingo en California y todo parece super bien. Pero que facil nos olvidamos de toda la gente que no la tiene igual que tu y yo.
Muchos de nosotros andamos con nuestros iPods a todo volumen, y es muy triste reconocer que nuestras "necesidades" estan tan fuera de serie, en particular cuando uno se pone a pensar en las personas que se estan muriendo en la frontera con EEUU por falta de las cosas mas basicas como agua, proteccion, justicia, etc.
El siguiente articulo habla sobre varias peliculas que se estan estrenando en el Sundace Film Festival y que exploran los retos de los inmigrantes mexicanos y centroamericanos a nuestro pais.
Edu
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) -- Amid all the glitz at the Sundance Film Festival's debut weekend, three obscure filmmakers managed to win fans with their work on illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The paparazzi chased "Friends with Money" star Jennifer Aniston, and the comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" fetched around $10 million from distributor Fox Searchlight to become the first major movie sale at the festival.
But it was Mexican documentarian Tin Dirdamal's "DeNADIE," Joseph Mathew's documentary "Crossing Arizona" and Pablo Veliz's drama "La Tragedia de Macario" that tugged at heartstrings.
Following the packed-house premiere of "Crossing Arizona," Mathew told Reuters he sensed that his film, which tells of immigrants' struggle with dehydration and death in the Arizona desert and efforts to stop them, touched audiences.
Mathew said he initially saw the documentary as a way to illustrate the plight of immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
But he broadened his scope after U.S. political debate grew and opponents of illegal immigration formed groups like the Minuteman Project, a band of citizens who volunteer to patrol the border that critics said raised fears of vigilantism.
Still, he said the big-picture political debates about homeland security and how to stop the flood of immigrants overshadow a more immediate need.
"The discourse needs to go to humanitarian efforts," he said.
In a separate interview, Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox agreed. "Until there's a solution, there must be humanitarian efforts ... that will provide water and food," he told Reuters.
Each year, more than 1 million undocumented migrants try to slip across the mountains and deserts along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border in search of work in the United States. At least 464 died making the journey last year, many from dehydration.
A look south
While "Crossing Arizona" focuses on issues well-covered in the U.S. media, "DeNADIE" and "La Tragedia de Macario" look at the problem from the perspective of the immigrants.
Through all these south-of-the-border stories runs a theme of poverty-stricken people longing for better jobs in the United States as construction workers and domestic laborers.
Some cross the border and achieve at least part of their dreams. Many do not. But they all need help that seems sorely lacking, according to these films and their filmmakers.
"Macario" tells of a Mexican peasant worker who leaves his town with little but his faith in God and determination to make it to the United States, where he hopes to find work.
"DeNADIE" is Dirdamal's look at Central Americans who often fail to get to the U.S.-Mexican border because they are stopped by gang members who beat, rape and sometimes kill them.
An engineer by training, Dirdamal was so moved by the immigrants that he picked up a digital camera to document their stories. He said he wants the film to be seen in the United States so people will look at these men and women as more than construction and domestic workers.
Another documentary, "Letters from the Other Side," is playing at the Slamdance Film Festival, which runs concurrently with the more widely watched Sundance.
"Letters" tells of the women and children who are left in Mexico when their husbands travel north seeking better jobs. Often, their lives worsen when the men fail to send money home or forget them altogether.
"Their voice is one that is left out, but it's a voice that needs to be heard," said "Letters" filmmaker Heather Courtney.
Muchos de nosotros andamos con nuestros iPods a todo volumen, y es muy triste reconocer que nuestras "necesidades" estan tan fuera de serie, en particular cuando uno se pone a pensar en las personas que se estan muriendo en la frontera con EEUU por falta de las cosas mas basicas como agua, proteccion, justicia, etc.
El siguiente articulo habla sobre varias peliculas que se estan estrenando en el Sundace Film Festival y que exploran los retos de los inmigrantes mexicanos y centroamericanos a nuestro pais.
Edu
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) -- Amid all the glitz at the Sundance Film Festival's debut weekend, three obscure filmmakers managed to win fans with their work on illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The paparazzi chased "Friends with Money" star Jennifer Aniston, and the comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" fetched around $10 million from distributor Fox Searchlight to become the first major movie sale at the festival.
But it was Mexican documentarian Tin Dirdamal's "DeNADIE," Joseph Mathew's documentary "Crossing Arizona" and Pablo Veliz's drama "La Tragedia de Macario" that tugged at heartstrings.
Following the packed-house premiere of "Crossing Arizona," Mathew told Reuters he sensed that his film, which tells of immigrants' struggle with dehydration and death in the Arizona desert and efforts to stop them, touched audiences.
Mathew said he initially saw the documentary as a way to illustrate the plight of immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
But he broadened his scope after U.S. political debate grew and opponents of illegal immigration formed groups like the Minuteman Project, a band of citizens who volunteer to patrol the border that critics said raised fears of vigilantism.
Still, he said the big-picture political debates about homeland security and how to stop the flood of immigrants overshadow a more immediate need.
"The discourse needs to go to humanitarian efforts," he said.
In a separate interview, Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox agreed. "Until there's a solution, there must be humanitarian efforts ... that will provide water and food," he told Reuters.
Each year, more than 1 million undocumented migrants try to slip across the mountains and deserts along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border in search of work in the United States. At least 464 died making the journey last year, many from dehydration.
