President Obama and His Stand Regarding Same- Sex Marriage

President Obama, to me, will always be remembered as a Philosopher, a dreamer and a person full of empty promises to win political momentum on an election year.

The last time around when Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton announced her candidacy for president, winds of change became part of many Americans hopes and dreams, and for many straight and gay men and women, having a woman for president – after so many men have destroyed our country’s opinion in the world – was the best thing that could ever happen to get us out of the Bushes era we all had to endured.

Politics create Politicians, and Politics are games of bait and hook.

President Obama moved many Young and Old African and Hispanic Americans and won their vote because he was seen as a “messiah”, a Marvelous, Well Versed man who inspired the masses and took on the “Si Se Puede“ or “Yes We Can” voice of many immigrants looking for a path to legalization, and turned it into his Campaign Slogan.

Now, that after President Obama’s first term is about to end, what does he have to show for his promises of change? A Health Care Reform being contested in the Supreme Court, the Nationalization of Freddie Mac and Fannie May and other companies, the most deported illegal alien numbers in the U.S. History and an economy still in rumbles.

Without the Hispanic vote he will most probably not win and he needed one Big Change of Policy that – win or lose – was going to excite his base of voters and bring him back to the Front Page of Newspapers so he could become the most talked about person in a week in all media outlets.

Pro-marriage Homosexuals are excited, Young College Students are excited, Hispanic Americans are exited, Wedding Planners and everyone involved in the Multi-Million Bridal Business are excited, but will it be enough to win another four-year term?

Fortunately for him, Hispanic American are not going to vote for Mr. Romney, especially since he is completely against some kind of immigration reform, but this time around they must just sit at home and not vote at all.

For most Anglo and African-Americans, the problem of immigration must be completely irrelevant and non-important and they might have other issues that they might want to have resolved sooner.

Hispanic Americans on the other hand believe that an immigration reform is necessary because of the millions of family members that either were brought here when they were babies and now are not able to get an education or get a legal job, or of the millions of family members that are on a Temporary Protected Status and have to renew their Work Permits every year without knowing if it is going to be granted for another twelve months.

Hispanic Americans were promised an Immigration Reform, Homosexual Americans have not been promised the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage yet – let’s be clear on that – but President Obama is the first U.S. President to have said that he “Thinks same-sex couples should be able to get married”, unfortunately, from saying to doing there is a long winding, tumultuous way to go.

By recent polls, it seems he has not lost votes and he has received the momentum to raise enough funds that his campaign needed to cloud Mitt Romney‘s claim of the GOP Presidential Nomination;

I now feel for all the souls that are going to fall for the same old political tricks, and that, four years from now – they will still be left with no same-sex marriage act to allow the many Homosexual Americans that want to legalize their unions.

It Will Take More that Just One President’s Opinion to Allow for Same-sex Marriage in the U.S

Hugo Chavez defeated by his Own Deteriorating Body?

I am glad they still have found no cure for death!

I say that not because I mean harm or pain to anyone – I still wish my loving mother were alive – but can you imagine if Bonaparte, Hitler or Mussolini were still alive?

I am really glad that life is a cycle and humans – who are made of matter – just transform and go back to the earth.

The world has endured so much pain and suffering from men who have been born and grown up just to commit atrocities against humanity and just to imagine the kind of harm they would have done if they could have lived forever.

Some of the men who have become dictators and cleaned their path to power by executing or imprisoning whoever stood on their way – even if some of them had not been defeated by war- would still be alive plotting and using other people to do what they could not do to regain power.

