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HOLYWOOD, California – September 11, 2013 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – Rick Najera takes an unapologetic and honest look at the depiction of Latino culture with his new thought-provoking and comedic memoir, Almost White: Forced Confessions of a Latino in Hollywood (SmileyBooks, September 16, 2013, ISBN: 978-1-4019-4312-7, $16.95, Trade Paperback). The book is set to be released nationwide on September 16th, during Hispanic Heritage month and on Mexican Independence Day. <\/p>\n
In his memoir, Najera explores what it means to be Latino within the ever-changing backdrop of life as a Hollywood creative. California-born with Mexican-American roots, Najera offers an insider\u2019s view into his life through an ironic yet comedic lens, from in front of the camera to behind, from the page to the stage and beyond. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a brilliant reader of the social, political and ethnic strife with which we wrestle within our modern-day society. Like most brilliant comics, he has mastered the art of getting us to laugh first so that we might listen\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cRick Najera is more than just a funnyman,\u201d states Tavis Smiley, founder of SmileyBooks. \u201cHe is a brilliant reader of the social, political and ethnic strife with which we wrestle within our modern-day society. Like most brilliant comics, he has mastered the art of getting us to laugh first so that we might listen.\u201d <\/p>\n
Driven by a satirical stream of consciousness, Najera\u2019s journey from his San Diego childhood to his Hollywood adulthood exposes universal lessons from a range of characters both real and imagined. Lessons like learning to confront the limits we place on our imaginations, the need to take ownership of our own stories instead of settling for being mere performers in someone else\u2019s distorted vision, and the necessity of rising every day to press forward\u2014no matter what. \u201cIn the end,\u201d says Najera, \u201cperhaps it will be the power of the people and art, not politicians and politics that will redefine the Latino American dream.\u201d <\/p>\n
Najera has worked in the entertainment business for more than 20 years. He has worked with and written for comedians and talent such as: Whoopi Goldberg, Sidney Poitier, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing and many more. <\/p>\n
Almost White: Forced Confessions of a Latino in Hollywood by Rick Najera<\/strong> is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com (http:\/\/amzn.to\/17WjwzN<\/a> ) and will be released nationwide on September 16, 2013<\/strong>. <\/p>\n
Excerpts from Almost White: <\/strong>
\n— On Borders: <\/strong>Every Latino has a border still inside them. That\u2019s what we must cross before we feel we truly belong. I was born in a border city and had another border on display inside of me. I was a Mexican hyphen American, and, to me, a hyphen is a border. It\u2019s a separation; a fence, a line in the sand. It\u2019s a permanent \u201cDo Not Enter\u201d sign in front of a country. <\/em><\/p>\n— On Identity in America:<\/strong> I\u2019m almost white and I\u2019m almost American but I\u2019m not really all American because I\u2019m Mexican American, and in San Diego there were only Americans. Nobody in San Diego liked the concept of hyphens. If you said you were Mexican-American, people would look at you and think, \u201cWhy add Mexican to your hyphen? Why not just American not Mexican American? Forget that side of your name, son, and jump in the pure American cultural swimming pool. The water is fine. Just don\u2019t pee in the pool, son.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
— On Desi Arnaz: <\/strong>When I was a child, I never saw Latinos on television except on an occasional I Love Lucy episode. I\u2019d imagine Desi Arnaz singing songs of love, like \u201cBabalu,\u201d with conga in hand, dreaming of getting his red-haired woman, his Lucy. The words, of course, are far from the truth. Desi was a radical cultural propagandist. <\/p>\n
Que mi negra me quiera
\nQuetengadinero
\nY que no se muera
\nAv! Vo le quieropedi a Babalu ‘nanegramuysanta
\nComo tu que no tengaotro Negro
\nPa’ que no se fuera. <\/p>\nThe song was actually about an African religion called Santeria. Write that down. It\u2019s on the midterm. The singer sings about dating a Negra benbona, translation: a thick black woman with thick lips. Little did America realize, a Cuban hot-blooded man was singing about how to get a thick black woman with big Angelina Jolie type lips, with rum and alcohol while praising a West African god of the earth? <\/em><\/p>\n
— On Cockfighting and Latino Culture:<\/strong> The cockfight is life or death. There is only one who will survive. Grilled, baked, or deep-fried, no chicken gets out alive. <\/p>\n
I could see the lights of Tijuana from San Diego. My grandfather had a place there. It was his own ranchero, or little ranch, where he raised fighting cocks. Anglo people always wince at the concept, but fighting roosters and fighting bulls are a part of our Latino heritage. I don\u2019t know why the tight pants, little slippers, and capes came into fashion, but the lisping came into fashion around the same time\u2026 We come from a military tradition, born of feathers and fury. The bulls were just an interesting way of getting our meat tenderized. The loser of a cockfight became soup.