A look south
While "Crossing Arizona" focuses on issues well-covered in the U.S. media, "DeNADIE" and "La Tragedia de Macario" look at the problem from the perspective of the immigrants.
Through all these south-of-the-border stories runs a theme of poverty-stricken people longing for better jobs in the United States as construction workers and domestic laborers.
Some cross the border and achieve at least part of their dreams. Many do not. But they all need help that seems sorely lacking, according to these films and their filmmakers.
"Macario" tells of a Mexican peasant worker who leaves his town with little but his faith in God and determination to make it to the United States, where he hopes to find work.
"DeNADIE" is Dirdamal's look at Central Americans who often fail to get to the U.S.-Mexican border because they are stopped by gang members who beat, rape and sometimes kill them.
An engineer by training, Dirdamal was so moved by the immigrants that he picked up a digital camera to document their stories. He said he wants the film to be seen in the United States so people will look at these men and women as more than construction and domestic workers.
Another documentary, "Letters from the Other Side," is playing at the Slamdance Film Festival, which runs concurrently with the more widely watched Sundance.
"Letters" tells of the women and children who are left in Mexico when their husbands travel north seeking better jobs. Often, their lives worsen when the men fail to send money home or forget them altogether.
"Their voice is one that is left out, but it's a voice that needs to be heard," said "Letters" filmmaker Heather Courtney.
Te Vi En Un Tren
Es un dia glorioso en la ciudad de Los Angeles. El sol esta que te deja la piel con un sentir de calorcito rico, y el cielo esta mas claro que nada.
A pesar de las miles de millas de autopista que tenemos en Los Angeles, la ciudad y la region estan invirtiendo muchisimos recursos para desarrollar nuestro transporte publico. El metro de Los Angeles esta tomando varias direcciones, con lineas a Pasadena y a Hollywood, y una que esta bajo construccion para Boyle Heights.
Les incluyo la letra de la cancion "Te Vi En Un Tren" de los Enanitos Verdes.
Ciao,
Edu
Enanitos Verdes
Te vi en un tren
Yo te vi en un tren,
preocupada de mas,
quise ayudarte
y ya no estabas mas.
Me colgué del vagón
que ya empezaba a correr,
entusiasmado,
como la primera vez.
Y al fin te encontré,
y al fin te encontré
y no pude ni siquiera decir "hola".
Intenté compensar
preguntarte la edad,
cómo te llamabas,
en qué estación pensabas bajar.
Y no supe qué decir,
me engañaba al hablar,
alucinado,
sin ninguna razón.
Yo te vi en un tren,
yo te vi en un tren
y no pude ni siquiera decir "hola"
Yo te vi en un tren, yo te vi en un tren
A pesar de las miles de millas de autopista que tenemos en Los Angeles, la ciudad y la region estan invirtiendo muchisimos recursos para desarrollar nuestro transporte publico. El metro de Los Angeles esta tomando varias direcciones, con lineas a Pasadena y a Hollywood, y una que esta bajo construccion para Boyle Heights.
Les incluyo la letra de la cancion "Te Vi En Un Tren" de los Enanitos Verdes.
Ciao,
Edu
Enanitos Verdes
Te vi en un tren
Yo te vi en un tren,
preocupada de mas,
quise ayudarte
y ya no estabas mas.
Me colgué del vagón
que ya empezaba a correr,
entusiasmado,
como la primera vez.
Y al fin te encontré,
y al fin te encontré
y no pude ni siquiera decir "hola".
Intenté compensar
preguntarte la edad,
cómo te llamabas,
en qué estación pensabas bajar.
Y no supe qué decir,
me engañaba al hablar,
alucinado,
sin ninguna razón.
Yo te vi en un tren,
yo te vi en un tren
y no pude ni siquiera decir "hola"
Yo te vi en un tren, yo te vi en un tren
sábado, enero 21, 2006
Lamento Boliviano - Esperanza Para Todos
Things are looking good in Los Angeles. I love my new job and especially appreciate being in Los Angeles for good. Although I still have some things to iron out before I feel like a total Angeleno, I am definitely closer to that goal now.
I just read this cool article about the Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales.
Enjoy.
TIWANAKU, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, dressed in a bright red tunic worn only by important pre-Incan priests, promised Saturday to do away with vestiges of this country's colonial past in a spiritual ceremony at an ancient temple on the eve of his inauguration.
To roars from the crowd of tens of thousands, the nation's first Indian leader and fierce critic of U.S. policies toward Latin America called his landslide election a victory for the world's indigenous populations, and said it was evidence that poor countries can challenge rich, developed nations.
"With the unity of the people, we're going to end the colonial state and the neoliberal model," said the leftist Morales, who spoke mostly in Spanish but also offered greetings in the Aymara language he grew up speaking as a boy.
Morales also set a target date of July 2 for electing members of a Bolivian constituent assembly to rewrite Bolivia's constitution, an idea proposed by former President Carlos Mesa.
Morales has pledged constitutional reforms to benefit the country's Indian majority, reverse free-market policies and increase state control of natural resources like natural gas, tin and silver.
Spectators chewing coca leaves and wearing brightly colored ponchos walked miles (kilometers) to see Morales, passing thatched adobe huts and grazing sheep to reach the archaeological remains of the Tiwanaku civilization that flourished from around 500 B.C. to about the 13th century near the shores of Lake Titicaca, 65 kilometers (40 miles) outside of La Paz. (View scenes from the ceremony)
When Morales arrived, they shouted "Viva Evo! Viva Bolivia!" in both Spanish and Aymara, waving rainbow-colored flags representing 500 years of Indian resistance, first against Spaniard domination but then against nearly 200 years of poverty in a country with a deep divide between rich and poor.
