Families Belong Together: Elí's 4th Elephant and Piggie Bday Celebration

Last weekend we celebrated my wonderful little man's 4th Bday, Elephant and Piggie style! The birthday boy requested that we use his party to promote families belonging together. So we used Gerald, Piggie, Duckling, and Pigeon to tell the story of family togetherness. The beautiful photos were taken by Tequila Graphics.

Elephant and Piggie Cookies
The royal icing cookies always take the longest, so I made these 2 weeks in advance. This was my first time making the cookie cutters myself. I really like how they turned out. Will definitely continue to make my own cutters in the future.

Pigeon Cookies
I made these cookies the night before the party as a last-minute edition. They are chocolate-covered double stuffed Oreos. You can't get nearly the same detail as you can with the royal icing with melted chocolate, but they are still super cute and literally take 10% of the time it takes to make the royal icing ones.

Elephant and Piggie, Families Belong Together Painting
This painting was inspired by The Thank You Book by Mo Willems. I painted this in the days leading up to the party as my gift to Elí. I also made a slightly modified version of this, with less prominence to "Elías's bday" and added the big heading EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE, which I turned into 11x17 printed posters for the kids to decorate at the party and hang up at their own homes.

The Gerald and Piggie Band
This painting featuring Elephant, Piggie, Duckling, and Pigeon, was Adán, my wonderfully creative 6 yr old son's gift to his brother.

The Gerald and Piggie Band, Friends Belong Together Cake
At the request of Elías, I started by making his vanilla buttercream cake blue and then realized that it looked very similar to Adán's painting. So I decided to add grass, and then made cut-outs of his characters from his painting on my diecutter, and added them as toppers to the cake. Adán was so proud :).

Duckling Cookies

We hung up my children's posters from the last immigration marches by the art table where the kids made posters and puppets.

I made little Elephant, Pigge, and Pigeon cut-outs with little talk bubbles for the kids to color and turn into puppets. In some of them, the characters were happy and in some they were sad. Some of the talk bubbles were blank and some had pre-written statements matching the party's theme like Families belong together!, EVERYONE is welcome here! End family separation, and Close the camps!

The bday boy with his Abuelito

Elephant and Piggie Cake
A few days before the party, our ped put my son on a lactose-free diet (due to tummy aches) which meant he couldn't enjoy any of the royal icing sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered Oreos, or the main cake, so I made him this extra special decadent lactose-free, gluten-free chocolate cake, with delicious vegan buttercream icing with Gerald and Piggie fondant cake toppers to match his painting. He LOVED it :).

ALL kids are welcome here!
I actually never finished this painting. I started it with the intention that it would be a photo backdrop for the kids. But I had open wall space and this fit perfect, so we went with it.

The party was a huge success! The birthday boy was delighted and many many critical conversations were had around our current immigration policies and ways that we as a community can and should be responding.

Close the camps cake

It’s become a tradition that every year I make a garish 4th of July cake. This year the kids and I decided to make our most important cake thus far.This year we made a close the camps cake.⁣[wpvideo 9UE26wB1 ]The cake has since been consumed, but the conversations remain strong!

Feliz Cumpleaños Frida Kahlo

As many of you know I am obsessed with Frida Kahlo. So are my sons. Today we celebrate this magnificent woman's bday.https://www.instagram.com/p/-7RsjmngBkhttps://www.instagram.com/p/40Cfh3HgBehttps://www.instagram.com/p/BHitKJdhCLk

Fourth of July Buttercream Ombré Pinata Cake

This year we celebrated 'Murica to the fullest with a Fourth of July Buttercream Ombré Piñata Cake.Truth be told, after last year's massive flag cake I wasn't planning on making anything too crazy. But my family seemed so disappointed and I ended up caving. I'm happy though that I went for it. I had a lot of fun playing with my my new Russian Icing tips for the first time. Many lessons learned here so next time I think they'll come out much better.And I want to give a BIG thanks to my mother-in-law for all of her help watching the kids and killing it with the clean up!View of the cake from above. Flowers created with Russian piping tips.Here is the cake after we cut it open. I had my husband cut it open so that I could record a little video, but he ruined it when he decided to eat a piece of cake mid-recording :(These are the ombré layers. I use Americolor gels to get super vibrant colors.And here is my little man :) He and I also made American flag chocolate covered pretzels But we will debut those later today...

