Spanglish Chick

From time to time you will see Spanglish Chick’s flikr feed at the right bottom portion of the front page. We like to use that space to provide you with photos from places, events, gatherings and rallies we have attended.

The current feed is displaying photos from a pro-life protest in front of a new Planned Parenthood building that has been built here in Houston. Although SpanglishChick supports a woman’s right to choose, we felt it was newsworthy to document this protest. We feel that everyone is entitled to be heard.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Kat Von D

People aren’t always what they seem.  As soon as I walk into a room, people peg me as Irish. Granted, my looks fit the bill. I’m pale with a few freckles thrown in for good measure, blue eyes, high forehead, and a pointy nose. Just looking at me, you wouldn’t know that I’m Scotch-Irish, German, and more Cherokee than someone of my skin color should be allowed. Oh, and Jewish. That’s right. A Scotch-Irish, German, Cherokee Jew. Who would’ve guessed?

It stands to reason, then, that the people whose faces we all know from movies and TV and tabloids aren’t always what they seem.  And if you take a closer look at the celebrities we all know and love, you might find more Latinos than you were expecting.

Take Cameron Diaz, for instance. Tall, thin, blonde hair, and some of the brightest natural blue eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. It would be easy to label her Nordic and be done. But the last name … Diaz? Oh, yes, she’s Latina. Her father was a second-generation Cuban American. She might not be able to respond to you in Spanish, but she says she’ll understand what you’re saying.

Houston native Alexis Bledel is another “closet” Latina. At least with Diaz, you get a hint with her surname. Learning that Alexis is Latina is likely to catch someone completely off guard, but in reality, her Argentinian and Mexican roots are more ingrained in her than Diaz’s Cuban roots. Alexis only spoke Spanish until she began elementary school as an English as a Second Language student. Even fellow Latina America Ferrara was surprised when she heard Alexis speaking Spanish at an interview with a Spanish language magazine.

I was amazed to find out that someone who played Italian so well that I thought she really was Italian turns out to be Latina, and Jewish. Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known for her role in The Sopranos, has a Cuban-Jewish mother, and a Jewish father. Not only is she fluent in Spanish, she’s also fluent in Greek. The girl is full of surprises.

The list goes on with celebrities like the redheaded Joanna Garcia, who has a Spanish-American mother and a Cuban-born father and played the daughter of the very Caucasian Reba McEntire on the sitcom Reba. There’s Avatar star Zoe Saldana, who spent a big part of her childhood living in the Dominican Republic. And don’t be fooled by tattoo artist Kat Von D’s decidedly German surname of Von Drachenberg. Her parents, who both have European ancestry, hail from Argentina, and Kat was born in Mexico. Even Disney star Vanessa Hudgens is a mix of Irish, Native American, and Chinese-Filipino-Spanish.

And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the men. You’ve got Charlie Sheen, who’s real name is Carlos Estevez. His father, Martin Sheen (whose real name is Ramon Estevez), is Spanish and Irish. Benjamin Bratt’s mother is Peruvian.

Former MTV VJ LaLa Vasquez, a proud Latina from a Puerto Rican family, said in her blog, “One thing about being Latina is that there isn’t one look that comes with the territory. I don’t expect people to know my cultural background just by glancing at me … If you’re lucky enough to visit various countries in Latin America, you’ll be baffled to see the blackest of the black and the lightest of the light living together. And I dare you to ask one of them to prove their Latinidad.”   {Latinidad, most literally, is the identity of Latinos/as. More figuratively, it is a sensibility and way of being-in-the-world that expresses who one is and what one’s culture is about.}

Spanglish Chick Contributor Karah Leigh lives in Houston with her boyfriend and two awesome dogs. Known for her on-air talent at Houston’s 94.5 The Buzz, Karah is not only ‘in the know’ about music, she’s in the loop on pop culture and celebrity entertainment. Visit her Houston Examiner page for more juicy celebrity news and updates!

Popularity: 58% [?]

KarinaNistal…..if you haven’t seen this singer/songwriter perform just yet you have been definitely missing out and need to make this a priority.  You see her onstage ….she looks amazing but then you close your eyes and the rhythms flow through you as you just  keep moving to her freestyling not wanting to stop. She had had several years of being featured on numerous Dance and Hip Hop releases, then Karina decided it was time to release her own first full-length bilingual debut album, Nistyle on (Starlightbeats). She has been featured at the 2007 Latin Billboards Music Awards & Conference then she toured with her collective Rebel Crew to the Middle East with Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) to provide support and morale for our troops.  She is not unfamiliar with the MUN² bilingual video network or SXSW Music Festival in Austin as she has been showcased there too.