I have been watching South America for the last ten years not only because of their unstable political day to day life, but because I was born and raised in El Salvador from 1972 to 1992 and I have always been concerned of the well being of the few surviving family member that still live there. During these ten years I have seen the death of Pinochet and Stroessner (Who casually both died in 2006), and worse -I have also seen the rise of Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

Some critics blame theUnited Statesfor “neglecting” theAmericasto concentrate in the Middle East with the invasion ofIraqand the senseless war inAfghanistanand nowLibya. I personally believe that the United States involvement in the Central and South Americas in the 70’s and 90’s during the cold war was necessary; even though it cost hundreds of thousands of deaths of innocent people and left a sour aftertaste in many people’s mouths, which probably is why now the US Government decided to stay away for a while – either to improve their world image or just to concentrate in countries that could become a military or terror threat to their nation.

The problem of this disengagement from the North, of over ten years, have brought the South the rise of men like the Bolivian president and of course Venezuelan President Chavez – who doesn’t want to be called a Dictator – and who has publically denounced the “constant threat of Capitalism” against his Presidency, his life and his Country.

I have specially been watching this guy, not because he reminded me of Cuba’s thirty year old Dictator Fidel Castro, but because he reminds me more of Anastacio Somoza; but let us not forget that Anastacio was allegedly killed by Castro and his Brother and in Chavez’s case He and Castro’s share a special brotherhood/friendship and I doubt any plans for Chavez’s assassination will be planned in Habana by either.

Chavez has fought fervidly to keep control of his government, manipulate Venezuelan’s congress to his favor and keep happy the very own people who got him into power… the Republic’s poor.

Unfortunate for him, but fortunate for his detractors, is that no one that surrounds him, his allies, the bordering countries or Presidents or anyone even further North from Venezuela – The United States of America – has anything to do with his – seem to be closer than expected -demise.

It is his own body that is threatening to end his life and end his constant struggle and desire of power and ideological war against Capitalism and the North.

We cannot say that his days are over yet because he is inCuba, where – either we like it or not – anyone with money there can find some of the best medicinal care in the world.

Just look what is doing to Fidel Castro; they have kept him alive for so many years after his obligatory “retirement” due mostly to take care of his personal deteriorating health.

I saw Hugo Chavez’s last fifteen-minute speech fromCubatoday and Chavez looks tired, sick and he seems to be losing the sparkle he had when he was first elected.

Is his life over? Probably not yet, but his days in power are almost over. Has anyone seen what happens to the old lion and his harem when he becomes old and week?

I think we all know the answer.

The one thing that somehow puzzles me is the fact that – now that he has been away from Venezuela for three weeks – there has not been a coupe d’état or anyone that has tried to take advantage of his weakness. I believe no one wants to get killed or blamed if he gets better and comes back.

The lion is weak and old. There is definitely not a worse enemy that our own body when it comes to power hungry men throughout history.

The one thing I will always remember Chavez for is when he stood at the United Nation’s podium and claim “it smelled like sulfur still” after George W Bush had stood at the same place a day before. Those are the balls of a man who unfortunately is no less human than Bush.

Saying Good Bye to My IPhone 3GS

Today I took on the job on finding a replacement for my IPhone 3GS and I don’t mean that I will replace it for another smart phone since I don’t believe there is a replacement for such a great machine, but I will replace it for a phone that actually works for its purpose – To make and keep phone calls!

I really want a small phone that can actually make and keep a phone call without dropping it as often as my IPhone does. I might sound like I haven’t complained enough but believe me,  I have called AT&T many times to voice my concerns, and the last thing they did for me when I had the IPhone 3G was to let me upgrade to the IPhone 3GS which, according to them, were sure it would solve the problem.

Trading up did solve the call drops for a few months – but then, I started having problems again. I even collaborated with reporting the bad spots – on their free AT&T app I got from the apps store – whenever it was safe to do it while driving. The drop calls mostly happened when I was driving around Las Vegas or – the most annoying – when I was sitting at my desk inside my office.