Many of Bolivia's Indians, representing a majority of its 8.5 million citizens, contend the European-descended elite is responsible for continued repression.
Morales walked barefoot up the Akapana pyramid, donning the tunic and a cap decorated with traditional yellow and red Aymara patterns. Then he was showered with white flower petals, and blessed by Indian priests, the cultural inheritors of this pre-Incan city whose people mysteriously disappeared without written record long before the Spaniards took control of much of South America.
Accepting a baton adorned with gold and silver symbolizing his Indian leadership, he put on sandals and descended the pyramid to address the crowd gathered in front of the Kalasasaya temple.
Morales thanked Mother Earth and God for his victory and promised equality and justice as he closed the ceremony. He also praised the iconic guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara, killed in Bolivia while trying to mount an armed revolution, and 18th century Indian leader Tupac Katari, who tried to capture La Paz from the Spanish.
Without naming countries or companies, Morales blamed American-style capitalism for many of Bolivia's current problems.
"The time has come to change this terrible history of looting our natural resources, of discrimination, of humiliation, of hate," Morales said.
He also pledged to change what he said was an international economic order dominated by developed countries that keeps poor nations trapped in misery.
"We need the strength of the people to bend the hand of the empire," Morales said.
Wilfredo Silva, a 32-year-old gas station manager, traveled 25 hours with his two small children on dilapidated buses and trains from a town on the border with Argentina to witness what he called the most important event in Bolivia's history.
"It's an important day for Bolivia because it's a monumental change," Silva said, as Indians standing at attention in dark red ponchos and fedora hats gathered along the path Morales walked to the ruins.
After his speech, Morales accepted presents from visiting Indian delegations from other countries: a woven knapsack from Colombia, wine from Argentina, blankets from Chile, a painting from Peru and a feather from an American Indian.
Following the ceremony, a big party was held complete with a cake made of the local grain quinoa, large enough to feed 40,000 people and decorated with Morales' face and the sacred Andean peak Illimani.
Eusebio Condori, a 50-year-old Aymaran, played Andean music on a reed flute with a group performing Indian dances that were prohibited during three centuries of Spanish domination that ended in the 19th century.
"It's a joy and a pleasure to be with one of our own," said Condori.
Morales headed back to La Paz, where the U.S. Embassy said Bolivia's next president would meet Saturday night with Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, who heads the State Department's Western Hemisphere affairs bureau.
In the Bolivian capital, military bands spent the day rehearsing martial music for the inauguration while soldiers toting automatic weapons guarded luxury hotels for arriving leaders, including the presidents of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela and Spain's crown prince.
Cuba's Fidel Castro, a confidant of Morales, was not attending the inauguration, but sent his vice president to the swearing-in.
On Sunday, Morales will be surrounded by dignitaries, but he planned to wear something more casual -- exactly what hasn't been revealed. During his pre-inauguration world tour, he was applauded and criticized for wearing the same striped sweater to meet presidents and royalty.
A close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his socialist-inspired policies, Morales has promised to fight corruption and poverty, and secure more profits from Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves.
"This struggle won't stop, this struggle won't end," he said.
I just read this cool article about the Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales.
Enjoy.
TIWANAKU, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, dressed in a bright red tunic worn only by important pre-Incan priests, promised Saturday to do away with vestiges of this country's colonial past in a spiritual ceremony at an ancient temple on the eve of his inauguration.
To roars from the crowd of tens of thousands, the nation's first Indian leader and fierce critic of U.S. policies toward Latin America called his landslide election a victory for the world's indigenous populations, and said it was evidence that poor countries can challenge rich, developed nations.
"With the unity of the people, we're going to end the colonial state and the neoliberal model," said the leftist Morales, who spoke mostly in Spanish but also offered greetings in the Aymara language he grew up speaking as a boy.
Morales also set a target date of July 2 for electing members of a Bolivian constituent assembly to rewrite Bolivia's constitution, an idea proposed by former President Carlos Mesa.
Morales has pledged constitutional reforms to benefit the country's Indian majority, reverse free-market policies and increase state control of natural resources like natural gas, tin and silver.
Spectators chewing coca leaves and wearing brightly colored ponchos walked miles (kilometers) to see Morales, passing thatched adobe huts and grazing sheep to reach the archaeological remains of the Tiwanaku civilization that flourished from around 500 B.C. to about the 13th century near the shores of Lake Titicaca, 65 kilometers (40 miles) outside of La Paz. (View scenes from the ceremony)
When Morales arrived, they shouted "Viva Evo! Viva Bolivia!" in both Spanish and Aymara, waving rainbow-colored flags representing 500 years of Indian resistance, first against Spaniard domination but then against nearly 200 years of poverty in a country with a deep divide between rich and poor.
Many of Bolivia's Indians, representing a majority of its 8.5 million citizens, contend the European-descended elite is responsible for continued repression.
Morales walked barefoot up the Akapana pyramid, donning the tunic and a cap decorated with traditional yellow and red Aymara patterns. Then he was showered with white flower petals, and blessed by Indian priests, the cultural inheritors of this pre-Incan city whose people mysteriously disappeared without written record long before the Spaniards took control of much of South America.
