As we all know, Cinco de Mayo is that special day when people everywhere ask
their Mexican friends what the hell "Cinco de Mayo" is, to which the answer is always, "Why are you
asking me? I'm Puerto Rican." Anyway, I thought today was as good a day as any to honor our favorite
"Mexican" cartoon characters. You know, as much as a cartoon character can have a nationality, since cartoon
logic dictates that any character drawn with a sombrero on their head automatically becomes Mexican. Anyway, here's my
shout out to those zany, albeit sometimes stereotypical, animated creatures who gave us a taste of what life was
like south of the cartoon border. What, you may ask, does any of this have to do with Mexican forces defeating the
French army in 1862? Absolutely nothing.
Let's get animate:
Here's an interesting fact: founder, chairman and CEO of Univision, A. Jerrold
Perenchio, does not speak Spanish. Now, he's also the central figure in the recent decision to put the popular Spanish
language channel up for sale. Some speculate the channel could draw in as much as $12 billion from possible buyers, and
people like CBS' Leslie Moonves, Rupert Murdoch, Time Warner, and Televisa, one of Univision's content providers, have
all expressed varying degrees of interest. Univision hasn't been failing in the ratings. On the contrary, it's actually
been doing exceptionally well. The decision to sell the company appears to be based on the 75-year old CEO's desire to
finally leave the network he began.
I'm
not easily persuaded into liking things, unless the person doing the persuading is Salma Hayek. Since she's gorgeous
I'll pretty much do whatever she wants andenjoy whatever she says is good. Having said that, I'm really excited about
the possibility of the Colombian miniseries Betty La Fea being turned into an American series. Hayek is
apparently a big fan of the show and wants to turn American audiences on to it. Salma, I'm already turned on, and I
don't even know what the hell the show is about. Damn, you're good.
Raul
Davila, whom most TV watchers will remember as the actor who played Hector Santos on All My Children from 1994
to 1996, passed away recently of a heart attack at the age of 74. Davila retired from acting three years ago, but during
his time as an actor appeared on television, stage, screen, and radio. He also worked closely with the Hispanic
community in Newark, New Jersey, where he spent the remainder of his life.
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