Going to Utah often to visit family was when I got the worst reception, but now that I think about it, is somehow understandable, since most of the drive is through mountains ranges; but if I decided to stop for meal, let’s say in Cedar City, not many bars on my IPhone there! I know it was my phone because my friend also subscribes to AT&T Services but he has a different phone that showed all connection bars while we were there, and he really had better reception and no drop calls! This happened enough times to know the IPhone was the problem

I called AT&T a few days back,  right around the announcement of the IPhone going to the Verizon Wireless network and the agent over the phone told me that that in February I could upgrade to the new iPhone 4 for a regular retail sales price of $199.00 without paying any penalties  on my two year contract I have with them, but then I remember antenna gate – even though she assured me that getting a new phone will make things better and that there are no more issues with the antenna on the new IPhones 4.

I decided upgrading again this time would not make sense to get a new IPhone 4 when It’s been rumored that a new IPhone 5, or 4GS – or whatever they’re going to call it – will be introduced in Spring 2011, but who knows what they’re going to charge to upgrade to that.

Ok, it’s enough blah blah blah and complaints about the IPhone.

I have always loved Nokia phones for their simplicity and they are loved everywhere in Latin America, specially El Salvador and Mexico, because they are cheap and practical. I have also traveled to Europe and I have seen Nokia phones are loved over there too.

I definitely did not want a flip phone since they are so ten years ago, and after spending a few hours searching for a Nokia phone, I finally found what I needed at the Nokia USA Store  website under unblocked phones.

They of course had the newest smart phone options with its matching accessories like everyone else –I was not interested – so, I went to the cheapest and simplest phone list and found two options, one for about forty bucks each and another one for about one hundred. I immediately loved the Nokia 2370 which was the second option; after reading the comments from people that already owns it – I totally went for it! And since I was so excited about the new phone I even paid an extra nine ninety nine for “Extra Fast shipping”.

I should get my new Nokia phone by Friday and hopefully I will be able to keep a conversation with my clients without dropping my calls or so I hope … I will probably be writing about it if I continue having drop calls because that would mean the problem is not actually the phones but the AT&T network.

I promise I will still be loyal to IPhone and if a new one comes out this year (I’m would love it in white please!) I will definitely buy a new one or wait for a next generation in 2012 – when my renewal is up – but I will keep it in my closet and use it only when I travel out of the country because it seems that is when I get the best reception.

Excited!

Diciendole Adios a Mi Iphone 3GS

Hoy tomé la decisión de encontrar un substituto para mi IPhone 3GS y no quiero decir que lo reemplazaré por otro smart phone ya que no creo que pueda encontrar un relevo para esta gran maquina, pero lo reemplazaré por un teléfono que realmente trabaje para su propósito – ¡para hacer y mantener una llamada!

Realmente quiero un teléfono pequeño que pueda hacer llamadas y mantenerlas sin cortarse tan a menudo como lo hace mi IPhone.  Puede sonar como que no me he quejado lo suficiente, pero créanme que he llamado a AT muchas veces para hacerles ver mis problemas y la ultima cosa que hicieron por mi cuando tenia el IPhone 3G fue el dejarme reemplazarlo por el IPhone 4GS con el cual – de acuerdo a ellos – estaban seguros que me resolvería el problema.

 El hacer un upgrade resolvió mis problemas por unos meses, pero entonces, comencé a tener problemas otra ves y hasta colaboré al reportar las áreas de poca recepción (en su aplicación gratis que bajé de la apps store) cuando era seguro al manejar. Las llamadas cortadas pasaban muy a menudo cuando manejaba alrededor de Las Vegas o – las que más me molestaban – cuando estaba sentado en mi escritorio dentro de mi oficina.

 Cuando iba a Utah a visitar familia era cuando mi teléfono tenia la peor recepción, pero ahora que analizo, es un poco entendible ya que la mayor parte del recorrido es entre cadenas de montañas; pero si yo decidía parar en una ciudad para comer algo – por decir Cedar City – ¡no muchas barritas en mi teléfono ahí!