Accepting a baton adorned with gold and silver symbolizing his Indian leadership, he put on sandals and descended the pyramid to address the crowd gathered in front of the Kalasasaya temple.
Morales thanked Mother Earth and God for his victory and promised equality and justice as he closed the ceremony. He also praised the iconic guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara, killed in Bolivia while trying to mount an armed revolution, and 18th century Indian leader Tupac Katari, who tried to capture La Paz from the Spanish.
Without naming countries or companies, Morales blamed American-style capitalism for many of Bolivia's current problems.
"The time has come to change this terrible history of looting our natural resources, of discrimination, of humiliation, of hate," Morales said.
He also pledged to change what he said was an international economic order dominated by developed countries that keeps poor nations trapped in misery.
"We need the strength of the people to bend the hand of the empire," Morales said.
Wilfredo Silva, a 32-year-old gas station manager, traveled 25 hours with his two small children on dilapidated buses and trains from a town on the border with Argentina to witness what he called the most important event in Bolivia's history.
"It's an important day for Bolivia because it's a monumental change," Silva said, as Indians standing at attention in dark red ponchos and fedora hats gathered along the path Morales walked to the ruins.
After his speech, Morales accepted presents from visiting Indian delegations from other countries: a woven knapsack from Colombia, wine from Argentina, blankets from Chile, a painting from Peru and a feather from an American Indian.
Following the ceremony, a big party was held complete with a cake made of the local grain quinoa, large enough to feed 40,000 people and decorated with Morales' face and the sacred Andean peak Illimani.
Eusebio Condori, a 50-year-old Aymaran, played Andean music on a reed flute with a group performing Indian dances that were prohibited during three centuries of Spanish domination that ended in the 19th century.
"It's a joy and a pleasure to be with one of our own," said Condori.
Morales headed back to La Paz, where the U.S. Embassy said Bolivia's next president would meet Saturday night with Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, who heads the State Department's Western Hemisphere affairs bureau.
In the Bolivian capital, military bands spent the day rehearsing martial music for the inauguration while soldiers toting automatic weapons guarded luxury hotels for arriving leaders, including the presidents of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela and Spain's crown prince.
Cuba's Fidel Castro, a confidant of Morales, was not attending the inauguration, but sent his vice president to the swearing-in.
On Sunday, Morales will be surrounded by dignitaries, but he planned to wear something more casual -- exactly what hasn't been revealed. During his pre-inauguration world tour, he was applauded and criticized for wearing the same striped sweater to meet presidents and royalty.
A close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his socialist-inspired policies, Morales has promised to fight corruption and poverty, and secure more profits from Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves.
"This struggle won't stop, this struggle won't end," he said.
domingo, enero 08, 2006
Vamos a la Playa
Ready for the beach in South Beach.
Josh and Jiao are wearing their life savers before we venture out into the South Beach jungle.
Jiao and I bought these life savers for $1.99 each and they proved to be the most practical accessory for the Florida beach.
On our last day, as we sat by the pool of our building, my plastic life saver blew away a couple feet from my chair. I ignored the life saver and minutes later a little girl returned it to me. Since we were leaving Miami momentarily, we decided to give the two life savers to the girl and her younger brother. She was reluctant to accept, but we convinced her to take them. And her father was incredibly grateful.
When you're done playing with something, pass it on to the next kid.
Some kindergarten lessons should never be forgotten. You never know, it may be a life saver to the recipient!
Feliz Anyo Nuevo!
La Chica de la Florida
On the road in south Florida.
There's something nice about having the sunshine caress your skin, and the ocean breeze play with your hair as you ride in the backseat of a red convertible.
On this particular day, we were listening to my Ipod...and one of the songs we played was "The Girl from Ipanema" by Astrud Gilberto.
Full Life Saver Jacket
This is Pete and Jiao getting a little out of hand in South Beach.
Happy New Year to all New Yorkers out there.
May the year 2006 bring peace, love and lots of humor to all of us! Viva Miami!
Tap Tap Replica
This is a colorful replica of a Tap Tap.
A Tap Tap is a makeshift bus in Haiti. The name "Tap Tap" comes from the "taps" used by passengers to alert the driver that they want to get on or off the bus.
Tap Tap Restaurant has this small replica of a Tap Tap in their lobby.
Texas Knocks USC Off High Horse
Tap Tap is the place to try some of the best Haitian food in South Beach. I took this picture of a mural inside the restaurant. I like how the woman is in a celebratory mood, almost jubilant.
Of course, just to recap, no Trojan cheerleaders were feeling this happy last Wednesday when USC finally lost to the Texas Longhorns. The game was one of the best Rose Bowl games of all time. In fact, the game was extremely close, and all UCLA Bruins are happy to finally see the Trojans get knocked off their high horse!
Go Texas!
Thank you Texas for breaking USC's 34-0 winning streak!
viernes, enero 06, 2006
Jump on the Tap Tap Bandwagon
When I visited Miami for New Year's Eve, one of the places I revisited from past trips was Tap Tap.
Tap Tap will blow you away. All of the food at this authentic Haitian restaurant is superb. The pumpkin soup and the goat stew are especially good. Thanks to Jorge for recommending this place way back during an earlier trip.