Fourth of July Flag Cake

Last fourth of July I was SUPER pregnant.  And like any rational minded soon to be mami of two, I decided that I should spend my last days of freedom on my feet, for hours, baking a flag cake.I started by making a 5 layer red test-cake with buttercream filling.  But I wasn't happy enough with the height ratio of the red to white, so I ended up with this monstrosity pictured below.Really this cake didn't reach it's full height potential. But that is only because I reached the max height of our freezer, where I was storing the layers, and I literally couldn't stand on my feet any longer. That being said, it still irks me when I look at the picture above and wish, wish, wish that there was a the very least another top red layer.The most delicious part of the cake was actually the lemon curd filling, which you can't see here. I chose it because it wouldn't detract from the colored layers.These are the royal icing cookies I made with toddler. This was the first time I let him roll out his own cookies and decorate them. He was DELIGHTED!Here is my happy boy with his abuelito.Here he is again with his abuelito and grandma.

Since my second son's birthday is coming up next month my plan was to hold off from making a cake this year. But my family seemed so disappointed that it looks like I'll be baking a cake after all. And I am actually really excited to use my new Russian icing tips. So I think the plan will be to make a red white and blue pinata cake with my toddler.

I'll keep you guys posted...

FC Barcelona Bday!

Welcome to Messi Madness aka my son's third birthday.  I was a year behind in posting last year's pictures, so this year I am getting on it right away.My little man is absolutely crazy about soccer and of course Lionel Messi. He runs through our home yelling "Mama soy Messi y mi hermano es Neymar Jr."  When we asked him what theme he wanted for his birthday he had many ideas. But in the end he narrowed it down to FC Barcelona and Frida Kahlo.  While we didn't end up with the Frida theme this year, he did insist on leaving the Frida Kahlo painting up in the kitchen so that everyone the party would see it.Some of the highlights of the party included: a chocolate fondant soccer ball cake, royal icing soccer jersey and soccer ball cookies, chocolate soccer ball lollipops, lots of FCB diecuts (made on the Cricut Explore), chocolate covered Oreos with soccer toppers, a FCB fruit platter, and of course FCB gear for the whole family.My little boy delighted that we FINALLY allowed him to eat a royal icing cookie.The desert table.The chocolate fondant soccer ball cake.Chocolate soccer ball lollipops.Royal icing cookies.Our family in full FC Barcelona gear.The epic FCB fruit platter made by my dear friend Lamia.Custom plates for the birthday boy.Our awesome photographer also wore FCB gear.Chocolate soccer balls.I wish I had more time to decorate the porch, but with two small children I had to pick my "battles" and decided to focus my energy on the inside. However my wonderful papi made the impossible happen and somehow magically jerry rigged this flag into place. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the DELICIOUS tacos from Cafe Catedral- hands down the best party food ever.And of course my little Messi periodically stopped partying and got in some serious kicks.Stay tuned for photos of my second son's first birthday coming in August. This will be our second Elmo themed birthday, as my first son also celebrated his first birthday in Elmo style.Photos by Nick Cartwright

My little guy's GRRiffic 2nd birthday

He LOVES Daniel Tiger and this was his last rendezvous as an only child*, so I figured we'd celebrate him to the max. And celebrate we did...I went way overboard on all the little details and decorations but I was so busy chasing around my toddler and making sure everyone was having a good time that I didn't get any photos of the actual event itself.  But at least I had some photos pre-party of some of my prep work.*An entire year has passed and I just realized I never published this post. My son (pictured here) turned three two weeks ago and the other one is almost a year old.Daniel Tiger Royal Icing CookiesO the Owl Royal Icing CookiesDaniel Tiger CakeTiger Cake InsidePrince Wednesday, Katerina Kitty Cat, Miss Elaina and Daniel Tiger DiecutsPlaying with the diecutsDaniel Tiger Crayons 

The Ultrasound Scream

In honor of being 5 months pregnant, I thought I'd share this gem of my little baby Adán, taken at our last ultrasound.See, he already has a flair for the dramatics...

