December 11, 2007
By Margarita Díaz
Immigration overwhelmed so much of the political debate in 2007 that Latinos can only hope the new year will shake off that gloomy “illegal” curse.
But it wasn’t all bad: We sang along with Juan Luis Guerra, closely followed “Ugly Betty’s” romantic travails and danced the night away with Helio Castroneves.
Here’s a look at some memorable moments from the year that was — and some low lights we would much rather forget.
HITS
Plátano rising
Dominican merenguero Juan Luis Guerra held the key to our hearts, and his CD “La Llave de mi Corazón” went on to win five Latin Grammys at this year’s ceremony in Las Vegas. Fellow caribeño Ricky Martin gained critical respectability with his “MTV: Unplugged,” which took the Latin Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. And it looks like the Boricua bad boys of Calle 13 may be growing up after all: The irreverent “Residente o Visitante” took the award for Best Urban Album and Best Urban Song.
Sí it en vivo!
It was a banner year for live performance in New York. We could start with the seven days starting Oct. 3: It was good enough that Calle 13, Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderón were at Madison Square Garden. But also Marco Antonio Solís? Maná? J.Lo and Marc Anthony? In late November, Latin music fans had a hard time choosing between Caetano Veloso and Café Tacuba — on the same night. And earlier this year, theater fans got a taste of what’s hot on international stages when a new festival, TeatroStageFest, launched downtown. Oh, and let’s not forget the city’s long-running romance with flamenco, which this year brought the debut of Estrella Morente and sizzling performances by the likes of Sara Baras and guitar legend Paco de Lucia.
The year of the Mexican
A post-apocalyptic cautionary tale. A Spanish Civil War fairy tale. A globe-trotting meditation on chance. With “Children of Men,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Babel,” directors Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu made a splash at the Oscars, snagging 16 nominations in major categories. Though they won only four of them, it was, by far, the strongest showing ever at the Academy Awards by any group of filmmakers from South of the Border.
Life is Bettyful
Many of us had our doubts when the blockbuster telenovela “Betty La Fea” was slated for an English-language remake. But creator Silvio Horta’s reimagining of Betty’s story in the cutthroat world of New York’s fashion industry has us holding on to our pelucas every week. In this lovable mixture of cartoon, sitcom and telenovela humor, the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning America Ferrera has created a funny, smart and thoroughly believable Latina heroine.
‘Heights’ to higher ground
“In the Heights” creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda’s valentine to upper Manhattan proves Latinos can tell the stories of New York as well as anyone else. The 27-year-old Miranda brought Latin sounds and hip hop to the Off-Broadway musical, and surrounded himself with a talented, energetic cast who gave the show a freshness long missing from the New York stage. A February debut on Broadway is in the works and may finally dissipate the foul odor left by “The Capeman” nearly 10 years ago.
The spy who came in from the closet
Openly gay blogger Mario Armando Lavandeira — aka Pérez Hilton — had the celebrity gossip world buzzing as he mercilessly followed the comings and goings of the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse et al. But he may be best known for his celebrity outings, which led to ’N Sync’s Lance Bass revealing that he’s gay, and for his announcement of the death of Fidel Castro, which led to... reports that Castro was still alive.
Wonder boy
Junot Díaz’s “The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” may be the Great Latino Immigrant Novel. Former Dominican wunderkind Díaz finally fulfilled the promise he exhibited in 1996 with his ground-breaking short-story collection “Drown.” In “Oscar Wao,” Díaz lets loose with the kind of virtuoso writing that registers on year-end “Best” lists and gets literary types raving.
Lap dancing
We knew Brazilians could dance with the best of them. Still, who would have thought Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves had the kind of moves that would dazzle judges and audiences of the ABC hit “Dancing with the Stars”? Charming, friendly and intensely competitive, Castroneves tackled the ballroom dancing show as he would a checkered flag, sambaing all the way to the top.
WRECKS
The I-word
Say “immigration” to the Presidential candidates and they break out in a sweat, flub their answers and quickly pass the buck. Four years after President Bush carried the Hispanic vote, the Republican party is ditching us like apestados. All of this is happening as homes and workplaces are routinely raided, hard-working employees are deported and a wall goes up on the Texas border. The issue is so poisonous that when well-meaning politicians try to enact measures to protect immigrants, they find neither them nor their allies can figure out how to sell the public on them. Just ask Gov. Spitzer.
Bring me the head of Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales’ tenure as the 80th Attorney General of the United States was, to put it mildly, rocky. Only 30 months after taking office, Gonzales was forced to resign amid allegations that his office had engaged in a series of politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. Yet that was only the latest skirmish for Gonzales, who faced questions about domestic surveillance and torture of prisoners in Guantanamo and refused to answer most of them, saying he “didn’t recall.” Gonzales will go down in history as having reached the highest office ever occupied by a Hispanic, but also of being a shame for la raza.
Movin’ out
The closings of Spanish bookstores Macondo and Lectorum, two W. 14th St. institutions that kept readers supplied with the latest titles from back home, signaled the end of an era in New York. A few months earlier, the legendary club Copacabana closed its doors to make way for the 7 subway line extension. The Copa is scheduled to reopen, but we are still waiting for the good news.
IN BETWEEN
Jennifer López
Boy, was she everywhere or what? The Bronx diva kicked off 2007 with MTV’s “DanceLife,” a reality show she produced, followed by “Como Ama una Mujer,” her first Spanish-language album ever, which led to a Univisión miniseries. Later in the year, she released her fifth English album, “Brave.” She co-produced the film “El Cantante,” starring herself and hubby Marc Anthony, with whom she launched an apotheosic 14-city concert tour — her first ever — which packed the Garden for two nights. J.Lo also topped People en Español’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” list, and, on Nov. 7, joyously confirmed she’s pregnant.
BUT...
Although “Como Ama una Mujer” did well in the Latin charts, “Brave” flopped. “El Cantante” did poorly in the box office and she failed to release her Mexican thriller, “Bordertown.”
Alex Rodríguez
Dominican slugger Alex Rodríguez had another outstanding regular season (.314 BA, 54 HR, 156 RBI) and went on to grab his third MVP Award. In an uneven season for the Yankees, Rodríguez put up outstanding numbers throughout and carried the team to its 13th consecutive playoff appearance.
BUT...
A-Rod’s playoff futility continued in the division series against the Cleveland Indians, when he went 4 for 15 with 1 RBI. After the Bombers were eliminated, he opted out of the remainder of his contract. Several days later, A-Rod and the Yankees were negotiating a $275 million contract — the highest in professional sports. He has yet to prove himself when it counts, but Alex (Call Me Greedy) Rodríguez is certainly cashing in.
Source: NY Daily News