Tap Tap is the Haitian term for strange little buses constructed on flatbed trucks and decorated over every inch with paintings of flowers, animals, Bible stories and proverbs, ply along the Avenue des Salines parallel with the harbor at intervals of seconds. See http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/tap_tap/
Below is an article reviewing Tap Tap - Haitian Dining in an Earthy Setting by John Buchanan.
http://www.southbeach-usa.com/restaurants/misc/tap-tap/tap-tap.htm
In trend-obsessed Miami, where overpriced “see and be seen” restaurants come and go with the regularity of the tides, not much attention is paid to the rich culinary heritage of this crossroads-of-the-Americas metropolis.
Precious few establishments – Joe’s Stone Crab, for example – have kept alive the mythology of local food, despite the often terminal contagion of hipness that covers much of the area. Through it all, though, a handful of outstanding examples of “indigenous” Miami cuisine, from Cuban to Brazilian to New York deli, have survived all of the society-page hoopla.
Perhaps the best among them is Tap Tap, a cherished local institution located on Fifth Street in South Beach. Part restaurant, part art gallery and cultural center, Tap Tap, founded in 1994 by Haitian documentary filmmaker Katherine Kean, features authentic Haitian “home cooking” and a dazzling collection of culturally interpretive art by some of the island’s most acclaimed masters, who flew to Miami to leave their unique marks on the town for their friend and fellow artist from a different medium.
In the main dining room, two murals by Wilfrid Daleus loom on opposite walls, One is of a family outside their modest home; the other is of a bustling produce market. In another room, a pair of large portraits by Jude “Papa” Loko-Thegenus humanize two of the most powerful saints in voodoo culture, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda. In the rear of the restaurant, a “Rara Room” is painted from wall to wall – and ceiling to tables and chairs – with vivid, joyful images of the Rara festival that takes place in Haiti each spring.
In the hallway between the front and rear dining rooms, two long tile serpents symbolize elemental voodoo spirits danbala wedo and ayida wedo. On a half-dozen walls, big metal sculptures pay homage to other interesting aspects of Haitian culture, such as agriculture and the arts.
For good measure, an angel stares down from the bar, where you can play dominoes with a Haitian cab driver or European tourist and sip the delicious house cocktail, called a Soley and made with aged Barbancourt rum with fresh passion fruit juice. Tap Tap is also renowned for its Mojito – Cuba’s contribution to classic cocktails.
On Thursday and Saturday nights, Tap Tap features live Haitian folk-jazz, performed by a trio led by “the Woody Guthrie of Haiti,” the singer-songwriter-guitarist Manno Charlemagne – whose popularity swept him to power as mayor of Port-au-Prince during his homeland’s political crisis a decade ago.
While it’s a neat thing that Tap Tap showcases Haitian art, music and culture, the most significant thing about the place is its consistently excellent rendering of simple and classic food from the small island nation that shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Night after night, Tap Tap turns out reasonably-priced Haitian fare so authentic it could be served on any family dinner table from Port-au-Prince to Petionville, and even into the countryside, without objection. Based on fresh fruits and vegetables to accompany seafood, chicken, beef or goat, Haitian cuisine highlights the ubiquitous and often subtle influence of the scotch bonnet pepper.
For starters, Tap Tap offers a wonderfully rich pumpkin soup with leeks, cabbage, celery, potato, carrot and the root vegetable malanga. Appetizers include malanga fritters or grilled goat tidbits with a watercress dipping sauce, or avocado filled with herring. Salads include an avocado and tomato salad with onion, olive oil and lime; a beet salad with potato, hard-boiled egg and watercress, or a house salad with mango, watercress, carrots and mixed greens.
Main dishes include stewed goat, fried pork chunks, stewed beef with okra, conch in Creole sauce, stewed chicken, or the exotic spaghetti with herring. House specialties include a whole steamed fish in lime sauce, or deep-fried without a sauce; shrimp in Creole sauce, or shrimp in coconut sauce. Grilled dishes include fresh catch of the day, goat, chicken, conch or spiny lobster.
Popular Haitian desserts include sweet potato pie, coconut pudding, and banana fritters.
Beyond its excellent menu, in terms of its eventual legacy, Tap Tap is a widely-cherished symbol of Haitian culture that generates a lot of pride in the local Haitian community. “I’m very proud of this place and I support it because it’s the only place on South Beach that represents my culture,” says real estate agent Natascha Magliore, a regular weekly customer. “And it’s a very good impression, a very realistic one. The food, the music, the art – it’s all very Haitian.” Says longtime general manager Gary Sanon-James: “The joy of working here is shedding light on the true nature of my culture. It’s not the way Hollywood portrays it. Voodoo has been portrayed very negatively in the media, but there is so much more to it, so much richness and texture and beauty. That’s what we try to do here – to show the side of my country that's never really been represented in the media.”
Tap Tap
819 Fifth Street
305.672.2898
Tap Tap will blow you away. All of the food at this authentic Haitian restaurant is superb. The pumpkin soup and the goat stew are especially good. Thanks to Jorge for recommending this place way back during an earlier trip.
Tap Tap is the Haitian term for strange little buses constructed on flatbed trucks and decorated over every inch with paintings of flowers, animals, Bible stories and proverbs, ply along the Avenue des Salines parallel with the harbor at intervals of seconds. See http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/tap_tap/
Below is an article reviewing Tap Tap - Haitian Dining in an Earthy Setting by John Buchanan.
http://www.southbeach-usa.com/restaurants/misc/tap-tap/tap-tap.htm
In trend-obsessed Miami, where overpriced “see and be seen” restaurants come and go with the regularity of the tides, not much attention is paid to the rich culinary heritage of this crossroads-of-the-Americas metropolis.