Escobar-Morales at the Bruno David Gallery

ESCOBAR-MORALES: Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO. Opening on Friday, February 1, 2013, from 5 to 9 pm.  Show runs until February 23rd, 2013.In the New Media Room, the Bruno David Gallery presents a single-channel video work titled “Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye” by Escobar-Morales. The 21-minutes video originated from a performance at the closing for RICH-OO-UH'L, RICH-OO-UH'L at Jolie Laide Gallery in Philadelphia, with sound by Armando Morales.In the Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye (2011), Escobar-Morales perform a funerary ritual, referencing the mythical Mayan tale of the Hero Twins reviving their dead father, the Maize God. In their contemporary interpretation of this ancient story, Escobar-Morales simultaneously represent the body and the soul; the God/ Goddess and twin offspring, in both physical and technological forms using live performance and web based video projection.ESCOBAR-MORALES is a team comprised of Maya Escobar and Andria Morales. The two artists, based in Chicago and New York respectively, have been working together over the Internet since 2010. They produce digital media and performance art that explores the role of self-representation in visual culture and its ability to deconstruct ingrained ideological conventions. By locating their performances online where they are free from restrictions of time and place, Escobar-Morales is able to concurrently enact multiple personas while simultaneously creating a unified hybrid self.Maya Escobar was born in Chicago, IL in 1984. Andria Morales was born in 1982 in New York, NY. Escobar received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2007) and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2009); Morales received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (2004) and an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University (2008).Photo by Armando Morales

New Futuro featured in The Atlantic's series on economic progress

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New Futuro, founded in 2008, works with community organizations and schools in urban Latino neighborhoods to provide students and their families with access to the college materials they'll need, all of which are available in both English and Spanish translations. The company's web platform offers America's largest Hispanic scholarship database and hundreds of articles featuring useful advice on college planning, as well as profiles of successful minorities who've reached high levels in their careers. New Futuro also publishes a bilingual print magazine, which is distributed for free in high schools and through nonprofit and community partners.

read the full article in The Atlantic: New Futuro Narrows the Education Gap for Latino Students

Don't worry. Our girls are legal.

Escobar-Morales as AMerican MEdia Output at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philly. Join us for 1st Friday on 10/5.Acting as designers, distributors and promo models, Escobar-Morales established an online marketing and brand design agency called AMerican MEdia Output.  The ad campaigns for Public Airways and Welcome to Arizona are inspired by recent news related to proposed immigration legislation in the US.  Blurring the line between performance and reality, AMerican MEdia Output asks viewers and participants to imagine the economic and social consequences of laws like SB1070 through the framework of advertising.  AMO is based online at AMericanMEdiaOutput.com and has disseminated their advertising over the internet using various social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  Most recently, the AZ Welcome Girls hit the streets in San Antonio, TX to promote Arizona tourism by offering participants a cold drink of "Welcome Water." 

Nueva Exhibición en el Painted Bride Art Center Destaca la Importancia de la Documentación en la Sociedad Contemporánea

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA: Agosto 24, 2012Contactar a: Phil Sumpter, Director de Mercadeo y  Comunicaciones [email protected] 215-925-9914 x15

Nueva Exhibición en el Painted Bride Art Center Destaca la Importancia de la Documentación en la Sociedad Contemporánea

