It's all good, part deux!

Editor's note: This is a long delayed collection of brief notes with nothing but good news and pleasant surprises.

Enjoy

Hollywood... Se Habla Español is the perfect gift idea


This Holiday Season, why not give something special for the whole family to enjoy?

A collector’s item that will be treasured for generations. A new page in Hispanic Hollywood history.

An entertaining and informative coffee table book, a beautiful work of art prominently featured in the popular radio show Conexión Thalía, Noticias Univisión, HITN Television and several other national media outlets.



Click on the image to enlarge...

... And click here to buy this book!

And Hollywood... Se Habla Español its now also available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com

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Do you want to take a peek at this tome and see what is all about?

Then, visit Google Books for an online preview!

(Please, click on the image below to enlarge)



And click here to see the preview.

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Recognized and honored


Rafael J. Rivera-Viruet, award winning coauthor of the book Hollywood... Se Habla Español, receives one of 2009 Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad Awards given by New York City's Comité Noviembre.





Photo by Jonás Hidalgo
(click on the image to enlarge)

Click here to see and hear Rafael's acceptance speech...

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Hollywood... Se Habla Español connects with Thalia and her public






The award winning book, available on a Deluxe Limited Edition, was featured in the popular radio talk-show Conexión Thalia.

In this interview with the famed mexican singer and actress, the authors talk about the contributions, undeniable influence and noteworthy presence of Latinos in Hollywood filmmaking since its heyday.

Rafael J. Rivera-Viruet and Max Resto share some insightful Hollywood info with the star's listeners in this enjoyable chat aired nationwide during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Click on the image above to enlarge.

And visit the Conexión Thalia web site to listen to the show and for additional information.


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Cornell University's Puerto Rican Adventure




The sculptures of Santos, El Picapiedra, line the route up to Guavate's "lechonera" area, the pig-roasting capital of the world.

(Photos by Otis J. Spears, click on the image to enlarge)

Not all is bad.

Truth be told, there are lots of problems plaguing our beloved country, specially our little island in the Caribbean, yet there is a lot of positive things happening, lots of beautiful places and nice, pleasant people to share them with.

All worthy of being commented and celebrated.

A group of Post Graduate students from the prestigious University of Cornell in New York, hired our services as "Puerto Rico Experts" and we happily complied, devising a Puerto Rican tour without parallel and aimed to provide entertainment and fun as well as lots of valuable information and insight into the Puerto Rican mindset and cultural perspectives.

The group visited the island in order to develop a marketing program for a local real estate company as part of their Master's degree thesis.

Wanting to get to know the core of Puerto Rico's soul, the group was itching to mingle with the locals. So we prepared an agenda filled with the activities, places and attractions that best profiled our people, our country and our special sensitivities. Our aim was to show a small, yet very diverse ethnic group of visitors our best features (without excluding the not so good, of course). In other words: show them the ways of the land and allow them to run with that.

From the festive "lechonera' ambiance (the glory of the local cuisine, absolute temple of the grease, the spices and the culinary indulgence), to the museums and plazas of the Cities of Cayey and Caguas and the very best of the Metropolitan area institutions, commercial locales and service network, the group of students had the chance to sample Puerto Rico in all its rich diversity, in all its glorious accomplishments, five centuries of history and culture, its standing promise of future prosperity and its immense amount of universal contributions.



Kuddos to the people that helped us with this endeavor and made the visit a pleasant, productive and entertaining one.

The list is long and perhaps some names escape my memory, but their help, support and efforts made this project posible and left a positive, idelible impression in the group.

Many thanks to:

Noemí Ramos and Karen Cruz from the HIMA Hospital in Caguas,

Iris García, Bethzaida Negrón and Norma Lizardi, from the office of tourism of the City of Caguas, and all their personnel and volunteers,

Santos El Picapiedra and his family,

and the Santurce artist Rubén Ríos,

Their positive response, welcoming attitude and great sense of hospitality is greatly appreciated and definitely made the difference.