Monday, February 24, 2014

Superman es Ilegal (Corrido Version)


¡Es un pájaro!
¡Es un avión!
No, hombre, ¡es un mojado!

You know what's better than a bomb corrido? A corrido about everyones favorite illegal alien, Superman. This is song is the jam I tell you what !! Coming across this song was total serendipity and I owe a huge thanks to Ernesto Yerena for sharing a picture (up above) on FB. The cover alone is priceless and I'd kill to get my hands on that single.

The song "Superman es Ilegal" is by Los Hermanos Ortiz. The song is on their 2003 album, "Puro Norte." Shit, in 2003 I was a snot nosed 19 year old. No way in hell I would have know about this song back then.

You can listen to the full track here and you can take a look at the lyrics (translated to English) here. I seriously can't stop smiling at everything this song has going for it. For being more than 10 years old, the song is still hella fresh and on point.

Llegó del cielo y no es un avión.
Venía en su nave, desde Criptón,
y por lo visto, ne es un Americano
sino otro igual como yo, indocumentado.
Así es que Migra, él no debe de trabajar
porque aunque duela, Superman es ilegal.

They describe how he came from the planet krypton and like them (the band), they're both undocumented. They even question why immigration isn't doing anything to kick him out of the country, but they go out of their way to deport everyone else.

Es periodista, también yo soy
y no fue el Army, a que camión.
Y aquel es güero, ojos azules, bien formado
y yo prietito, gordiflón y muy chaparro.

They also point out how because Superman is light skinned and blue eyed, he can get away with not signing up for military service. But not them. Not with dark skin, being chubby and short. This has officially become my life theme song.


Monday, February 17, 2014

Additional Commentary to a Radio Piece I was in

One of the local radio stations featured me and a few friends in this piece about undocudating and some of the changes, if any, Deferred Action has brought about. You can read or listen to the piece here, which you'll need to do in order to get some context as to what I'm writing about.

I've written about being heart-broken a few times already. Hell, I incidentally ended up ranting about an X while doing a recording for StoryCorps. It's been a few years since I went through the experience I talked about in the radio piece. Falling in love with someone who in the end, ended up throwing all of my insecurities regarding my immigration status, back in my face.

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Movies about immigration that aren't about immigration

I love watching movies. Whether it's re-watching my favorites or checking out something more recent, I love movies. This isn't something casual, I mean I really love movies. I'm into their soundtracks, cinema-photography, costumes, script, all that stuff most folks could care less about.

Anyway. Movies about immigration. We've all seen at least one, and each generation has their go to film when they wanna share with others. It's safe to say that the more recent, A Better Life, is the go to film right now. And if you look online, you'll find list galore of other films that fall within the range of telling a dramatic and emotional story involving immigration.

I looked through a bunch of list and they all had great selections mixing mainstream movies with those that are independent and documentaries as well. I got inspired to create my own buzzfeed like list of movies that are about immigration, but not necessarily about immigration, you get me? Immigration is such a multifaceted issue, with soo many different ways to share the stories of those who have immigrated to the US. In the spirit of inclusivity, I now offer you my personal picks of movies about immigration that aren't about immigration. Trust me on this one.

* WARNING: READING THIS LIST WILL RESULT IN MASSIVE MOVIE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF THE MOVIES I MENTION. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*