Filadelfia, PA.  Agosto 10, 2012— En colaboración con la organización cívica, cultural Acción Colombia, el Painted Bride Art Center será este otoño la sede de una exhibición que invita al cuestionamiento crítico con una docena de experimentos socio-visuales que incluyen dibujo, pintura, instalación, actuación, fotografía y otros medios de comunicación. Papeles: Are we what we sign? expone aspectos culturales, legales, y económicos que se encuentran detrás de las transacciones que procuran la participación y cohesión en la sociedad Americana.  La exhibición estará en muestra desde el 7 de septiembre hasta octubre 21, 2012, este proyecto es organizado paralelamente a la Conferencia de la Asociación Nacional de Artes y Cultura Latina (NALAC) que tendrá lugar en Filadelfia.Papeles incluye un extraordinario e influyente grupo de artistas  en Filadelfia—algunos ya conocidos y otros surgiendo.  La postura de los artistas parte de sus posiciones como inmigrantes y/o descendientes de inmigrantes de naciones Latinoamericanas. Cada uno de ellos interpreta esta identidad como una cualidad abstracta que puede ser fácilmente dada, tomada, impuesta o distorsionada en una variedad de contextos.  Del comentario crítico, la añoranza, la sátira, y la resistencia los artistas exponentes han encontrado fuentes de inspiración. Los exponentes incluyen: Andrea Rincón, Andria Morales, Carlos Nuñez, Doris Nogueira-Rogers, el duo Escobar-Morales, Erika Ristovski, Jonas dos Santos, Jorge Figueroa, Lina Cedeño y Pedro Ospina, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Paula Meninato, and Susana Amundaraín.Papeles: Are we what we sign? es una exhibición bajo la curaduría de Andreina Castillo, Consultora Independiente en Gestoría de Arte y Programas. “Este proyecto se convirtió en un lugar de encuentro para cada uno de nosotros al organizarlo, desde artistas y directores a líderes comunitarios” así lo expreso Castillo. “Cada uno de nosotros (y/o a través de nuestras familias) hemos estado expuestos a las satisfacciones y altibajos en el proceso de migrar. Nosotros invitamos al público general para que busque sus propias dicotomías cuando presencien las cualidades visuales y conceptuales de esta exhibición.”PAPELES: Are we what we sign? busca servir como un instrumento visual de exanimación al vinculo social con los documentos como símbolos legales de identidad que modelan nuestra ideología individual, aceptación cultural, igualdad de los sexos, acceso económico, oportunidades laborales y logros académicos. Al final, esta exhibición expone nuestra cultura ciudadana dentro de la sociedad Americana. Los conceptos entretejidos en esta exhibición se enlazan con las corrientes en los Estados Unidos, y el proceso global en busca del consenso en reformas, leyes, votos, resoluciones y otras formas contractuales que afectan la formación social como individuo y nuestra vida en comunidad.La recepción de apertura será durante “El Primer Viernes”, septiembre 7 de 5pm - 7:30pm en el Painted Bride Art Center en el 230 Vine Street, Filadelfia, PA.  En este evento, tendra la oportunidad de compartir con los artistas participantes, disfrutar de obras extraordinarias y de música Hispanoamericana en vivo. Ademas de deleitar de unos aperitivos especiales, amablemente ofrecidos por Positano Restaurant, Crudo & Wine Bar.  Para mayor información por favor comuniquese con el Painted Bride Art Center al 215.925.9914.Acción Colombia es una organización sin ánimo de lucro establecida para desarrollar el liderazgo en la comunidad Colombiana y Latinoamericana a través de las artes, cultura y participación ciudadana en el área tri-estatal de Pensilvania, Delaware y Nueva Jersey.  Esta exhibición refuerza el compromiso con las artes y las iniciativas ciudadanas relacionadas con la inmigración, temas con los que la organización ha estado trabajando desde su inicio en el 2004.Painted Bride Art Center es uno de los centros culturales más importantes en Filadelfia, y en el país.  Su misión es atraer artistas, audiencias y  comunidades rompiendo las barreras de como creamos y experimentamos el arte.  Esta institutición cultiva un ambiente de dialogo critico y un intercambio perseverante para transformar vidas y comunidades.Nosotros le damos la bienvenida a la Asociación Nacional de Arte y Cultura Latina (National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) a Filadelfia que tendrá lugar de octubre 17 al 21.  La conferencia nacional es una oportunidad para presentar la infraestructura artística de Filadelfia a una audiencia nacional de artistas, trabajadores culturales, curadores, y administradores del arte que de todos los rincones del país estarán participando en la conferencia.Univision 65 apoya esta exhibición como el medio de comunicación oficial. Por favor visite www.accioncolombia.org/papeles o www.paintedbride.org para conocer mas sobre este proyecto.

Escobar-Morales at The Painted Bride in Papeles: Are we what we sign?

PAPELES: Are we what we sign? aims to serve as a visual examination of our social bond with papers as legal signifiers of identity that shape individual mobility, cultural acceptance, gender and sexual-orientation equality, economic access, labor opportunities, and educational attainment.  Visual artists, community leaders, and arts administrators use this project to reflect upon the socio-cultural impact of documentation processes present in American society.This exhibition gathers twelve influential—established and emerging—artists working in drawing, painting, installation, printmaking, photography, and mixed media. Participating artists include Andrea Rincon, Andria Morales, Carlos Nuñez, Doris Nogueira-Rogers, Erika Ristovski, the duo Escobar-Morales, Jonas Dos Santos, Jorge Figueroa, Lina Cedeño, Michelle Ortiz, Paula Meninato, and Susana Amundaraín.  They propose social-visual experiments from their positions as immigrants and/or descendants of immigrants from Latin American nations. New and existing works in this exhibition illuminate the concept of documentation into powerful narratives of critique, ambiguity, longing, and resilience. The Painted Bride230 Vine Street | Philadelphia, PA 19106 | 215.925.9914September 7 – October 21, 2012Gallery hours: 12pm – 6pm, Tues – SatFirst Friday receptions: September 7, October 5 | 5-7:30pmGuest Curator Andreina Castillo | Co-Presented with Acción Colombia

Fractured Jewishness

Is being half-Jewish, like being half-pregnant? Yes.Intrigued? Want to hear more?I have the honor of being the keynote speaker at the Half Jewish?" The Heirs of Intermarriage conference at Northwestern University, which runs from 4/20-4/22. My Friday night talk will center around the construction and the perpetuation of fractured cultural identities. On Saturday my dear friend Yoni Sarason, aka The St. Lou Jew, aka Midwest Director of Birthright Next, will be speaking on a panel with Dan Libenson, moderated by Denise Handlarski.  Come check out the conference.  Meet some lefty Jews.  Learn and mingle.Register here. 

