I had gotten some emails from concerned folks wondering if I was supporting President Obama, since he wasn’t on the first slate card. Then I figured, I may as well seek out some more complaints and add a few more DC-nods. So, here goes.
Apologies for running out of room, but I think I resolved the situation. Click to enlarge.
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The legendary Johnny Hernandez returns with a new release, Gracias, Por Todos Los Exitos, a compilation of hits, as well as six newly recorded tracks. Hernandez was in town a few weeks ago at Donerakis-Gulf Gate to perform some of those hits and put on a great show.
His newest hit receiving airplay is Gracias–the title track. Produced by Grammy winner Gilbert Velasquez and backed up by some of the best session players in the genre, the new ranchera flows like Johnny’s tunes usually do–smooth and driven by a great horn section. Johnny hasn’t lost his vocal touch, either.
Track #2 is a Johnny Hernandez classic from when he was performing with “Third Coast,” Canta Canta. I was thinking of dusting off the cassette, but this re-done version suits me just fine. Johnny adds a couple of classic ballads to the mix, Por Un Amor and El Rebelde, which have been performed by so many others, but Johnny delivers them with the same emotion and ganas as when he performed them during his La Familia days.
One of my favorites is a classy bolero, Mil Besos. With its strong lyrics, such as, “Y si es pecado amarte, yo seguire pecando, ¿por que lo he de negar?” one can’t help but feel the love. Finally, an old hit, Ramona, closes up the re-done and new tunes, with a strong brass section.
Johnny was careful to pick some of his greatest hits to fill in the rest of the CD, including Diganle, El Rancho Grande, Al Pie De Este Arbol, and a couple of personal favorites, Caracoles and No Me Hagas Menos.
Watching Johnny reproduce the vocals live the other day tells me he’s still got it. And Gracias, Por Los Exitos is definitely a celebration of Johnny’s career and music.
On a side note, it was great finally meeting one of my heroes de la onda Chicana. A fan ever since my Pop would listen to “Las Nubes” back in the day, and continuing on through his solo career, I had missed a couple of opportunities to meet him, but have been especially honored to have a few great chats with him on Facebook–especially about La Politica y La Raza.
Let’s hope he gets back to Houston, and soon!
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Posted in Cultura Chicana, Reviews, Uncategorized
.jpg "Joe Posada")
Joe Posada, the Tejano saxmaster, returns with a new release, Algo Esta Pasando. Packed with what some might call mainstream Tejano, I would venture to say that it’s a lot more than just your regular Tejano sound.
Backed up by some premier studio musicians and produced by Grammy winner Gilbert Velasquez, this production has a jazzy edge to it–and not just because of Posada’s sax artistry. The arrangements, the harmonies, and the instruments meld together to form some smooth tunes that will keep one singing those lyrics at any given time.
The production kicks off with Mi Ultimo Aliento and Mi Corazon y Tus Mentiras, two sax-driven rancheras that set the mood for the rest of the CD. The sax solos and the chord progressions show Posada’s ability to keep things interesting. La Vida Me Da Sorpresas melds sax, keys, and acordeon into a tune that will make you get your zapateada on.
Posada doesn’t disappoint on the cumbia side, though, taking the fun and funny approach with Las Ganas. Example: “Las canas no me quitan las ganas de querer adorarte y hacer el amor…saca la Viagra, no seas tan agria, saca el Cialis, sabes que tu quieres…” Of course, I know nothing about that stuff, but apparently some men do. (Rolling eyes.)
Me Equivoque Contigo is another standard Posada Ranchera fueled by his sax and voice. Although Posada composed all of the songs, this one has more of a barrio feel to it, with the line, “Me equivoque contigo, me equivoque a lo macho, lo que fue mas gacho fue tu traizion.” Yeah, it’s really gacho when that happens.
Another tune with some barrio slang to it is Ya Estufas. I hadn’t heard the term “estufas” since middle school; basically, slang for “Ya estuvo,” or it’s over and done with. But the song is more than just those words, it really is a good “tell-off” song to a love gone bad. Como el Sol has the same kind of theme as ”Tu me quemaste como el sol de mediodia,” makes her sound like a bad, bad person, but he’s still willing to keep her. (Why do we do that?)
