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Arnel Pineda's Journey To America As Faithfully Told
Rock world's wonder boy, Arnel Pineda, is a native of the Philippines. He sprung into the music stage after a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Manila followed his personal motto: that it was not his job to simply deny visas to applicants, but to let the good guys in. Before he received his visa, Pineda had to prove his talent and stunned other visa applicants with his live rendition of "Wheels in the Sky." The adjudicating officer described what transpired:
Months ago a band shows up at my window. It was Lemons and Oranges, or something fruity….I asked about their music; looked at their posters, CDs, etc. At the end of the interview, they were saying, "come out and see our show tonight." I says, "I can't take any free tickets yada yada yada but maybe I'll pop in."
It was a Friday. I went with two LES. We got a table, ordered some beer, fried chicken and so on. The opening band comes on. They were called "Zoo"-- this I'm sure of, since I'm from Kalamazoo, the name stuck. The Zoo starts rocking out to 70/80s tunes…But the coup de grace was indisputably when they busted out Journey. I mean, the singer was not just good--95% of all Filipinos are good singers--he was really dern good. I couldn't shut up about it. I was telling anyone who would listen, "Dude, not only does this guy have pipes, and range, he's got perfect pitch. He has only missed a few notes on some of the hardest power ballads in schlock n roll history." The LES grudgingly agreed, but they've been desensitized to the regular displays of amazing karaoke you get in Manila, so maybe they were just humoring me.
The next week I'm sitting at an NIV window next to an officer name Singer. Singer and I were doing FMJs and so we would trade off regular NIV applicants occassionally so that we got fair share of student visas. I hear Singer say, "Journey? The band Journey?" He flips through papers. He sounds unhappy.
I butt in: "What's that all about?"
He turns off his mic and looks over at me. "I don't know. This guys says he's going to try out for Journey."
I'm puzzled. "Journey? The band Journey?"
Singer goes, "That's what I just said, [EXPLETIVE]!"
"Great, another nutjob. I'll take it." Singer takes my student, I take the nutjob.
I look over his stuff and say "purpose of travel?" and all that. I start to scrutinize more carefully and realize its the guy I saw from the night before.
"Hey, does your band play at Bagaberde?.. ."
He confirms and he goes on to tell me the story of how he uploaded some clips of his band that he recorded to YouTube and contacted Journey's manager, having heard they were looking for a new singer. He says they called him up and invited him to the U.S. to try out. Given the malarkey you get at a Manila NIV window, this story only got points for being original. He produced some flimsy emails and letters, etc.
So I go, in my best dubious voice, "Yeah? let's hear Wheels in the Sky!"
He belts it out for the whole waiting room and for the staff to hear (I made sure to take off my headset and let the speaker play it because what I was really doing was covering my butt).
I said, "Look sir, there isn't a person in this Embassy who would believe that story-- going to try out for Journey!-- not a soul would believe that. Except for me. I saw you sing last Friday and I couldn't shut up about how your vocals were perfect Steve Perry.
So I tell you what. I'm giving you that visa. You're going to try out. And you're going to make it...."
And the rest is rock n roll history, my friends.
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And here's a video of Arnel Pineda singing "Faithfully" with Journey in Chile:
And for you Journey fans who've been comparing Arnel Pineda with Steve Perry, read this comment on YouTube:
Folks, I am a "white guy" too, but I think it is WRONG to compare singers. It is like comparing, well, apples and oranges. But let me tell you this: It is ALL ABOUT VOCALS. I love the previous versions, too, but this guy Arnel Pineda whacks this song with emotion and great pitch and vocals. He may not have the looks of your favorite singer, but, heck, he delivers the same song with passion. YOU NEED A SINGER TO SING A SONG, NOT A GQ MATERIAL! This guy is a SINGER!
HOPE AS DEFINED BY BARACK OBAMA
Sen. Barack Obama's address to supporters after his victory at the Democratic Iowa caucuses propelled him to the possibility that a black son of an immigrant could become a president in America:
“Years from now, you'll look back and you'll say that this was the moment. This was the place where America remembered what it means to hope. … Hope – hope is what led me here today. With a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas and a story that could only happen in the United States of America.”
Successful first-generation immigrants and their countries of origin:
Mario Andretti, race car driver (Italy); Liz Claiborne, fashion designer (Belgium); Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer (Dominican Republic); Gloria Estefan, singer/songwriter (Cuba); Patrick Ewing, basketball player, New York Knicks (Jamaica); Max Frankel, executive editor, The New York Times (Germany); John Kenneth Galbraith, economist/presidential advisor (Canada); Andy Garcia, actor (Cuba); Wayne Gretzky, hockey player (retired), New York Rangers (Canada); Andrew Grove, founder, Intel Corporation (Hungary); Angela Lansbury, actress, "Murder She Wrote" (England); Frank McCourt, author, "Angela's Ashes" (Ireland); Ricardo Montalban, actor, "Fantasy Island" (Mexico); Josie Natori, fashion designer (Philippines); Martina Navratilova, tennis player (Czech Republic); Hakeem Olajuwon, basketball player, Houston Rockets (Nigeria); Yoko Ono, vocalist/songwriter (Japan); Rafael Palmiero, baseball player, Baltimore Orioles (Cuba); Sidney Poitier, Academy Award-winning actor (Bahamas); Anthony Quinn, Academy Award-winning actor (Mexico); Carlos Santana, rock/jazz guitarist (Mexico); Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor/body builder (Austria); John Secada, singer (Cuba); John Shalikashvili, former chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (Poland); Gene Simmons, rock musician, Kiss (Israel); Sammy Sosa, baseball player, Chicago Cubs (Dominican Republic); Elizabeth Taylor, Academy Award-winning actress (Britain); Alex Trebek, game show host, Jeopardy (Canada); Neil Young, musician/songwriter (Canada); George Soros, global financier and philanthropist (Hungary).