Yo sabia que era mi teléfono el del problema  ya que mi amigo también se subscribe a AT  pero él tiene un teléfono diferente que siempre tenia todas las barritas de conexión cuando estábamos ahí, y el tenia en verdad mejor conexión y ¡no llamadas perdidas! Esto pasó tantas veces para saber que el problema si era el IPhone.

 Llamé a AT&T hace unos días, alrededor de el tiempo que anunciaron que el IPhone iba a trabajar en el network de Verizon Wireless y el agente de AT&T me dijo por telefono que en febrero de este añ0 yo podía hacer un upgrade al nuevo IPhone 4 por el precio regular de $199.00 sin pagar penalidades en mi contrato de dos años que ya tengo con ellos; pero en eso recordé lo de antenna gate  aunque el agente me asegurara que el nuevo teléfono trabajaría mejor y que no hay mas problemas con la antena en los nuevos IPhone 4.

 Decidí que el hacer upgrade otra ves no tendría sentido ya que se rumora que un nuevo IPhone 5 o 4GS – o como quiera que lo llamaran – será introducido en la Primavera del 2011, pero nadie sabe cuanto van a cobrar por este nuevo juguete.

 OK. Ya es suficiente de tanta hablada y quejas sobre el IPhone.

 Siempre me han gustado los teléfonos Nokia  por su simpleza y todo mundo los tiene en America Latina, especialmente en El Salvador y México porque son baratos y prácticos. He visto los teléfonos Nokia  cuando he viajado a Europa  y se ve que la gente los aprecia también por allá

 Definitivamente no quiero un flip phone ya que esa moda ya pasó hace más de 10 años. Ya después de pasar varias horas buscando un teléfono Nokia, finalmente encontré lo que necesitaba en la página de Internet de la tienda de Nokia USA bajo teléfonos desbloqueados.

Por supuesto que Nokia también tiene su sección de smart phones como todos los demás manufacturadores de teléfonos – pero no estaba interesado – así que me fui a la lista de los teléfonos mas baratos y mis simples y encontré dos opciones, uno por alrededor de cuarenta dólares y el otro por alrededor de cien dólares. Inmediatamente me enamoré del Nokia 2370 que era la segunda opción y después de leer los comentarios de dueños actuales – ¡lo compré! – y ya que estaba tan emocionado por el nuevo teléfono pagué nueve noventinueve más por  “Envío Extra Rápido”.

Debo de recibir mi nuevo teléfono Nokia el viernes y espero poder mantener una conversación  con mis clientes sin que se me corte la llamada – bueno, eso espero…Si eso sucede estaré escribiendo al respecto ya que si continuo teniendo problemas con las llamadas quiere decir que el problema no es el teléfono si no la conexión con AT&T.

Todavía prometo serle fiel al IPhone y si sale otro nuevo este año – ¡Me gustaría uno en blanco por favor! – definitivamente me compraré uno nuevo o a lo mejor esperaré a la nueva generación de IPhones que salga el 2012 – que es cuando se me vence el contrato – pero lo guardaré en mi closet y lo usaré solamente cuando salga del país ya que es cuando parece que mi IPhone trabaja mejor y tiene la mejor recepción.

¡Estoy emocionado!

I want to Read!

I want to read…

Without being left in a hot desert, I feel the thirst of a wonderer…

It’s been hours, days, months or almost a year since I sat down and put a book on my lap to read.

I still read, Oh yes I do! But it’s not with the same passion as reading a book when my mind craves for one!

 I miss my long nights when my eyes couldn’t close because they were hooked onto the fantasy lines and the surrealistic images of the story.

 My mind wonders free of the lusty and materialistic thoughts of this horrifying world.

I fly, fly to where I wish I’d never return.

I want to read, I want to be abducted to the penumbra of a dream world.

I want to be raped off these ugly spirits that chain me to reality.

I want to read and be transported to Paradise in an austral dream of hallucinating and passionate desires.

I want to read.