Posada adds a couple of jazzy breaks with Ansias de Amor and Recuerdos. If you need some relaxation, these are the instrumentals to which to give a listen. Ansias de Amor features Edith Rivera on background vocals.
Finally, the one “different” song is a Chicano funk tune, Algo Esta Pasando (Sin Mi), in which Posada is backed by San Anto’s Westside Horns–a team of accomplished horn players who can play just about anything. Along with Joel Guzman’s acordeon, this funky tune is perfect when cruizin’ the streets–hydraulics, optional.
Most of Posada’s productions are all about him–his voice and his sax (and there’s nothing wrong with that!). This time around, one cannot help but notice Frankie Caballero’s acordeon and Gilbert Velasquez’s signature guitar-playing. The session players provide a great foundation to a great production. What matters most to me about such a good studio production is how well it can be reproduced live, and Posada has never disappointed in that regard. I sure hope he makes it to Houston, and soon.
There are plenty of online and brick-n-mortar stores to purchase the CD from, and you can also go to JoePosada.com if you want to forget the middle man. Bottom line: You must get it!
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Posted in Cultura Chicana, Reviews, Uncategorized
My Top 3 Alternative State of the City Statements
The State of the City is:
(3) Expensive! ($90 a head to watch the Mayor deliver her remarks, but free from my EZ chair (not as fun))
(2) Nutty! (The Helena Brown term continues to make Mike Sullivan seem left of DosCentavos.)
(1) Fed, but with permission. (Charitable meals for the homeless…with papers.)
But, Seriously…
Apparently, the State of the City seems good, according to the Mayor. With any disagreements I may have had along the way, I pretty much agree. I also agree that pension reform is going to be quite the challenge, whether dealing with employees or the Texas Legislature. It should be an interesting year.
From a Houston Citizen point of view, I can say that the view of things is quite different from my perch in Sharpstown than from my previous one in Kingwood. So, I’m looking forward to becoming more of an involved observer of local stuff.
Welcome, LULAC Women!
The LULAC Women’s Conference is being held this weekend here in Houston. I should have applied for a press pass–oh well. Democratic strategist Maria Cardona will be keynote on Saturday which should be interesting. Here’s the agenda. If you attend, have fun!
Kaleidoscope Charter MS Rolled Into Jane Long
I wasn’t able to attend the HISD Board Meeting yesterday, but the school board voted to close three schools, while rolling the charter I had posted about yesterday into Jane Long Middle School as a separate program. I was proud of my friend Juliet Stipeche for standing up for Kaleidoscope, while a majority voted against them and their children.
Much like the City’s decision on charitable meals was cause for increased organizing, this has touched off what will become a sustained effort to organize folks in the SW Houston area. In this case, we are dealing with the future of Houston and Texas.
Musica Break: The Mavericks 1st Reunion Gig
Posted in Thoughts on Viernes, Uncategorized
Last night, I had the honor of sharing the mic with State Rep. Carol Alvarado at the Meyerland Area Democrats meeting. The topic? Latinos: Asleep or Awakening?
It’s hard to take a lot of information and put it into 30 minutes, but I think The Rep. and I managed well, and answered some very good questions from the SRO crowd at Fadi’s. While the Rep. provided some numbers, I provided a little bit of history. Ultimately, The Rep. and I agreed that a combination of things has caused any lowered participation by Latinos at the polls: Lack of engagement by major candidates; money leaving the state to other races; a history of Latinos having to climb up the political ladder despite strategically placed grease on various ladder steps; and the newest attack by the GOP and lack of meeting policy promises by the Dems.
Is this bad? I don’t think so, as long as there are concerted steps taken to invest, educate, listen, and engage in order to energize the electorate (and a strengthened base). I mentioned various organizations who are on the ground today doing voter registration and education, but that because the population growth of Latinos is so vast and diverse, there will be a need for a continuous and sustained voter and civic education program.
I also gave a short mention to a developing group that I am proud to be a part of that will be seeking out all sorts of community leaders and mentors who can provide various forums in which to put a sustained effort into place. One area of great opportunity is SW Houston, and there will be a commitment to make great things happen.
