El dos de julio/July 2nd

-
Photo from immigrantarchiveproject.com.
Several interviews, in English and Spanish,  about
what it means to be an immigrant (her parents were
immigrants from Mexico). Click HERE. 
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Jenni Rivera! (1969-Dec. 9, 2012)

"Ver la sonrisa, y el orgullo de mis papás para mí significa mucho."

A Mexican-American singer, songwriter, actress, television producer, and entrepreneur who was a top-selling female artist in the Mexican music genre, Rivera had sold 20 million records worldwide at the time of her death, in a plane crash, in 2012. During her life she was also honored with two Oye! Awards (Mexico's equivalent of a Grammy), two Billboard Music Awards, 22 Billboard Latin Music Awards, and 18 Lo Nuestro Awards. She has a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars and received four Latin Grammy nominations. Rivera was born in Long Beach, California to Mexican immigrant parents. Her family was tight-knit and musical. An honors student all her life, Rivera nonetheless almost dropped out of school when she became pregnant with her first daughter, Chiquis, when she was a sophomore in high school. She credits her counselors with helping her to work towards her GED at a continuation school while working and taking care of her daughter. She graduated as valedictorian and attended California State University, Long Beach, where she studied business administration. She then worked in real estate for a time before going to work for the record label her father had started in 1987, Cintas Acuario. She made her first recording in 1992 as a Father's Day gift for her father. Often told she wouldn't make it because the genre of regional Mexican music was dominated by men, Rivera nonetheless persisted. And as she became more and more successful, she often gave back to the community. In 2012, she was honored with a spot on the "Wall of Fame" at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for her continued support, and her Love Foundation helps women and children who have suffered from abuse (Rivera's first husband, who she married after getting pregnant in high school, was abusive to both her and her children). Rivera's posthumously released autobiography Unbreakable: My Story, My Way became an instant New York Times bestseller.

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

El veintidós de agosto/August 22nd

-
Image
Photo from wavenespapers.com. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Ricardo Hurtado! (1999-      ) An actor and musician who became famous playing Freddy on the Nickelodeon series School of Rock , Hurtado was born to Nicaraguan parents in Miami. He moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia when he was one years old. Hurtado's father is a musician (a piano player with a degree in music from the University of Georgia). "Everyone on my dad's side of the family is a musician," he told an interviewer in 2016, adding that his uncle played the guitar. In the same interview , Hurtado talks about his faith and says, "My main goal in life if to be as close as I can be to God." He wrote his first song for this purpose -- his second song was about a breakup. Listen to Hurtado speak Spanish at this 2017 interview outside the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.
Read more

El siete de enero/January 7th

-
Image
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Juan Gabriel (Alberto Aguilera Valadez)! (1950-2016) "Music is mankind's way of thanking the universe for letting us be here." -Juan Gabriel       Photo from Billboard's write-up on Juan Gabriel's cover       of Creedence Clearwater's Have You Ever Seen    The Rain? (Gracias al sol) several months  before his death.  Click  HERE   to read and listen.  A Mexican singer, songwriter, and actor, and "the actual king of Latin pop" who was idolized by younger performers such as Marc Anthony, Juan Gabriel was adored by fans worldwide. He put out some 2,000 songs during his lifetime and sold out multiple concerts. He was not always as well-known by English-language speakers in the U.S., however, and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's wonderful 1999 profile of him in the  L.A. Times  (updated when he died in 2016 -- click  HERE  to read) includes a story about a West Hollywood a...
Read more

El diez de julio/July 10th

-
Image
Photo from El Porvenir. Click HERE .  ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Nicolás Guillén! (1902-1989) A Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer of African-European descent, Guillén was known during his life as the National Poet of Cuba. Born in Camagüey, he was the oldest of six children born to Nicolás Guillén y Urra, who had fought for Cuban independence from Spain, and Argelia Batista y Arrieta. Guillén's father belonged to the Partido Libertad and founded the daily newspaper La Libertad to express his views. Government forces assassinated Guillén's father for protesting electoral fraud and closed down his printing press. After that, Guillén's family struggled financially. Guillén was greatly influenced by meeting African-American poet Langston Hughes in 1930. Hughes' enthusiasm for Afro-Cuban music inspired Guillén, who was familiar with 'son' music from his father. Hughes immediately recognized the similarities between son music in Cuba and the b...
Read more