Eartha Kitt, a Seductive Talent, Dies at 81 - NYTimes.com

Sad to hear about Eartha Kitt dying but she lead a very interesting life. She was most known to audiences as Catwoman in the Batman series from the 1960's. 

Eartha Kitt, a Seductive Talent, Dies at 81 - NYTimes.com

Latinoteca - A Portal for Learning About Latino History and Culture

Latinoteca.com

I just came across this very informative and comprehensive website for Latino culture and history in the United States. The site is run by the University of Houston and its publishing firm Arte Public Press. They break down the site into different components, information for teachers and students, authors and artists and for scholars and researchers.

You can find free content as well as content that can be licensed for publication. They provide articles, chapters from their publications, music and art. 

It is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to know more about Latino culture and history or for anyone needing to do research for papers or publications. 

In The Heights . . . Dreams Come True

It's videos like this that warm the heart. A ten year old fan of the Broadway show "In the Heights" got more than he imagined when he wrote Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and writer of the show asking to meet him backstage. Lin-Manuel orchestrated for the boy to perform the finale of the show in an after show performance. The boy had been posting videos on You Tube singing songs from the show. The look on Lin-Manuel as he watches the boy get his dream is priceless.

You can head an interview with the boy and his mother as well as a video of Lin-Manuel speaking about the experience and how it came about at Broadway World.

Help our children

In this time of giving, I have chosen to support our children's education. There is a great site called Donors Choose, where teachers can post projects that they are trying to fund. You can see a link on the left column of this page.

Most of the projects are very low cost, sometimes less than $100.00 can provide classroom supplies that should be a right for any student.

Here in the U.S. education seems to be left behind when budget cuts are considered. It is a testament to the true heroes in our society, the teachers that commit themselves in spite of the lack of support.

I have created a donors page that can be accessed through the link above. In here I have posted some projects that will be expiring soon and need very little money to complete.

Please help in any way you can and be proud of the fact that you are doing some good in a child's life.

Annie Lennox - Sing for World AIDS Day

In this holiday of Thanksgiving, let's not forget about others here in the U.S.A. and around the world dealing with AIDS. This is a song recorded by Annie Lennox to raise money for those suffering with AIDS in South Africa.

To learn more about her charity go to www.annielennoxsing.com

More Videos

Let's not forget those we have lost in our lives to this disease and let's do whatever we can to help the spread of it.

Teatro La Tea "Asi Somos" Bi-lingual Playwrights Festival

You can click on the images for a larger view.

The festival runs from December 5th- December 14th. All plays will be performed first in English, then in Spanish. The theater is located at 107 Suffolk St. New York, NY 10002. Tickets can be bought at Smarttix.com

I conducted an interview with one of the playwrights, A.B. Lugo, writer of Geneva. You can listen to the interview here Cumba Media Presents Podcast Episode 1 - A.B. Lugo

In the meantime, support Latino theater!

Nothing Like The Holidays Trailer

Opening December 12 in wide release in the U.S. "Nothing Like the Holidays" boasts a great Latino cast. The movie stars Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Alfred Molina, Jay Hernandez and Freddy Rodriguez (who also produced the film) and directed by Alfredo de Villa (Washington Heights, Adrift in Manhattan). 

Here is the trailer:

Slumdog Millionaire

The new movie from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Shallow Grave) is opening up in limited release. So far, the reviews have been positive. The story focuses on an 18 year old orphan from the slums who goes on India's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." With just one question away from winning it all, he is accused of cheating because no one believes a street kid could be so smart.

Calavera Highway Director Renee Tajima-Peña Interview

You can read an interview with director Renee Tajima-Peña about the challenges of working with her husband and his family in the documentary Calavera Highway by clicking here.

P.O.V. - Calavera Highway | PBS 2008

Calavera Highway was a movie that I missed at the New York Latino Film Festival. It will be having its television premiere this week on PBS as part of the POV documentary film series. Directed by Renee Tajima-Peña (producer/director of the Academy Award nominated film, Who Killed Vincent Chin?), she follows her husband and his five brothers in a search for the truth of their parent's life. Check your local listing. I have heard great things about this documentary.