Spanglish Chick

My editor, Tamara and I woke up to the chilly weather…No surprise, right? Wrong. What happened to our Spring? Well, we decided to take a break..I mean, come on, we have been going non-stop since we got here. We checked in Thursday and then headed for the showcases. We made Ozomatli’s concert at Auditorium Shores which was awesome….not only were they great but somehow the concert grounds were almost spotless. Wow I was impressed. Then we ended our night with Ladies Lotto & Lola Ink presenting “Low Down”- an unofficial SXSW showcase (we’ll have more details on them later).
Friday afternoon, at Cafe Mundi, we were entertained by Bo-Peep, Girl in a Coma,

plus a few others. Alot of us are on a budget so the Austin venues are having free concerts to keep people entertained. Smart move….but I don’t mind paying for someone I really want to see. We paid to see the Japan Nite Showcase at Elysium, watching JinnyOops! along with another talented band from Japan then it was off to other venues. We stopped in to Buffalo Billards…Margaret Cho was gonna be there…well I am not a fan. Hehe…now I remember why…oh well. Next Club Vice, the editor knows one of the showcasers, DJ Cat. She was spinning some excellent music…I mean it had everyone on the floor, moving…hehe…you should have seen their moves. Next year someone should have a free dance workshop….Anyone??
Tonight they host the SXSW Music Awards…plus a million different bands in many different venues. The options are endless….what will we choose?
P.S.Don’t worry Tamara got some great shots and we will have them up soon.

UPDATE: Check out our Flickr feed at the bottom of the front page. SXSW pics are up!

Popularity: 37% [?]

Well, we are off to Austin this morning to check out SXSW! We’ll be making updates as we can. Check out our facebook and twitter pages for any kind of randomness we throw out there. We hope to hit up some good venues and parties to report back to you! We’ve been pretty busy the last few weeks, and hope to bring you some cool stories after we return. I (tamara) have one pending about Latina Jews, look for it closer to Passover. Our founder (Eloisa) has one coming up about her opinion on education. And of course, we always have contributors and we like to write about stuff we’re thinking about in between. Enjoy your weekend friends! besos …

Popularity: 25% [?]

I’m feeling unusually festive this year.  Maybe it’s the idea of spring and blooming flowers or I just have pollen in my eyes. Whatever it is, I’m just glad it isn’t so freakin’ cold anymore. (I’ve already bought lots of Cadbury Cream Eggs, and I don’t even celebrate Easter.) 

For St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be nice to make a traditional Irish dish. Even if you’re not Irish, everyone loves potatoes! It’s a win win situation here. My mom’s potato soup is one of my favorites, so I mentioned to my boyfriend that I wanted to try to make it.  He responded with a brisk, “Okay.”  Turns out, he’d never had potato soup.  How a person makes it to his early 30’s in such a state is beyond me.  No way was I going to let him get through this St. Patrick’s Day without trying the family recipe. 

I had to call my mom to find out how to make it, and it turns out that being the family recipe that it is, it wasn’t precise.  Her instructions went something like, “Pour in some milk, then some flour mixed with water …”  No, really.  The word “some” and the phrase “a little” were used a lot. Thanks mom.

She got the recipe from my great-aunt, who I assume got it from her grandfather, who was an Irish immigrant.  At least, it’s a better story than “she got it from the back of a bag of potatoes.”  I made it last night, and tried my best to get more exact measurements.  Here’s the recipe, but know that when you try it, it might need some tweaking.

• 5 lb. peeled and diced potatoes
• 2 ½ cups of milk
• ¼ cup of flour mixed with about 1 cup of water
• ½ stick of butter
• 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened

In a large pot, boil the potatoes until they’re soft.  (Don’t drain the water.)  Add 2 ½ cups of milk.  Then mix about ¼ cup of flour with about 1 cup of water.  (If the pot looks like it isn’t going to hold much more, you can use the liquid from the soup.  That’s what I had to do.)  Next, throw in a ½ stick of butter.  Dicing it up first will help it to melt more evenly.  Then dice up an 8 oz. package of cream cheese.  As soon as the cream cheese is melted into the soup, you’re done!

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and feel free to spice it up with red pepper, or add chives, bacon bits and cheddar cheese.     

I’m not sure if it’s because it reminds me of my childhood and my great-aunt, but I really love this soup.  It’s better than anything you’ll get in a restaurant. 

If you want to be authentic and have the stomach for it, have your bowl of soup with a pint of Guinness.  It’s the most popular beer in Ireland.  Enjoy! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Spanglish Chick Contributor Karah Leigh will celebrating St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Houston. We’re sure her Irish eyes will be smiling after a few green beers. 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: 21% [?]

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up.  The one day of the year when everyone is Irish, and they celebrate by drinking copious amounts of green beer, Guinness, and Irish whiskey (not to be confused with Scottish whiskey). Some people turn into giggly, happy drunks.  Some turn into angry drunks.  And there are always some who turn into hit-on-everything-in-sight drunks.