Overall Karina is in the public eye performing regularly with her 8-piece band of outstanding musicians, The Karina Nistal Band at Bohemeos cafe, House of Blues Houston, several local festivals and cities all over Texas and has many supporters and fans who will keep their loyalty to this talented chick.

Name: Karina Nistal

Hometown: Houston, Tx

How are old are you?
aw, come on…you know a woman can never tell her age

What kind of day captivates you?
There’s nothing more astounding to me than a warm and sunny day to bring everything to life.

Who has inspired you the most?
Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, La India, Sade, Lauryn Hill, Selena, Janet
Jackson, Billie Holiday, Mary J Blige, MC Lyte, Stevie Wonder, Hector
LaVoe, Buena Vista Social Club, Los Hermanos Lebron, Eddie Palmieri, Al
Green, Earth, Wind, & Fire, the Doors, Michael Jackson, Los Amigos
Invisibles, Masters At Work, Bob Marley – just to name a few 

When did you decide music was the path for you?
In high school I was always doing the ethnic days (5 de Mayo), talent
shows, choir competitions and I realized I love to sing so much I want to
sing for a living for the rest of my life.

What project are you working on now?
The completion of my sophomore album “Nistalgia” *sigh* more to come soon.

How is it working w/ a bunch of guys in a band?
LOL – Working with the fellas is fun. They are pretty low-maintenance and
have the best interests for the band in mind. They are constantly making
suggestions on how to improve our live show and on top of being completely
talented, they know how to work as a team. We are like our own family.

Do you have any advice to people wanting to pursue music career?
This industry takes A LOT of persistence. Make yourself accessible, play a
lot of gigs especially if they will give you the exposure. Be friendly,
promote yourself daily, don’t be afraid to take rejections (not everyone
is going to like what you’re doing.)
Put something towards your goal everyday and most importantly NETWORK! You
never know who you’ll meet.

When is your next show?
Our next show is Saturday, Feb 6th at Last Concert Cafe – 1403 Nance,
Houston 77002 at 10pm!

Where can we find info on you?
www.karinanistal.com, www.myspace.com/karinanistal,
www.facebook.com/karinanistal, www.reverbnation.com/karinanistal

What do your message to the world would be?
Life your life with joy, peace, and L.O.V.E. (living on various elements)

What is your favorite cartoon?
I had to answer this question the other day and I remembered about a dozen
cartoons from the 80’s – I used to love Inspector Gadget, Ghostbusters,
Teen Wolf, Thundercats & Heathcliff just to name a few.

Popularity: 56% [?]

When you look at her artwork – you wonder what inspires her to paint.  Her images are so exquisite that they can keep you in a daze, waiting to see what is next.  As she pours her soul onto the canvas, it seems to capture a certain infatuation as you see things through her eyes.

Name: Julie Zarate

Hometown: Houston, Tx

How do you feel about your art?

I feel it is continuously evolving. When I hit on something new, whether a style, a medium or an execution, I tend to get really excited and run it into the ground until I’m tired of it … then move on to the next thing. But I love revisiting those old friends, and creating with the new things I’ve discovered along the way, I wind up with something of a fusion that I really like.  I guess you could say it’s rather incestuous.

What kind of mediums do you work in?

Pretty much anything, really, except watercolors — I never could get the hang of those.  I started out in ink, moved into colors by way of tempera [poster paint], and ultimately acrylic.  At the time, I was so afraid of oils.  Seeing as I am self-taught, I knew there were many rules that came with working with oil, so it was daunting. But when I found myself trying to replicate the look of oil with acrylics, it was tedious. I took the plunge then, reading as much as I could, experimenting, etc., and now oil is my favorite medium. When I discovered what it does with wax [encaustic], it opened up a whole new world for me. At some point, I would like to try my hand at watercolors again, though.

What inspired you to become an artist?

I don’t really know the answer to that. It’s something that I’ve always had in me since before I could even write my name. It’s a primitive thing that I’ve tapped into and have appreciated all of my life. You may as well ask me what inspired me to be human.