But as the Rep. mentioned, and this DMN article states, there’s been some slippage in the number of registered Latino voters.
Clarissa Martinez, director of immigration and civic engagement for the National Council of La Raza, said the bottom line is simple: Government, the major political parties and other groups haven’t done nearly enough to register qualified Hispanics to vote.
While the number of registered voters fell after a presidential election, a comparison of mid-term elections shows consistent growth in the number of Hispanic voters. Presidential elections show the same, she said.
“If the present patterns remain constant with what we saw in the 2004 and 2008 elections, you could project about 2.75 million Hispanics in Texas registered to vote in 2012,” she said, a significant increase over the 2.4 million who were registered for the last presidential campaign.
But that requires “hard work and resources,” Martinez said, to draw more voters and to overcome potential pitfalls in Hispanic demographics.
And that’s exactly what I’ve been saying for years. More investment in civic education and registration is needed before we deluge people with pushcards and doorhangers and expect them to simply come on over to the polls (and to the Democratic Party). That favorite electoral demographic (likely voters) just isn’t enough anymore.
I’d like to thank the Meyerland Dems for some great discussion on the topic. A very special thanks to Art Pronin for this opportunity to speak. SW Houston is definitely going to be a happening place, for sure.
PS: Apologies to Perry Dorrell who did not get his Raza Unida anecdote as there seemed to be some rapid fire questions coming at us. But I’ll find you one which I will post soon.
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Hey Folks, DosCentavos is going to be taking a slight break. I’ll be blogging on the latest cultural and socio-political happenings still, but given my work with a few campaigns, the responsible thing will be to keep my blogging out of the campaigns. Besides, they will have their own apparatuses with which to convey their messages.
So, keep on coming back. We’ve got a lot to write about, some great guest bloggers who will fill-in at times, and a lot more pennies to throw at you.
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Posted in Uncategorized
Greg reported yesterday on Judge Gilmore’s release of Harris County’s interim County Commissioner’s map for the 2012 elections.
Courtesy- Greg's Opinion
The changes the Commissioner’s Court avoided seem to have come into play as precincts in Atascocita have now been placed back into Precinct 4, as requested by so many folks. According to Greg, the demographics in Precinct 2 have basically been returned to previous levels; in other words, the Judge avoided retrogression, as she said she would, and even beat the base line by a point or so. As Kuff states, Pct. 2 still remains a 50-50 precinct in the interim, so, one wonders how much more can be gained after arguments in the impending court case over the final map.
At least for my friends in Atascocita, this means they get to vote in the 2012 special election to decide who completes Jerry Eversole’s term. As time barrels along toward the Nov 28 – Dec 15 filing period, there is still no sense about who is running for that seat on the Democratic side.
Stay connected.
Posted in Uncategorized
Well, for the best view of the Federal Court’s edition of the House and Senate, go to Texas’ redistricting map site, and then seek maps from the category named Perez, Et Al and find plans H298 and S163. I know, it’s a bit complicated, but you can play with it enough to find if your house has been placed in the “right” district. Check it out.
For my neck of the woods, it looks like HD-127 has changed again, bringing some of the past together with the future. It will continue with Kingwood, Atascocita, parts of Humble north of Will Clayton Road (excluding the central part of the town), East to Huffman and down to Crosby, just north of Hwy. 90. Added beyond the new parts of Humble are the Deerbrook Mall area and on to the west, and north along 1960, to include some of the older suburban areas by the airport, and a swath along Cypresswood. So, while the area is a little different, the demographics aren’t much different. But with Humble comes some new opportunities based on diversity.
Lost from HD-127 were some strong Dem areas in south of Crosby (Barrett Station) and further south to Channelview, which now end up under the care of State Rep. Ana Hernandez-Luna. And I do mean care because this area was oft-neglected by Joe Crabb, and now, Dan Huberty. Huberty, though, will now have more voices in the district whose children attend Humble ISD schools, so there is a lot of organizing opportunity here.
Thankfully, one of the good guys is already laying a foundation for a run against Huberty in HD-127, Cody Pogue. An educator committed to what is right, Cody has been trekking the district, making the necessary calls, and contacting the right people. I’m looking forward to his run.
