SAN FRANCISCO - Sisters, Sourdough, and Sausalito

Jeff and I in Sausalito

my view of the Golden Gate Bridge

This weekend I went to San Francisco to watch my little sister graduate from one of the best Universities of our country: UC Berkeley.

Of course we decided to make an entire weekend trip out of it so my husband Jeff, my daughter Giselle and I went to visit some cool San Fran Spots.

First stop, Sausalito!  Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a quaint, quiet town with lots of cyclists and cool shops. We had dinner at Scoma- yummy!

Second stop. Berkeley!
Berkeley is the site of the University of California, Berkeley, the oldest of the University of California system.  My sister graduated with a degree in Latin American studies. In this unique ceremony my parents got a chance to walk with her on stage and accompany her as she accepted her diploma. They didn't get to graduate from College themselves because they had to work at a young age to help out the family. Never would my mom and pop ever imagine they would walk proudly on a Berkeley stage and accept such a high honor. Remember: Anything is possible! Let's dream big. We were all so proud of her.

 Reynoso Sisters- Proud University Graduates!

My parents now have the privilege of saying all of their four daughters have graduated from prestigious Universities.  One from Loyola Marymount, two from UCLA (and one moving on to UCLA LAW School), and another from Berkeley. Needless to say, you guys did a great job!


Third stop. Fisherman's Wharf. Its a must stop for tourists visiting San Francisco. We got to see sea lions, eat sea scallops and savor sourdough bread (more on that below!)

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco

 There are lots of fun specialty shops that sell everything from barrels of candy, to magic tricks. I bought a few salted taffy candies,  they have so many different flavors ranging from hot chocolate to bacon maple syrup. Jeff bought me an oyster with a pearl inside that you can turn into a necklace as part of my mothers day gift. The lady told us our "pearl" was a boy, awww just like the one we will be welcoming in a few months.

Last stop- BOUDIN BAKERY Sourdough Heaven!

Who doesn't love Bread? Sourdough is my favorite. At Boudin's they have everything Sourdough. They even have a sourdough chandelier hanging from the Ceiling.

While you wait for your table you can visit the Sourdough museum that gives you a history and science lesson on Sourdough bread. Did you know that Sourdough bread was started by Parisian bakers that moved to San Francisco in 1849?  When they tried to make traditional French bread, Wild yeasts in the San Francisco air imparted a unique tang to their traditional bread, giving rise to “San Francisco sourdough French bread" and the mouth-watering, sour-tasting bread was born.

Sourdough- Can I Marry you?

Have you visited San Francisco? What are you favorite stops?

Actors Workshop from Novelas to Film!

The first panel I assisted at Hispanicize was "Actors Workshop from Novelas to Film". For those of you who don't know what a "Novela" is, its the Latin version of a Soap Opera. Its what mainstream media often uses to mock us in funny skits on shows like SNL, The Soup, or recently the Will Ferrell Comedy "Casa de Mi Padre".

Yes Novelas are over the top, yes they're admittedly cheesy with their damsel in distress meets heroic leading man riding in to save her on a horse. But they reflect the passion, color and romanticism of our culture.
Its what our abuelitas, and mothers were brought up watching and by association, most 2nd generation Latinos.

Did you know that Oscar Nominated Salma Hayek started her career in Mexican Telenovelas? Ditto for Oscar Nominee Demian Bichir! So, acting in Novelas is a good platform for new talent exercising they're acting muscles.

Speakers at this workshop included Mexican telenovela actors that have made or are making the transition from Telenovelas to Films, such as Celines Torribio, Sonya Smith and Gabriel Porras.

One of the most common things they hear at auditions by casting directors: "you're not Latin enough", "you're accent is to thick", "you don't look Latin", "do you speak English?".

These words may be discouraging to them, but most actors have the drive that can smash down any nay-sayyers. Imagine if Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Sofia Vergara had "listened" to these types of criticism's early in their career? Modern Family would be anything but.

So, jes guatch out Hollywood... we are noth going a ninguna parte!

Watch 15 sec. tout interview with Talent Manager Paulo Andres on the state of Latinos in Hollywood:
(if you can't watch video you must log on to a computer to watch)

ROAMING....MIAMI !!! say Hello to my little Hispanicize adventure

Miami is the furthest point from my hometown, the city I love the city I roam: Los Angeles. But this week I will be "roaming" the gateway to Latin America for the third annual HISPANICIZE  2012: the Annual Event for Latino Trendsetters and Newsmakers.

This year they launch theHISPANICIZE NATIONAL LATINO FILM SHOWCASE National Latino Film showcase which will feature film screenings, entertainment panel discussions, celebrity appearances (including Andy Garcia, Steven Bauer, Yul Vazquez), and black carpet events. It culminates with the mega mansion screening of the cult film Scarface on Friday April 13th (no bad luck here, as long as Al Pacino doesn't show up with an uzzi).

The event itself has been nicknamed the Latino SXSW because it is a congretation of innovators, trendsetters, brands ($$), bloggers (uuhm... hi! how often do YOU read naiberoamsla ?), and filmmakers.

Emilio Estefan, Cesar Milan, Maria Elena Salinas and Nely Galan will be receiving the Latinovator award.

Don't mean to be a "tease" but  keep'on readin my blog throughout the week because I will be posting daily updates and interviews from the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel in beautiful balmy Miami...