What is your background training in art?

Apart from the mandatory public school classes and an Art Appreciation class in college, I have no formal training. What I learned, I learned from studying other artists. The public library was a great tool for me growing up, and I was always drawn to picture books. Ultimately, those picture books became art books.  I have a pretty good collection of books of my own now, to which I refer to time an again.  When I actually began painting, I used to do reproductions of other artist’s works.  Some of my early influences were Diego Rivera, Patrick Nagel and Paul Gaugin. I used to believe that the closest I could get to it looking like the original, I was successful. Then I realized that success lied in doing my own thing. But I learned a lot in those reproductions; things that are difficult to explain in a classroom.

What do you feel motivates you to paint?

Several things:  being aware of my own mortality and knowing my time here is short; the sheer desire to feel the weight of a brush in my hand and create something new; having a good excuse not to do housework.

Do you support any organizations in Houston?

The local art and music scene

What is your favorite place to grab a bite to eat any day of the week?

Van Loc Vietnamese Restaurant serves up some of the best food in town; Brother’s Tacos, though, is the bomb.  If I could get there easily, I’d have to say Treebeard’s is my favorite restaurant in Houston, hands down.

When is your next exhibit?

I have a few, actually!  ARTOPIA 2010 by Houston Press on January 30th at 2101 Winter Street; EL CORAZON 2010 at the Bath House Culture Center in Dallas; WORLD OF IMAGINATION V.3 at the APW Gallery in New York; BEAUTIFUL GRIM [to be announced] in San Francisco.  I also have some work up at GALLERY CHIMMAYA in Los Angeles and BETZ GALLERY in Houston at the moment.

Where can people find your artwork and you?

I’ve just signed with BETZ GALLERY, so you can find a good portion of my work there. As for me, I’m usually in my studio cranking it out.

Have you ever traveled overseas? Or where would you go and why?

I’ve never traveled abroad, unless you count Oahu.  I have a mental list of places I would love to visit:  Cuba, Spain, Vienna, Japan, Turkey … but I would want to come back home.  [It’s a Texas thing ]

Any words to the upcoming artists?

Just keep on keepin’ on. Don’t be daunted by perceived failures, because everything you do is a step toward success. Also, if you’re in it for the money, hang up your beret.  You have to LOVE what you do.  And when you do, it shows. 

What is your favorite drink?

Ginger Ale

What is your favorite quote?

“We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.”

-         Bill Hicks

You can find Julie Zarate’s amazing art at http://www.six06.com or become a fan on Facebook @ Julie Zarate

Popularity: 73% [?]

Just over the pond in the UK, online fashion store ASOS, offers its customers a fashionable array of trend setting and fashion forward clothes and accessories. The website has thousands of celeb inspired and unique pieces to choose from. You may just spend your whole day browsing through the pages and runway videos of the chic and reasonably priced designs. ASOS is worth a look. Happy online shopping!

Visit the  ASOS Online Store
(psst! don’t forget to change the currency at the top right so you can see your prices in American dollars.)

Popularity: 35% [?]

A little bit of sun, a creative niche and a vintage style are just a few words that describe Brandi Lisenbe.  This Houston area salon owner is your all around modern woman with an edge, style and essence that is quite reminiscent of some great decades.  She not only creates new hair looks at her Sunchild Salon, she also adds her special touch to vintage pieces she finds while thrifting through the city. Brandi is truly a ’sunchild’ with a bright and wondrous spirit.  She is one of our Lifestyle features:

Name: Brandi Renee Lisenbe

Age: 28

Hometown: Houston, TX

What’s your life motto?
Kill them with kindness and be yourself because we were all made incredibly unique.

What do you do?
I have a Salon called Sunchild. It’s my happy place. I love to create new looks and be creative with hair.

Also, I have a blog that I write with my sister. We talk about do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, how to with hair, thrifting and trends. I also share a display of my collections of random vintage pieces like jewelry, purses, records, books, art, furniture, vintage hair dryers. Sometimes I take the vintage hair dryers apart and rework and modernize them to create something totally different with it. But sometimes they are perfect just the way they are! I can part with some of my finds and make a pretty penny but I usually fall in love and won’t let them go.