From his FB site:
Hi, I am Cody and I want to be your state representative. I am not a politician or a businessman. I am a teacher. I dedicate every day of my life to teaching Texas and US History and government to young people in our area. It’s a passion I have held for many years.
A 7th generation Texan, I was raised in Northeast Harris County. My family didn’t have much money, but I learned the value of hard work, nature, community, and loving my neighbor from a young age.
If elected, I will make sure that education is a top priority in our state. We need to adequately fund our schools and then give teachers the authority to actually teach and not be burdened down with meaningless tests. I will also stand up to protect the forests, lakes, and rivers we use for hunting, fishing, and sustaining life. I will stand up for locally owned small businesses and I will always put the people of Texas far ahead of special interests.
He’s the real deal.
SD4
The changes in SD-4 have Orange County and Liberty County cut out, but now we have more of Montgomery County. Obviously, I reside in the same northeast corner of Harris County that has been in SD-4 for a while now. When it comes to “Democratic” competition, it hasn’t been too friendly as most of the more “D”-heavy Jefferson County has been in it. Given the competitiveness within our convention caucus room, the JeffCo coalition (with Orange and Chambers) has come out the winner, and then largely ignores all of the other counties–seldom to SDEC members visit our neck of the woods.
Anyway, if I’m still residing in SD-4 by next summer, I will definitely look forward to Convention in Houston. It is time for some real coalition building.
Posted in Uncategorized
Well, I did my part in helping one of my favorite candidates and posted up some signs at some of the polling locations last night. On the way, I noticed many signs along the right of way of one of our mayor’s opponents.
Funny thing, the guy works for the city, and has now vandalized our ROWs in Kingwood. We don’t take kindly to that type of behavior–no matter what Party. I sure hope he picks up every single sign after he loses tonight.
Until then, there will be some lucky dogs today who can do their business on a couple of things…
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Posted in Uncategorized
Thanks to my friend Lillie Schechter, I’m in a predicament. Which parties do I attend? FYI: Candidates reserve the right to roam to other parties.
Here’s the list, thus far, and we’ll update as we go:
Tuesday, November 8
Mayor Parker, Minute Maid – Union Station, 501 Crawford Street Houston, TX 77002
1.
Council Member Costello - no event
2.
Jenifer Rene Pool, Riva’s Italian Restaurant,1117 Missouri St., Houston,
Bolivar Fraga, EL JARDIN, 7849 HARRISBURG BLVD, 77012
David Robinson, Empire Cafe
3.
Council Member Melissa Noriega & HISD Trustee District VIII Juliet Stipeche, Bohemeo’s, 708 Telephone Road # East, Houston, TX 77023
4.
The Challenger, Louis Molnar, Sushi Raku, 3201 Louisiana @ Elgin
Council Member Bradford, Orange Bar, 1613 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77006
5.
Council Member Jones, El Tiempo at 3130 Richmond Ave
B.
Jerry Davis, Mr. A’s, 3409 Cavalcade Street Houston, TX
Alvin Byrd, Moment N Time, 5400 Tidwell, Houston, TX
C.
Ellen Cohen, Cafe Adobe, 2111 Westheimer Road
Karen Derr, Canyon Creek, 6603 Westcott
J0sh Verde, Guava Lamp
D.
Council Member Wanda Adams,
Reggae Hut Cafe, 4814 Almeda Road, Houston, TX77004
H.
Council Member Ed Gonzalez - no event
I.
Council Member James Rodriguez, Cork Soaker, 2024 Rusk Street Houston, TX 77003
J.
Mike Laster, Dave & Busters, 6010 Richmond @ Fountaview
Criselda Romero, Don Carlos, 6501 SW Freeway
K.
Larry Green, Reliant Stadium Press Box, 2 Reliant Park
HISD Trustee District III
Ramiro Fonseca, Home, 8156 Lynn St.
HISD Trustee District IV
Paula Harris, RiversideTerrace Cafe, 2515 Riverside
HCCS Trustee District IV
Carroll Robinson, GrooveyGrillMansion, 2619Calumet
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Posted in Uncategorized
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