Las Day in New York City

On our last day in New York, I wanted to keep it simple and relaxed. Our flight did not leave until 7:00 pm so we had a few hours to kill before heading out to the airport. We got up late, showered, got ready, checked out and headed to Coco and Toto to drop precious off for a few hours.

I wanted to take my son to the zoo where the penguins of Madagascar lived at but when I got to the Central Park Zoo I wasn’t sure if that was the correct zoo. We really did not have much time but we got to see the few little animals they have there and my son was frantically looking for Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private and the rest of the gang in the movie and cartoon series. We saw the whole thing in less than an hour but we had fun regardless, there is a sea lion, meerkats, an aviary with tropical birds and penguins!

After we were done we wanted to eat lunch at a nice place but my son opted for the fast food restaurant they had in the zoo. We had chicken fingers and fries which were not really that good but I went along with my son because we had to get back to the hotel and pick up our bags o heat to the airport. We then went to a petting zoo on the side of the main zoo and we needed to get in were the main zoo tickets. This was a more fun place for my son since there were a few kid play and exploring areas and food pellets vending machines for the lamas and goats they had their on display. They even had two big pot belly pigs who were taking a nap when we were there.

One hour later, we walked a few blocks down from Central Park, we passed the Plaza Hotel, bought lottery tickets, got souvenirs and took a taxi to go back to Coco and Toto, we told them how grateful we were for taking care of our dog and we headed back to the Hotel.

My plan was to leave the hotel by 4:00 pm, one hour trip to JFK airport and be there at the right time to catch a plane and it actually worked out as planned. We shared a ride with a couple from Argentina who were there for a wedding.

Once we were checked in to our flight, I had my son sit inside the terminal while I walked Precious out for a last time before we walk to the gate which is a point of no return. She had her last piss in NYC and we headed to our terminal.

Precious behaved well during the flight; five hours and a few White Russians later courtesy of American Airlines we got to Las Vegas right on time. Once we were in our truck and on our way home to the airport all I heard was my son talking of how much fun he had had on our trip. Precious was also excited to be out her bag.

Home was warm and cozy, I was happy everything went as planned and we were safe and sound, we went to sleep right away – an adventure to the big apple had ended.

Las Vegas Circus Spectacular at The Orleans Hotel and Casino

I went to the Las Vegas Circus Spectacular at the Orleans Hotel and Casino last night with my son. I bought the tickets on line with a special coupon code that pretty much gave me fifty percent discount on two second row- center – ring seats, which was a pretty good deal.

This article is not to criticize the show by any means since it was both entertaining and innovative but to question the managing of the cash sales during the event.

Like I said before, I bought the will call tickets on line, printed my receipt and went headed to the venue with my son and fifteen dollars cash and my personal’s account Visa ATM card in my pocket thinking that since it was at the Orleans I wasn’t going to need much cash on me.

When we got there, a crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the venue and even though there was some disorganization with the lines, it only took a few minutes for the ushers to organize everyone by purchased, will purchase and will call customers. Once we picked up our tickets we went inside the Orleans Arena and we wanted to start enjoying all the treats they had for sale, so we went straight to the caramel apple stand but to my surprise this and all the other stands took cash only and the only thing you could buy with your credit/ATM card were nachos and cheese and sodas from the arena’s concessions – I was then going around the arena locating an ATM machine to get some cash so I could buy snow cones, pop corn and a light saver for my son, once I had the cash we were able to get all we wanted and went down to our seats to wait for the show to start.

I totally understand that the proceeds go to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network at the St Rose Dominican Hospitals but where was the Nevada Department of Taxation in all this?

There was a big cash flow and no proof of receipts, the only thing that I saw it was being accounted for were the tickets for the Elephant and Pony Rides and the Jumpers they had down at the base of the arena, that’s it!

I spent about fifty dollars between all we spend at arena, not including the tickets, and it was just my son and I; there were also families from four to eight people and they all had popcorn, shaved ice and circus toys, which just by making speculative calculations it amounts to thousand of cash dollars revenue.