Precious few establishments – Joe’s Stone Crab, for example – have kept alive the mythology of local food, despite the often terminal contagion of hipness that covers much of the area. Through it all, though, a handful of outstanding examples of “indigenous” Miami cuisine, from Cuban to Brazilian to New York deli, have survived all of the society-page hoopla.
Perhaps the best among them is Tap Tap, a cherished local institution located on Fifth Street in South Beach. Part restaurant, part art gallery and cultural center, Tap Tap, founded in 1994 by Haitian documentary filmmaker Katherine Kean, features authentic Haitian “home cooking” and a dazzling collection of culturally interpretive art by some of the island’s most acclaimed masters, who flew to Miami to leave their unique marks on the town for their friend and fellow artist from a different medium.
In the main dining room, two murals by Wilfrid Daleus loom on opposite walls, One is of a family outside their modest home; the other is of a bustling produce market. In another room, a pair of large portraits by Jude “Papa” Loko-Thegenus humanize two of the most powerful saints in voodoo culture, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda. In the rear of the restaurant, a “Rara Room” is painted from wall to wall – and ceiling to tables and chairs – with vivid, joyful images of the Rara festival that takes place in Haiti each spring.
In the hallway between the front and rear dining rooms, two long tile serpents symbolize elemental voodoo spirits danbala wedo and ayida wedo. On a half-dozen walls, big metal sculptures pay homage to other interesting aspects of Haitian culture, such as agriculture and the arts.
For good measure, an angel stares down from the bar, where you can play dominoes with a Haitian cab driver or European tourist and sip the delicious house cocktail, called a Soley and made with aged Barbancourt rum with fresh passion fruit juice. Tap Tap is also renowned for its Mojito – Cuba’s contribution to classic cocktails.
On Thursday and Saturday nights, Tap Tap features live Haitian folk-jazz, performed by a trio led by “the Woody Guthrie of Haiti,” the singer-songwriter-guitarist Manno Charlemagne – whose popularity swept him to power as mayor of Port-au-Prince during his homeland’s political crisis a decade ago.
While it’s a neat thing that Tap Tap showcases Haitian art, music and culture, the most significant thing about the place is its consistently excellent rendering of simple and classic food from the small island nation that shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Night after night, Tap Tap turns out reasonably-priced Haitian fare so authentic it could be served on any family dinner table from Port-au-Prince to Petionville, and even into the countryside, without objection. Based on fresh fruits and vegetables to accompany seafood, chicken, beef or goat, Haitian cuisine highlights the ubiquitous and often subtle influence of the scotch bonnet pepper.
For starters, Tap Tap offers a wonderfully rich pumpkin soup with leeks, cabbage, celery, potato, carrot and the root vegetable malanga. Appetizers include malanga fritters or grilled goat tidbits with a watercress dipping sauce, or avocado filled with herring. Salads include an avocado and tomato salad with onion, olive oil and lime; a beet salad with potato, hard-boiled egg and watercress, or a house salad with mango, watercress, carrots and mixed greens.
Main dishes include stewed goat, fried pork chunks, stewed beef with okra, conch in Creole sauce, stewed chicken, or the exotic spaghetti with herring. House specialties include a whole steamed fish in lime sauce, or deep-fried without a sauce; shrimp in Creole sauce, or shrimp in coconut sauce. Grilled dishes include fresh catch of the day, goat, chicken, conch or spiny lobster.
Popular Haitian desserts include sweet potato pie, coconut pudding, and banana fritters.
Beyond its excellent menu, in terms of its eventual legacy, Tap Tap is a widely-cherished symbol of Haitian culture that generates a lot of pride in the local Haitian community. “I’m very proud of this place and I support it because it’s the only place on South Beach that represents my culture,” says real estate agent Natascha Magliore, a regular weekly customer. “And it’s a very good impression, a very realistic one. The food, the music, the art – it’s all very Haitian.” Says longtime general manager Gary Sanon-James: “The joy of working here is shedding light on the true nature of my culture. It’s not the way Hollywood portrays it. Voodoo has been portrayed very negatively in the media, but there is so much more to it, so much richness and texture and beauty. That’s what we try to do here – to show the side of my country that's never really been represented in the media.”
Tap Tap
819 Fifth Street
305.672.2898
jueves, enero 05, 2006
Telenovelas Invade the U.S.
I just read this interesting article in the New York Times. It sounds like telenovelas are making a comeback. Enjoy.
January 5, 2006
Advertising
Networks See Telenovelas as Maybe the Next Salsa
By STUART ELLIOTT
SALSA crossed over from the Latino market to the mainstream. So, too, did the music of Ricky Martin. Can telenovelas do the same?
Telenovelas are melodramatic, episodic TV programs, broadcast in Spanish, with sex-drenched stories centered on impossible love affairs, implacable enemies and insoluble family problems. They are hugely popular in Latin America as well as among viewers of United States networks that cater to Hispanic viewers like Telemundo and Univision, which run telenovelas previously seen in countries like Colombia and Mexico.
Telenovelas combine elements of soap operas, mini-series and serialized shows like "Dynasty" and "Desperate Housewives." They appear in prime time, as often as five days a week for four to six months, concluding with an episode tying up loose plot lines. When one telenovela ends, another usually begins, offering viewers a different set of cast members to adore or despise.
"You find yourself cheering for one character over another," said Graham Hall, chief insights officer at the Bravo Group in New York, an agency specializing in Hispanic advertising that is part of the Young & Rubicam Brands division of the WPP Group.