Where can people find you and your items?
Brandi and her sister’s blog: www.muchomuchobuenobueno.blogspot.com
Brandi’s Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/buenobueno
Sunchild Salon website: www.sunchildsalon.com
and Pretty In Pink Boutique in Costa Mesa, Calif.: weareprettyinpink.com

What or who is the inspiration for your work, designs, etc?
Nature, the beach, hair strands in the shower, the people I love, God’s creations, oh and music for sure! I get a ton of my ideas when I’m longboarding at the park or listening to an amazing band.

What would you find Brandi doing on a Friday night?
At a 71’s or Literary greats show, eating at Chuy’s with friends/family, eating frozen yogurt at Swirl, or at home making things and watching movies with my husband Jacob.

With what you know now … what advice would you have given yourself 10 years ago?
Don’t let fear hold you back! And put more in my savings.

Who is your role model, and why?
Jesus Christ. He was perfect and loves everyone … and my parents with all their flaws. They did their best in raising us kids and always told us to find something we loved to do and were passionate about.

What bands are you listening to these days?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs to pump me up! Finnegan songs: myspace.com/iheartfinnegan , Coconut records second album Davy. Can’t go wrong with these.

What makes you smile?
The sun, Jacob, when I brainstorm and get inspired, hugs, coffee, longboarding, love, hot showers, sea salt spray, being home, songs, good hair days …

What’s your favorite word?
Gomocita! Gomoseeeta! When I was a little girl I made it up. I don’t speak Spanish and I felt left out when people around me spoke it so I would just say Gomocita over and over and I thought I was speaking Spanish.

Popularity: 100% [?]

It was a couple of weeks before I had to go back to work and I had my woes about life.  I had just broke up with my idiot boyfriend and I was in the midst of production of an awesome dance show at this independent theatre plus I had had a car wreck where the insurance company decided to investigate.  I was letting it all out to my High School friend…. “I feel like I need a vacation…I’m gonna need some time to replenish before going back to deal with a bunch of high schoolers.”

My friend Lara said, “Well meet me in Belize –I’ve rented a cottage on the beach down there so all you have to take care of is your airplane ticket.”

I was stunned, “Really, don’t tease me…where exactly?”

“Placencia”

Even the name of the place sounded stress free to me. And we would be on the beach – I was so in.

We spent the next couple of weeks preparing for the trip.  She lived in Oklahoma City so she sent me links via Facebook about the place we would stay, tours we could take, and the how to get there from Houston.

She got there a couple of days ahead of me so my family was worried about me traveling alone.  I had to admit the passport check lines were long and I had never been in a small airplane before so I don’t know if I was more excited or nervous, but finally I made it to the cottage where it was cocktail hour. The water was so blue it would sparkle and the tides seem to strip all of my tension away.   I would be there for a week.

We stayed in Colbri House…it had an upstairs and downstairs rental but along the beach there were other rental cottages, guesthouses, and a few hotels……. yet it did not seem crowded as we made the local scene at the restaurants and bars.

On different days we went shopping….they had talented local artists that worked in all sorts of mediums from carving on coconuts to paintings on canvases. I admit I ended up buying a few things for myself.

The local markets, which there were only three we went to, could not be compared to a HEB but they carried this hot habanero pepper sauce, Marie Sharp that Lara introduced me to.  This spicy, delectable sauce seemed to go with everything.  It only seemed wise thing to do to bring some home.

Children on the island would come sell us pastries on different days which would go great in the morning with coffee or tea.

One day we went on a snorkeling tour off another small island……it was my first time. We had guides along our side as we swam around the island viewing the beautiful coral reefs, many varieties of tropical fish, and poisonous jellyfish. Everyone was hoping to see a stingray. It took my breath away as I snapped pictures trying to keep my equilibrium. The tour provided lunch on the island…..chicken and dirty rice. Yum.

At our place Lara had rented the downstairs which when you walked out the front door there was a hammock that just enticed you to lie in it for hours as you read or napped. I personally would get in it at the end of the night….the wind blowing through the palm trees…the tides rolling in….I would stare up at the stars looking up at the universe.   I could have stayed for there forever.

Now whenever I am having a bad day or stress seems to be taking over I just sit back and think about those days in Placenica….it makes me smile knowing I am planning a trip for the near future.

If you want to plan a trip then check out this website http://www.placencia.com/

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