I really hope they have a good accounting system or auditor and I really hope all the sales taxes are being accounted for and paid.

Going back to the show, it had one really funny clown that interacted and was loved by the audience, aero-acrobats, beautiful show girls, well trained and entertaining tigers, dogs and elephants and BMX Bike Champion, Motorcycle Iron Ball of Death and my favorite was the Human Cannonball at the end of the show.

Overall the show was well organized and creative; they had plenty of ushers and employees that had everyone well taken care of and the circus entertainers kept everyone attentive and at awe.

Concierto de El Tri en Azul Tequila Bar & Night Club, Las Vegas

El miércoles de la semana pasada decidí ir aun concierto de un grupo muy popular de México DF que se llama El Tri que iba a estar tocando en un nuevo night club latino en el centro de Las Vegas. En realidad no tuve tiempo de ir a comprar mi boleto antes del concierto y termine pagando $50 dólares por cada uno en la puerta, en ves de $35 que costaba si lo comprabas en las oficinas de cualquiera de los patrocinadores. Llegar al lugar no fue muy difícil, ya que se encuentra en la Calle 7th y la Calle Ogden a un lado de El Cortez Casino y Hotel.

Cuando llegamos mi amigo y yo, nos encontramos con otros conocidos junto con la muchedumbre fanática que se alargaba sobre la calle siete por cuatro o cinco cuadras hacia el sur. Mi amigo se burlaba de mi porque iba yo a un concierto de rock con un suéter a cuadritos blanco y negro y con una bufanda de lana de alpaca cuzqueña blanca y muy peluda; pero en realidad yo venia de trabajar de la oficina y se mi hizo muy cansado el tener que regresar a mi casa a cambiarme de ropa, alborotarme la melena, ponerme aretes de argolla y cambiarme el pantalón negro de vestir que traía para ponerme un Jean roto y desteñido que me hiciera ver mas rockero.

El concierto supuestamente iba a comenzar a las 8:30 de la noche y nosotros llagamos ahí como a las 8:15 pero las puertas no se abrieron hasta como las 9:30. Los fanáticos que esperaba pacientemente a que se abriera la puerta comenzaron a perder el pudor y a sacar el rocanrolero desmadrozo que llevaban dentro; ya como a las 9:15, al ver que le lugar no se habría ni a empujones, decidieron comenzar a consumir cervezas que compraban en el casino El Cortez – algunos hasta traían un six pack en la mano después de parquear pacientemente su auto al cruzar la calle.

Al momento que nosotros esperábamos que nos pusieran en la lista VIP para no tener que esperar mucho por entrar ni tener que hacer línea al final de la cola que casi llegaba a la calle Charleston, vimos que curiosamente la mini van de un popular abogado Latino que estaba parqueada justamente enfrente de la entrada principal de seguridad del Azul Tequila y nos preguntamos que diablos hacia ahí la mini van.

Uno de los conocidos en el grupo que nos acompañaban dijo que aló mejor el abogado había venido a disfrutar del concierto con todos los que ya estábamos ahí.

Curiosamente cuando el propietario del lugar, muy amablemente nos metió – entre los agentes de seguridad – sin tener que esperar en línea, me di cuenta en realidad de cual era la razón que el abogado o mas bien la mini van estuviera ahí; al momento de entregar el boleto 15 dólares mas caro que el de los demás, se encontraba un señor de mediana edad y estatura otorgando o mas bien colocando una banda de goma en las muñecas de los fanáticos con el nombre y numero de teléfono del susodicho abogado.

