“Damn! You don’t even pick up Puerto Ricans here either.”
The trailer for “Puerto Ricans in Paris” is here and it looks like a hilarious, action-packed comedy. Two detectives from New York are asked by Paris police to help them track down a very expensive and rare handbag. Why a handbag? Because a handbag of that caliber in the wrong hands could really spell disaster for the fashion industry. The two Boricua detectives cover the entire city of Paris hunting down this handbag while their relationships back in the States hang in the balance. Think of it as a Boricua “Bad Boys.”
Armando Christian Pérez is an executive producer for the film. You know him as Pitbull.
Georgia has been requiring Puerto Rican natives seeking Georgia driver’s licenses to answer a special set of questions such as “identifying ‘what a meat filled with plantain fritter’ is called; where a specific beach is located; and ‘the name of the frog native only to Puerto Rico,’” according to a lawsuit filed against the state this week.
A Puerto Rican man has filed a lawsuit against Georgia for alleged discrimination and voter suppression.
Credit: @southerncenter / Twitter
A man is accusing Georgia of discriminating with driver’s licenses and requiring Puerto Ricans to answer trivia questions about fritters, frogs, hillbilly hats, baseball players and customs on their native island.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for Northern Georgia, accuses the state’s Department of Driver Services (DDS) of violating the Civil Rights Act by engaging in “race-based stereotyping and implicit bias against Puerto Ricans.”
The lawsuit says Georgia holds residents of Puerto Rico, who are American citizens, to more stringent requirements than it does transplants from American states or the District of Colombia.
The quiz and other discriminatory practices prevent Puerto Ricans living in Georgia from traveling to work, school, and even doctor appointments. They also subject Puerto Ricans to the threat of a $500 fine and a year in prison if they drive without a license, the lawsuit says.
LatinoJustice obtained a copy of the quiz questions and shared them in a report.
A DDS document titled “Puerto Rican Interview Guide,” provided to CNN by LatinoJustice, includes numerous questions about the island, some of them are allegedly trick questions. Among them:
How long is the San Juan-Fajardo train ride? (There is no train.)
Who is Roberto Clemente?
What is the name of the frog native only to PR?
What is a pava?
What is alcapurria?
How do you celebrate San Juan Day?
A note in the interview guide says the questions are designed to better identify possible Puerto Ricans and discourage fraud. “While this guide can in no way positively determine if a person was born in or lived in Puerto Rico, it will help determine if the individual has a normal base of knowledge of their claimed birthplace,” it says.
Many on Twitter were using this as yet another example of Puerto Ricans being treated as second-class citizens.
Credit: @andreagonram / Twitter
“Puerto Ricans who are trying to start a new life in Georgia deserve access to the same benefits that are afforded to other citizens of the United States,” LatinoJustice PRLDEF attorney Jorge Vasquez said in a statement.
Driver’s licenses and identification cards issued in Puerto Rico aren’t subject to the same reciprocity extended to those issued in other states, the lawsuit says. Puerto Rico driver’s license holders must successfully pass the written and road exams to get a driver’s license, unlike other out-of-state license holders.
While others pointed out the shocking resemblance to a time when segregation was still a thing.
Credit: @KeithHi40841914 / Twitter
“The so-called quiz, applied to Puerto Rican drivers, bears a strikingly disturbing resemblance to the tests applied by segregationists to block voter registration of people of color,” Southern Center attorney Gerry Weber said.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s governor has come out swinging against the possible acts of state-sanctioned discrimination.
— Ricardo Rosselló (@ricardorossello) July 3, 2019
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has weighed in, calling the alleged special requirements “absurd” and demanding that Puerto Ricans receive equal treatment in all US jurisdictions.
“If true, I ask Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to address the disturbing irregularities immediately,” Rosselló said in a statement. “The U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico cannot be subject to illogical and illegal requirements when procuring government services.”
There are more than 93,000 Puerto Ricans living in Georgia, according to the 2017 census estimate.
To many, this is just another sign of Puerto Ricans having to work extra hard to prove themselves as American citizens.
Credit: @carlitocenteno / Twitter
Other examples of Georgia’s allegedly discriminatory practices include refusing to accept any birth certificate issued in Puerto Rico before July 2010 and flagging Puerto Rican birth certificates for fraud review, the lawsuit states.
For Latinos, there’s only one famous person that’s been part of our lives since day one. Okay, well aside from Juan Gabriel, it has to be Walter Mercado. The 87-year-old Puerto Rican has influenced our lives in so many ways, and now it’s time to return that love. If you have ever dreamed about getting a personal reading from the greatest psychic icon of all time, your dream is about to become a reality, sort of.
The HistoryMiami Museum is hosting a retrospective on the life and legacy of Walter Mercardo.
Instagram/@historymiami
The exhibition titled “Mucho, Mucho Amor: 50 Years of Walter Mercado.” The show will feature his “costumes, mementos, and ephemera, on display for the first time ever.”
The show’s description states that the show “celebrates the life and career of the beloved Latino astrologer and pop culture icon. For over five decades, Walter Mercado has shared his astrological predictions with style, flair, and mucho, mucho amor.”
The exhibition will also feature a fair amount of history on this eccentric icon.
Instagram/@waltermercadotv
While we know he grew up in Puerto Rico, we don’t know much else about his life. This show will hopefully fill in the gaps.
The description states: “Raised in the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, Mercado grew up to become a gender non-conforming, cape-wearing, psychic astrologer whose televised horoscopes reached 120 million Latino viewers a day for more than 30 years. One of the world’s most famous astrologers, he is a part of the cultural zeitgeist for Latinos and remains a popular figure that transcends generations.”
And (drum roll, please) on Aug. 2, Walter Mercado will be at the museum for a special public program!
Details about tickets have yet to be revealed, but once they are you know, they’re going to go fast. Everyone wants to get a close look at the Latino icon and his long legacy dictating our lives.
The news is already getting Mercado stans truly hyped.
Credit: @titoman76 / Twitter
The world has been a crazy and uncomfortable place for a while. There is always scary and bad news on the tv whether it is about international crises or the migrant crisis. Fortunately, we have been able to disconnect when Mercado comes on our tv screens.
There is no lack of people willing and ready to buy all of the tickets for this event.
Credit: @daphnee_arana / Twitter
Honestly, if you are planning a trip to Miami around this exhibit, what are you doing? He is one of the greatest stars of the Latino community. He has been giving people astrological readings on tv since 1970. He has been telling our abuelas what their year has to offer for 50 years and it is our duty to show him some respect.
Let’s just take a moment and think about the importance of such an iconic and necessary event.
Credit: @andreagonram / Twitter
Thank you for the decades of advice and guidance, Walter. You made our lives the exciting and interesting rollercoaster it is. If it wasn’t for your advice, we would not know what to do.