• Along with doing your hair and nails, and making sure that you’re wearing something green, getting prepared for an onslaught of drunk men coming on to you is standard party prep for St. Patrick’s Day.  I asked a few women to share their stories of getting hit on by drunken men, and they provided some serious gems. Some are funny, some are witty, and some are beyond cringe-worthy. 
• My good friend bumped into a semi-acquaintance at a bar on St. Patrick’s Day a few years ago.  Instead of saying hello, he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her passionately.  I guess it was okay, though.  They got married last Saturday. – Trina
  
• I went to Dublin, Ireland for St. Patty’s Day last year. A group of drunken Irishmen approached my friends and I and started talking to us.  I couldn’t understand what the hell they were saying, so I responded with “Sorry, I speak English.” As I was saying this, I immediately thought, “Oh, my God, they ARE speaking English!  I’m a fool!” It was so embarrassing.  But to be fair, a drunken Irish brogue is extremely hard to follow, especially when you’re also drunk. – Ruth
  
• Two guys were hitting on my best friend and I.  The one talking to my friend said, “I’m in the army, you know.  I’m a Ranger.  I’ve killed four people.”  He misinterpreted her look of amusement/disgust for worry, so he quickly added, “No, no, it’s okay.  I sent cards to the families.”  Meanwhile his friend was looking at me and shaking his head in dismay.  It was glorious. – Catherine
  
• My friends and I were waiting outside of a bar for another friend once, and these almost-Guido type guys came up to us, and I was just not interested or impressed at all.  One guy says, “Hey, we’re from Connecticut, where can we go for a good time?”  My response?  “Back to Connecticut.” – Ellie
  
• I was dancing at a club once and a guy came up to me and said, “Those hips!  You’re killing me, smalls!”  I was amused and baffled by his use of a quote from “The Sandlot” as a pickup line. – Jennifer
  
• This didn’t happen to me, but I was out with some friends in college and one of the guys hit on a girl by asking if he could scratch and sniff her. – Sandra
  
• I went to a club with a friend once, and there was an entire rugby team there. That night, nearly every one of the members of said team drunkenly approached me.  They were practically taking turns, it was so bizarre.  One of the guys would get rejected and another would almost instantly ask me to dance. One tried to put his face between my boobs, and he got punched. I said I had a boyfriend (lie) for the most part, but then the last one was nice enough, and hot, and my friend was with some other guy, so I figured why not.  Fun night. – Susan
  
• I was traveling around Australia with my best friend, and somehow ended up with a broken foot.  One night, we were at a party on a big farm in West Australia with about a hundred people, when this very drunk local guy approached me.  My friends tried to edge him out of the circle, but it wasn’t working.  Then came the line of the evening.  Leaning towards me, his eyes pointing in two different directions, he said, “I like you … because you can’t run away.”  I was about to hit him over the head with my crutch when another local, who was thankfully sober, intervened.  We didn’t see him for the rest of the night – hopefully he was unconscious somewhere and woke up with a raging hangover. – Quinn

Remember as you’re taking your umpteenth shot of tequila (Irish people do drink tequila, right?) that you aren’t the only one who will likely have some strange or awkward encounter with a guy who’s three sheets to the wind before St. Patrick’s Day is over.  So before you turn around and whip your hair in his face as you walk away, thank him for being the unfortunate star in the story that you’ll retell for years to come.  Slainte!

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: 39% [?]

members of the Houston Roller Derby

With monikers like DD Doomz, Grrrl Friday and Tony Smasheries, the ladies of the Houston Roller Derby, promise to raise Hell this season.  Popularized in the 1970s, Roller Derby made a comeback in the 90s. It then circulated throughout Texas. Since organizing in 2005, the Houston Roller Derby has grown into a league of more than 40 skaters and is a member of The Woman’s Flat Track Derby Association.

Recreation league member DD Doomz says, “You’re learning from the most experienced skaters. Roller Derby is an amazing culture. It’s awesome, comfortable and I like that you can be a strong sexy woman with an edge.”

DD Doomz

Get ready for some blocking, bruises and brazen hot broads. Check out the ladies on Opening Day,  March 20 at 6p.m. at Kick’s located on 611 Sheperd. Don’t be a titty … get out and support your local Derby chicks this season! Take a look at this season’s schedule and learn more about the league at www.houstonrollerderby.com

P.S. Check out Spanglish Chick’s Flickr feed at the bottom of the page. We went out to the Texas Hotrod Hoedown to check out an exhibition game the ladies recently particpated in.

Good Luck this season girls!

Popularity: 62% [?]

I’m pretty disappointed in the lack of media coverage of the devastation in Chile after the 8.8 earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, that hit last weekend.  There are no television fundraisers, no food drives and images of cargo planes dropping relief supplies and no Spanish version of “we are the world.” 

After Haiti’s earthquake, you were unable to turn on the TV or go online without seeing “donate to Haiti.” It was awesome to see everyone hugging and joining together in an effort to bring Haiti back to life … where did it all go? I understand that some people are feeling the effects of “disaster fatigue” and might feel that Chile is a country that can handle the aftermath since it seems they have better resources and what not. But lives were lost, towns have crumbled, we truly don’t know if the people there have it all  … remember Hurricanes Ike and Katrina? New Orleans and Houston practically fell into Third World status when those bitches hit. Some people are still recovering from those hurricanes and this is the U.S. 

Chile needs our help, too. Whether it’s donating to the Red Cross to help people not just in Chile, but elsewhere when disasters strike, making a donation to a Chilean animal shelter (pets were affected, too) or just taking the time to buy Chilean products at your local store to support the country’s exports … as a culture, as a people and as Americans we should support the beautiful nation of Chile in rebuilding itself …  please don’t wait for the media to make that choice for you.

Popularity: 45% [?]