Aunque me tocó un poquito el analizar el porqué de dicha banda plástica con esta información impresa, me di cuenta que era una banda publicitaria con el fin de proveerte la información del abogado, en caso que a la hora de el concierto llegaras a un grado ilegal de embriagues, salieras del concierto, manejaras en dicho estado, fueses arrestado y a la hora de reaccionar en la cárcel local te dieras cuenta de lo sucedido y al verte en la necesidad de un abogado o de obtener una fianza, tuvieras a la Mano- literalmente –  el numero de un profesional que amablemente se te proveyó en una pulsera de goma que no te quitaran al momento de arrestarte y que aparte de hablar Español estaría a tu disposición para sacarte de la cárcel y representarte en la defensa de tu juicio por manejar en estado de embriagues.

Wow, pensé, ¿A quien se le había ocurrido semejante idea publicitaria? Una idea tan útil pero irónica a la ves…

 “Bienvenido al club, pasa a divertirte, emborráchate hasta el huevo y por si acaso te agarra la policía después de salir del concierto, te proveemos con esta pulserita de goma con el numero de teléfono de nuestro fabuloso, considerado abogado y patrocinador para que lo llames y te saque del bote lo más antes posible- ya sabes, tres días dentó y corres el peligro que llegue “La migra” Así que te conviene que no te quites la pulserita de goma de tu mano”

El concierto, aunque comenzó muy tarde, valió la pena. En realidad nunca había escuchado a La Maldita Vecindad o al Tri cantar en vivo, pero ambos supieron como mover a los fans con el ritmo y letra de sus canciones. Si me preguntan cual fue mi intérprete preferido, pues fue El Tri, con sus platicas soeces y hablado 100% chilango fue quien se identifico mucho con el publico y lo calentó con sus mamadas entre canciones hasta el punto de no sentir el frío mas. La Maldita Vecindad se tardaba mucho en hablar de sus mantras, conexiones astrales y yoga que en cantar y en realidad si vi mucha gente aburrirse.

Nomás para aclarar, La Maldita Vecindad abrió el concierto y El Tri lo terminó – esta fue una muy buena combinación ya que El Tri traía mas rolas movidas que el publico parecía conocer mas.

 Azul Tequila y su propietario Francisco Lara se esmeraron para que hubiera suficiente personal en la entrada, bar y área del concierto para que el alcohol no faltara y nadie muriera de sed.

Al final del concierto todos nos fuimos muy satisfechos a nuestras casitas y afortunadamente para nosotros pero desafortunadamente para el susodicho abogado, todos llegamos con bien.

2010 Thanksgiving Day Parade

My son and I were equally excited to see the Macy’s Parade since it was the first time for both, so we woke up at 5:00 a.m., took a shower, got Precious, our dog ready and walked the two blocks up from our hotel to Central Park to find a good spot on the Parade route to see wait for it to start. I did a little research beforehand and in my mind I was set on being on or close to the Columbus Circle because it was where the Parade was going to turn on its way to Time Square.

There were not too many people walking that early in the morning, but there were plenty of policemen around setting up the contention fences along side 7th street. Once we got to W 59^th street,  we turned left towards Columbus Circle, but we really couldn’t get too close because there were plenty of people already lined up in that area. We stopped and camped out right where the crowd ended. We met this wonderful local couple who was waiting right there, who told us told us that in that spot we will be able to see the Parade going around on Columbus Circle and on towards our way and that would give us a better opportunity to get pictures of the balloons before they got too close.

It got so cold that even Precious was trembling, but I was prepared with blanquettes, gloves, beanies and scarves for all of us. When the sun came up, could see how many more people were lined up down from where we were and you could really feel the excitement in the air because the people that were there, were people that were waiting for the Parade to start also and had made the trip for that special occasion.

At around 9:05 am (three and a half hours later after we got there!), we starter to hear the drums in the distance and everyone, including us started cheering! I believe at this point Precious still did not understand what was going on and was digging a hole on a sidewalk dirt box, where we were standing, to kill some time.