"These shows have a social function," Mr. Hall said. "They're like the village square where people meet virtually, gossiping over the fence."
In recent weeks, two broadcast networks, ABC and CBS, said they were exploring the creation of English-language versions of telenovelas that could appear as replacement programs this summer.
And Twentieth Television, part of the News Corporation, plans to remake telenovelas in English to run on stations owned by a sibling, Fox Broadcasting. They would also be offered for syndication to local stations owned by other companies.
The interest in adapting telenovelas for mainstream viewers is indicative of the growing influence of multicultural consumers. Telenovelas broadcast in English could appeal to millions of younger second- and third-generation Latinos who speak English more frequently than Spanish.
The move is also emblematic of changes in programming as networks try to find the next genre to capture the attention of jaded, restless viewers.
"The broadcast market is the realm of 'anything is worth a shot,' " said Steven J. Farella, president and chief at TargetCast TCM in New York, a media services agency.
Offering telenovelas in English "is a risk," Mr. Farella said, "but continuing story lines are always appealing to American audiences, from daytime soap operas to 'Dallas.' "
Viewers with long memories will recall that ABC presented episodes of a nighttime soap opera, "Peyton Place," two or three nights a week from September 1964 through January 1969.
Mainstream versions of telenovelas, Mr. Farella said, would be a way for broadcasters to attract an important audience, which he referred to as "four-out-of-four viewers" - that is, "people who will come back to watch a series four out of four weeks" rather than dip in and out, missing most episodes. Advertisers like such faithful viewing because it demonstrates loyalty and increases the frequency of their commercials being seen.
"It seems to make sense to try out a new format that has connected with Hispanic viewers," said Shari Ann Brill, vice president and programming director at the media agency Carat USA in New York, part of the Carat division of the Aegis Group.
Several telenovelas recently broadcast by Univision, part of Univision Communications, have been drawing larger audiences than programs on English-language networks like UPN and WB. "Clearly there's something in the programming that's drawing those viewers," Ms. Brill said.
"The key thing will be to have characters who matter, who viewers care about," she added, "and the shows will need to establish that very quickly."
Marc Berman, senior television editor at the trade publication Mediaweek, said he believed that English-language telenovelas would be "a good idea, but you can't guarantee they will have crossover appeal."
"The risk of course is that viewers tune in and don't like what they see," Mr. Berman said, leaving a network with weeks of programs to run that will generate low ratings and possibly require giving advertisers compensatory commercial time to make up for viewership shortfalls.
"On the flip side, there is another risk," Mr. Berman said. "What if a telenovela is very popular and suddenly it goes away? Do you end it after the 13 weeks or keep it going?"
Gail Ettinger, executive vice president and director for national broadcast at KSL Media in New York, agreed.
"If a general-market audience embraces the characters in a telenovela, are they going to want to see it end?" Ms. Ettinger asked. Ms. Ettinger also questioned the value of running more than one episode a week of a prime-time series. "In Anglo-speak, it's an incredibly long mini-series," she said of the telenovela format, adding, "I'm reserving judgment."
As for a TV show with a defined beginning, middle and end, Ms. Ettinger said, "Thank you very much, I can read a book."
Ms. Ettinger's skepticism was echoed by an entry last month on a popular blog, TV Squad (tvsquad.com), which carried the headline "Things I Hate About TV: Telenovelas." The blogger, Jonathan Toomey, described them as cheesy and corny and quoted an observation by Seth Cohen, a character on the Fox series "The O.C.," that telenovelas "always seem to be about some guy named Victor and his handlebar mustache."
Opponents of English-language telenovelas ought to embrace that playful spirit, said Dolores Kunda, president and chief executive at Lápiz in Chicago, the Hispanic division of the Leo Burnett unit of the Publicis Groupe.
"This is entertainment, fun, a diversion, in much the same way that 'Desperate Housewives' is," Ms. Kunda said.
"There's a lot of drama, a lot of excitement, a lot of sexual tension, a lot of va-va-voom," she added, laughing. "And that va-va-voom element is quite attractive."
January 5, 2006
Advertising
Networks See Telenovelas as Maybe the Next Salsa
By STUART ELLIOTT
SALSA crossed over from the Latino market to the mainstream. So, too, did the music of Ricky Martin. Can telenovelas do the same?
Telenovelas are melodramatic, episodic TV programs, broadcast in Spanish, with sex-drenched stories centered on impossible love affairs, implacable enemies and insoluble family problems. They are hugely popular in Latin America as well as among viewers of United States networks that cater to Hispanic viewers like Telemundo and Univision, which run telenovelas previously seen in countries like Colombia and Mexico.
Telenovelas combine elements of soap operas, mini-series and serialized shows like "Dynasty" and "Desperate Housewives." They appear in prime time, as often as five days a week for four to six months, concluding with an episode tying up loose plot lines. When one telenovela ends, another usually begins, offering viewers a different set of cast members to adore or despise.
"You find yourself cheering for one character over another," said Graham Hall, chief insights officer at the Bravo Group in New York, an agency specializing in Hispanic advertising that is part of the Young & Rubicam Brands division of the WPP Group.
"These shows have a social function," Mr. Hall said. "They're like the village square where people meet virtually, gossiping over the fence."
In recent weeks, two broadcast networks, ABC and CBS, said they were exploring the creation of English-language versions of telenovelas that could appear as replacement programs this summer.