\n<\/em>
\nIf you wish to book an interview with Rick Najera, please contact Thysha M. Shabazz at 757-450-3655 or thysha@shabazzcommunications.com, or Jamila Cummings at 917-288-9857 or jamila@shabazzcommunications.com.
\n
\nAlmost White: Forced Confessions of a Latino in Hollywood by Rick Najera <\/strong>
\nPublication date: September 2013 | ISBN- 978-1-4019-4312-7
\n6\u201d x 9\u201d 232 pages $16.95
\nSmileyBooks \u2013 2776 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, CA 92010
\nhttp:\/\/www.smileybooks.com<\/a>
\n
\nAbout Rick Najera<\/strong>
\nRecognized twice as one of the most \u201c100 Most Influential in America\u201d by Hispanic Business Magazine, Najera has worked directly with hundreds of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Whoopi Goldberg, Sidney Poitier, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez and many more. Host of his newly launched Blog Talk Radio show by the same name, Almost White, Najera is also the author of other books, including Latinologues: From Broadway and Beyond, Buford Gomez and other Plays; Pain of the Macho; and Latins Anonymous. His repertoire of work includes a Showtime special, Diary of a Dad Man; writer of the feature film, Nothing Like the Holidays, for which he won an ALMA Award; creator, writer and performer of the award-winning touring comedy show Latinologues, which ran on Broadway in 2005; writer of the wildly popular MADtv, which earned him two Writers Guild Award nominations; writer of In Living Color; and co-creator and director of the annual CBS Sketch Comedy Showcase. For more information, visit http:\/\/www.ricknajera.com<\/a>. <\/p>\nAbout SmileyBooks<\/strong>
\nFounded by media pioneer Tavis Smiley as a co-publishing venture with Hay House Inc., SmileyBooks is a general trade book publisher that specializes in quality nonfiction. A dynamic company dedicated to the new media landscape, SmileyBooks publishes books by authors ranging from established New York Times best-sellers to exciting new voices on topics that appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. SmileyBooks titles are published in hardcover, trade paperback and digital media, offering the widest possible readership and exposure. <\/p>\nIn 2011, Peace From Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You\u2019re Going Through by Iyanla Vanzant was a #1 New York Times best-seller for the imprint. In 2012, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto by Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West, reached #7 on the New York Times best-sellers list. <\/p>\n
In 2013, Health First! The Black Woman\u2019s Wellness Guide won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in the Instructional Category. Additional NAACP Image Award SmileyBooks nominees include: Tapping the Power Within by Iyanla Vanzant, Hope on a Tightrope and Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud by Cornel West, and Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrell. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
‘Latinos, Hollywood, culture, and politics. Rick Najera is a creative force. He makes me laugh and he makes me think!’ — Edward James Olmos, Actor <\/p>\n
‘A laugh-out-loud page-turner from one of the most original and compelling voices in America. Insightful and hilarious. I couldn\u2019t put it down!’ — Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, New York Times best \u2013 selling author: The Dirty Girls Social Club<\/p>\n
‘Through pearls of wisdom and wit, Najera provides a tiffanyesque view into the Latino psyche and gifts us with a literary jewel.’ — Dr. Ronald Hall, co-author of The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color in the New Millennium<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2350,6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entretenimiento","8":"category-entertainment","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Untitled-2.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Untitled-2.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"mruiz","author_link":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/author\/mruiz\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noticiasnewswire.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}