Digital. Creative. Conceptual. Think Tank Team.

Ladies and Gents, life is good.  I am the Creative Director for New Futuro.New Futuro provides Latino families with fully bilingual resources and tools to get students into college and beyond! We are committed to making you an education rockstar!  We will  teach you how to get into the college of your dreams with money to pay for it.  It's all about making the right classes at the right time, knowing the right people, and getting involved with the right groups.  College is your future,  so why should it be a challenge to get there?  New Futuro will help you achieve your dreams through education! Read more about my #awesome creative team here.

Chicanas of 18th Street on Poco a Poco Radio

Tune into Poco a Poco Radio this Sunday at 1:30PM CST to hear the excellent BILINGUAL interview my father and I did with Leonard Ramírez and Magda Ramírez-Castañeda, about the much anticipated release of: Chicanas of 18th Street: Narratives of a Movement from Latino Chicago.(photos by Claudio Gaete-Tapia) 

Calavera Elotera at SOMArts Gallery

ESCOBAR-MORALES PRESENTS:Your favorite fame whore Elotita aka The Fat Free Elotera is back...  and this time she has taken it to a new level...  she has faked her own death... and has returned as CALAVERA ELOTERA.Calavera Elotera in Illuminations: Día de los Muertos 2011Curated by Rene and Rio Yañez SOMArts Bay Gallery, 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th)San Francisco, CA 94103Tues–Fri, 12–7PM, Sat 11–5PM, Sun 11–3PM.Opening ReceptionFriday, October 7, 2011, 6–9PMOpening will feature music, interactive performance and the unveiling of over 30 altars and installations. The evening includes a special performance by Herbert Siguenza, of Culture Clash fame. Siguenza will perform and live paint as renowned artist, Pablo Picasso.The exhibition continues to examine the ways technology shapes the celebration of Day of the Dead. Once again, a Flickr group enables the exhibition’s curators to accept digital photos as offerings to those who people want to honor. The public can upload their digital contributions here. Selected images will be printed and displayed as part of the exhibit.

Poco a Poco Radio!

My papi and I have a brand new BILINGUAL radio show on WLUW 88.7 FM, Poco a Poco Radio. The show airs every Sunday from 1:30-2:00PM CST and can be listened to live on the radio or online at http://wluw.org.If you missed last week's show (the first episode) you can listen here:[audio http://pocoapocoradio.com/podcasts/Poco%20A%20Poco%20Uno%20-7-10-2011.mp3]And today tune in, to hear our LIVE interview with the incredibly talented, hilarious, and inspiring Elma Placeres Dieppa (@mzelma), Director of Latism Chicago.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Latism... you should be... #LATISM stands for Latinos in Social Media.For more updates follow Poco a Poco Radio on Facebook & Twitter

el es frida kahlo in the Jewish Women's Archive Blog

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlMPoFXRT18]el es frida kahlo featured on Jewesses with Attitude in honor of Frida Kahlo's 104th birthday.

A Latina "Jewess with attitude," Maya Escobar plays with the web as a platform for engaging in community dialogue around identity and multiple identities--how they are socially and culturally constructed. She often assumes multiple identities in her performances, drawing from various existing representations.

About "el es frida kahlo," she writes:

Frida Kahlo played with the identity that she wanted to project and the identity that was placed on her by others. Kahlo used her clothing, political affiliations, sexual escapades, and personal traumas, to create a character that informed her body of work. She inscribed her identity, painting her image over and over, constructing a mythology around her persona.In el es frida kahlo I confront the ambivalence I experience as a result of my simultaneous obsession with Frida Kahlo and weariness towards her commodification.

What is your reaction to this confrontational piece? Do you identify with Escobar's ambivalence towards Kahlo, her work, and her commodification in our culture?

AMerican MEdia Output in New Jersey

You saw Escobar-Morales as promo models in TX, "promoting" Arizona Tourism...And here we are as marketing executives in NJ.Andria was live at Gallery Aferro and I skyped in from Chicago.Stay tuned for more details on the performance and the results from AMerican MEdia Output's #targetaudiencesurvey.