And Twentieth Television, part of the News Corporation, plans to remake telenovelas in English to run on stations owned by a sibling, Fox Broadcasting. They would also be offered for syndication to local stations owned by other companies.
The interest in adapting telenovelas for mainstream viewers is indicative of the growing influence of multicultural consumers. Telenovelas broadcast in English could appeal to millions of younger second- and third-generation Latinos who speak English more frequently than Spanish.
The move is also emblematic of changes in programming as networks try to find the next genre to capture the attention of jaded, restless viewers.
"The broadcast market is the realm of 'anything is worth a shot,' " said Steven J. Farella, president and chief at TargetCast TCM in New York, a media services agency.
Offering telenovelas in English "is a risk," Mr. Farella said, "but continuing story lines are always appealing to American audiences, from daytime soap operas to 'Dallas.' "
Viewers with long memories will recall that ABC presented episodes of a nighttime soap opera, "Peyton Place," two or three nights a week from September 1964 through January 1969.
Mainstream versions of telenovelas, Mr. Farella said, would be a way for broadcasters to attract an important audience, which he referred to as "four-out-of-four viewers" - that is, "people who will come back to watch a series four out of four weeks" rather than dip in and out, missing most episodes. Advertisers like such faithful viewing because it demonstrates loyalty and increases the frequency of their commercials being seen.
"It seems to make sense to try out a new format that has connected with Hispanic viewers," said Shari Ann Brill, vice president and programming director at the media agency Carat USA in New York, part of the Carat division of the Aegis Group.
Several telenovelas recently broadcast by Univision, part of Univision Communications, have been drawing larger audiences than programs on English-language networks like UPN and WB. "Clearly there's something in the programming that's drawing those viewers," Ms. Brill said.
"The key thing will be to have characters who matter, who viewers care about," she added, "and the shows will need to establish that very quickly."
Marc Berman, senior television editor at the trade publication Mediaweek, said he believed that English-language telenovelas would be "a good idea, but you can't guarantee they will have crossover appeal."
"The risk of course is that viewers tune in and don't like what they see," Mr. Berman said, leaving a network with weeks of programs to run that will generate low ratings and possibly require giving advertisers compensatory commercial time to make up for viewership shortfalls.
"On the flip side, there is another risk," Mr. Berman said. "What if a telenovela is very popular and suddenly it goes away? Do you end it after the 13 weeks or keep it going?"
Gail Ettinger, executive vice president and director for national broadcast at KSL Media in New York, agreed.
"If a general-market audience embraces the characters in a telenovela, are they going to want to see it end?" Ms. Ettinger asked. Ms. Ettinger also questioned the value of running more than one episode a week of a prime-time series. "In Anglo-speak, it's an incredibly long mini-series," she said of the telenovela format, adding, "I'm reserving judgment."
As for a TV show with a defined beginning, middle and end, Ms. Ettinger said, "Thank you very much, I can read a book."
Ms. Ettinger's skepticism was echoed by an entry last month on a popular blog, TV Squad (tvsquad.com), which carried the headline "Things I Hate About TV: Telenovelas." The blogger, Jonathan Toomey, described them as cheesy and corny and quoted an observation by Seth Cohen, a character on the Fox series "The O.C.," that telenovelas "always seem to be about some guy named Victor and his handlebar mustache."
Opponents of English-language telenovelas ought to embrace that playful spirit, said Dolores Kunda, president and chief executive at Lápiz in Chicago, the Hispanic division of the Leo Burnett unit of the Publicis Groupe.
"This is entertainment, fun, a diversion, in much the same way that 'Desperate Housewives' is," Ms. Kunda said.
"There's a lot of drama, a lot of excitement, a lot of sexual tension, a lot of va-va-voom," she added, laughing. "And that va-va-voom element is quite attractive."
miércoles, enero 04, 2006
Off the Florida Keys...
Happy New Year from the beautiful city of Miami. I spent this past New Year's Eve in South Florida. While the Pasadena Rose Parade was dripping in winter rain, I was enjoying very warm sunrays off Ocean Drive.
During my visit to Miami, I drove down to the Florida Keys, all the way down to Key West in search of Kokomo.
For those familiar with the Beach Boys, one of their most relaxing tunes is "Kokomo".
Here are the Kokomo lyrics:
Aruba Jamaica ooo I wanna take you
Bermuda Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo Montego baby why don't we go
Jamaica
Off the Florida Keys
There's a place called Kokomo
That's where you wanna go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand
Tropical drink melting in your hand
We'll be falling in love
To the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo
Aruba Jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To Bermuda Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don't we go
Ooo I wanna take you down to Kokomo
We'll get there fast
And then we'll take it slow
That's where we wanna go
Way down to Kokomo
To Martinique, that Monserrat mystique
We'll put out to sea
And we'll perfect our chemistry
By and by we'll defy a little bit of gravity
Afternoon delight
Cocktails and moonlit nights
That dreamy look in your eye
Give me a tropical contact high
Way down in Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don't we go
Ooo I wanna take you down to Kokomo
We'll get there fast
And then we'll take it slow
That's where we wanna go
Way down to Kokomo
Port Au Prince I wanna catch a glimpse
Everybody knows
A little place like Kokomo
Now if you wanna go
And get away from it all
Go down to Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don't we go
Ooo I wanna take you down to Kokomo
We'll get there fast
And then we'll take it slow
That's where we wanna go
Way down to Kokomo
Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take you
To Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don't we go
Ooo I wanna take you down to Kokomo
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