When I saw motorcycle cops driving around Columbus Circle, followed by colorful clowns in roller skates my hart started beating hard and I could see my son’s relief that the wait was finally over and he was going to get to see the balloons I have been talking about since before our trip. He was also eager to see Miranda Cosgrove from ICarly and Carlos Pena from Big Time Rush who are in the Nickelodeon shows he likes to watch.

The First Balloon was a giant turkey, followed by balloons of Uncle Sam and Mount Rushmore, we saw Ronald McDonald, Mickey, Hermit the Frog, SpongeBob, Hello Kitty, Spiderman, Kun Fu Panda, Shrek, Pokémon, Mickey Mouse, Horton, Kool-Aid, Light Buzz Year, Big Bird, The Energizer Bunny, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, Virginia,  and my favorite The Smurfs.

We also enjoy the different Marching Bands, from Missouri, Wisconsin, Nevada, Guatemala and may more, and the floats that carried stars such as Kanye West, Kylie Minogue. Juanes, Gladys Night, and Joan Rivers, but my favorite was the Miranda Cosgrove Float. The line up was pretty impressive and too long of a list to include in this article.

The final part of the parade included no other than Mr. Claus on his Sled flying over a house from where Mrs. Clause waved from a window.

The parade lasted about three hours and we were very tired and hungry at the end of the parade, so we all (my son, my dog and I) decided to go back to the hotel and get something to eat.

The restaurants along the way were very crowded but there was a gyro mobile stand that I had been watching from our hotel window and was curious to taste the food that people waited on line to purchase. After we got what we wanted to eat, we went upstairs to our room, eat and watched TV for a while. At this point we were so tired from all the action we had had so far that we went to sleep early.

Salvadorean Immigrants

Since 1972, when the civil war in El Salvador started between the US supported government and the now disappeared Soviet Union supported guerrillas; many Salvadorian natives had to flee their homes and towns for fear of their lives, many settled along the abandoned sites of the overpopulated capital of San Salvador and many came to the US. This immigration to the United States of Salvadorians causes family separation, cultural changes and loss of moral values.

Family separation starts when the husband or wife leaves home with the hope of helping his or her needed family by sending money as soon as he or she gets a job. After traveling illegally for more than a month through Guatemala and Mexico, using the little money in their pockets, they arrive in the US. When they get here, they stress to find a job to help their starving family. It is easier for a woman to find a job, since she can work as a baby sitter or a housekeeper, but a man has to find work in construction or washing dishes in a small restaurant where they don’t ask for documents.

Finding a job also depends what State of the Union they move too, because some seem to be more lenient on hiring illegal aliens. Once they start working, it could take them more than a year or two to collect enough money to pay a smuggler to bring their spouse from El Salvador, but if they take longer than that, it will be almost impossible for the family to stay together since he or she might find someone else to start a new family with and even have new children.

Cultural changes are part of a sad side that Salvadorian immigrants face on his or her everyday life in the US. The majority of Hispanic immigrants that live in this country have a Mexican ethnicity, so Salvadorians end up talking Spanish with a Mexican accent and make using Mexican idioms and expression a new part of their vocabulary. It is also important to mention that instead of celebrating “El 15 de Septiembre” as El Salvador’s Independence Day, they celebrate it as the Mexican Independence day, adopting in the confusion “El 5 de Mayo” as part of their own traditions and end up forgetting their National Anthem and their Pledge of Allegiance as well as most of their traditional meals and dances.

Moral values are lost as part of the transition and integration in the new society. Children disrespect their parents because they feel protected by authorities; husbands lose the fear if staying out late and they become disloyal, and if they are single here, they forget about their families and parents back in El Salvador. These Salvadorians lose total control of their lives and their ambitions for a better future and are satisfied with the few dollars they make an hour and the they never go back to school to learn English or get a degree.

My opinion is that we need to adapt to the new culture and society as necessary to survive but we can still kept our traditions and customs without forgetting our roots; If the Irish, Mexican and Chinese have done that, I’m sure that Salvadorians can do it too.