SOURCE: Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
I'm an immigrant, and I'm the attorney general. Only in America, only in America.'
JENNIFER GRANHOLM, a native of Canada who became a naturalized U.S. citizen 30 years ago, in her speech during the swearing-in of 287 new U.S. citizens at Dearborn Skating Center in Michigan. Granholm is now the governor of Michigan.
Son of Swiss immigrant heads Microsoft
STEVE BALLMER, chief executive officer of Microsoft, is a son of a Swiss immigrant.
Ballmer grew up in Detroit, where his family lived while his father worked for the Ford Motor company. He met and became a friend of Bill Gates at Harvard University, where both were students, and lived just down the hall from each other.
Unlike his friend who dropped out in first year, Steve Ballmer graduated from Harvard, earning a degree in applied math and economics. He then worked at Procter & Gamble as an assistant product manager, before attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 1980, Ballmer was invited by Bill Gates to join him at Microsoft. He held a number of positions at the company, among them executive vice-president of sales and support.
'Immigrants of the World' call themselves Los Kitos
By Weelee De Jesus, ImmigrationNewsman.com
His flat-topped hair a shellacked, jet-black, his face framed by his mischievous smile and raised eyebrows, Picarito fails to hide his excitement. His favorite topic is immigration. And that's understandable because his idiomatic expressions betray his Caribbean background. But while Picarito calls himself an immigrant, he proudly declares, “I ain't got no greencard, man!”
Picarito can sing all right, and his dancing does dazzle, oh yeah. But even if he's an “alien of extraordinary ability,” can't we say that it behooves the USCIS — yes that entity universally known among Latinos as “La Migra” — to check for his residency papers?
No need to worry. Picarito is not really a person.
You see, Picarito can swagger around town with his exuberant character without any fear. After all, if some federal immigration agents pester him and ask for his green card, he can simply say, with a Robert De Niro accent, “Hey, you talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?”
Cartoonist Martha Montoya, a Colombian immigrant, enjoys the hugs and kisses from her Los Kitos.
When pushed against the wall, however, Picarito will ask you to talk to his boss.
Picarito's boss is Martha Montoya, a real immigrant from Bogota, Colombia. Montoya is a cartoonist and the creator of the wild and colorful characters called Los Kitos, the “immigrants of the world.”
Montoya has been actively drawing the Los Kitos cartoons since her childhood in Bogota. Through her parent's involvement in the educational field as owners of schools and universities, she acquired the experience and the capability to create characters that convey her messages to children and teenagers.
At age 25, in pursuit of her dream to become a successful and prosperous cartoonist, she immigrated to the United States. Montoya soon discovered that there were many obstacles to overcome, but she never lost sight of her dream.
Through Los Kitos, which she officially published in America in 1995, Montoya created an avenue in which she could help immigrants “enculturate themselves into a new nation.” An immigrant herself, Montoya understands the difficulties that people encounter when they enter a new country. Her cartoon characters explore how two different cultures see the same things.
“Immigration is not just about arriving to a foreign land,” Montoya says. “It is about graduating from one stage of life to another.”
The Los Kitos characters, swathed in purple, green, yellow and all sorts of striking colors, wend their way through life in America, taking jabs at racism and negative attitude. Together they promote popular expressions that inspire kids and adults alike.
Today, Los Kitos is featured in 222 newspapers in 17 countries worldwide. Montoya is currently in negotiations with two major studios for a 26-episode animated television series based on her characters.
The comic strip's universal appeal has won numerous awards. Many American corporations and institutions are just now discovering how effectively the animated figures can serve as the gateway between themselves and the Hispanic market. Bank America Corp. has utilized the characters, while Sears Roebuck & Co. is currently featuring the colorful characters on a full line of children's clothing. It will also be seen in Singapore with a new line of children's shoes bearing the animated figures.
Together, Picarito and his buddies Pigoleto, Pikito, Kolito, Lunita, Solito and the sassy Mima, deal with obstacles in America .
“Los Kitos are the Immigrants of the World,” Montoya says. “They arrived with the hope of achieving a better life. They are committed to reviving the innocent part of ourselves that is lost in the everyday struggle to overcome the challenges of life.”
More than anything, Los Kitos, with their intellectual splendor, help immigrants realize they can also fight obstacles that seem overwhelming. The characters inspire those who are also aiming to achieve their American dream, while maintaining the old traditions, cultures and family-oriented values they've always cherished.
Einstein, an immigrant, is Person of the Century
ALBERT EINSTEIN, the iconic 20th century scientist and the bumbling professor with the German accent, became a U.S. citizen on Oct. 1, 1940 during a citizenship ceremony in Trenton, New Jerse. Alarmed by the news that Germany had successfully split a uranium atom, he had swallowed his pacifism a year earlier to urge then President Franklin Roosevelt to step up U.S. development of an A-bomb. Einstein would actively support the Allies' war against fascism by working as a weapons consultant for the U.S. Navy.
Never comfortable with the title "father of atomic energy," Einstein was haunted by the fear that the atomic bomb would be used again. In 1950, with the development of the hydrogen bomb, Einstein televised via NBC his idea for peace in a nuclear world: a single world government drawn up by the U.S., the U.S.S.R. and Great Britain that would control knowledge of atomic bomb construction.
In 1997, Einstein was recognized by Time Magazine as the "Person of the Century." Einstein was a comic cliché in a thousand films. He was instantly recognizable, like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp. His shaggy haired visage was as familiar to ordinary people as to the matrons who fluttered about him in salons from Berlin to Hollywood. Yet he was unfathomably profound — the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed.
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